Going by the title, please note that this is meant to be a holy grail ask rather than a technically feasible specification, and is a result of my rather limited foray into the world of amateur radio.

Having used both the QMX and the zBitx, along with the sBitx, I have been thinking up my requirements for my holy-grail set. I tend to use these radios on occasional field trips which are combined with mQTH trips, so they tend to be QRP, back-pack friendly and flight-safe.

Design Considerations

Here are a few design considerations that I would love the radio to follow:

• Open-source design for hardware and software
• Modular in design so that people can then pick and choose¹ ala Phonebloks, Framework Laptop², Fairphone
• Use easy-to source components (preferably open-source as well)³
• OTOB experience along with a DIY version
• Power draw is standard 5V/9V/12V (so that there is no need for additional convertors when using modern power-banks)⁴
• Should NOT heat up!⁵
• Provide simple user-interface⁶
• Should NOT have spurs and leakages!⁷
• Easy and light enough to hold in a single hand and allow operation with the other hand

Set of features for the radio

And now, what are the features for the radio itself:

• QRP radio set with a capacity of upto 10W based on modes (5W works perfectly fine for me)
• Base module:
  • SSB and Digital (CW included obviously)
  • Low-power display in the form of LCD/LED/e-ink
  • Open-source application(s)/interface for control with an external device such as a phone/laptop without platform lock-in (i.e, agnostic to iOS, Android, Linux, Windows, MacOS)
  • Work with standard DC or USB input power
  • Provide safety for voltage fluctuations and polarity switches
• Display module:
  • Two versions:
    • Bells and whistles module for waterfall and more sophisticated information
    • Touch and non-touch version for power-draw and access variation
• Button/control module:
  • This could work with the base module’s display to provide more buttons/dials for pre-programmed access
  • Programmable access to change the functions of the dials/buttons/buttons
  • Ideally have back-light function for field-ops in the night
• ATU module:
  • Two-kinds of units:
    • Z-match or similar design to keep the power draw low(?)
    • A more sophisticated ATU with memory, etc.
  • Since the requirement is for back-pack friendly, QRP setup, the antenna will in all likelihood be compromised.
• Battery/Power module:
  • Easy to repair, replace power module
  • Needs to be flight-safe
  • Can be used as a standalone power module for other devices
• Cooling module:
  • Shouldn’t be required ideally, but why not?
  • Options for both passive as well as active cooling
• Fancy signal processing module(?):
  • Fancier audio processing for cleaner audio
  • Potentially used with additional power-bank module
  • Adding other modes for AM/commercial radio/etc.
  • More ways of playing audio and receiving input (codecs and hardware capacity for other interfaces)
• VHF/UHF module:
  • Including DMR, M17, etc.
  • BPFs for extending to air bands or additional capacity
  • Possibly adding SSTV and other modes

@online{vu3gljholgra2026,
  author = {Bharath M. Palavalli},
  title = {Holy Grail QRP Set},
  date = {2026-01-30},
  url = {https://ham.bharathpalavalli.com/posts/20260130134511-holy_grail_qrp_set/},
  language = {en},
  note = {Callsign: VU3GLJ}
}

Bharath M. Palavalli. 2026. "Holy Grail QRP Set", 30 January 2026. https://ham.bharathpalavalli.com/posts/20260130134511-holy_grail_qrp_set/.