ICOM IC-705
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2021-05-27 Today I went out to k-4265 again, this time to check my new Antennas4less loop on an activation. Well, didn't go as hoped. I knew rain was in the forecast but didn't expect it for a couple hours. But alas, just after getting set up and calling CQ POTA a couple times, it began to sprinkle. Thankfully I broke down and got everything into the car quickly as the rain shortly followed.
But the point of this post is NOT the rain but the bracket pictured to connect the antenna when portable. It is kind of hard to connect the antenna through the little antenna flap on the backpack so I've been using a three foot patch cord with a BNC coupling. But the cord is always tangling up around the mic cord or the CW key cord which is a small thing unless you're in a hurry to pack up! So I had this BNC female to female chassis mount connector and the bracket I had made for something else and put them into service. We'll see if this is a "perfect" solution or just a step toward the perfect one! Lot's of fun pieces to the POTA puzzle! |
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2021-03-19 Due to other responsibilities I wasn't able to activate a park today even though my wife and I did drive through K-0986 Chain-O-Lakes State Park in Illinois a short distance from out place in Wisconsin. I'll be back to activate it soon!
But mid afternoon I did get my ic-705 out along with my DIY mag loop which has been hanging on the wall as a decoration for many months. And I was pleasantly reminded again that it is a good antenna! In about 35 minutes I had five CW contacts, one on 40 meters and four on 20 meters. Two of them were POTA activators. One was in Florida, 1068 miles and another was in New Mexico, 1154 miles.
I was particularly happy how easy it was to tune the antenna with the ic-705. The noise peak was easy to hear and the SWR reading responded smoothly to fine tuning. I simply had no trouble. Now I'll have to take it out and activate with it! Too many antenna options
Note: Another "super portable" antenna is the QRPGuys DS-1. I have the 20 meter version as well as a DIY version with a 40m coil tapped for 30m. None of them are "barn burner" antennas, but will get you on the air (if conditions cooperate) under less than ideal circumstances.
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2021-03-17 For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to use that little spring on the mic cord to attach to the little clip they give you to put under the ground screw! I did actually get it on once but then thought that was very inconvenient when I pack the radio to take to a POTA activation or other portable activity. Then the idea pictured below came to me. It is easy to attach and detach from the radio and is secure enough to keep the strain off the little plug on the cord. So I pass it on for what it's worth.
2021-03-17 I've now had 50 QSOs with the IC-705. Twenty one of those were doing an activation of a POTA park using a Wolf River Parks antenna. Twenty nine were SSB. In fact 17 of my POTA activation contacts were SSB. Distances of those ranged from 300 miles to 3000 miles (The Azores). I updated the firmware to version 1.24. That was a very easy procedure, just requiring a microSD card and dowloading the update. I now have it working with my LDG Z11-Pro II auto-tuner so the G5RV is back on line. Last evening I had a VHF simplex QSO with my neighbor. That does require swapping antennas, a bit of a pain, but otherwise was very straightforward. Still want to play with D-Star using my hotspot, not so much that I like it, but just to see how easy that is to set up on the 705. I am moving closer to deciding to make this radio my "primary" one and then selling several others which this one makes redundant. To say I'm pleased with the rig so far would be an understatement.
2021-03-14 A couple days ago I received my new ICOM IC-705 portable all band all mode radio. I'm still getting familiar with it but I'm impressed so far. Its a bit larger and a pound heavier than my xiegu x5105 but outputs ten watts when on external power (battery or power supply) five watts with its detachable battery. I measured it's current draw at ten watts CW as 2.98 amps compared with 2.64 amps for the x5105 at five watts CW. I already miss an internal tuner when I have it on my desk here at home. I cannot use my G5RV without a tuner. But when I used it for a couple POTA activations I had a vertical that is tuned to resonance on all bands so the tuner was not an issue.
After 36 contacts, I'm very pleased with it. Twenty four of those were SSB, the balance were CW. Twenty one of the contacts were doing Parks On the air (POTA), 11 were SSB. The other four were CW. All were at 10 watts. Still a lot to learn with it but I can tell I'm going to like it!
After 36 contacts, I'm very pleased with it. Twenty four of those were SSB, the balance were CW. Twenty one of the contacts were doing Parks On the air (POTA), 11 were SSB. The other four were CW. All were at 10 watts. Still a lot to learn with it but I can tell I'm going to like it!