qrper.com/2023/09/getting-to-know-you-series-the-mountain-topper-mtr-3b-my-thoughts-notes-and-a-pota-activation/ Click the link above to read full details about this activation, including all equipment links, at QRPer.com.

Thank you for peeling the plastic off the display!!! It always irks me when people leave the plastic on.

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

Ha ha! I'm with you on that, OM!

@w1rcp

10 ай бұрын

I’m guilty. I still have the plastic on quite a few things. Perhaps a video of me peeling them off ASMR style is in order.

I have a very old 3-band grandfather of the MTR-4B, the PFR-3B with 5 bands of plug in band modules. However the 32 ga wire on the toroids break with the wind of a butterfly's wings I swear. I love that radio with the single digit display, but it was too fragile for real life on the SOTA trail. In contrast I love my TR-35 & TR-45L Skinny so much that it will be real hard to want more (except for 15-6M bands, lol). I recently had to send my TR-35 in for repairs as I dropped it accurately on a POTA activation that broke the BNC connector. When I got it back, the TR-35 became my SOTA machine (in an Evergreen hard case) and my TR-45L Skinny is now my full-time POTA machine. I have to work really hard to drag out my IC-718 to POTA unless I want SSB to get a new park. I have my 2-Watt Super Tuna 40, 30, 20, & 10M transmitter completed now, so this winter in FL look for it & my IC-75 HF receiver to be used in a POTA activation. Cheers, Davey - KU9L

i carry all my qrp rig manuals on my phone... has saved the bacon a number of times

Nice little rig!

You inspired me to pull out my MTR3B and chase POTA/SOTA from the Gazebo. Fantastic fun and logged 16 POTA and 8 SOTA just in a few hours. Including KL7AC in AK, several across Canada and the east coast. Fantastic radio!

Thomas you could add some silicon diodes in series with the positive power lead which would drop your voltage by about 0.6 volts for each diode. You could drop 13.6 volts down to about 11.8 volts with 3 diodes.

@TridentMissileTech

10 ай бұрын

Good idea to put some diodes in your Go bag. I worked at a place that had a couple thousand diodes that the leads were cut two short. They were throwing them away so I got them. The leads are plenty long. So I plan on putting some in my mtr3b kit. On all my radios I put a label on them describing the max voltage so as to not forget

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

Great idea!

Great little radio Thomas, I had the first version of the mtr 5b but gave it away due to the very small font display (but I rtegretted it) Now we await a "getting to know" for the Elecraft kx1.

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

You won't have to wait long! ;)

I love the Mountain Topper, thanks!

Hi Thomas, At 5:44 you found Cris KD2YDN (Ruck and Radio) .. His Mentor was You. Fun!

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

Wonderful! Thank you for pointing that out!

Congrats on your second mtr3b. Not jealous in the slightest 😂. They look so compact. I will just enjoy my SW-3b and wait for my QMX to arrive. That antenna rocks lol. 73 de MW0SAW

Good morning Thomas.

LNR Precision announced the MTR3B will be back in production (with improvements) late 2024 (hopefully). The last run of the MTR4B v2 will be May 1.

Got both the 3b and 4b Along with the you kits. I never used any of them because I got the Qcx around same time. I wanted to get better at code before using them and forgot I had them. They are beautiful radios. I think I will keep them untouched for now.

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

There's also a LOT of demand for them out there should you ever decide to sell them. :) You'll sell them in a heartbeat.

@TridentMissileTech

10 ай бұрын

@@ThomasK4SWL my next of kin may sell someday. Im more of a hoarder. 😆

till I bought my XHdata I used to take my MTR4B on holiday with me and a couple of 9v batteries to list to the amateur bands . the 3B and the 4B are great little radios. so quiet on receive

9.8, plus you stuck the landing!

My throw line comes from a 100m coil of venetian blind cord.

Thomas, I think that pointing out the 'gotchas' is more important than working through the menus. Things like - - It has no tuner (useful for field operations and a temporarily installed antenna) - It has no SWR indication (see above) - It has no way to easily adjust output power - The internal keyer only works in Iambic B mode (unbelievably the IC-7300 has this deficiency) The extensive listings of features published by the manufacturers just gloss right over what can be serious limitations for QRP field operations Yes they promote radios that work, but I think I would be more interested in discovering the shortcomings - before I purchase the unit.

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

Yeah, this is what I wrote in the field report for this video. (See the link in the video description.) Also, you might check out the MTR-4B review I wrote as it covers this as well: qrper.com/2022/12/a-review-of-the-lnr-precision-mountain-topper-mtr-4b-ultra-portable-qrp-transceiver/

We had a little show'n'tell on Michael's London Calling class on LICW for favourite KZreadrs. As the first to step up I recommended your channel as a great way to improve CW, and also the fact you cover POTA, a multitude of rigs, antennae's etc. I also mentioned you were a total Womble for collecting litter, which confused a few on your side of the pond 😁😁 Great job and long may it continue.

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! :)

Check out the QMX als an alternative to the mountain topper. Better and cheaper, even fully assembled.

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

Already on that! :)

What I want to see is the mtr-3b next to a qcx mini or qmx. I find the qcx/qmx incredibly small and it seems like the UI is more intuitive on them. If Hans can get ssb working on the qmx and hopefully release a 40-10 meter version then it’s gonna be a winner for SOTA. But I digress. You could also use those K6ARK paddles I sent you for the mountain topper. The T shaped slot on that base plate is for mounting it to them.

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

Yes indeed. I'll likely pair those paddles with this particular MTR-3B kit I'm building!

very nice Thomas, thank you! Harv K5NR

Hi! I dont understend English well. Write about the antenna> which one do you use? Regards> Yuri ( r1bp).

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

This is a simple 40 meter end-fed half-wave antenna built by a friend (MW0SAW). You might check out the details in this field report (Google translate can translate it for you if you need): qrper.com/2023/09/getting-to-know-you-series-the-mountain-topper-mtr-3b-my-thoughts-notes-and-a-pota-activation/

@hitthebones

10 ай бұрын

@@ThomasK4SWL tks, 73 de r1bp

whats the "OM" you are sending?

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

In CW that means "Old Man." It's a bit of telegraphy history that's made it to 2023. :)

@Brian-WR1W

10 ай бұрын

@@ThomasK4SWL Well, Bob (WC1N) is an OM so its appropriate LOL

@ThomasK4SWL

10 ай бұрын

😆@@Brian-WR1W