Amateur Radio

[ST911]

I started carrying my HT with me on hikes with the dogs. My iPhone battery can not handle the cold. I went into the woods with 100% charge and came out 2 hours later with 1% charge. I tried to make a call and the phone shut down. I think my phone battery has reached the end of it's road.

Yep, your phone batt is gone, bad/busy config, or combination.

[mtnbkr]

I heard a couple guys calling CQ contest on 146.52 yesterday and today. I tried going back to them once but they didn't hear me. I'm fairly certain they were transmitting with more power than my Yeasu HT. I wanted to keep my HT battery fresh enough to hit a repeater or two if I needed to call for assistance and the phone was dead.

The ARRL January VHF Contest was this weekend. They might have been running more power or might just have better antennas. I participated in all three events last year and used my HTs with slim-jim antennas while up on mountains (did the contest and SOTA activations at the same time). HTs work well enough if you have elevation or good antennas (not the factory rubber duck).

Something like this would be portable and work much better than your HT's factory antenna: https://n9taxlabs.com/shop
Also, I have great results with this: https://www.amazon.com/TWAYRDIO-Hand.../dp/B0753G6P29
I used the 2nd option Friday afternoon to do a SOTA activation on a mountain just off Skyline Drive. I made 7 contacts in 5 minutes.

I came close to being in the top 10 in my state in the FM category in the Spring event last year. Not bad for a geek with an HT.

Chris

[mtnbkr]

After quite a few years of minimal activity and interest, I can feel the urges to radiate. I think I’ll set it one of my HF rigs with a portable antenna on a tripod that I can put outside when I want to play.

Have a look at http://www.wolfrivercoils.com/.

My buddy has one of their portable antenna set-ups for camping. They work great.

Chris

[HeavyDuty]

I started carrying my HT with me on hikes with the dogs. My iPhone battery can not handle the cold. I went into the woods with 100% charge and came out 2 hours later with 1% charge. I tried to make a call and the phone shut down. I think my phone battery has reached the end of it's road.

I heard a couple guys calling CQ contest on 146.52 yesterday and today. I tried going back to them once but they didn't hear me. I'm fairly certain they were transmitting with more power than my Yeasu HT. I wanted to keep my HT battery fresh enough to hit a repeater or two if I needed to call for assistance and the phone was dead.

Could you be hiking in a weak signal area, and your phone is cranking up the power?

[HeavyDuty]

Have a look at http://www.wolfrivercoils.com/.

My buddy has one of their portable antenna set-ups for camping. They work great.

Chris

Those look interesting, thanks for the tip! I can see one of their TIA models replacing a few of my older antennas. Pricing isn’t bad at all.

I’ve been using lowly Hamstick type monoband verticals and a British made wander lead multibander (the original that MFJ knocked off with their 1699) mounted on tripods, and more recently a Elecraft AX-1 on a tabletop tripod. I also just took delivery of an AX-2, I was part of Wayne’s focus group for it. I only throw up wires when I have time, a quick deploy vertical is much more my speed even though it’s a compromise.

Next home I hope to have a real shack, I have a 24’ multi band vertical I’ll put up on a fold over.

[mtnbkr]

I also just took delivery of an AX-2, I was part of Wayne’s focus group for it.

Me too! I was also part of that focus group.

I've used mine on a few SOTA activations already. It works great, but not objectively better than the MFJ versions I already had, which are half the price. The biggest plus is the lighter weight.

Back in November, I used the AX-2 on 20m to activate a summit (https://sotl.as/summits/W4V/HB-031), then went back the next day and used the MFJ-1815t to do the same summit on 15m. Both times I managed 5 QSOs in about 5-6 minutes.

That said, the AX-2 is customizable where the MFJ-18xxT antennas are sealed units.

I've worked DX with the AX-2, it's no slouch, just expensive.

Chris

[HeavyDuty]

Me too! I was also part of that focus group.

I've used mine on a few SOTA activations already. It works great, but not objectively better than the MFJ versions I already had, which are half the price. The biggest plus is the lighter weight.

Back in November, I used the AX-2 on 20m to activate a summit (https://sotl.as/summits/W4V/HB-031), then went back the next day and used the MFJ-1815t to do the same summit on 15m. Both times I managed 5 QSOs in about 5-6 minutes.

That said, the AX-2 is customizable where the MFJ-18xxT antennas are sealed units.

I've worked DX with the AX-2, it's no slouch, just expensive.

Chris

Nice! I’m still shelf testing mine. I’m hoping they offer additional coils only for band shifting.

[mtnbkr]

Nice! I’m still shelf testing mine. I’m hoping they offer additional coils only for band shifting.

Heh. Took me a second to noodle out what you meant by "shelf testing".

I think Elecraft's plan for the AX-2 is to have the user modify the existing 20m coil for other bands rather than having multiple versions.

BTW, watch the nuts used in the construction (one on top under the antenna whip, one for the BNC). Mine came a bit loose and the one on the BNC unscrewed completely, tweaking my coil. Elecraft replaced it no-questions-asked, but it was kind of annoying.

Chris

[HeavyDuty]

Heh. Took me a second to noodle out what you meant by "shelf testing".

I think Elecraft's plan for the AX-2 is to have the user modify the existing 20m coil for other bands rather than having multiple versions.

BTW, watch the nuts used in the construction (one on top under the antenna whip, one for the BNC). Mine came a bit loose and the one on the BNC unscrewed completely, tweaking my coil. Elecraft replaced it no-questions-asked, but it was kind of annoying.

Chris

I’m hoping they offer just the coils so you can have several in the bag - hopefully we can save the expense of full antennas, although the whip isn’t much. Thanks for the reminder about the nuts, my AX1 had something similar that I caught in time.

What I’m hoping for with the AX2 is for it to be stable enough on the Elecraft bipod attachment - the AX1 is a lot for it, and any wind load doesn’t help. I want to be able to take the KX3 with AX2 and go play on a picnic table or big boulder somewhere for some casual operation.

[mtnbkr]

I’m hoping they offer just the coils so you can have several in the bag - hopefully we can save the expense of full antennas, although the whip isn’t much. Thanks for the reminder about the nuts, my AX1 had something similar that I caught in time.

What I’m hoping for with the AX2 is for it to be stable enough on the Elecraft bipod attachment - the AX1 is a lot for it, and any wind load doesn’t help. I want to be able to take the KX3 with AX2 and go play on a picnic table or big boulder somewhere for some casual operation.

Additional coils would be nice, but after trying to tighten the BNC nut, I don't want to try and modify the 20m coil, but have pre-made coils for different bands. I don't have fat fingers, but there isn't much space in there.

I came up with my own mount for these antennas. I took a 3"x1" strip of steel, drilled a hole for a BNC pass-through and another hole that I tapped for 1/4-20 threads. I can mount this on a tripod, attach the antenna to the top side, and a BNC-equipped coax to the bottom. I have a connector for counterpoise wires. I also have a short spike made from a tent peg that is also threaded 1/4-20 so can mount the antenna directly to the ground. A tabletop tripod would work for using at a picnic table.

Here it is in practice on top of Reddish Knob in VA with an MFJ-1820t antenna (more than a year before the AX-2 was released). I made my very first DX (Finland) contact that day.


Chris