Hi, this Frank, VE2FGJ and today I bring the IC-705 in my car during the winter to do my first HF contacts on this shinny radio. For testing purposes, I will be transmitting on a home made, 16 feet, 1/4 wave vertical antenna (MFJ-1979) with only 1 radial and no tuner at all, which I have never attempted before. Youtube Picture I carefully adjusted the 16 feet telescopic antenna and the counter poise to resonate in the middle of the 20M band. The AA-600 Antenna analyzer showed a 2:1 SWR while the IC-705 actually showed a 1.5:1 SWR. Unfortunately my 1st contact was impeded by having the Mic Gain at only 50%, I noticed it only after the Call and later changed it to 100%. The 2nd Call was in Tennessee,US which was received as a 58 and I brought the TX power down from 10W to 5W and no noticeable difference was perceived. It was a cold day, I attempted only a few contacts, my fingers were freezing. For my 1st experience on HF with the IC-705, I am glad for the results, the 1/4 wave antenna worked well and I’ll add more radials next time as it will bring down the SWR and allow better omni directional coverage. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up, climb a mountain, setup the antenna and make more contacts with the IC-705. Even with it’s limited power and the challenges this brings, I think this is a fantastic radio, I am really enjoying it so far. Well, This is it for me for today, Thanks for watching! 73 Note: This was filmed at 2 different locations and 2 different days, the video was edited to join the most relevant scenes and were not done in the order that they are presented. Antenna tuning took most of the time as this is a first attempt with this experimental setup.
I've considered doing the same thing with that whip, but decided instead I'm going to get the WRC TIA Mega, which comes with the same size whip, giving me the option of going light with just the whip and base or adding the coil for flexibility. It looks like it worked great for you! Chris
Exactly, that would allow to reach the 40M and 80M bands. The 16 feet whip does a great job 20M up to 6M. It is just time consuming to manually adjust it everytime, but it is very efficient, for DX at least, no as good for NVIS. I may end up getting the Wolf River Coil and a EFHW to cover all situations.
Unless you whisper in the mic, 40% gain is more than enough to just let the ALC kick in while holding the mic close to your lips (<1").
So if it was not the Mic Gain, then it was most probably the lack of radials and in the opposite direction! Mic Gain? Compression? Today I have found this video that will certainly help me next time. Icom 7300: How to Properly Set Mic Gain
You're better off improving your antenna setup. Yes, more radials under the whip will help. As for the video... To try and be polite... NOT suggested. It's just a way of seeing the meter get pegged out with every syllable that comes out of your mouth.
For the radials, this was a very experimental exercise, I wished to have a very portable and an easy to deploy setup. An EndFed antenna may be the easiest. Ref: "way of seeing the meter get pegged out with every syllable..." I think that is a good point, I should set the screen to see all the meters rather than look at the waterfall. QRP is a new learning experience for me... By sharing it on video and here on QRZ, it may help others as well.
QRP or QRO... Mic gain is the basic that many operators don't understand. Set the controls for 11 is all they understand and that's sad. I started my QRP adventure with 1 radial. Got about 1400 miles away and thought that was cool. Now I don't play with less than 16. Again just my preferences, your mileage will vary. Also keep in mind the video's Heil mic is going to be vastly different on setting up than the Icom stock mic. Bur the testing process is the same. Now with all that babbling out of the way, I appreciate the fact you're out there experimenting and not just trying to sell us the latest cheap Chinese gizmo. Good luck!
Thanks K9GLS, All that sounds like the comments of an experienced operator, I like that. That very 1st contact at 3000KM set me on fire... it is good that life brings me back to reality. Yep experimenting, learning and sharing is all the fun! 73
Right, I meant that it will resonate and will not require a tuner. Additional radials will improve it.
I have something similar here: I used a MFJ whip, connected to the top of a photography tripod. I make up 3 sets of 5 radials each that are connected each together as a bundle (3 bundles of 5 radials) I mechanically hook each bundles to the tripod, then make the electrical connection with a Powerpole Connector. I made up 15 stakes for the end of the radials from harbor freight pick and hook sets with the points ground off that are orange and have good visibility, but they probably should be longer. I used a piece of PVC conduit with one end that screws off to store the whip in and it doubles as a measuring stick between the radials. I can vary the length of the whip for tuning, but I just use a lil tuner for convenience. .
Yep, I will make sets of radials and connect with a Anderson pole connector for convenience. I want to avoid having to carry a tuner, I plan to go on SOTA, POTA with the least gears.
