POTA Today: Arches National Park

Sometime between 1600-1900z today I'll be activating US-0004 in Utah for 30 minutes. 

FT-891 (100 watts), vertical antenna, 20m CW.

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TAT bust; future travel plans

I've been home from my TAT ride for several weeks now. More accurately, it was a 1/2-TAT as I headed home after riding Colorado.

My age and the Oklahoma heat did me in.

Oklahoma was three days of slow, sandy riding in 104F/40C heat with more of the same for Utah. Colorado was a cool relief in between that made the upcoming desert even less appealing than if I hadn't ridden in those snow-covered mountains.

I rented a cargo van in Ouray, loaded the bike and headed home.

TAT Video update: AR-OK-NM

Arkansas

Heavy rains made for muddy riding through a beautiful state. I managed a quick activation (US-4425) just before the rain started but the high winds preceding the rain made the audio from the activation's recording unsuitable for posting to YouTube.

Thanks all, for the contacts.

Lunch was at the cafe in Oark where I met a great group of people who invited me to join them at their table. Everyone was from somewhere else and the conversation was all about travel. 

I saw more wildlife in Arkansas than in the previous three states combined, mostly deer but also two coyote. 

The set-up of my moto-POTA kit from Davy Crockett SP

A few folks have asked about what I'm using on the road, particularly in regard to the antenna and how it is mounted.

I'm currently taking a day off the ride to wait out the heavy rains due here in central Arkansas which gave me time to put a short video together. 

Back on the sure-to-be-muddy Trail tomorrow. 

 

Directly on YouTube 

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TAT update: Tupelo MS

Two days on the TAT now and making a fast progression west - not due to any skillful or fast riding on my part, it's all due to the fact that the TAT from Tennessee eastward is mostly paved roads. County roads make up most of the TAT in these eastern states and, while beautifully scenic, they are not what comes to mind when the word "trail" is used.

That changes tomorrow. From here on out, "trail" means unpaved.

I expect to reach Arkansas tomorrow and the ride will be along the Mississippi Delta. Cotton and corn will present themselves in abundance.

I'm postponing buying new tires for the bike until early Colorado. The originals seem to still have life in them so I passed right on by Lake Hill Motors in Corinth MS today.

3 June

 

TAT/QRP will begin on the morning of 3 June, starting near Chatsworth GA.

It's impossible to predict with any reliability how much radio'ing I'll be doing (and when) since weather and POTA proximity to the TAT are big factors.

But the TAT passes directly through, and immediately adjacent to, many parks along the way and I'll try to make use of that when possible.

Radio gear will be that shown in the photo. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to post my intended activations to the POTA website so that the RBN will spot me when I call CQ.

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A graphical look at the main advantage of the KX2USBC2

I've now gone through six charge/discharge cycles of my KX2's internal battery using the new KXUSBC2 to charge it and I've used different sources and USB-C cables for each charge.

Regardless of the charging voltage used, the KX2 battery gets a complete charge, whether the charging source was 5V or 15V.

Contrast that with different source voltages when used with Elecraft's KXIBC2 internal charger:

KXUSBC2 installed into KX2

(Also shown: Iniu 20AH power bank, KWS-1902C USB-C power meter) 

13 May: Updated info, including notes from its designer, Manuel HB9DQM. 

I received my KXUSBC2 in the mail today and wasted no time installing it into my KX2.

No soldering or de-soldering was required. Other KX2's may or may not require a small amount of soldering, depending on when the it was manufactured.

Those contemplating the addition of the USB-C charger to their KX2 should read the instructions here. 

If you're replacing Elecraft's built-in charger, the KXUSBC2 retains Real-Time Clock functionality. 

A possible early departure for the TAT/QRP motorcycle ride

Since my initial posting a few weeks ago, I've heard from half a dozen other ham/off-road motorcyclists who have ridden or are planning something similar to what I'm hoping to do. It's great to know that there are others reading this who can relate.

I'm working toward my planned ride of the Trans-America Trail on several fronts:

Departure Date

I'm keeping a close eye on the Colorado passes and noting reports from locals in that area regarding snow in the high elevations. It seems the passes are expected to open earlier than usual this year, having received lighter-than-normal snowfalls. As I type in mid-April, Engineer Pass is currently open - something that doesn't usually happen until July.

Portion of the Colorado TAT

 

There are two options for the Colorado TAT - one goes over Engineer Pass, the other over Ophir Pass. I've ridden over Engineer (10 years ago) but Ophir was my nemesis. I dropped my heavy Suzuki DR650 three times trying to reach the top, having to pick up the 400lb beast at 12,000 feet, huffing and puffing in the thin air.

Ophir is steeper than Engineer Pass and, as one approaches the top, the trail consists almost entirely of grapefruit-size rocks. That, combined with a carbuerated engine's lack of horsepower at that elevation, made forward momentum an iffy commodity; thus the fall-downs.

5-band QMX on this morning's 5-band POTA activation

The little QMX has come a long way since it was first released as a CW/digital transceiver, and I don't just mean the addition of SSB.

Far more significant to me are the very recent firmware updates that corrected two major shortcomings with the radio:

Strict DC input voltage limitations and

Common failure of the final BS170's during high SWR at full power.

These two issues prevented the QMX (and QMX+) from being a serious consideration for outdoor ops who don't use resonant antennas and don't want to take along a buck converter, LiPo battery or place "dropping diodes" in series with the DC source.

Those are a lot of things to contend with if you want to just set up and be on the air with minimal fuss.

They are no real issue at all though, if you don't mind taking the time to accommodate the radio rather than have the radio accommodate you.

Sometimes I like to savor the steps necessary to put a station on the air and don't mind taking extra time (and steps) to enjoy the process.

But for a roadtrip like the one I have planned, I want a minimal to-do list and a quick set up time - and I'm happy to say that the QMX/QMX+ now support this.

This morning's was my first activation with the 15-40m QMX. Hans built this one for me and expedited it to me a few months ago as I was trying to get permission to operate in Vietnam and Thailand. Thailand said 'Yes" but Vietnam said "No, don't even bring a radio here". So I had to leave the radio at home since VN was our first stop.

Now, with a different type of trip on the horizon, the little QMX again has become the front runner of the 4 radios I'm considering. 

KX2's internal battery capacity when charged from different voltage sources - and a new product for the KX2

The manual for the KX2's internal battery charger (KXIBC2) allows for a variety of input voltages, up to a maximum of 15V, to be used to charge the radio's 2.6AH lithium battery. The manual also mentions that lower voltages (down to 11V) can also be used although the battery will not be fully charged at these voltages.

I was curious to see how a lower charging voltage - ie, a partial charge - would correspond to capacity.

My main interests were:

• If I charge the KX2's battery from my motorcycle's lead-acid battery, how much capacity will it have?
• If I charge a completely discharged KX2 battery from the motorcycle, will I still have enough juice in the motorcycle battery to be able to start the bike?

Exploring my QRP options for bumpy travel

I've made several short excursions with three of the following QRP rigs (except for the Currahee, which I just received today) and am considering which of the four to carry with me on longer trips like the TAT and various BDR's.

Conditions would be: Bumpy riding, likely to fall (I hate riding in deep sand!), exposure to heat and humidity.

I operate only CW and would like to activate parks (and possibly SOTA summits) on the way, usually only on 15, 20 and 40 meters.

The antenna in all cases would be a 5m (17-ft) telescoping whip attached to a mount on the bike, a loading coil for 40 meters, two radials and with an antenna tuner. The latter is a must to compensate for variations from one set-up to the next.

Power would come from the bike's 7.4AH lead-acid battery. 

These are the radios I'm considering: 

Hilltopper Tallboy: Building, aligning, testing and on the air

 

I've had a hankering to build something lately and happened across a relatively new offering from the 4 States QRP Group: the Hilltopper Tallboy, a monoband QRP CW transceiver kit.

Available for 15 to 40 meters (and maybe 60m soon), I ordered a 20m version. It arrived 5 or 6 days later and I started building it right away.

The Build 

The kit's contents were well organized as were the accompanying instruction.

Parts are sorted into one of 10 bags and the assembly follows the bag's numerical sequence. There are exceptions to this as parts are sometimes required from the ESD bag or the bag containing the matched crystals.

 

The largest bag - and the one responsible for my initial impression of "Man, that's a substantial kit!" - is the one containing the mechanical components: knobs, jacks, hardware, etc.

CQWW-CW from an HOA; Anan-10E vs. Hermes Lite 2+

I went into the contest with the goal of testing the performance of the HL2+ in crowded CW conditions.

Rather than writing a dry narrative of "How I spent my weekend" (actually only four hours of it), I'll just sum it all up in bullet points:

Hermes Lilte 2 becomes HL2 Plus, awaits CQWW-CW

With the arrival of my Apache Labs 10E, I finally worked up the courage to put my HL2 under the knife for the surgery required to convert it to a Plus version.

No, it didn't get fatter; it just got better.

The update required removing a 0603 ferrite bead, adding a 0603 resistor & a small piggy-backed PC board, and updating the gateware.

And a few other small things that, all tolled (or is it "told"?), took 20 minutes.

It's the gateware thing that got me - I'd never heard of either the word or the process, but I know I didn't want to risk bricking the HL2.

Long story short - I should have done it long ago. Everything went smoothly.

Hermes Lite 2, 10-160m harmonic output

I went through the rest of the bands today and the HL2 looks good on all of them. My HL2 includes, of course, the N2ADR Low Pass Filter board, as they all should (and probably do).

 

10m

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12m

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Hermes Lite 2 - Compliant on 10 meters?

While waiting on an "Your Anan-10E is ready" email I thought I'd test a claim on Apache Lab's website regarding SDR radios that use the AD9866 processor - ie, the Hermes Lite 2.

Apache Lab's comparative chart claims that the HL2 is not compliant on 10 meters. News to me...let's have a look.

[UPDATE: Harmonic content is within spec on all bands. I'll check IMD later in the year.] 

I also wanted to test receiver sensitivity. I was asked about it in several emails after posting a video comparing receiver sensitivity of the QMX+, KX2 and FT-891.

 

I'll be the first to admit that receiver sensitivity is down the totem pole when it comes to receiver specs, topped by selectivity and dynamic range. Still, it's a useful test if only to verify the lack of a problem where one might be suspected.

Undocumented feature of 60dBm's Neptune 100-watt HF amplifier

I was rearranging the rat's nest of cabling that constitutes the best-unseen space between my operating desk and the wall yesterday when it happened...

Once everything was satisfactorily cleaned and ship-shape, I fired up the Hermes Lite 2 and the Neptune amp that I've had for about a year now...and something wasn't quite right.

For starters, the green "ON" LED was blinking slowly rather than remaining steadily on.

More significantly, automatic band changes weren't occurring.

I could switch bands manually by short-pressing the "ON" button and I had full output on every band - just no auto bandswitching.

A look around 60dBm's website revealed that there is no online manual for the amplifier. Great. So I fired off an email and received the following reply from Paul UU0JR in Ukraine less than an hour later.

Building and testing an eBay diplexer kit for 2m/70cm

The recent purchase of a UV-Pro has me in need of a satellite antenna for the "Easy-Sats" and International Space Station.

Arrow makes the perfect antenna but I thought I could homebrew one at a much lower price.

The main component that differentiates the Arrow from other dual-band Yagis is the diplexer, not duplexer, as it is incorrectly called by Arrow (and others).

A search online located several suitable but expensive diplexers for the necessary bands - and one inexpensive kit ($13) from a US seller on eBay - Steven AI4NV.

The kit arrived today and took all of 10 minutes to assemble.

There are three SMD capacitors and three coils to wind; two on torroidal cores and one air-core. An aluminum tube is included to assist in winding the air-core inductor.

After winding the coils and soldering all 9 parts to the board, it was time to tune the diplexer.

The instructions that come with the kit mention that a dummy load should be placed on the port not being tested, implying that the port being tested is left open. In reality, a dummy load should be placed on both ports.

The idea is to tune each output for minimum SWR with that output's frequency being injected. This will result in minimal insertion loss and maximum rejection of each band from the opposite port.

It is important to make sure that the dummy loads used are adequate up to 450 MHz.

South Dakota activations - two done; two to go

We've been in the Black Hills region of South Dakota for a few days now with about a week left before we head north.

The area is amazingly beautiful.

I finally got around to two very brief activations today, both CW-only with the FT-891 and magnet-mount 17' vertical on top of the car.

The first was the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site near Wall SD; the second was Badlands National Park.