QRP: Low-Power Communications
Is a ham operator who feeds a low-power signal (5 watts or less) into a high-gain antenna system operating QRP? This is an interesting question and one I never pondered until recently when CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, shared with me email correspondence between two members of the CQ “family” voicing opposing viewpoints on this very question. As CQ’s QRP Editor, I was asked to share my perspective on this topic … thanks, Rich – HI! Read on as we dive into the QRP high-gain antenna debate and ask a few other questions for QRPers to ponder as we tangle with the true meaning of QRP.
The Debate Begins
The discussion regarding whether one is really operating QRP if feeding 5 watts or less into a high-gain antenna system started in the Awards column in the December 2019 issue. In his monthly column, then-Awards Editor (now SK) Eddie De Young, KS4AA (Photo A), stated the following:
My hat is off to the QRPers who earn our DX awards. I reckon the key must be the “3 Ps,” patience, persistence, and perseverance. I am really talking about the QRPers with 5 watts of EIRP (Effective Radiated Power) … not so much the QRPers with giant antenna farms, whose EIRP must be in the 3-figure bracket. I remember a QSO I had a few decades ago with a WØ from my work QTH near Alice Springs in the Australian Northern Territory. Using a Mizuho MX-15 0.5-watt
