Ham Radio Go-kit and QRP contacts FT-817

My video of my go-kit. I wanted to have a self contained portable all-in-one amateur station that offers HF/VHF and UHF, as well as APRS, packet and Solar charging. Check out the video.

 

the ft 817 is a nice tranceiver for qrp and portable use .with a simple longwire antenne or a 1899 t you can work stations on a big distance ,6000 mls is no exeption .


Henk PA8H

 

You forgot satellite... Many portable satellite ops use an 817, or more often TWO 817s and a hand held directional antenna to work amatuer satellites.

 

It's great that lots of hams are going portable today. Is there a forum where one can list their location, frequency, and time of portable operations?

 

check out the SOTA website. www.sota.org Summit on the Air. I follow some of their activations, and am planning on doing some myself as well.

 

Love QRP portable most when I'm on vacation, or on a hike trail anywhere I go. My go bag consists of many of the items and much more as can be seen on my YouTube QRP page.

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Get out and have some fun and always remember. Be prepared!

73!

 

Nice video! I wish locals had more interest in activities such as yours. The guy on the beach was hilarious, saw you had difficulty keeping straight face, lol. I wonder if he was part of your group, lol.

 

I'm new in the hobby and this type of activity peaks my interest. I'd like to start putting together a kit similar to these, what sort of cost estimates are we looking at?
Currently using a bf-f8hp for the local repeaters.

 

Wondering about the mechanical reliability of the MFJ antenna. Mine is less than six weeks old, has been on the radio three times, and the BNC connector is working its way loose. Appears that the antenna is going to come apart at the connector. Have you seen this? Any ideas on reinforcing the base connection? So far MFJ has been unresponsive...

 

Used FT-817ND in excellent condition for about $400. Windcamp LiPo battery for $75. MFJ-1899T for $80. Haven't done the solar charging panel yet but probably $75. There are also a lot of lightweight wire antenna options, designed for portable use, that are in the $50 dollar range.

 

MFJ is junk for the most part. Sure, there are a few items that hold up well in their product line, but most are junk. Its gained that reputation for a reason and when you start hearing those things fairly often then there has to be some truth to it. Owning quite a few of their products in my experience I've found that 7 out of 10 I've purchased weren't worth buying. When you buy cheap you get cheap and sin ome case's the price was still too much for the quality I received. Guess it's good in a bind till you can afford better quality, reliable items.

In the end a good antenna can be made DIY and outperform manufactured antennas if your not lazy. There are some that may be a bit over priced, but quality is worth the purchase, or if your incapable of building your own. My pack consists of home brew wires, ICOM AH-703 (discontinued), Super Antenna's YP-3 portable yagi, EMTECH ZM-3 tuner and Yaesu FT817. Power is a 16 watt solar panel to a 12v 7.5mah Battery. Many other little items to in case of a bind and for plan A,B and C install. You could never be too prepared.

Experiment with what works for you cause what works for others may not work for you.

Enjoy experimenting and most all the hobby.

73

 

You can make a resonant linked dipole for about $10. Of course, you need trees (or a pole to set it up as an inverted vee)

 

Do you have any trouble getting sand into stuff?

 

I know how to make a dipole. And end fed wires. And baluns. I know about MFJ's reputation (well deserved) for building cheap. What I am trying to do is figure out a way to strengthen the base of this antenna, which actually works pretty well for a base-loaded multiband portable whip, because I want to use it when I can't hang a wire.

 

For this particular one? I used a cheap music stand and some zip ties to make a folding stand for mine. It packs down small and you can stake the legs down or use small sandbags or rocks for added stability. For a counterpoise I used a metal tape measure connected to the BNC with a large clip. (That's not shown in the pictures, though)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/filkerdave/albums/72157660827162339