Portable Ham Radio Gear. What do you need?
Vložit
- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- An in depth look at the gear I take with me while operating Portable Ham Radio.
I may make a small commission on purchases made through the following links:
Bioenno BLF-1203W: amzn.to/3bXsRhP
Bioenno BLF-1203AB: amzn.to/39OAW74
Bioenno BLF-1206A: amzn.to/2XaWQ1L
Bioenno 20AH LiFePO4 Battery: amzn.to/2XfZPWT
Bioenno 12AH LiFePO4 Battery: amzn.to/2WHU9kp
Lunch box for QRP: amzn.to/2xQfbGO
Xiegu X5105: amzn.to/2U4jrtM
Xiegu G90: amzn.to/33caUcn
Yaesu FT-891:amzn.to/2XaTkof
Charger: amzn.to/2YARsSt
Goture 10 Meter Carbon Fiber Mast: amzn.to/2IexWq6
Shakespear 20' Wonderpole: amzn.to/2Rd9IiG
Powerwerx Power Pole Distribution Block: amzn.to/2WHI3Ym
Powerwerx Volt Meter: amzn.to/2IG8AAw
Ailunce HD1: amzn.to/35HqBYZ
Baofeng UV-5R: amzn.to/2Ot3NX7
Tactical Backpack amzn.to/2k6jya7
Condor Rip EMT Pouch: amzn.to/2XjLUPG
iPad mini Bluetooth Keyboard: amzn.to/2IOtI7o
Red Rock Outdoors Sling Pack: amzn.to/2FdCKdf
I love your content brother, and I’m that guy you helped, passed my general, built a go box with the 857d, 20ah bioenno batt, 100w solar panel, wrc tia 1000, 939 tuner , and mfj antenna analyzer, loving going out to the lake and getting on the air. THANK YOU N5PRK even got a vanity call for parks/ POTA
73
Way to go Big Daddy!! Awesome man congrats! Love the callsign too!
That's a great video.
What you bring along for portable will also depend on how you get to your transmitting location.
For example it's different if you use a car (and don't walk that much after arriving at the QTH), or if you are by bike or walking with a single backpack.
I have a minimalist set up for the "heck of it" : TRX QMAC HF90, QMAC's tuner, whip antenna / wire antenna (with one radial), battery (a 8.4 Ah LIFePo4) or a MFJ902 + GA60 antenna analyser (with the software on my cellphone).
If by bike, I can add a 20 Ft fiberglass pole attached to the bike.
When I had a IC703, had the tuner included, so I had the Icom, a battery, 50 Ft of coax cable, one radial, one wire antenna and the same pole.
Now i plan to construct a EFHW antenna and even "skip" the tuner.
And, the less you bring along, the less time the whole process takes you. And less things to forget, to break and so on ;)
That's all :)
Excellent setup.
My bag is a Ford f 350. Works great.
Lots of metal for a ground plane with that big hunk of Detroit power too.
There can be no compromise on having a padded bag for your Yaesu! Ditch the unpadded pouch and buy a padded one. Cheers! No difference between 90 and 100 watts - yeah true, but there is a big difference between 50 and 25 watts, which is 25 watts -- a huge amount! Nice video, mate; and great to be outdoors doing your radio hobby.
Nah, this bag suits me just fine. The Yaesu is pretty rugged.
Mike, on the hose clamp, I would recommend that you do what M0MCX does on his DX Commander. Get some inexpensive aquarium tubing and fit it onto the clamp. It helps with the grip and protects the pole. Otherwise, a great video as always.
Yeah I just did that in a pinch. Works well though. I have a bit of electrical tape under the hose clamp and it works great.
Some big box hardware stores sell tubing, also.
To help lighten your load. If you know what time it is, you don't need the compass. Put the sun between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock position. When you do that in the northern hemisphere 12 o'clock will always point South. If you don't have a watch use a stick and a couple rocks. Put the stick in the ground and and place a rock at the end of the shadow. After you have put out all your gear and have set everything up, put the other rock at the end of the new shadow. The first rock is west and the second rock is east. I was a survival instructor in the Military. Thanks for the videos. 73 KJ7RGD.
Thanks for the tip, I did not know that. Of all the things in my pack though, the compass would be one of the last things I would look at to lose. Doesn't weigh hardly anything.
@@hamradiotube No, I know. Not hating, I was just saying you don't need it, especially if you are just in a park. H20 on the other hand, is always a must. Are you using the Fishing pole as a sloper or inverted L? Do you do any QRP? I am a new Ham and all I have is the D74 HT w/ the Diamond 320 antenna. I would like to get the IC705 for HF although it is still low power. I ordered the Spot3 because I am out of TX range of the repeater, but it seems like using it is cheating. I want to do the most w/ the least. I like the challenge. I was in a RW survival situation back in the day and all I had was an HT PRC-90. Spoiler, I made it out. czcams.com/video/K_7WTD7kIUQ/video.html
I like your vids, thanks for the info.
@@bkudell No worries. I don't use the compass a lot but it's handy to have to orient my antenna if I'm using a dipole so I can point it in the direction I want. The fishing pole is just used to get the antenna up in the air. The 2 most common configurations I use with it is an inverted V with either a dipole or End Fed Half Wave, or to run a wire up vertically. I dabble in qrp, though it is not my primary method. If you are new to HF most people including myself wouldn't recommend a qrp radio as your first. If you want to run qrp you can always turn the power down, but it can be discouraging if you are trying to break a pileup and only have 5 or 10 watts. It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Now, I have found when I'm doing a Parks on the Air activation and I am the station everyone is trying to work, QRP works just fine most of the time. So if thats all you want to do, I would say go for it. But if you want to use the 705 for home and portable that might be a stretch. Not saying you can't, it will just be more of a challenge. Having a hotspot isn't cheating at all. Thats the same thing as hitting a repeater thats a few miles away, its just in your house. It's just your own repeater. They all go to the internet and out the other end. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would want to hit a dmr repeater vs having you own hotspot. You are at the mercy of other people. Say you want to connect to a talk group, but that repeater isn't set up for the one you want. Or maybe someone else is using it. Then you have to wait. Hot spots are the way to go if you ask me.
@@hamradiotube Thanks for the "Contact" and the information. Those WRC antennas look nice, and portable. I have watched a lot of videos and everyone seems to really like them. I saw where he added a 1:1 Unun and the SWR was great across the bands. Not to expensive either. Thanks again for the info. 73
Thank you, Mike. You posted this video just in time :) Its getting warmer in my QTH and I started to think about going portable. So far I ended up with a DIY vertical 40m antenna (1 wire + 3 radials, all 825cm + fishing rod), an RFI choke (FT240-31 with 8 turns of RG58, W1JR winding) and a 12400 mAh LiPo battery (I also have FT-891). It's simple, it's lightweight, it's efficient, and 40m are open almost all the day. I tried this setup today from my backyard and surprisingly I got a few 59+10/59+20 reports while using only 50W. I thought maybe you might be interested in trying a vertical as well. 73 de R2AUK
Hi Aleksander, Great to hear you are getting out portable, and making antennas. That's one of my favorite parts of ham radio. The Wolf River Coils antenna shown in the video is a vertical and it is amazing! I recently made a long wire antenna I can string up with the 10M mast and get on the air really quick. Not sure how good it is though. I have made a couple contacts so far with it. I'm really just experimenting with long wire antennas though just for fun. Thanks for commenting and have fun out there.
73
Great video, Mike. Good to see all the pieces that go together for a successful portable station. Thank you for putting the time into this. 73 VK4YST Cameron
Thanks Oscar, I thought it would be good since I get so many questions on all the stuff I use. I really just hope to inspire others to see that it doesn't take much to go have fun portable.
When I watched your Wolf River Coils, I bought the antenna. When I seen your fishing pole mast, I bought the same mast ... after watching this video, I don't have to purchase a thing because I already have it...LOL . Thanks for the great videos Mike, keep 'em coming.
Well crap I'm gonna have to get something else then. I'm going to hamvention so we'll see what I bring back.
@@hamradiotube Good deal! I'll looking forward to that video.
Thank you so very much for your help and time. I have learned so much from you. It is kind of you to offer this to us. You have generated a great deal of interest.
Thanks Tommy, I hope you have a chance to get out and play portable.
Very good video Mike! Nice to see what you use and pick up some ideas. POTA is really catching on. It is a great addition for HAMS in antenna restricted HOA communities that are using attic antennas etc. In the park you can run a full wave 80m end fed if you want. 73!
It sure is a lot of fun. Nice to get away from all the power lines and noise and have nothing but clear signals. I sure am glad I don't live in an HOA thought.
Hey Mike, enjoyed the video, lots of good ideas. I also bought the Apache case for getting portable, not sure if i like it either, someday. I also bought the MFJ-1899 antenna and found it lacking in a big way, at least on my Icom 718. I seem to have gone overboard buying equipment to get me started but i promised the YL i would sell something before i bought something new. Once i get my 891 i'll be happier and a LOT lighter i think but untill then i'll keep watching you and dreaming of a cross country POTA run. 73 de W8MJL
It's gotta be a lot lighter than the 718! Just sell that antenna and tell her thats what paid for the 891. I won't tell.
Hi Mike, great setup, it’s good to see how others have their gear setup and what they use 👍🏻.
As for the 1899t, it can’t be that bad mate, I managed to get from the North East of UK to Maine in the US on 5watts (817) using a tape measure counterpoise 😉😉.
Yeah some people have success with it but it sure hasn't been with me.
@@hamradiotube Perseverance mate, it was at least 4-5 weeks before I got that one :-)
@@r188ops8 You are a more patient person than I am.
@@hamradiotube Lying in piss wet holes for days on end does that to you ha ha ha :-)
Great video Mike! Really enjoy your videos. One caveat you should carry a back up radio even if it's a qrp rig. Also an extra tuner, connectors and coax wouldn't hurt. Good old Murphy laws have bitten me more than once when I only had one of something.
Thanks Jeff. Backup radio though!? Good lord how much stuff do you want to see me carry haha? I don't use a tuner portable as I have resonant antennas. In a true SHTF scenario I would prob bring one but I'm just playing in a park.
@@hamradiotube Well think about going out to a park 50 to 100 miles away and you forgot a a connector. Oh wait that already happened. :-) See my point? Using your car you can easily add another radio. Selfish reason here is I just want to see all of your adventures at the parks and as soon as possible. Missing/failing equipment will get in the way of that! :-)
@@jeffdeham Thats awesome. I'll try not to forget stuff just for that reason. I've already got another video that I need to edit that I made after I did this one, activating the park. I'll try and get it out in the next few days.
It was nice working you there at Highland Lake. Thanks for the activation. I really enjoy your videos ... I like the laid back, casual presentation and practical info. 73 de Dick N4BC
Thankyou so much for the info - Its great to know what i need to take with me :)
Your portable setup rules!!
Haha thanks Dennis.
I like the 90 degree coupler on the antenna. Makes sense!
Great video Mike. Good info for both POTA and SOTA.
Thanks for the links to the mast/poles
Glad to help.
Lots of good info in this video, well done Mike!
LOL! MFJ...
Thanks Tracy
Wow! Another great video, Mike, and super helpful! Thanks!
Thank you Wendy!
Thanks for your video. I'm planning on doing something along those lines on my channel very soon.
I look forward to seeing what you have in your bag. 73
Great video Mike!
Mike, tnx for QSO on 20. Very good videos. 73 de K7KEG - currently in MT
Haha thats awesome man! Great QSO from Montanna to Detroit! Have fun RV'ing around the country. Hope to catch you down the log from another location. 73 friend!
Thanks for sharing your go bag. Enjoyed it. Don't see how you get any haters. Guess they don't have a life.
Thanks Steve. There's haters everywhere. Someone said he couldn't hear the audio on my last vid. Like, I'm sitting here editing it and the audio is a huge part of it. Some people just have no life.
Nice load out Mike!
Thanks brother! We got to get you out portable.
Nice setup! But I would have to take my car along this "portable" setup to carry all that lol. Thanks for sharing!
Nah man, I carried all that stuff in 1 trip. It's not that heavy. I don't usually bring that box with me either.
Great video Mike.
Great presentation. I've been thinking of getting into ham radios. I like your compact setup and battery solution.
Thank you, I appreciate that. Ham radio is a great hobby, but an addictive one, so beware haha!
This is one of the best videos I have seen on portable operation. I will certainly share it with friends. By the way, what is the fishing pole you use?
Thanks David, Its the Goture Sparkol 10M carbon fiber telescopic fishing pole purchased on Amazon.
Joe’s Army-Navy store in Waterford: Yes! Been there several times.
Love that place.
Great vid Mike! You can never have enough adapters. Great idea adding the 90 to the base of the WRC. I’m gonna do that because without fail, I forget to connect the coax and figure it out after the whip is extended. Hahaha. Sucks getting old...
Ha! I learned to not unscrew the coil from the base of the tripod. Leave the 90 there and you can't forget it!
Great video. Could you please describe how you connected your iPad to your Xiegu G90? I am a newbie (I turn 73 this month) I am interested in doing 2m and Cw only. Having to pass all the theory and remembering all the other things required has long passed me by. I am doing CW because it just plain fun and it keeps me on my toes mentally. Love your videos and as a Native Born Texan I want to welcome you to God’s Gift to America.....Texas. KG5UYD....73’s.
Thanks for the warm welcome Jerry. I'm loving it here in TX. I don't connect my iPad to any radio I use. I just use it to log my contacts when I'm doing POTA. Unfortunately the app I'm using, HamLog, is no longer on the app store and I haven't found a good replacement. I do take my macbook out sometimes as well and I just hook up a usb from the computer to my 891 or 7300 to track frequencies. I've not explored that option with the G90 and I doubt there would be an easy way to do it. I just enter the freq manually which isn't a big deal as I usually just park in one place and call cq.
Awesome video as always! Have you experimented with a longer whip on the WRC yet? I thing the TIA comes with the 102", they have a 213". I hope to pick one up along with more radials at Dayton.
Thanks Michael. I have not, and honestly this thing works great with the whip it came with! I'm already getting huge pileups so don't really see the benefit. Maybe if I were on 80 I suppose.
Good ol' Joe's Army Surplus. First time I went in there as a kid I thought I died and went to heaven. So much junk with so much potential. Lol. Keep up the good work man. I don't have room for a HF rig in my budget yet but one of these days I'll be calling from here in Alpena. Hey do you belong to an amateur radio club down there? I spent a lot of time down in the Waterford / Pontiac area. Lots of family there. Over by Scott Lake.
Hi Brad, yes its hard not to spend all my money at Joe's. Start saving up for an HF rig. You can get a decent used one for fairly inexpensive. I do belong to a club. I'm a member of the South Lyon Area Amateur Radio Club. I'm closer to Waterford and Pontiac though. I'm in West Bloomfield.
Good job Mike. Always enjoy your videos. 73, George K2WO
Thanks for watching George!
Very nice. I bring much the same kind of stuff. U fortunately much older and larger 😂. Good info
Well I'm not getting any younger or thinner so I may have hope yet :)
Very nice Mike! I’m seriously looking at the Wolf River Coil myself. I might have some questions to ask you before I pull the trigger on it. haha 73
It's an amazing antenna. I highly recommend it.
Mike, thanks for the load out video. I picked up the tiki stake at Lowes and I have the fishing pole saved on Amazon.
Noel W2MSA
Great Video Mike! Boy do I Bring a lot of crap when I Pota! lol! I will have to try a compact session!
Lists...lol...My first (and only) POTA activation turned into an improvised event because of missing items. I've got identical types of stuff too. Love that bag, 3V Gear, Peratus?
It is always good to make a list of what you need. when you find yourself needing an item, add it to the list and pack it with you next time.
@@davidsradioroom9678 Yessir....I've learned to never expect it to be a perfect trip...hi hi
The bag is made by MonkeyPacks. Didn't know that until just now when I looked for a label haha! Now that you know to make a list you should get out there and try another activation.
@@hamradiotube Yeah...I need to get out there!
Ordered watt/analyzer
I never leave home without it.
We differ in opinion on the 1899 antenna as I love mine. It is a compromise antenna but for my purposes it is excellent. Quick set up , no DX but I dont't care. Wanna sell it? Excellent video
I'm glad you have had success with it. I have made contacts with it its just not as good as I was hoping it would be. As much as I don't like it, its still nice to have in the arsenal. Better this than nothing. Thanks for the comment and for watching! 73
How do you set up the iPad HamLog for pota activations? Is there any videos on what you need to set up on it as well as how to submit the logs? Looking to finish my portable pack out for activations.
Well I don’t really “set it up” so much as just use it. Just make sure the freq is correct, your mode of operation is entered, and any p2p contacts, I add their park number in the notes section. You can then email the .adif to your section manager and that’s about it. Pretty simple.
Mike where is the Video for making that speaker wire antenna? I have an 891 as well love the radio! Great information!
I have not done a build video on the speaker wire antenna. Check out Jerry KG6HQD's video. czcams.com/video/cqh0Ntus5G0/video.html Hoshnasi also did a build with him: czcams.com/video/H0p_xrl_Qis/video.html
Nice work! I’ve packed up and my gear is heavy. Need to figure out what stuff is necessary. I’m ready to do my first SOTA activation. Just need to find time lol
Yeah the time is always a challenge. Just have your stuff at the ready and when you see an opportunity, strike!
Great video... Regarding your counterpoise on the Wolf River Coil, do you lay the wires on the ground or do you elevate them? I've heard that elevating counterpoise is best.
Michael VA6XMB
Your wires will detune laying them on the ground ; having them in the air will need them tuned.
Also, you'll have better efficiency if they are elevated.
Actually you'd need one in the direction of purpose when elevated ; I use one elevated radial.
Right on the ground. I really don't now if it can get any better than it already is. I have superb results with it. It is a really good antenna.
Goture 10 Meter Carbon Fiber Mast that you show is no longer available - discontinued. The Amazon link suggests alternatives. Do you recommend any of those? Mel, K2JWD
I've not used any of them so I can't say. You can still get them if you want from Aliexpress. Its too bad they aren't available in the states anymore. I'd totally buy another one.
Decision made. I need to abandon setting up ops in my apartment. I have a dipole, new and still taped. I have a nice keyer, mic, tuner, and HF radio. Challenges: the radio is a Kenwood TS-440S, the power supply is an Astron RS-205 and the tuner is a Ten-Tec 229. All are large, and the power supply and radio are heavy. I have an LDG AT-11 tuner, but I've misplaced the power cord. *Anyone know if I can connect it to the Astron power supply?* To stay on topic, would you (or another ham) have an idea on what I'd need to purchase to give me power for the field? I will not be hiking up mountains. I am considering using a nearby state park. There will be options for sites with (and without) power.
Power is pretty easy. Get a Bioenno battery. 20Ah should be fine for what you have. If your dipole is resonant, and I would assume it would be, you shouldn't need a tuner. However, I'm sure you could get a replacement power cord for it pretty easily. Contact LDG or look at their website. That shouldn't be hard. You should be able to hook it up to your power supply (i assume it runs off of 12v) but if you have a battery you could hook everything up to that. I highly recommend converting all of your connections to Power Poles and get a power pole distribution block. If the park you're going to has power you can connect to, by all means you can bring all your stuff out and use the mains power too.
I learned something.
Awe man I hate when that happens lol
@@hamradiotube you hate when you learn something?
Or do you hate when you teach something...
Lol, no yeah, great video man.
@@TheNoCodeTech Whenever I learn something that means that I forget something else. There is limited capacity in my brain you know :)
@@hamradiotube oh crap, I wonder what I've forgotten.....
See, you already forgot🤓
@k8mrd what is the current brand and size mast you use for POTA?
I'm currently either the DX Commander Expedition Mast or the SotaBeams Carbon 6 Mast
Hi Mike, great video once again. What gauge wire is your speaker wire antenna? I think I'm going to build some for 20m and 40m. 73.
I'm pretty sure like I said in the video its 18awg.
@@hamradiotube just had 100m of 20awg speaker wire delivered. I guess I'll be making antennas this weekend
Great video. For whatever reason, the biggest version of the mast/pole listed on Amazon is 7.2m. Is that where you got yours? It see it at the China vendors, but it takes some guts to drop that much $$ there. Just wondering.
Yeah I've not seen them anywhere lately except for aliexpress. I did get mine from amazon but that was at least a year ago.
have you traveled on the airplane with your battery pack? I’m planning a Caribbean island trip soon
I have but I only brought my 6ah and a 3 ah battery. I think the biggest battery you can take is 10 or 12 ah but don’t quote me on that.
Thanks for the vid. Awesome portable set up. Were is your video on the battery pack?
Oh it's somewhere in my videos. It's called my portable power solution. I didn't do a build of it though. I'm also using a few Bioenno batteries. Thanks for watching. 73
What is the size of your "to go" case from Harbor Freight
I have a bunch of different sizes but this one is the 3800. I have the 4800 for the IC-7300 if I take that portable. I really don't use the case for the 891 anymore. I liked the idea of a "go box" but found they are too bulky and not very practical for what I do portable.
I’ve always wondered about carbon fiber ... it is more conductive than fiberglass ... any thoughts on that? If it works, it is soooo much lighter/stronger.
People were warning me about it and it’s conductive properties. But then I used it and common sense kicked in. All the metal towers that hold up so many antennas are far more conductive than carbon fiber and none says anything. I have experienced no adverse affects what so ever in using this mast vs fiber glass. I even put my multi meter on it to see if there was any continuity and there was none. It 100% works.
try some bubble wrap around the rig. I do that with mine. and be careful how and where you put your bag down.
Nah, I like to live dangerously. Its pretty well protected in the bag I keep it in.
Hey Mike what is the name of the antennas? 73’s
I think I had a Wolf River Coils TIA 1000, and a home brew speaker wire dipole in this video.
To far away to see, but good info...thx
Thanks for watching.
Did you include mosquito spray??? That's #1! ha ha ha
Haha! No but I always have a can in my trunk.
What do you use for a ground?
Nothing.
Nice...surprised your not using an antenna tuner or analyzer.
It's no surprise when using resonant antennas. That's the secret...don't tell anyone haha!
Yo Mike! How about links to some of this stuff (and your battery build vid) in the video description? Awesome gear vid. 73, Rex KE6MT
Then people won't have to do any research. Can't make it that easy.
Ha! I suppose you have a point there.
Thanks for another good video Mike.
KD9KMV
the rc lipo meter is not for what u using it for any how that why the diffrence
What do you mean???
im new to this channel ...but so far it SUcks! jk im loving it..
CZcams, screw your unwanted, intrusive, and annoying ads!
ads ads every where. I see Joe Biden ads. Thats the worst.
you are in Mi, where is your S&W :)
I carry Glocks usually.
Great video, one question why 3 antennas? The river coil covers all bands....Oscar
Well, why only have 1 beer? Different antennas have different performance. Sometimes a vertical works great, other times, you need to get some wire in the air. You gotta have options.
Need a permit, to use a park?
Michigan state parks (and a lot of other states) require either a permit or a day pass to enter. It’s all of $11 for the year so not a big deal. It helps out the DNR.
bump
Not sure what that means but bump to you too.
@@hamradiotube When I have nothing to say but want to comment so you get a bump from the algorithm for engagement
@@2heavyb517 Ahh that makes sense. Thanks for the comment.
Pay attention to ounces, or you'll be crying in pounds
Very true words. This video is old and I have since been taking out a much lighter weight setup when hiking through the woods. However, if you're going to sit on a park bench, bring what ever the hell you want lol!
thats a lot of gear for coms why not consider a sat phone or hand held ham radio
Well I don't carry that all at once. I have a ton of hand held ham radios but they don't operate on the frequencies capable of making long distance contacts. You need HF for that, which is my primary focus, and what all this stuff is for.
Awesome content. I’m really enjoying learning from your channel. I got my Tech a few weeks ago, and am testing for my General next week. I just received my 891 in the mail, I’m looking forward to a long camping trip in May and doing some POTA @ K-3037.
KI5UUA
That's awesome so happy for you. Congrats on the Tech and good luck on your General! Nice on the 891 too. You're not too far from me. Shoot me an email if you want to do an activation together. I'm good on QRZ.