The QRP "Watering Holes"
If you're interested in working and talking with other QRPers, there are frequencies where QRPers are known to "hang out". These frequencies are known as the "watering holes". Just like in Nature, the watering holes provide a gathering place for animals to mmet and greet; so these frequencies are where the QRP animals gather:
80 Meters ~ 3.560 MHz
40 Meters ~ 7.040 MHz or 7.030 MHz
30 Meters ~ 10.106 MHz
20 Meters ~ 14.060 MHz
17 Meters ~ 18.080 MHz
15 Meters ~ 21.060 MHz
12 Meters ~ 24.910 MHz
10 Meters ~ 28.060 MHz
QRPers are by no means exclusive to these frequencies, by any means. You'll find us all over the place. But for a lot of homebrewed, crystal controlled radios, these are THE spots! So you might find yourself listening to a lot of great home built transmitters or transceivers (ala' Rockmites) if you tune around these frequencies.
So ...... does QRP really work ???
A lot of folks remain skeptical and wonder, "Does QRP really work? What's a puny 5 Watts going to do for me?" It's a fair question, especially if you've been at the 100 Watt or higher level your whole Ham career. Admittedly, when I was a Novice, I too wanted to escape the confines of a mere 75 Watts. I also got caught up in the school of thinking that "the more the merrier" as far as output power goes.
But as you operate more and more, learn more and more; and gain more and more experience, it finally begins to dawn on you. Brute power isn't everything. Operating skill, knowledge of propagation, patience - these are the things that count. It's not the Watts, it's knowing what to do with them!
I've been licensed since 1978. I've always dabbled with QRP since those days. Back when I joined the QRP Club International, QRP was considered 100 Watts or less! That changed in the 1980s and QRP is defined (pretty much) as power levels of 5 Watts (or less) for CW and 10 Watts (or less) for SSB. A few years ago, I sold my QRO rig and have been a dedicated QRP op. I've never regretted the decision and have had a ton of fun since then.
Just to show you what's possible using QRP and simple wire antennas, I submit two maps for your perusal.
I have worked all fifty United States.
This map shows you how much of the world I've worked (countries worked appear as red pins). In reality, it's 79 different DXCC entities. I'm already more than three quarters of the way to DXCC QRP and we're only at the very beginning of a new sun spot cycle! I can only imagine how much fun things are going to be when ol' Sol start cooking up again and you'll be able to work the world with 1/2 Watt going to a wet noodle!
All the following QSOs were made with either a K1 or K2 and were at 5 Watts or less.
| 1 | 2/07/04 | V73GJ | Kwajalein Atoll | 15M | 1,445 MPW |
| 2 | 4/17/04 | CU2IJ | Azores | 20M | 520 MPW |
| 3 | 7/20/04 | VE2PID | Canada | 40M | 157 MPW |
| 4 | 1/16/05 | PJ5NA | St. Maarten | 15M | 345 MPW |
| 5 | 1/22/05 | KP2/KI7VR | U.S. Virgin Islands | 15M | 337 MPW |
| 6 | 2/5/05 | RV6YZ/6 | European Russia | 80M | 1,067 MPW |
| 7 | 2/5/05 | LY3BW | Lithuania | 80M | 853 MPW |
| 8 | 2/14/05 | C6ALK | Bahamas | 17M | 229 MPW |
| 9 | 2/19/05 | PY2T | Brazil | 80M | 928 MPW |
| 10 | 2/19/05 | VP5Y | Turks & Caicos Islands | 20M | 264 MPW |
| 11 | 2/20/05 | HA80IARU | Hungary | 40M | 889 MPW |
| 12 | 2/20/05 | DL1IAO | Germany | 40M | 779 MPW |
| 13 | 2/20/05 | OH7M | Finland | 40M | 826 MPW |
| 14 | 2/20/05 | T99W | Bosnia - Hercegovina | 40M | 891 MPW |
| 15 | 2/20/05 | YR7M | Romania | 40M | 934 MPW |
| 16 | 2/20/05 | SH7UN | Sweden | 40M | 780 MPW |
| 17 | 2/20/05 | IA7G | Italy | 40M | 901 MPW |
| 18 | 2/20/05 | 8P5A | Barbados | 10M | 419 MPW |
| 19 | 2/20/05 | S52TA | Slovenia | 15M | 845 MPW |
| 20 | 2/20/05 | G3BJ | England | 15M | 679 MPW |
| 21 | 2/20/05 | YT6A | Yugoslavia | 15M | 910 MPW |
| 22 | 2/20/05 | OL3ZA | Czech Republic | 15M | 830 MPW |
| 23 | 2/20/05 | EA3KU | Spain | 15M | 762 MPW |
| 24 | 2/20/05 | PY0FF | Fernando de Noronha | 15M | 811 MPW |
| 25 | 2/20/05 | F5IN | France | 15M | 741 MPW |
| 26 | 2/20/05 | V47Z | St. Kitts & Nevis Islands | 15M | 350 MPW |
| 27 | 2/20/05 | V31LZ | Belize | 15M | - |
| 28 | 3/01/05 | VP2V/DL7DF | British Virgin Islands | 17M | - |
| 29 | 3/28/05 | J75RZ | Dominica | 17M | - |
| 30 | 3/28/05 | CO8LY | Cuba | 20M | - |
| 31 | 4/10/05 | OM2VL | Slovak Republic | 30M | - |
| 32 | 5/5/05 | EO6GEO | Ukraine | 40M | - |
| 33 | 5/5/05 | EW3EW | Belarus | 40M | - |
| 34 | 5/6/05 | SP3EPK | Poland | 40M | - |
| 35 | 5/6/05 | P42E | Aruba | 40M | - |
| 36 | 5/10/05 | WP4IXO | Puerto Rico | 20M | - |
| 37 | 5/27/05 | TF3YH | Iceland | 20M | - |
| 38 | 5/29/05 | LZ9W | Bulgaria | 20M | - |
| 39 | 5/30/05 | HP1AC | Panama | 20M | - |
| 40 | 7/26/05 | HB9CVQ | Switzerland | 30M | - |
| 41 | 8/28/05 | UA9NA | Asiatic Russia | 20M | 1,026 MPW |
| 42 | 8/28/05 | KH6J | Hawaii | 20M | - |
| 43 | 8/31/05 | TG9ADM | Guatemala | 20M | - |
| 44 | 8/31/05 | TI8/DL4MO | Costa Rica | 20M | - |
| 45 | 8/31/05 | 6Y5WJ | Jamaica | 17M | - |
| 46 | 11/26/05 | VP2E | Anguilla | 40M | - |
| 47 | 2/16/06 | C6AKQ | Bahamas | 40M | - |
| 48 | 2/19/06 | ZS2E | South Africa | 20M | - |
| 49 | 2/19/06 | 9A3B | Croatia | 20M | - |
| 50 | 2/19/06 | EA6UN | Balearic Islands | 20M | - |
| 51 | 2/19/06 | PI4TUE | Netherlands | 20M | - |
| 52 | 2/19/06 | VP9/W6PH | Bermuda | 20M | - |
| 53 | 2/19/06 | PJ2T | Netherlands Antilles | 20M | - |
| 54 | 2/19/06 | CT1GPQ | Portugal | 20M | - |
| 55 | 2/27/06 | HI3/OK2ZU | Dominican Republic | 40M | - |
| 56 | 3/29/06 | YV5DMM | Venezuela | 40M | - |
| 57 | 6/19/06 | J88DR | St. Vincent | 30M | - |
| 58 | 8/13/06 | LX7I | Luxembourg | 40M | - |
| 59 | 8/13/06 | RK2FWA | Kaliningrad | 20M | - |
| 60 | 8/19/06 | GM4XQJ | Scotland | 20M | - |
| 61 | 11/25/06 | HD2A | Ecuador | 20M | - |
| 62 | 11/26/06 | HC8N | Galapagos Island | 20M | - |
| 63 | 11/26/06 | CX7BY | Uruguay | 20M | - |
| 64 | 11/26/06 | ZF1A | Cayman Islands | 40M | - |
| 65 | 11/26/06 | EA8W | Canary Islands | 40M | - |
| 66 | 11/26/06 | 9Y4AA | Trinidad/Tobago | 40M | - |
| 67 | 11/26/06 | TO5X | Martinique | 40M | - |
| 68 | 2/11/07 | 5Z4/9A3A | Kenya | 20M | - |
| 69 | 3/27/07 | HH4/K4QD | Haiti | 40M | - |
| 70 | 3/30/07 | TK5JO | Corsica | 40M | - |
| 71 | 1/02/08 |
W3BBO |
U.S.A. |
80M |
- |
| 72 | 1/06/08 | YU7VX | Serbia | 40M | - |
| 73 | 2/17/08 | EI5E | Ireland | 40M | - |
| 74 | 2/17/08 | V26G | Antigua & Barbuda | 15M | - |
| 75 | 2/17/08 | CT9L | Madeira Island | 20M | - |
| 76 | 2/17/08 | KL7RA | Alaska | 20M | - |
| 77 | 2/17/08 | 4U1UN | United Nations HQ | 20M | 5 MPW |
| 78 | 2/23/08 | VP6DX | Ducie Island |