Its a nice day… Not raining… the ground is dry and its not that cold….
Another spur of the moment things and so I grab the FT817 bag and walk the 1km over to Weston Park…
Above Photo shows a Maple Tree across the street from the Park
I walked over to my operating position… The picnic table has a large (very tall) tree close to it and it enables me to get my Par End Fed QRP Antenna in a slight sloper configuration with the slope favouring South West…
Above picture shows my complete portable station. On the left is my small solar panel that I use to extend the battery life if needed. It also acts as a “battery warmer” in the colder months. In the center is my FT 817 along with the LDG Z11 QRP Autotuner which is sitting on a small extension speaker I have mounted to a small cutting board. I bought the board at the local Dollar store and its the exact width of the Ft 817 and just slightly longer. It puts the display on the right angle so I can read it with my tired eyes… On the right is my 12.5 ah ”LIPO” Battery… Its worked well for me so far…
Above picture shows what everything fits into…. yes it does all fit and my tired old back can handle it… But i’m glad its not a 19 set.
Now what you don’t see which was kept in the backpack was my Buddistick Deluxe Antenna and a 2.5 ah sla battery which acts as a back up to the larger 12.5ah battery shown above and also can be used to power my Yaesu VX8GR or my Yaesu VX5R if I am operating for a longer period of time. The FT 817, VX8gr and the VX5r all use the same size of barrell plug for power which makes portable ops a breeze…
Anyway I managed a few contacts just to prove that everything was working…
40m__W2OZ__ Gene in New Jersey__ 300 miles or 60 miles/watt
40m__KA2OWZ__Bob in New Jersey__300 miles or 60 miles/watt
40m__W1YT__Ed in New Jersey__300 miles or 60 miles/watt
20m__ AC0KV__Gloria in Missouri__890 miles or 178 miles/watt
40m__VA3NP__Roy in Ontario__250 miles or 50 miles/watt
Above Picture shows the view I had from my picnic table. The Maple Trees do look great this time of year as the leaves start to turn from Green to Red…
I arrived in the park at 1130 and was on the air by 1140am. I managed 5 QSO’s during the one hour that I had to operate. Yes that was 5 QSO’s and not just 5/9 contacts. I took the time to chat with them and they strained their ears and chatted back to me. I tore down at 1245 and was back home just after 1pm…
It was a great way to kill an hour… always time to play radio…
73bob
Tags: amateur radio, Amateur Radio Portable Operations, LDG QRP Autotuner, Parr ends fed antenna, Weston Park Ottawa, Yaesu FT 817
October 3, 2012 at 8:08 pm |
I like your set up Bob. it looks good and seems to work well. I must get a better battery than the one supplied with the rig. I will then take it out and try it with my end fed wire antenna (and a roach/squid pole).
73,
Bob M0BOB.
October 3, 2012 at 8:31 pm |
Hi Bob and thanks for the visit and the comments….
If you are looking at a 12v SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) Battery 7.ah will last for a day of Search and Pouncing DX. If your calling CQ DX nonstop then you might run out of battery after about 5 hours or so…
Here in Canada we seem to find good deals on gently used SLA’s from Alarm companies (battery backups) and hospital equipment (battery backups). They have to be changed on a regular basis and im most cases the SLA’s are only 6-12 months old and still have lots of life left in them…
In winter I use a 10.5 ah SLA along with the solar panel to keep the battery warm and that lasts me longer than I can stand being out in the cold…
The end feds work great for me and go up in a tree very quickly….
All the best and let me know how things work out for you with your FT 817…
73bob
October 4, 2012 at 10:58 am |
Good morning Bob, very nice shots of the setup and the area you were in for operating. Its great when you have these places not to far away to go to. If I might ask were did you get the solar panel from?? Seems you had a great day out and thats what counts is good weather, some good contacts and having fun and relaxation.
October 4, 2012 at 12:53 pm |
Hi Mike… Hows the new KX3 working out for you. Been reading your blog and waiting to hear the expected great results… I have test driven 2 different KX3s so far and love them… If my 817 ever self destructs the KX3 would certainly find its way into the Red Backpack…
The Park is a local City Park…. Way too many kids to use it over the summer but great in the fall and in the spring…. 5 min walk to a starbucks and lots of mature trees to hand dipoles off along with picnic table to operate from…. I have even operated the FYBO and Winter Field Day from there…
Now back to the Solar Panel…. I can’t honestly answer your question as I won it as a door prize at a local radio club meeting a couple of years ago….
Its markings say its a “SUNFORCE” and its the “Power Sports Charger” ( for what its worth)
I carry it in the backpack as its the smallest one I have (lightest) and it fits nicely in one of the pockets on the backpack… I use it mostly in the wintertime like a mini trickle charger to keep the SLA battery warm when I am operating for the FYBO or the Winter Field Day….
On Longer trips in the summertime (Field Day) i just put it on the battery to extend the life/operating charge…
It must work as the radio has never shut down over low voltage yet….
And as always thanks for the visit and the comments
73bob