Hello,
It's nice to see that I have previously worked some of the members of this group. My main receiver when operating QRP is either an Icom 756PROII or an Icom 718. I have several QRP rigs I rotate through, many solid state. I use the MFJ 9020 on 40 meters with a variable Voltage power supply, and have had QRP QSOs with as little as 50 milli-Watts. I use either a coax antenna change-over switch ( no QSK ) to change from RX to TX and at other times I use an old E.F. Johnson " TR " switch for full QSK break-in.
I have been licensed 57 years ( KN5LZJ in 1957 ) and have several tube type QRP rigs, including a 6L6 rig ( 17 Watts - not really QRP ), a 6V6 rig, at 2.5 Watts and " The 'Lil Giant " from ARRL Handbook with a 6T9 tube at 4 Watts output. Other rigs are coming soon including a 955 acorn tube from World War II. All power output is measured with one of two factory built/calibrated Oak Hills Research QRP Watt-meters.
With the tube oscillator QRP transmitters, I sometimes use an old Lafayette Radio 8 MHz VFO ( designed to multiply up to either 50 or 144 MHz for tube type AM rigs from the past ), which I added turns to the oscillator coil which brought the tuning range down to 7 MHz which makes a good stable VFO for 40 meters. For stability - I let it run full-time while transmitting - again, no QSK. These and other brands of 6 & 2 meter ( 8 MHz range ) VFOs designed for the older tube AM rigs are at almost every hamfest and make great 7 MHz QRP VFOs when a few turns of wire are added to the oscillator coil.
I monitor the 40 meter QRP frequencies all day every day.
73,
Sam Neal N5AF
