Subj : Re: Baofeng UV-5R
To   : StackFault
From : Vk3jed
Date : Wed May 15 2019 08:19:00

-=> On 05-14-19 14:23, StackFault wrote to Vk3jed <=-

 St> I'll try to bring the youngests to field day at the end of june. Maybe
 St> score a couple GOTA points for the clud at the same time :)

Cool, see if that gets their interest. :)

 Vk> First, I checked my Winlink email on 40 metres, running a mail session
 Vk> with Melbourne, 750km away.  That impressed the others and the teachers,
 Vk> whose mobile phones weren't working (very remote area).

 St> I never got into these HF services things. Did a lot of PSK, RTTY, CW
 St> and a bit of VHF packet but that's about it.

Has its place.  Was a useful link hime while I was on that trip. :)  Besides,
in these days of wifi, being 700km from one's "access point" does impress the
tech generation. :D

 Vk> Then once I had the mail out of the way, I switched to 20 metres, tuned
 Vk> around and heard a Scottish station calling CQ.  I answered him and we
 Vk> had a lengthy chat.  Now that really impressed everyone, talking to
 Vk> someone on the other side of the world, when no one else had a
 Vk> connection to the outside world! :D

 St> Yeah, the wonderband is really easy to work and requires a smaller,
 St> more manageable antenna. Speaking of which, I'm just finishing up

And in the outback, HF really fires up.  Firstly, the very low noise floor -
sometimes, I've had to check my receiver was working properly, it was that
quiet, especially on the higher bands (10 MHz and up). :)  Secondly, the ground
is full of iron (that famous red dust).  I suspect that helps, because I've had
HF performance there that I've never been able to reproduce here, even with the
same antenna (end fedz 40/20m dual band.

 St> building my mcHF rig and will be able to carry it very easily. I
 St> thought about getting an FT817 or something like that but just wanted
 St> to try building the kit and learn at the same time. My mobile kit,
 St> including the radio, battery, end fedz 20m antenna and coax would
 St> weight less than my I2RTF Simplex key, but a good amount. It is less
 St> rugged for sure but it's been really fun, now that the SM components
 St> are already soldered, these were a pest.

Cool, I do like portable HF operation myself, though I don't often get the time
these days.  Maybe if I ever compete somewhere like Alice Springs, I might have
to see if I can fit in a portable HF station.  Will probably have to do that as
a road trip. :)  My most successful portable HF locations have been the outback
and the beach, as well as the famous "blue lakes" at Mt Gambier, in the crater
of a dormant volcano in the far SE corner of South Australia.

 St> I am also looking at replacing the mobile in my truck from an old
 St> FT2500M (ie reuseable catapult square bullet with a mike attached to
 St> it) for an FTM-100DR to try a bit of the newer digital modes like
 St> Fusion and Wires-X. This would also add dual-band in the mobile and the
 St> detachable faceplate would make it possible to mount higher in the
 St> field of vision.

I don't use either of those 2 modes.  I have D-STAR and DMR capability here. :)


.... Computer Hacker wanted. Must have own axe.
=== MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
--- SBBSecho 3.03-Linux
 * Origin: Freeway BBS Bendigo,Australia freeway.apana.org.au (1337:2/103)

.