Paul Kimbrel's Musing

And it was cheap! $10! It’s the imfamous “Pixie II”, the world’s smallest tranceiver (CIA gadgets not withstanding). It’s basically an oscillator on a switch with small audio amp. It’s been around for a while (since 1995, I think), but it really helped the “Altoids Can” QRP radio revolution take off.

Now that I have my full license, I can take this little rig out in boonies and work stations around the world with a radio that fits in my front pocket. How cool is that? The only catch there is that I have to get my Morse Code up to snuff. I can do 5 WPM, but that’s just painful. It takes 2 minutes to say “My name is Paul and I live in Normal, IL.” Ugh!

This weekend, my Dad (WB9YWE) is going come over and help me get my antenna tuned up for transmit! I’m actually going to use that old Yaesu Tempo One! The thing’s older than I am, but still seems to work well.