By Dave Jensen, W7DGJ

One thing I have always wanted to do is to put an entire station – radio, antenna, and key – into a package small enough that I can have it with me no matter where I go. Someone else may want to put that miniature station into a pack and climb to a summit. But for me, I’m just as often sitting in a hotel room or an AirBnB, wishing I had brought my ham radio gear along with me. But even with the compact nature of my trustworthy IC-7300, it isn’t getting on an airplane, fitting into my briefcase, or joining my wife and I on a holiday. Even the Xiegu G-90 I keep in my go-bag for POTA activations feels too cumbersome for that.

But I think I’ve just discovered the perfect radio for my situation, and over Winter Field day I was out putting it through its paces. You’ll like this one . . . it is the Mountain Topper by LNR Precision. This radio fits in the palm of one hand and weighs less than 8 ounces. It operates with 5w out on four bands (20M, 30M, 40M, and 80M) and has a feature set that you’d expect to see on only a full-size radio. Are there compromises to get this into a package this small? Of course – but I've discovered nothing negative . . . certainly nothing with any impact on enjoyment. The Mountain Topper is simply a joy to operate.

I just got it last week, a day before Winter field day, so I packed up a go-bag along with a Sotabeams 20/40M dipole. Suffice it to say that it fits into the glove box of my car, and with room to spare in my briefcase. An earlier issue of Trials and Errors – Ham Life with an Amateur talked about the joy of QRP and how much it reminds me of fishing with a simple rod and a worm. This radio is the perfect rod/worm replacement for “fishing” with a radio no matter where you are headed. On Winter Field Day, I wanted to have something better for my antenna than the whip that I often carry with me. That’s why I brought along the very light weight but full-sized dipole antenna from Sotabeams, which is made for portable operations.

My winter field day was a lot more enjoyable than some winter field days, because I’m in Arizona instead of back in Cleveland where I was born. I won’t rub it in, but the only thing different than Summer Field Day is that I had to wear a long sleeve shirt . . . my sole concession to the “Winter” aspect of Field Day in January. (Yes, Ohio friends, I’m gloating.)

The Mountain Topper and Sotabeams Band-Hopper in Operation

I didn’t have much time to review the well-done PDF manual available on the LNR website before I took off for a park in the far South of Scottsdale, Arizona, about 45 minutes from my home. I had decided to explore the radio on my own and didn’t think I could screw it up too badly by winging it. I’m a member of the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club, and upon arrival I was impressed with the serious nature of the club setup. There were no other QRP’ers, however. The SARC guys had multiple operators lined up, working digital modes on two stations, and SSB on a brand new Yaesu FT-DX10 with an amazing antenna installation. And brother, were they putting out! Look at the photos of field day in Scottsdale and check out that Yagi. THAT truck could park in my driveway any time he wants!

It's funny how QRP radios either attract attention or the hams don’t have a clue what you would do with such a tiny signal. I got a few glances at the Mountain Topper, but for the most part, all club attention was focused on the legal limit going out of that huge Yagi. So, I grabbed my tiny go-bag and set up quite a distance from the other radios to get my Sotabeams Bandhopper (for 20 and 40 M operation) put up properly.

As I’ve mentioned in other antenna articles, it’s always difficult to find places to get height for wire antennas when you are in the desert. You’ll see in the photo that I was able to get the center of my Sotabeams dipole up to about 24 feet by using a cooperative Saguaro cactus and the traditional tossed-hammer-on-rope method; I tied it down on one end to a traffic cone and the other end to a small Palo Verde tree, another rather prickly Arizona native. I ended up with four or five good-sized prickers in my leg and arm.

When I plugged in ear buds to take my first listen, I thought something was wrong with the radio. I knew that there is no volume control on the Mountain Topper (one compromise made to keep it small and light) and assumed the worst. I had heard the startup sound, a CW signal telling me what band I was on, but nothing else. Then, as I tuned up a bit, a signal came blasting in, so clear and loud. . .  it completely surprised me as it came from a non-existent noise floor. The problem for me wasn’t a lack of volume . . . it was the fact that I am so used to turning up the gain to hear the whoosh of band noise. When CW signals began playing in my ears, I reminisced about times in my life when I haven’t had to contend with noise at 3-4 on my S-Meter.

The first power supply I tried with the Mountain Topper was a Bioenno battery pack with 12 v. output. The radio itself offers fantastic flexibility for power supply voltages and will work with anything from 5.5v to 13v. But you do not want to drive it with the usual power supply in your shack, as that will push it too hard. My Bioenno would ordinarily put out a bit too much for the Mountain Topper (13.3v when fully charged) but luckily it was a bit depleted after my last park activation. (I later ordered the 9v Bioenno BLF-0903W). I was putting out just about 5w into a perfect SWR on the Sotabeams antenna. This dipole is broadly resonant across either 20 or 40M, using alligator clips to select which band you’re using. I enjoyed going up and down the CW segments of both bands and never saw this antenna go past 1.1 to 1 on the Mountain Topper’s SWR readout. While I certainly could bring along a homemade antenna for a rig like this, I really like the Bandhopper’s solid feel, weight and performance. I’d give it an A- for build quality (the center connection point is not enclosed) and an A for my user experience.

Just before jumping on the air I realized that my iambic paddle was not wired properly for the Mountain Topper. I was in luck, however, because I had an old MFJ straight key in my car. I don’t even remember why that device was in the trunk, but it was the right time to bring it out and practice my code on a straight key.

As I began pecking away, I realized how slow I had become on a straight key (my SKCC credentials should be revoked.) My first QSO on the rig was with W5OT, Mark in Bartlesville OK, over 1000 miles on 5w. Over the afternoon and into Sunday, I enjoyed QSOs with a number of hams, some working the SST event for the K1USN club. It is worth noting that most of the time I was heard. There were very few CQs that I responded to where I was not heard, despite my 5 watts. They may have been 449 signal reports, but I was heard and understood, despite my rather sketchy straight key fist. I also found that a lot of QRP operators congregate in the CW segments of 20M and 40M . . . One enjoyable conversation had me talking to Ron (WB6DMX) who was operating at less than 3 watts. That’s just plain fun!

Some Additional User Perspectives on the Mountain Topper MTR-4B Version 2.3

One thing that I like about this radio is that you can easily plug in a 9v battery (adaptor sold at LNR Precision) and power up the Mountain Topper with a smoke detector battery. It will only last a few hours, but it’s a great add-on accessory as a backup or just to lighten the go-bag. Maybe not the best environmental solution, but great as a last resort.

I very much like the high-quality machined aluminum case and the backlighted 2-line LCD screen on this device, as so often QRP radios have cheap plastic cases and simple LEDs to tell you what’s going on. In this case, even in the dark I was able to see what kind of power I was putting out, my frequency and my SWR. Changing bands is easy, with all four accessible by heavy duty slide switches on the front and a corresponding CW beep that tells you what band you’re on (plus, you can see your frequency on the screen). Moving up or down is a snap, and the radio has a couple of different speeds for doing just that.  Additional features you don’t usually see on a radio of this price or size would be RIT operation and three Morse code memory functions. The Mountain Topper MTR4B was designed by Steve Weber, famous for his QRP radio designs over the years. In my rating system, I rate Build Quality and User Experience. The Mountain Topper is one of those rare products that gets an A+ in both categories.

It’s not an easy radio to buy, because it’s hand made and they only release them a few dozen at a time. But it’s worth the $370 just in the fun you’ll get out of it on occasion. I would suggest you join the popular Facebook users’ group for the Mountain Topper radios. FB users track the sales openings and you’ll see there when more are for sale. Checkout the website of LNR Precision for more information.

73 for now! Please join us at the discussion forum at this link if you'd like to ask questions about my experiences with either the Mountain Topper or the Bandhopper, or pitch me on some new column suggestions! 

Dave