I think the coolest thing was for Michael to take the time and help guide Steve in his first POTA activation! Getting it from the master himself is quite a treat, especially with the antenna hazard! Well done!
Excellent! I did nearly the same antenna but used two 12' (big part of 16' crappie poles) foot Crappie poles and a 8 foot DX Eng. fiberglass stick in the middle using wire as the element to form the 20m dipole. Used a surplus 12 ft fiberglass lamp post and an old 13 ft pole vault pole stuck on that as mast and a short wooden top extension to hold pulley off center. The dipole is very light weight and uses the pulley to raise the antenna to 25 feet after pole is up even though mast is rigid enough to walk it up with antenna on it without having to have to pull with a rope if bottom is secured with simple stake and rope anchor/hinge. It would be self supporting in calm wind if in a solid base, but I do not have one except at home, so 3 guylines is required for practical use. If properly placed, two of the guylines form a 'track' for dipole to slide up evenly when raising. It is a one man operation. I have 'steering lines' of light twine attached to the ends of the dipole to stabilize and rotate the dipole after its up. Though lightweight, the only downfall of mine is the longest section is 13 feet for transport. I have also used nearly the same thing with 'droop ended' inverted 'U' dipole on 40 with moderately good results. It would only be a small jump to use a full vertical square loop on 20 with same rig. That would blow their doors off! Is that his next step?
Thank you for your time and mentorship! Great Activation and enjoyed hanging out and making a few POTA QSOs on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of learnings that day -- not the least of which is how those fiberglass 4' mast sections are about as strong as hard taco shells. 🤨 I'm going with an aluminum telescoper and a hitch mount next time with this dual whip dipole: same signal, less..*ahem*...PITA 🤔- very happy with their performance at 25 feet in the air though! Much respect and appreciation! -Steve (WB9EEK)
Michael and Steve, really appreciate the debrief which covered a great range of interesting topics about POTA operations. Thank you both. Jeff AD4F, Charlotte, North Carolina.
I really enjoyed this video. I am a fairly new activator and it was cool to see another new operator on his first time out. Each time out I get more comfortable working a pile up. I also have trouble picking out call signs. Luckily, hunters are patient with me. I hope Steve has many more activations.
Well done for a first activation! I have a similar antenna made with fence rail, PVC and ham sticks that mounts to the stake pockets of my truck. I've never activated with it, but this may give me the impetus. Have to love the signal strength of a fixed dipole!
This is what Elmering is all about! Great job! Not every antenna deployment goes smooth.... Looks like its a big performer though. Welcome to POTA Steve!. Great video!
I use something very similar, it’s a 25’ telescoping push up mast on a trailer hitch mount with a hamstick dipole. It works great but definitely a park police attention grabber. Congrats Steve on your first activation, you’re gonna be hooked now!
I wouldn't recognize your call sign as easily when you say it phonetically. However, when you roll the KB9VBR with your unique cadence, I would recognize it immediately.
Yeah, phonetics can be hard at first, but I recommend it down the road. The NATO phonetic alphabet is what Hams use quite a bit, but sometimes hams use others, such as “Sugar” instead of “Sierra.” That’s what throws me off sometimes. KB9VBR - Kilo Bravo Nine (or Niner), Victor Bravo Romeo is easier to understand through the noise. For mine, it’s a bit of a tongue twister: KF0QNM, Kilo Foxtrot Zero, Quebec November Mike. You get used to it.
I use a very similar 20m antenna, but I have it mounted to a 16' extendable painter's pole that I mount in the hitch of my truck. Works pretty slick. 73. VA6ROC
Also as far as the big guns/qrp. I like to stop every 15-20 calls and ask for any park to park and QRP signals. Got some nice DX p2p that way. They were JUST above the noise that I couldn't hear in the pileups.
Thank you to both Mike and Steve. That was entertaining and I picked up a few good tips. I've never done a POTA activation, but I have thrown a lot of antennas into trees which brings me to a question. When you were lifting the mast, I noticed trees in the background that were much taller. Why not chuck a line of paracord on one of those limbs and lift the dipole up instead? It seems like a win-win. If you find the right limb, you don't need a mast, you don't need guy wires, and if it's a directional antenna, if you have an additional loop of paracord on the antenna, it's now directional.
The reason we used that antenna is that Steve wanted to see what it took to field deploy that antenna system. But I have used the trees at the location to put up wire antennas. But that was mostly in the late fall and early spring. Once the vegetation starts to grow, you quickly find that it is loaded with ticks.
After breaking a few of those fiberglass sections trying to put the entire antenna up as one piece. I learned to put the top section together, then put more sections into it from underneath with 2 guy lines holding it up at an angle. until you get the height you want. Then set all the guy lines to straighten it up. Take it down the reverse or just let it fall over. Or you need a guy line at every section to pull it all up equally. I also used fiberglass fishing poles for the elements much lighter and less droop.
I won't be using an antenna anywhere near that complicated, but thanks for the POTA lesson. I've yet to do my first. I'll be using the Chelegance MC-750.
I was interested in the antenna to see how it was to deploy. I use a 10 ft. painters pole with two 20m ham sticks mounted horizontally with the MFJ-347 dipole mounting bracket. I do prefer more height when operating in the field, but it's easy to transport and deploy without the use of guy wires. Anyway, good job to you both and thank you for sharing the video for others to see. Keep up the good work and enjoy activating parks. 73, KB5AEB
I would never try to raise a set of the fiberglass mast sections like that. (Yes, I have experience.) They can go up through the tripod that is available, but not the walk up approach. What I do with my military mast is use two sections of the fiberglass at the top and the remainder using the aluminum sections. This way I get some isolation for the antenna but the greater strength of the aluminum for the lower part of the mast. I can walk it up by myself, using a tilt-up base, if I pre-stage the guylines so the mast goes just past vertical (giving some stability with no wind). I then grab the guy line for the third stay, walk it out, and secure it. I can then do a walk around to fasten the remaining guylines (I use six to three anchors with three lines at the top and three lines about mid-mast). It isn't hard to get the mast plumb enough. I then use a pulley to raise the antenna (usually an off-center fed dipole or a doublet). The fiberglass segments assure that I don't get coupling of the antenna to the mast. It's not a deployment I use for POTA. I use this if I'm going to be somewhere for a while, like several days or a week, and have enough room to deploy a long antenna. I'm glad it didn't fall on you when it broke!
No hyperbole….I “jumped” when I heard the crack. Quite the day to have KB9VBR as your second operator! I’m old, I figure I can’t get hurt with a BuddistickPro…thx for the content.
yeah those fiberglass military poles suck they break pretty easily when doing that. They do make aluminum ones that wont do that. Some people will say they interfere with the antenna but havent found that to be the case.
I use 17ft wrc whips on a mfj connector......with my DX engineering 25 telescopic fiberglass mast and mfj tripod. Works well. I've .ade phone contacts to Europe that way but have yet to do pota with it
I appreciate the work you put in on these videos. I just finished making a EFHW and, had a question regarding POTA in WI. Are DNR managed sites ok for wire in tree? I'm in Dodge county mostly. Is there a resource for this?
I'm not aware of a resource, but here's what I do. For state Wildlife areas, I will use a tree to hang an antenna. Those area aren't usually busy and you can set up a station without much disruption. In state parks, I'll use a vertical antenna, or something self supporting in the day-use areas. Foot traffic is a concern, and more often than not, I've had issues with people walking into antenna areas. If I can get well out of the way in a park, I may set up a wire antenna. but traffic has to be next to nothing. In campgrounds, I'll use the trees in the campsite. Unless the campsite is small and I have no room.
You sure can. I'm always good for a chat. If the pile up is big, it may not be a rag chew, but a few exchanges back and forth give me a short breather between pile ups.
Ahh POTA....there's nothing quite like spending an hour assembling your station, antenna and so on, turning on your rig and finding ....NADA !!!!! How many times have we done that?? It tends to make one want the fastest antenna in the west....one wire, one pole, one contact....funny how it NEVER goes like that ....HAM radio is fun, isn't it?????
It was two 17 foot whips fully extended to be a 1/2 wave dipole on the 20 meter band. In the center is a dipole mount with two 3/8x24 sockets to hold the whips.
I'm going to push back on this a bit. While duty and VAT can make Chameleon products quite expensive when you purchase overseas, their 17 foot whips are amazing and totally worth the investment. A pair of whips in a dipole configuration, as portrayed in the video, are no less efficient than a wire dipole cut to the same length and lifted to the same height. The benefit of using whips in this configuration is that the ends of the dipole don't need to be tied off or supported in some way.
I think the coolest thing was for Michael to take the time and help guide Steve in his first POTA activation! Getting it from the master himself is quite a treat, especially with the antenna hazard! Well done!
Michael’s a certified Elmer. ❤
There are those of us who would pay for this experience. Way to go Michael. Your friend is hooked. 73
Excellent! I did nearly the same antenna but used two 12' (big part of 16' crappie poles) foot Crappie poles and a 8 foot DX Eng. fiberglass stick in the middle using wire as the element to form the 20m dipole. Used a surplus 12 ft fiberglass lamp post and an old 13 ft pole vault pole stuck on that as mast and a short wooden top extension to hold pulley off center. The dipole is very light weight and uses the pulley to raise the antenna to 25 feet after pole is up even though mast is rigid enough to walk it up with antenna on it without having to have to pull with a rope if bottom is secured with simple stake and rope anchor/hinge. It would be self supporting in calm wind if in a solid base, but I do not have one except at home, so 3 guylines is required for practical use. If properly placed, two of the guylines form a 'track' for dipole to slide up evenly when raising. It is a one man operation. I have 'steering lines' of light twine attached to the ends of the dipole to stabilize and rotate the dipole after its up. Though lightweight, the only downfall of mine is the longest section is 13 feet for transport. I have also used nearly the same thing with 'droop ended' inverted 'U' dipole on 40 with moderately good results. It would only be a small jump to use a full vertical square loop on 20 with same rig. That would blow their doors off! Is that his next step?
The debriefing is an excellent learning for those of us newer Hams. Thanks!
Thank you for your time and mentorship! Great Activation and enjoyed hanging out and making a few POTA QSOs on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of learnings that day -- not the least of which is how those fiberglass 4' mast sections are about as strong as hard taco shells. 🤨 I'm going with an aluminum telescoper and a hitch mount next time with this dual whip dipole: same signal, less..*ahem*...PITA 🤔- very happy with their performance at 25 feet in the air though!
Much respect and appreciation!
-Steve (WB9EEK)
Michael and Steve, really appreciate the debrief which covered a great range of interesting topics about POTA operations. Thank you both. Jeff AD4F, Charlotte, North Carolina.
I really enjoyed this video. I am a fairly new activator and it was cool to see another new operator on his first time out. Each time out I get more comfortable working a pile up. I also have trouble picking out call signs. Luckily, hunters are patient with me. I hope Steve has many more activations.
Well done for a first activation! I have a similar antenna made with fence rail, PVC and ham sticks that mounts to the stake pockets of my truck. I've never activated with it, but this may give me the impetus. Have to love the signal strength of a fixed dipole!
Great video especially for the newcomers to POTA…. Steve asked a lot of good questions and Mike as always nailed it
This is what Elmering is all about! Great job! Not every antenna deployment goes smooth.... Looks like its a big performer though. Welcome to POTA Steve!. Great video!
We learn more from our failures than our successes.
I use something very similar, it’s a 25’ telescoping push up mast on a trailer hitch mount with a hamstick dipole. It works great but definitely a park police attention grabber. Congrats Steve on your first activation, you’re gonna be hooked now!
I wouldn't recognize your call sign as easily when you say it phonetically. However, when you roll the KB9VBR with your unique cadence, I would recognize it immediately.
Yeah, phonetics can be hard at first, but I recommend it down the road. The NATO phonetic alphabet is what Hams use quite a bit, but sometimes hams use others, such as “Sugar” instead of “Sierra.” That’s what throws me off sometimes.
KB9VBR - Kilo Bravo Nine (or Niner), Victor Bravo Romeo is easier to understand through the noise.
For mine, it’s a bit of a tongue twister: KF0QNM, Kilo Foxtrot Zero, Quebec November Mike.
You get used to it.
@@Sonicgott It's more that when he puts his call sign out, there is a rhythm to it.
I use a very similar 20m antenna, but I have it mounted to a 16' extendable painter's pole that I mount in the hitch of my truck. Works pretty slick. 73. VA6ROC
Great video. I’m hoping to get into POTA soon so love seeing these videos, keep them coming.
Also as far as the big guns/qrp. I like to stop every 15-20 calls and ask for any park to park and QRP signals. Got some nice DX p2p that way. They were JUST above the noise that I couldn't hear in the pileups.
Nice Elmer session there Michael, I am just now attempting to get into POTA and getting my kit set up for it.
Do it! You’ll fall in love with it. Especially when you start recognizing hunters.
Awesome, I hope to hear you on the air soon.
Thank you to both Mike and Steve. That was entertaining and I picked up a few good tips.
I've never done a POTA activation, but I have thrown a lot of antennas into trees which brings me to a question. When you were lifting the mast, I noticed trees in the background that were much taller. Why not chuck a line of paracord on one of those limbs and lift the dipole up instead? It seems like a win-win. If you find the right limb, you don't need a mast, you don't need guy wires, and if it's a directional antenna, if you have an additional loop of paracord on the antenna, it's now directional.
The reason we used that antenna is that Steve wanted to see what it took to field deploy that antenna system. But I have used the trees at the location to put up wire antennas. But that was mostly in the late fall and early spring. Once the vegetation starts to grow, you quickly find that it is loaded with ticks.
Good activation! I use the aluminum tubes up until the last section and then put in a fiberglass one for the top. Stronger.
I made my very first contact on HF as well it being my first POTA hunter contact on 20 meters using my IC-705 and sotabeams 3 band hopper 🎉
After breaking a few of those fiberglass sections trying to put the entire antenna up as one piece. I learned to put the top section together, then put more sections into it from underneath with 2 guy lines holding it up at an angle. until you get the height you want. Then set all the guy lines to straighten it up. Take it down the reverse or just let it fall over. Or you need a guy line at every section to pull it all up equally. I also used fiberglass fishing poles for the elements much lighter and less droop.
I won't be using an antenna anywhere near that complicated, but thanks for the POTA lesson. I've yet to do my first. I'll be using the Chelegance MC-750.
That antenna is a BEAST HIHI!
"Everything is a learning experience" has the same dark undertone as "It's never a war crime the first time. "
I was interested in the antenna to see how it was to deploy. I use a 10 ft. painters pole with two 20m ham sticks mounted horizontally with the MFJ-347 dipole mounting bracket. I do prefer more height when operating in the field, but it's easy to transport and deploy without the use of guy wires. Anyway, good job to you both and thank you for sharing the video for others to see. Keep up the good work and enjoy activating parks. 73, KB5AEB
The 450D is a great rig if you get it away from noise . Bit big for portable but it can be done.
You said the system matches p2p “Auto-magically”… I love it… and will start using this word immediately! 😂 Thanks for another one.
I would never try to raise a set of the fiberglass mast sections like that. (Yes, I have experience.) They can go up through the tripod that is available, but not the walk up approach.
What I do with my military mast is use two sections of the fiberglass at the top and the remainder using the aluminum sections. This way I get some isolation for the antenna but the greater strength of the aluminum for the lower part of the mast.
I can walk it up by myself, using a tilt-up base, if I pre-stage the guylines so the mast goes just past vertical (giving some stability with no wind). I then grab the guy line for the third stay, walk it out, and secure it. I can then do a walk around to fasten the remaining guylines (I use six to three anchors with three lines at the top and three lines about mid-mast).
It isn't hard to get the mast plumb enough. I then use a pulley to raise the antenna (usually an off-center fed dipole or a doublet). The fiberglass segments assure that I don't get coupling of the antenna to the mast.
It's not a deployment I use for POTA. I use this if I'm going to be somewhere for a while, like several days or a week, and have enough room to deploy a long antenna.
I'm glad it didn't fall on you when it broke!
No hyperbole….I “jumped” when I heard the crack. Quite the day to have KB9VBR as your second operator! I’m old, I figure I can’t get hurt with a BuddistickPro…thx for the content.
I agree. I've learned from the years of countless field day deployments is that the simplest antenna system is usually the best.
yeah those fiberglass military poles suck they break pretty easily when doing that. They do make aluminum ones that wont do that. Some people will say they interfere with the antenna but havent found that to be the case.
Good stuff Mike. But, I don't understand all of this logging stuff. Do you have a video explaining how this works?
Love this.
I use 17ft wrc whips on a mfj connector......with my DX engineering 25 telescopic fiberglass mast and mfj tripod. Works well. I've .ade phone contacts to Europe that way but have yet to do pota with it
I appreciate the work you put in on these videos. I just finished making a EFHW and, had a question regarding POTA in WI. Are DNR managed sites ok for wire in tree? I'm in Dodge county mostly. Is there a resource for this?
I'm not aware of a resource, but here's what I do. For state Wildlife areas, I will use a tree to hang an antenna. Those area aren't usually busy and you can set up a station without much disruption. In state parks, I'll use a vertical antenna, or something self supporting in the day-use areas. Foot traffic is a concern, and more often than not, I've had issues with people walking into antenna areas. If I can get well out of the way in a park, I may set up a wire antenna. but traffic has to be next to nothing. In campgrounds, I'll use the trees in the campsite. Unless the campsite is small and I have no room.
I wish here in SoCal I can consistently get 30 or more contacts per hour.
Thank you for the video and great to help out someone new POTA's! Would probably have a hard hat handy with that antenna! :)
73 de KC1OJP
Yeah, this is certainly not a typical POTA setup.
Reminds me of the Mosely TA31, triband dipole. Two words...hitch mount.
Agreed. I've ordered an aluminum telescoping mast with a trailer hitch mount and will be trying again with this dipole configuration. 73! de WB9EEK
Perhaps a 6 meter tripod mast would work better for this PITA Pota telescopic antenna.
THANK GOODNESS FOR FAST FORWARD, it was getting hot 🥵👋🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
What?!? I can talk you up? I always catch you in a pile up so I never want to tie you up for too long. One day I’ll do more then “hey.” lol.
You sure can. I'm always good for a chat. If the pile up is big, it may not be a rag chew, but a few exchanges back and forth give me a short breather between pile ups.
Without an over the top support line I can’t see those whip lasting long. A lot of bending stress from their own weight.
I think I would have erected it a bit further away from the vehicles....especially after the first collapse.
You might want to use a fiberglass tripod base
Ahh POTA....there's nothing quite like spending an hour assembling your station, antenna and so on, turning on your rig and finding ....NADA !!!!! How many times have we done that?? It tends to make one want the fastest antenna in the west....one wire, one pole, one contact....funny how it NEVER goes like that ....HAM radio is fun, isn't it?????
What kind of antenna are you using?
It was two 17 foot whips fully extended to be a 1/2 wave dipole on the 20 meter band. In the center is a dipole mount with two 3/8x24 sockets to hold the whips.
What almost killed you I'm confused
I believe he's referring to setting up this ungainly (but effective) antenna. It was a lot more difficult than tossing a wire into a tree.
@kumasu ahh ok...that makes since
🤷♂️🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
Ah chameleon, overrated and overpriced, better off with a simple elevated 1/2 wave and four radio, cheaper and more efficient.
I'm going to push back on this a bit. While duty and VAT can make Chameleon products quite expensive when you purchase overseas, their 17 foot whips are amazing and totally worth the investment. A pair of whips in a dipole configuration, as portrayed in the video, are no less efficient than a wire dipole cut to the same length and lifted to the same height. The benefit of using whips in this configuration is that the ends of the dipole don't need to be tied off or supported in some way.
Thanks for pulling me out of the weeds! Thanks for the activation K4OTX
Ah, antennas. Part engineering, part art form, part science experiment. Good times! ❤
de KF0QNM
You forgot the part pain in the butt bit...
@@bitemykrank1970 But that's part of the fun! :D