by Steven Krumm (KV4AN)

Tims Ford State Park (US-2980) is a Tennessee State Park between Lynchburg and Winchester in south-central Tennessee. The 3,546-acre park is located on Tims Ford Reservoir and is regarded as one of the top bass fishing and recreational lakes in the Southeast. The park offers boating, fishing, picnic areas, camping and cabins, hiking trails, birding, and golfing.

The purpose of my activation (besides just enjoying being outdoors at a park early in the fall) was to prove new transceivers and digital configurations. Specifically, I had the CFT1 and QMX transceivers that have never been used on an activation.

The CFT1 is a five-band (40-15 meter) CW-only QRP transceiver. It is available as a kit or pre-built. Its design is singularly focused on being easy to operate in the field.

Turn it on, view the battery voltage, adjust the volume, change the frequency, send messages stored in memory—that pretty well sums up the “features” of this radio.

The CFT1 is a joy to operate—it just sounds great. It is an ideal radio for POTA and SOTA activations. Not only is it small and light, but its simple operation means you will have no trouble operating it even if you have not touched it for months. The picture below shows the CFT1 in use during the activation.

The QMX is a five-band multi-mode QRP transceiver. It is available as a kit or pre-built. If you want it pre-built, order it now, as it takes months to get.

My QMX is the “low band” version for 80-20 meters (I wanted the lower bands for use as Solar Cycle 25 wanes). It is also available for 60-15 and 20-10 meters. This is an amazing and inexpensive radio with a long feature list. You will need to spend a lot of time configuring the menu options and learning how to operate the radio BEFORE you take it on an activation.

The radio also has a number of specialized features, like a serial terminal maintenance mode and the ability to beacon WSPR or QRSS (ultra-slow-speed CW beacon) that you will likely never use in the field.

When used for FT8, the QMX connects directly to the computer for both CAT and audio with a single USB-C cable. The QMX can also connect directly to a smartphone for audio. The diagram that follows shows the two FT8 connection methods. When connected to a computer running WSJT-X software, the USB-C connecting cable handles both audio and CAT (PTT and frequency control). When using an iPhone and the iFTx App, the connecting cable only handles the audio, which means you must manually set the frequency of the QMX and turn on VOX. I prefer using a computer because it is easier to operate, but if I were doing a SOTA activation and had to carry all the gear in a backpack and hike to the summit, I would definitely use the iPhone option.

Here are two pictures of the QMX in use running FT8 during the activation.

My intention for this activation was to use the CFT1 for CW QSOs and the QMX primarily on FT8. I particularly wanted to gain confidence in the QMX as a dependable backup transceiver and for digital operation.

Neither the CFT1 nor the QMX has built-in antenna tuners, so I needed a resonant antenna. I brought the Chameleon Antenna Basic Vertical, which is a full-size quarter-wave resonant vertical for 30-10 and base-loaded on 40 meters. It uses four 12.5-foot counterpoise wires. The BV is very quick and easy to set up, performs well, and doesn’t attract too much attention.

I brought a RigExpert AA-30 antenna analyzer to help tune the antenna. Antennas don’t photograph well, but below is a picture of the antenna next to the picnic table.

I arrived at the Tims Ford picnic area around 9:00 am. After months of mid-90 degree temperatures and humidity, it was pleasantly cool at the park and I was glad that I brought a light jacket.

After setting up, I started operating CW on 20 meters using the CFT1. In less than half an hour, I had 13 QSOs, but had pretty well exhausted the supply of hunters on that band and mode. I switched to the QMX using FT8 on 20 meters. I made another seven QSOs in around 20 minutes.

Having successfully activated the park, I decided to try the CFT1 on 17 and 15 meters. The Ionaut propagation app said the bands were open and I was being spotted by the Reverse Beacon Network, but I was unable to make any QSOs. I then tried 20-meter phone, but unsurprisingly had no success with only 5W on SSB. I switched to 30 meters and quickly made five CW QSOs using the QMX. I rounded up the activation by making another two QSOs on FT8.

It was getting close to lunchtime, and I was becoming more interested in a hamburger from Whataburger than another QSO, so I went QRT and packed up my gear. Here is a map of my QSOs.

QSO Map:

In addition to a successful activation, I met my goal of proving my new gear, particularly using the QMX for digital modes. I now have confidence that the QMX will work for both CW and FT8, which is important to know if I’m going to depend upon it as a backup or travel radio.

I also now have confidence in the CFT1 and can see it heading to a summit with me soon!

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1. Transceiver: QMX. QMX multi-band transceiver kit
2. Transceiver: CFT1. CFT1 5-Band QRP CW Field Transceiver kit By KM4CFT
3. Battery: 12V Li-Ion battery pack custom-made for me by C Squared Power Solutions and ordered at their booth at the Huntsville Hamfest. No link available.
4. Battery Cover: Tactical Small MOLLE Belt Pouch. Amazon.com : TRIWONDER Tactical Small Belt Pouch Molle EDC Pouch Cigarette Battery Case Utility Card Holder Lighter Slot Mini Cigar Waist Pack (01 Green – 2 Pack) : Sports & Outdoors
5. Antenna: Chameleon Antenna Basic Vertical. CHA BV Basic Portable Vertical – Chameleon Antenna
6. Antenna Analyzer: Rigexpert AA-30. No longer available.
7. Morse Paddle: CW Morse Outdoor Paddle. Outdoor Pocket Double Paddle Morse Code Key – cwmorse.us
8. Computer: HP Stream Laptop. No longer available.