QRP Operation - Practice

Practice

There is not complete agreement on what constitutes QRP power. While most QRP enthusiasts agree that for CW, AM, FM, and data modes, the transmitter output power should be 5 watts (or less), the maximum output power for SSB (single sideband) is not always agreed upon. Some believe that the power should be no more than 10 watts peak envelope power (PEP), while others strongly hold that the power limit should be 5 watts. QRPers are known to use even less than five watts, sometimes operating with as little as 100 milliwatts or even less. Extremely low power—1 watt and below—is often referred to by hobbyists as QRPp.

Communicating using QRP can be difficult since the QRPer must face the same challenges of radio propagation faced by amateurs using higher power levels, but with the inherent disadvantages associated with having a weaker signal on the receiving end, all other things being equal. QRP aficionados try to make up for this through more efficient antenna systems and enhanced operating skills.

QRP is especially popular with CW operators and those using the newer digital modes. PSK31 is a highly efficient, narrow-band mode that is very suitable to QRP operation.

Read more about this topic:  QRP Operation

Famous quotes containing the word practice:

    Children also need opportunities to practice being less than perfect. They can afford to be ill tempered with us because it is our love that is most constant. This is the essence of unconditional love.... Our steadfast love provides a safe haven.
    Cathy Rindner Tempelsman (20th century)

    Toddlers who don’t learn gradually about disappointment lose their resilience through lack of practice in give-and-take with other people’s needs. They can become self-centered, demanding, and difficult to like or to be with.
    Alicia F. Lieberman (20th century)

    Kindness is a virtue neither modern nor urban. One almost unlearns it in a city. Towns have their own beatitude; they are not unfriendly; they offer a vast and solacing anonymity or an equally vast and solacing gregariousness. But one needs a neighbor on whom to practice compassion.
    Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978)