Transmitting Barefoot

 In the ham radio operator's jargon "barefoot" means transmitting without the aid of a linear amplifier and just the output power of the transceiver. #HamRadioJargon

In Ham-speak, the word “barefoot” has nothing to do with going shoeless in the shack. It means transmitting without the aid of an amplifier. When the topic of amps versus no amps is brought up, operators often divide themselves into opposing camps: those who amp up to help them bust through the  pileups and those who go barefoot, hoping to get lucky when faced with louder signals or eventually get called through perseverance and use of a solid rig and multi-element Yagi .

SOURCE:On All Bands

Image credit to Shai Daniel @ ArtStation

Most HF transceivers do have an output power of say 100 watts!!

 For myself it's an XpeciaL challenge to transmit barefoot with my MLA antenna (Ciro Mazzoni Baby Loop) and my Icom 7300 and make a DX thru the pileup.