EQUIPMENT ROUNDUP

 

I was tidying up the boot of the car and thought it would be interesting to summarise the equipment I take portable.  It's quite astonishing how it grows but I think I have everything I need now.  

Did I really just say that???

It has been a very useful exercise for me.  Apart from tidying up the boot and boxes, I got to realise just how lucky I am to be able to have all this gear and get the enjoyment out of using it!  I live in an area of outstanding natural beauty, access to places to operate with very little background noise and enough space to play with aerials.

I always make sure to protect my portable radios with decent padded cases.  They are not cheap radios on the whole and spending a reasonable amount on protective cases makes a whole lot of sense to me.

My QRP GoBox is a case I have had for some years and I used to transport my K3 in it on DXPeditions.  I managed to get a piece of pick and pluck foam that fitted perfectly from eBay and relined it.

The QRO Box also came via eBay and cost a little more but was not overly expensive.  It's a great box and nothing inside will come to any harm, short of being run over by a Steam Roller!

My aerials have all been reviewed on the YouTube channel but it was interesting to get them out one by one and think of their individual benefits.  They all have a different part to play.

One thing I forgot to mention in the video was tools.  It is always handy to have a few small tools available.  Allen keys, cutters, screwdrivers, pliers, that sort of thing.  A multimeter is handy too.  Cable ties and tape complete this section.

I doubt I will be yomping up any fells, so I usually have the car close to hand but I could be very portable if needed and still be able to operate for 2-3 hours with a small backpack.

Portable radio is just such fun and you never know just what is going to pop up.  I am just hoping we get some decent daytime conditions soon.  I really would like to drop to QRP levels and see what I could achieve there but alas, the present conditions make it really difficult.

This video is a little longer than my usual fare but I hope you find it informative and enjoyable.

73 Ian

RGO ONE POTA ACTIVATION

 

I finally managed to venture out with the Mission RGO One and activate POTA G-0070 on both CW and SSB. My normal spot was not useable as the sheep were out, so I changed site and I am glad I did.  It was a better location and I could get the Slidewinder away from the public.  There were much fewer of them here too!  I put 8 radials on the Slidewinder and it worked well.

I had some issues early on and the tuner in the RGO ONE was struggling.  I had another look and the PL259 at the bottom of the Slidewinder was not fully tight.  My bad as they say.  Now everything worked just fine.

I was able to sit outside the car and the chair was surprisingly comfortable.  The little table was OK but a little small and made CW a bit more difficult as it tended to sway.  On the list is a better table for sure!

The sun was out all day and the view was glorious!  Morecambe Bay is such a beautiful place to be.

I did learn a valuable lesson.  you would think at my age I would have thought about this and in fact, I did bring my Tilley hat with me, then completely forgot to change to it!  Learn my lesson and don't wear a baseball cap in direct sun! I should have 'got down with the kids' and worn it backwards :)

For some reason, my dear wife thinks this is hilarious!

I have to say that my Morse head was not on today for some reason but I managed a few contacts and they were patient with me :)

40m can be tricky at times in the UK.  Today was no exception and the band was not being kind.  I really thought that I may not complete the activation at times.  After battling 40m for a while, I made the decision to move to 20m.  I started on CW and sent a spot to the POTA website but nothing doing. 

I was really getting worried now and I moved to SSB with trepidation.  After all, CW is easier than SSB for contacts, right?

I posted a spot on the POTA website and started calling.  Very quickly, I had a good run going.  By this time, I had gone to 40W and this made all the difference.  Of course, this is why the RGO ONE was a good fit for me.  It behaved beautifully all the way through.  I didn't bother trimming the RF gain as some stations were very weak with me but to be honest, there was no need.  The radio was really quiet with just the interference from the electrified railway track close by.  I only got this when a train went by, so I wasn't worried about that either.

I ended up with 28 contacts in total and it was getting close to lunchtime, so once the run finished, I packed up.  I found a perfect Pelicase copy to put the portable shack in for transport.

The RGO ONE fitted my operating style perfectly, as I hoped it would and Linda recorded my TX audio on her JST-245.  The result sounded superb and I am really happy with it.  I think this radio and I are going to be very happy together.  I just need to get a little more used to it but it really is not hard to use.  

Everything works as it should and I found it a perfect portable HF radio.

I recorded a video or my activation and I hope you enjoy it.  The GoPro battery ran out about halfway through, so I missed my little run on 20m SSB.  Additional batteries are on order!

73 Ian

M7MCQ

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Tom, M7MCQ this week.  I could have chatted to him all day.  In fact, his blog has given me the push to start this!

You can find his musings at M7MCQ QRP Blog and it is well worth a read.  Tom is an avid QRPer and his reviews are indepth and incisive.  I can recommend the blog as a great read :)

Ian