QRP: Low-Power Communications

I am pleased to share with my fellow hams that the QRP bug has struck again. Andy Ruggiero, WD8BWW, owner of Mid-America Technology, Inc. (a radio design / repair and electronics technology company), recently discovered the power of QRP while troubleshooting transmitting issues on my Yaesu FT-817 QRP transceiver. Regular readers of this column know that I have a sweet spot for my FT-817. I purchased this radio as soon as Yaesu introduced it over 20 years ago and until spring 2020, the FT-817 was my primary transceiver both in the shack and on the trail until I began having intermittent issues with the transmitter. I concluded that after many years of contacts, the finals (original MOS-FET transistors) were going kaput. I had too many other radio projects going at the time, so I shelved the radio until I had time to make the needed repair.

Nearly a year and a half later, I decided to repair