QRP and the Patient Listener

The first question anyone asks when they see the station laid out is always the same: “How far can you get with that?”

The answer is far enough. I’ve worked three continents at five watts this year. I’ve also been heartbroken by a station three countries over who couldn’t hear a thing. QRP isn’t a consistent medium. What it is, is a conversation between the band and the operator — and very often, the patient listener on the other side.

The listener is the antenna

A five-watt signal into a dipole at fifteen metres will flatter the operator more than most of them deserve, because somewhere out there is another operator with a pair of good ears, a reasonable antenna, and the patience to pull a 339 out of the noise.

The listener is the infrastructure. The listener is the reason QRP works. When the propagation is marginal, the listener is doing half of the transmission for you.

What I do about it

• I always leave the AGC alone on the first call. If I can’t hear the faint ones, I can’t work the faint ones.
• I listen for at least thirty seconds on any new frequency before I ever call CQ. Half the time, someone is already calling and I just saved myself a splatter.
• I end every QSO with a genuine thank-you. It’s not a formality.

5W and a wire. Plus — always — the ears on the other side.