Portable HF
Small, light weight home brew straight key for portable use. Shown next to its larger cousin, my old WWII Speed-x key, still my favorite!
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2018-05-10 I had difficulties with the cord and connector on my home brew key. So today I did it "right" and wired it up with a jack so any cable with a 1/8 inch plug can be used with it. Much neater and solved the problem.
2018-05-09 Today I decided to make a new portable key. I used the "arm" from my 4SQRP Cricket. For the base I cut off a 2-1/2" by 3-1/2 inch piece of an old clip board. I then marked and drilled the holes to match the arm. Next, using super glue, I attached three little pieces of PC board normally used to build circuits Manhattan style, one for the contact at the front and the other two to match the mounting holes in the arm. I then soldered an old audio cord to the PC board pieces and hot glued the cord to the base. Four little self adhesive felt bumper pads on the bottom finished the project. I've had two QSOs with it. It has a pretty good feel. Total weight of the key including cord is 1.5 oz, vs. ten ounces for my Speed-x key. Whether it is long term successful or not, it was fun to make.
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2018-05-05 This isn't strictly for portable operation only but certainly applies. Watching a YouTube video a few days ago I saw this gadget for use specifically with the Yaesu FT-817 radio. It is a power plug that mounts on the back of the radio and allows you to plug a power cord terminated with Anderson PowerPoles to the external power source. Its name is "FT-817 FT-817ND FT-818 Anderson PowerPole Adapter Power Connector", a mouth full to be sure. But it is small and seems to be effective. I've only had mine a few hours, but I'm impressed that it is clearly sturdier than the tiny plug supplied with the radio.
Another benefit is having a "standard" connector for power on the radio. For me at least, this makes it easier to move the radio from my shack bench to a bag to carry into the field, one less special thing to remember. I already have power pole leads for all of my batteries so this works great!
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FT-817 FT-817ND FT-818 Anderson PowerPole Adapter Power Connector
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I've been enamored by portable and small HF rigs for a long time. But I've never really taken one anywhere other than the back yard and maybe to a local park, and then with pretty disappointing results. My Yaesu FT-817 currently serves as my VHF rig in the shack. I got a Ten-Tec R4020 several years ago (no longer available from Ten-Tec but a newer version is available from YouKits) and even took it on a canoe trip but never even got it out of the bag as the trip had to be aborted after one day on the St. Croix river due to camp grounds all being full.
I've built several portable antennas, dipoles, end fed half waves, etc., even my own version of a PAC-12 vertical. But again, none of them ever made it out of my yard more than a couple times and then with dismal results.
The other day it occurred to me that I "might" take something with me on the backpacking trip to Glacier National Park this coming July (2015). Two issues will decide that. 1) can I get a package together that has some chance of actually working? 2) Can I spare the weight? The second one will be determined the night before as we load our packs! Through my two previous backpacking trips, one for five nights and one for two, I have learned that every ounce is precious when it is strapped to your back and you are looking at five to eight hours of hiking, AND more than a little of that is up hill! So we'll see....
The following pages deal with the rigs, the antennas and other issues I have dealt with in putting together a package suitable for a long and hard backpacking trip.
I've built several portable antennas, dipoles, end fed half waves, etc., even my own version of a PAC-12 vertical. But again, none of them ever made it out of my yard more than a couple times and then with dismal results.
The other day it occurred to me that I "might" take something with me on the backpacking trip to Glacier National Park this coming July (2015). Two issues will decide that. 1) can I get a package together that has some chance of actually working? 2) Can I spare the weight? The second one will be determined the night before as we load our packs! Through my two previous backpacking trips, one for five nights and one for two, I have learned that every ounce is precious when it is strapped to your back and you are looking at five to eight hours of hiking, AND more than a little of that is up hill! So we'll see....
The following pages deal with the rigs, the antennas and other issues I have dealt with in putting together a package suitable for a long and hard backpacking trip.
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Recently I discovered this interesting and helpful YouTube video on the topic of HF Backpacking by K1YPP. It is a bit slow moving but I found it very informative. There are many good videos on the topic but most focus on operating and spend relatively little time on the equipment, antennas and other issues. K1YPP talks more about the whole package which I found helpful.
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