Video: Destruction, dolphins, KX2 and POTA

Cedar Key, Florida has been a favorite motorcycle-ride destination of mine for a couple of years now. It's

a laid-back "Old Florida" town, off the beaten track. A couple restaurants, three bars and a few shops - not too much else.

The real Margaritaville.

Hurricane Milton passed this way a few weeks ago and I was expecting to see large-scale devastation.

While the waterfront shops did suffer significant damage, the overall damage from the storm were less than I'd expected.

Coulda been much worse - I'm glad it wasn't.

The harbor separating Cedar Key from Atsena Otie Key is a playground for dolphins and makes for a fun kayaking trip to Atsena Otie, a POTA site accessible only by boat.

No kayaking for me today but the splashes I saw from the shore quickly distracted me from the hurricane damaged town and I sent my drone over for a look.

Moto-POTA in Mississippi with KX2

 

With a good (and quite cool) forecast for the week throughout Dixie, I left Florida for a nice three-day ride to Texas.

I stayed off the interstate and let the back roads take me past cotton fields, farms, pastures and unhealthy-but-delicious places to eat.

The KX2 allowed me to have some after-dark distraction in the tent. 

Sunset comes early this time of year and it was nice to be able to play radio after chatting with the campground neighbors in the evening.

Two of my neighbors at Natchez State Park were a couple from Germany, touring American Civil War sites in a rental RV.  It was very interesting to get their perspective on things.

I stuck to CW even though I had the KX2's mini-mic with me. The antenna was my 17' (5m) whip screwed into its mount, which is bolted onto the motorcycle. Contacts were made on 20 and 40 meters with some DX worked as well.

Is a 2-tone IMD measurement possible with the tinySA Ultra?

I no longer have my old Siglent, Rigol or other spectrum analyzers I once had access to - the ones used (among other things) to measure IMD of SSB rigs.

But I do have everything else I need: 2-tone generator, directional coupler, fixed attenuators and a tinySA Ultra.

With Hans G0UPL making great progress in developing firmware that will allow SSB operation with QMX/QMX+ transceivers, I wanted to know if the tinySA Ultra will allow measurement of IMD.

Hans' method of SSB generation is unique and it will be interesting to see how the transmitter output looks compared to more traditional rigs.

The original tinySA does not have the resolution bandwidth needed to make IMD measurements, but the newer Ultra version, with 200 Hz minimum RBW, does.

My test subject was the KX2 on 20m phone.

Video: A test of M0JKS's aftermarket mic for KX2/KX3 radios

Tom M7MCQ recently posted some interesting info on an aftermarket mic for Elecraft KX-series radios.

The mic was initially offered by Dave M0JKS as a kit but they now are sold completely built.

I ordered one the next day.

QRP rigs, pricing, and what's missing from most of them

A search of the mythical Ideal QRP Travel Rig For Vibration-Rich Environments has me, once again, pondering what's out there and coming to the same old conclusion:

That the Elecraft KX2 - manyyears (yes, one word) after its introduction - still has no peer. Eight years old now - a virtual eternity.

Like others, I watch the YouTube infomercials of the latest offerings, hoping to find my unicorn. But lately, rather than compelling me to open my wallet, they reaffirm the value of the radio released back in 2016.

Here's where I'm coming from vs. what's out there - a bit of a backstory (please bear with me):

Nine years ago, I rode most of the off-road motorcycle trail known as the TAT that stretched (at the time - it's longer now) from Tennessee to Oregon, on a single-cylinder Suzuki DR650. Single-cylinder bikes are often called "thumpers" for good reason. I made it to Utah before the obligations of still being employed called me home. That fact bugs me like you have no idea. I almost finished - but didn't.

I had two radios with me: an MTR-3 and an Elecraft KX2. Both performed admirably and survived single-cylinder vibration and the bike being dropped three times on Colorado's Ophir Pass.

Video: Iceland by drone and operating as TF/AE5X

I am amazed at the stunning scenery of Iceland - the trip was bucket-list incredible.

The video below is about 2/3 drone video (followed by 1/3 radio) of the places we saw as we drove around the country.

In all, we put 950 miles (1500km) on the car and I activated 4 parks. Each park was a first-activation for that park. I had no trouble making contacts but my time at each park was limited. The KX2 at ten watts into a roof-mounted vertical worked well and was portable enough to travel with easily.

Today's park activation from Iceland

I've activated two parks in Iceland since arriving 4 days ago - both times were first activations for those parks. It's been tough to put the camera down. Iceland is an amazing country and I'll have more to say about it later.

Today's activation of IS-0092 Blábjörg Natural Monument was a lesson in Exceeded Expectations 101. Just when you think you can predict certain aspects of this radio stuff, the unexpected happens.

The park is located near the small town of Djúpivogur on Iceland's eastern coast. It's pretty much a straight shot into parts of Europe but many mountains block the path to the US...or so I thought.

I called CQ POTA on 15, 17 and 20 meters and worked both continents on all bands.

Many US stations were quite strong and I worked a number of familiar calls. The QRN that I worried about was non-existent - the bands are quite, propagation over salt water works like a charm and my 10 watts was doing the trick.

The POTA ride begins

Packed up and ready to roll

 

Two-score and seven years ago, the Texas Department of Public Safety conveyed forth upon my person a new motorcycle license, conceived in Smith County and dedicated to the proposition that even a 15 year-old kid could roam about freely on two wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine.

I am now engaged in a great reminiscence to determine whether that freedom, or any freedom so conceived, can long endure. It is altogether fitting and proper that I should do this.

And so agrees the Little Lady, even if I don't paraphrase old Abe.

The motorcycles in the garage have changed much over the years, from my old Honda CB100. The current one sports a full tank of gas and a complete POTA station.

In 1973, that would've meant lashing an FT-101 onto the tiny Honda. But today it's a KX2 and a ground-mounted vertical in the rear trunk of my R1150RT. Weighs next to nothing.

DXing: KX2 masquerading as a KH1

A cheap 51" (130cm) telescoping CB walkie-talkie antenna and conditions on 10-15 meters gave me the idea to treat my KX2 like a KH1.

Tuesday mornings can offer slow POTA activity but I was pleased with the results anyway from a peaceful little park about half an hour from home.

The weather was perfect and this project served as the perfect excuse to be outside.

In the following video, I made 10 contacts in 20 minutes. Those 10 contacts included 7 DXCC entities - all with a short whip antenna and a single ground radial.

When the bands are hot, amazing things are possible. Earlier this week I was able to work 4W8X on 10m CW from home with the KX2.

This weekend I'll be building a short coil to supplement the CB whip's internal coil with the idea of using the whip on 17/20 meters.

Various online calculators say I'll need 30 turns on a 1-inch form.

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1st outting with new KX2 - mucho DX on 10/12m

I ordered a KX2 back in mid July - by mid-October, it had still not arrived...but an 'For Sale' ad was placed by a local ham for a 4-month old KX2 that he decided he didn't want. It had all the options I wanted and none of those I didn't.

My order with Elecraft was quickly cancelled and the new-to-me KX2 was soon on its way.

Today was my first outting - a POTA activation - with the KX2 and, man, I sure picked the right day for it.

Elecraft's internal battery charger for KX2

Wayne N6KR reported on 1 Feb that Elecraft's long-awaited internal battery charger for the KX2 has been successfully evaluated by 25 field testers and that Elecraft will begin taking orders soon.

The manual and instructions (1.2MB pdf) for adding this new option to the KX2 appeared online today.

No word yet on the price.

 

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The IC-705 is the KX4

I'm a long-time Elecraft fan, having owned many of their radios over the years, and had been hoping for a KX4 to come along eventually. Along with a KX2, I also have a mcHF, and I've been keeping a list of all the best features of both radios that I would like to see incorporated into an eventual Elecraft KX4.

Also on the list were features that neither of those two radios had - the chief item being some degree of weatherproofing. Any amount would be a vast improvement over both the KX2 and the mcHF.

Evidently, Icom was also keeping a list.

Comparing the mcHF and the KX2

"Is you crazy - or just plain stupid?"

I've recently sold my Elecraft KX2; the idea of doing so started occurring soon after receiving my mcHF.

The more I operated the mcHF, the more I realized that the KX2 would see more operation from someone else's shack (tent, trail, mountaintop) than I was likely ever to provide it.

Eight emails sent to me ranged from "Are you crazy?" to "Why do you like the mcHF so much?" so I thought I'd post those reasons here.

KFF-3056 activation report

2.5 watts from the KX2 drove the HR-50 to 42 watts out with 12.5V battery

Today's activation of Sheldon State Park (KFF-3056) just east of Houston went well and resulted in a lot of fun contacts. And I did my best not to annoy the alligators.

Camera tripod on car top supports 17' whip

The main purpose was to test my Hardrock-50 amplifier on battery power to see just how much capacity an hour or two would require. For 40 contacts over a two hour period, the HR-50 used 4.4 amp-hours of juice. Less than I would have thought.

On receive, the amp draws 230 mA; on transmit - about 7 amps. This is with 2-1/2 watts from the KX2 driving the amp to 42 watts of output.

Power was supplied by an automotive-size deep cycle battery and was about 12.5 VDC. The KX2 was powered by a separate battery. From this, I'm guessing that an 8- or 9-AH battery would provide power to both the KX2 and the amp for two hours with capacity (or time) to spare.

Prior to getting on the air I went into the KX2's menu and set ATU-MD to 'BYP' to bypass it since I would be using the autotuner in the HR-50.

The antenna was a 17-foot telescoping whip attached to a camera tripod with a vise-grip mount that has fittings for a 3/8" antenna thread and an SO-239 connector - a handy gadget that stays in my car. I put the tripod on top of my car and laid out two 1/4-wave radials in opposite directions from each other. All contacts (except the last one) were on 20m, and all but two were CW.

Comparing SDRPlay's spectrum analyzer function with calibrated HP8563A

With identical attenuators on each analyzer's input - and with the KX2 set for a 5-watt output, I re-ran the test comparing SDRplay's spectrum analyzer program with an HP 8563A. That program, intended for SDRplay' sline of receivers, can be downloaded here.

A previous comparison was made using the KX2's minimal output of 100 mW and with the rig being incorrectly keyed (misinterpretation of the XMIT/TUNE button) to produce a steady carrier.

The results below are an accurate portrayal of how each device responds to the KX2 on 3.5 MHz. The HP is calibrated annually and was last calibrated in Feb 2018 (four months ago) and it, of course, is displaying accurate results.

(For those interested, I also looked at the KX2's other bands and posted those plots here. Given the 10 MHz span of the SDRplay's Spectrum analyzer program, it is not possible to look at bands higher than 40 meters).
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HP8563A spectrum analyzer, 80m: second harmonic is 52.63 dB below carrier

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SDRplay's spec-an function, 80m: second harmonic is indicated (falsely) as being 41.9 dB below carrier

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Elecraft's K2 in a KX2's world

With next week's temperatures predicted to be 100+ (40's C) for several days, and summer only beginning, I've been trying to justify the purchase and build of an Elecraft K2 that will keep me indoors in my near-fanatical appreciation of the magic of freon.

The problem is, I already have a KX2; therefore, the justification requires a careful comparison. Both rigs have so many of the same functions that are important to me: dual VFO's, configurable AGC settings, built-in keyer, CW memories, etc.

Unfortunately, only a general comparison is possible when basing it on the reviews in QST. This is due to the fact that the ARRL reviews for each transceiver are 17 years apart and during that time, some of the characteristics that are measured and how they're measured, has changed.

How *NOT* to build a battery pack for your KX2!

I've always enjoyed Gil F4WBY videos and have learned a lot from them. They are well-made, interesting and inspiring. However, Gil's latest video results in a battery pack that is blatantly unsafe and I hope he removes it from YouTube. No disrespect is intended.

Here is Gil's video:

The main problem is with the manner of heat shrinking used to encapsulate the 3-cell pack. Gil inserts his battery pack into the shrink wrap lengthwise - the finished result of this leaves the terminals of the cells exposed.

Portable 3-band antenna and KFF-3056

Operating from KFF-3056 (TX)

My quest for a compact multi-band antenna that can be mounted anywhere has ended. The components in the photo below were used earlier today to activate KFF-3056 (Sheldon Lake SP just east of Houston TX) with results that were better than I'd hoped for.

On past outdoor QRP excursions, I've had to select operating positions that were convenient to suitable trees, then heave a line over a suitable branch, haul up the wire and try to keep any of it from getting tangled on anything.

But no more!

Video: The KX2 goes for a ride and activates KFF-4415

Yesterday was tailor made for outdoor QRP and motorcycling - partly sunny and 75F (23C). I had been wanting to try an antenna idea suggested to me by W0ZF in a previous comment and am happy to report that it worked quite well.

The antenna was simply a 29-foot wire (hurled into a tree thanks to the amazing powers of nylon-corded Gatorade) and a single 29-foot radial. The KX2 was able to tune it on all bands 10-40m though all contacts were made on 20m for this activation.

QRP: NA QSO Party with KX2, Norcal 40a

This was a fun little 12-hour contest with high activity levels, a 100-watt power limit and (surprisingly) good propagation. Excellent ingredients for QRP participation.

I started out on 20 meters with my KX2 in full contest regalia, or, less dramatically, hooked up to N3FJP's contest software and a Winkeyer - just like real contesters do with their Big Rigs. Ditto for the Norcal 40a. I think this Big Rig treatment gave these tiny boxes extra mojo & boosted their self-esteem. They, in turn, rewarded me with easily-made QSO points.