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Thanks for your reply and I'm glad I could give you some new ideas!

The telescopic antenna itself is pretty light and therefore not very sturdy, but nicely built. If you take a bit care (like with all telescopic antennas), you'll be fine. The support with all connectors is very robust. Personally, I prefer light stuff in general, since I have to carry it on my back to a mountain 😅.

I asked the seller back then for this longer ground spike, because it can be helpful when the soil is too hard, e.g. by using a pile of rocks. After my request to the seller, he added an item with this 25cm long spike. But in the meantime, I just realized, that the link got invalid, so I just adapted it to the corresponding item. There are so many versions to choose from.

I completely agree with every sentence you wrote! Also, a GoPro cam is not a cheap product from one of the Chinese online stores. I definitely won't be buying another product from them, especially as it seems they haven't really solved the problem, according to one comment below. We can only warn other potential buyers about this potential error.

RG-58 is fine (for VHF I also use this), but for HF I prefer thinner and therefore lighter coaxial cables. Typical ones for portable operation are RG-316 and RG-174. I found a very flexible one from Sotabeams: RG-174 A/U MIL. I use the same 5m long coax since years for at least 500 SOTA activations in summer heat and in icy winter conditions. I also accidentally stepped on it multiple times, but it still works fine.

@@PortableRadiothank you very much! i was looking everywhere to find an alternative to RG58 and it was too complicated. now i know what model to look for.

No, for this antenna I always use 8 radials plus the coax, also with the full size radiator (20-6m). I don't have all the data at hand, but using only 4 radials will work for sure, but with higher earth losses.

Hello Stephan, good explanation, this MA-8300 antenna is almost identical to the HF-PRO-2-PLUS-T, it is the one I am using lately and it comes with a tripod to place the antenna ok It fits larger qrm ok, it is practical for transportation a hug EA3HP Daniel

@@DONALDUAN1 Hola Daniel, Yes, there are so many versions available. I heard from another SOTA ham that the Spanish company Kommunica built the original one (the one you're using). All other makes are basically a copy, but since they're built by the same Taiwanese company, they seem to look and work pretty the same. Update: I never tried it with a tripod, but with a ground spike, mainly because it's lighter and and easier to carry. But elevating the antenna feed point with a tripod should improve it's radiation pattern. 73 Stephan

@@PortableRadio once I neglected to take the photographic tripod and I put it on the ground, it came out just as well, yours is a punch nailed to the ground, I have seen the same height as yours with a tripod screwed rod ok, I bought my antenna at the Cerdanyola mercaham for 290 euros, it is expensive, in relation to yours cheers Daniel

@@DONALDUAN1 Yes, there are many mounting possibilities, depending on the actual environment. Last Saturday, when I activated the second summit HB/SZ-024, I found another efficient but quick mounting solution: photos.sotl.as/large/52a1dfe305092ba9654fb62b96f92b34.jpg Mostly, I use one of my EFHW antennas because I can switch bands quickly and it works much better for NVIS. But in the higher mountains with restricted space, this vertical is my go-to antenna. 73 Stephan

Thanks for the info. I hope it's happening only with a few of them and that you get a refund or replacement!

Hi David, glad you like it! The bright base at the bottom of the mast is a cheap fishing rod holder from Decathlon. This and more information about the antenna used can be found in my portable 7-band EFHW antenna document at hb9sota.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Portable-7-Band-EFHW_HB9EAJ-V1.2.pdf. Have fun!

Thanks Fraser, it was definitely better weather and warmer than today's Transatlantic S2S event 😜.

Yes, that would have been great! During my stay in VE7, conditions were not that great and I only worked a handful of European stations using SSB. 17m or 15m were usually the best bands for Europe, but on this summit I was using 20m and 40m only (with a lot of trouble to spot, but that's another story...). Basically, on each summit I made contact with F4WBN. Once he reduced his power to 10W and he was still coming strong. He has really an amazing antenna!

@@PortableRadio Interesting, I wonder what results you could have got using 10m? I recently had a QSO with a Canadian on a WWFF activation and I was only using 10watts. Hoping to do a SOTA soon using a different antenna to my usual linked dipole, gonna try a tankwhip on a ground stake with 4x5mtr radials, be an interesting experiment. 73s!

@@nickjh1968 Now, during daytime, 10m is in great shape. But back in August, this band was mostly dead, at least when I was on top of a summit. Further, I was activating in VE7 that is on the West Coast (BC) and therefore to have a 10m contact with Europe (even now), one has to be early on a summit. The contact with Chris on this summit was at 20:35 UTC which is 22:35 CEST and the hike to the summit took more than 4h.

Indeed! Moreover, there were a bunch of chipmunks running around, but no bear 😃.

Thanks for your valuable feedback!

Thanks, it was really great to see you on the summit. Good experience and so many possibilities out in nature. Have fun and 73, Stephan

Glad you liked it! Indeed, some summits are special, it doesn't need to be on a higher mountain in the Alps, which can also be very nice. Every summit is special, some are more special 😃

Thanks Mike, your overview is very helpful!

Thanks for your question! I did several non-scientific comparisons by simply switching between the two antennas, when there was enough space. The 20m long EFHW was configured as inverted-L, with an apex of about 6m. 20m and up was comparable, but 40m was only useable for distances greater than about 100km (no NVIS), but with reduced signal strength (both RX and TX).

Sad to hear and thanks for letting us know!

Are these problems also affecting the audio, and if so, how do they manifest?

Hi Alexander, thank you for your kind words! I also benefit from so many cool things that people share, e.g. the whole SOTA infrastructure, including SOTLAS, SOTAmat, VK port-a-log, etc. Therefore, when I think something could be useful for somebody else, I dig a bit deeper and try to share my experience and conclusions. I'm very happy that I could pass some ideas to you! Have fun and 73, Stephan

Hi Jose. Some time ago I was using the free 4NEC2 software, but in the video you see some results from the free MMana-Gal software. There are some good TH-cam videos that explain the MMana-Gal software. For the start I liked the one from @DXCommander. Have fun and 73, Stephan

Many thanks for your help / 73@@PortableRadio

@@PortableRadio Hi! How do you model the adjustable coil in mmana-gal? @5:16 I get the same low SWR as you on 14.050 but as soon as you move to any other bands things get quite nasty. See the following frequency/SWR pairs given by mmana-gal: 7.050Mhz/718, 10.120Mhz/72.9, 14'050Mhz/1.37, 18.080Mhz/14.3, 21.050Mhz/26.1, 24.900Mhz/38.2, 28.200Mhz/45.2. Anything outside of 20m is going to put a lot of reliance on the coil doing its job.

@@02vLxcZF Thanks for your question! I didn't model the (adjustable) loading coil in mmana-gal, since I was mainly interested in the radiation pattern. The SWR was measured in the field, with the explained configuration. You could also add an inductor at the feed point and change it accordingly. But I never really played with this and the different radial configuration in mmana-gal.

Fraser, thanks for your kind words! Usually I try to build all from scratch, but this time, the available parts were fitting so well together that I gave it a try. To be honest, I didn't expect that it works so well, but only on the higher bands. Your solution is also striking, especially when one has a good ATU available that is part of the transceiver. Trying and experimenting is so much fun! 73 Stephan

Thanks for your feedback! I found a German article about the HF-P1 portable antenna (I assume you are referring to) which is a bit shorter but has the coil in the middle. I also assume the performance is comparable to this antenna, except there is a bit of magic involved, hi. And yes, if you use longer and more radials you can get a few more dB, but that adds to the overall weight. My goal was to have about one wavelength of radials at 20m, without the coax screen. That seemed to me to be the sweet spot for efficiency, ease of set-up and weight.

Thank you for watching and your feedback!

Thank you for your feedback, Steve! I agree wholeheartedly. It can't beat a full length radiator, but for its light weight, short transport length and versatility, it's hard to beat. And in confined spaces, it is better to have an antenna than none at all!

If you experience the same problem, I would also try to get a refund. That will save you a lot of trouble!

Indeed, the Jungfrau region is known for stunning mountain views. In the video you also see the famous Eiger-Nordwand!

You're welcome! If you were in a hurry, you could also have read the video description. For me it was a solution, because I had a camera that worked afterwards. Maybe you explain us your solution?

@@PortableRadio there’s nothing in the description that will fix the issue. You even say in your video there isn’t. But you made a long video to tell everyone to just keep sending the device back. Won’t help anybody who is out of warranty, which is now everybody and was probably the same when you published this.

@@TheRealOrangeGringo In the video I try to explain the whole story, but I don't repeat it here again. The main point is that GoPro lied to me and other owners. This video is the proof and you can use it when discussing with them. And yes, if you suffer from this crackling problem, you should send it back and don't believe GoPro that there is no solution and you have to live with it. This is the main point! And of course, my cam was still in warranty and once GoPro replaces you the cam, the warranty starts to count again for two years, at least here in Switzerland. I just checked some shops and you still get it in Swiss shops with the full warranty. Again, please explain me a better solution.

do you have to tell us your life story in order to get to…….NOTHING? 😡

@@PortableRadiothe video title says, “GoPro Hero 9 audio crackling FINALLY solved!” But NOTHING was solved, you just exchanged the GoPro and it doesn’t take 8 and a half minutes of boring talking for people to know that. 3 words in 3 seconds would be enough, “just exchange it” There.

If you watched the video and read the video description you should have seen the solution that worked for me. That's why I documented it. Maybe you expected another solution? I'd like to hear about it!

@@PortableRadio solution doesnt exist..

@@TURIECFOTO My solution exists and worked for me. At least I have a working GoPro.

Thanks! The media mod will most likely solve the crackling noise problem. If you solve it this way, GoPro sells more and you carry more. This may or may not be intended 😉

Hi Ken, thanks for your feedback! I think you're not alone. At least for me, this was the last product from this company. Anyways, I think GoPro is not innovative anymore.

❤

Hi, as explained in the video, it was replaced two times with the same model, a Hero 9. You can see all serial numbers in the video description, where the last digit is replaced with an X.

Спасибо, мне нравится быть в снегу!

@@PortableRadio snow is part of our life, our nature... 🙏🤝🥶

Hi Andreas, Indeed, a very cool idea that works out of the box with my existing equipment. So no new gadgets to buy 😉. It just needs some preparation on the sotamat.com website, before you are able to spot. Your video about the LoRa mesh network that you presented on your @HB9BLA channel is also very innovative! I wish there were more LoRa or MeshCom gateways in remote places. 73 Stephan

@@PortableRadio I saw that it needs some preparation. Which is ok. I admire people who use what is available to get completely different things. BTW, I also presented Rattlegram on my HB9BLA channel which uses the Smartphone to generate an acoustic message, similar to yours. But not FT8

@@AndreasSpiess Rattlegram is also a innovative idea! I was the guy on your channel who couldn't decipher the message. Later, after Rattlegram got some updates, I tried it between some devices and it worked flawlessly.

Hallo Alfred, ich weiss nicht, wie das genau bei Amazon abläuft. Ist sicher auch abhängig wieviel Zeit seit dem Kauf verstrichen ist. Auch das Leseproblem mit der Speicherkarte hatte ich auch, obwohl bekannte Marke und in Cam formattiert. SD-Karten sind jedoch vielfach problematisch und verglichen mit SSDs von minderer Qualität.

I definitely take the antenna always with me. It's not that heavy at all.

Never too late Yury 😃 Interesting video from you, thanks for telling me about your EFHW coupler and the TX-500! You know the saying with great minds...😅 Seems like you finally decided for the TX-500. I'm totally happy with it and when I'm out like today, and the weather is terrible, I have peace of mind, due to its robust design. Have fun and 73, Stephan

I never used my cam under water. Good luck solving your problem!

@@PortableRadio it will be a pity to miss the world under water. I just posted one of our experiences in Greece 🇬🇷.

@@camperjoyvery nice footage and have fun traveling in Europe!

@@PortableRadio thanks!

Hi Nick, thanks for the S2S on 20m! Your summit 'Black Down' looks nice. It seems this was your first activation and I was the only contact? We both were 59, so I guess your setup was just fine. 73 Stephan

@@PortableRadio Hi Stephan, thankyou for the reply! No I ended up with 18 contacts in my log, I was on 20 mtr for around 30 mins then spotted myself on 40mtr for around the same time, all in all a very successful and enjoyable day. Take care, 73s

@@nickjh1968 Good to hear it was a success! My information was from SOTLAS. Have fun and 73

Hi, not sure which crackling you mean. It's either static from the radio, or my GoPro 9 which had this defect. I made a video about how to FINALLY solve it 😃

@@PortableRadio I noticed it too. Sounds like the old Russian Woodpecker OTH RADAR.

​​@@rjy8960 you're right, you can hear an OTH radar towards the end. You can hear them pretty frequently and on different bands and from different countries.

Hallo Bertus, ich habe den offiziellen GoPro Support kontaktiert. Dies ist meines Wissens der einzige gangbare Weg. Später hatte ich ein Telefonat mit München, welche für den Vertrieb im DACH-Raum zuständig sind. Viel Erfolg und lass dich nicht abwimmeln!

Thanks for your feedback! It would be great to know how the GoPro 11 behaves in this respect.

I agree, the GoPro customer support, at least here in central Europe, is terrible. I spent many hours with them without getting help. And yes, they know that they have an audio problem with many GoPro 9 cams. But if they offer you a replacement, I would go for it as long as you have warranty on it and hope you'll get a working one. Good luck!

@@PortableRadio @HB9EAJ Portable Radio Hi, i am in Portugal, they have agreed a replacement but wont agree to me swapping it over with the courier to save me going without for 2 weeks but they have said no, getting a manger call in a day or so. i will reply with the outcome for others to see 👍

@@PortableRadio I am not getting very far with gopro, they have said they will swap my gopro but i have explained they know they have hardware issues and continued to sell a product with a know defect making it 'not fit for purpose' and because i have not damaged the gopro i have asked if they will do an exchange with the courier to save me losing my camera for two weeks and how it will effect our channel earnings.... i show my camera serial number put it in a box in front of the courier and he gives me the new one, they have refused as it isnt normal policy. I asked for a manger to call, got nothing, i contacted again and asked again, promised a call within 48hrs, that was 5 days ago and nothing so far. They are denying they have a hardware fault, so i wanted to ask do you have any evidence of gopro admitting the problem

Thanks for hiking by, hope you could solve it as well. Your videos are so nicely filmed and the nature around Utah looks so special!

Tony, before buying, just check it out. Not all GoPro have this problem, but many, if not most.