Over the last 11 months, I've found that different items have migrated into and out of my KX2 kit, but it has been a *perfect* POTA kit for me. I waited 20 weeks for mine!
You'll love it! Too bad the lead times are still a bit long, but it'll be worth the wait. I've altered some of the antennas, and replaced the mic with something much smaller (but still haven't used it).
I concur with this excellent video! Very nice setup…I will be setting up a portable rig and accessories as I have more time now! Looking forward. Thanks for sharing, 73’s
Nice setup Alan, I enjoy seeing what other HAMS pack and getting new ideas. I have a KX3 and an IC-705 -- am currently kitting out my go-bags for them. I put together a bag and then went out to my truck in the driveway - went 'mock portable' and wrote down things I either needed or items I could do without. Of course with the winter weather upon us, I'd just assume bring it all and stay inside a warm vehicle hihi
Cool to learn about your setup. You asked about mine: Maxpedtion Bottle Carrier houses - IC705, Mic, Stand, KM4ACK Build a Pi, 6Ah Bioenno. Daypack has GoTure Red Fox fiberglass rod (Mast) and KG6HQD speaker wire dipole (20M) and K6ARK 2019 Prototype QRO EFHW (20-40), iPad (for my JS8 SOTA contacts). Changes? Get the smaller versions of the antennas and a 3aH Bioenno and Carbon 6 mast to be self contained (minus the iPad); finish learning morse code and toss in a small key. KC6ARY
Hi Alan, thanks for producing this nice video. You seem to be doing pretty great with this kit. I have seen a lot of POTA Activations from your call recently. My kit looks similar however a little bit bulkier since I use the FT-818, an 6AH LifepoE Batteriy and a selection of longwires with a HF-Kits 1:49 Balun (as seen on your channel). I use to carry some tent stakes (?) made from steel. I put them into the ground with some attached wire to give the radio a good grounding. I also take my Rigexpert Stick Antenna Analyser with me. I find that more useful as a tuner. I am usually bicycle portable; I do not own a car.
Another wonderful video. Alan I think your viewers would love to see a video similar to the ones where you adjust "L" and "C" parrallel and shunt and walk us around your electric Smith chart, but with a swinging link on a balanced tuner. I think showing how K factor affects impedance transformation would be fascinating to a lot of viewers. Best of 73 OM, de Tom, AB9NZ
Sir, Glad to see you again with your comprehensive crash course. Expecting some day you will reveal the secret behind bipolar transistor's working(current through reverse biased cb junction)
Nice video, nice setup. I kind of have the same setup. I also use a HWEF40 with #22 wire to keep the package compact. I also use RG 174 which takes up less space in the carry bag. Amazing how far we have come when it comes to the radio, which includes the battery and even an internal ATU. Compare that to the old HW 8 Heathkit. Hi Hi Barry, KU3X/QRP
My portable opps got much easier with a KX2. I carry the AX1 and a longer End fed antenna on most of my expeditions. When I can get to a tree I use the End fed and it gives very good results. When I work HOTA there I typically use the AX1 because there are few trees around Hotels.
I have a Bovke case that I keep my Xiegu x6100 in. I have videos showing off my POTA kit. I was actually at a POTA spot when you were also doing POTA, but at the time I wasn't confident in my CW skills yet to work you. I really hope that one day I can get both you and K4SWL in my logbook! -Jonathan KM4CFT
What a nice compact "Go" pack! I'm curious to know if the Elecraft internal battery will go for awhile on transmit as well as receive. I guess that Marconi park will be seeing more of you once the warm weather returns!
Excellent video. I agree w everything in your kit and would add a 3S Lipo RC battery. These are very inexpensive and give me piece of mind that in my battery dies that I can continue to operate. I would also suggest you utilize the battery ahr monitoring feature in the KX2, you can monitor usage and hopefully prevent a prematurely shortened activation. KQ9L
Hello Alan, I just wish it would have a color display with the scope and waterfall just like the ICOM IC-705. I know that has a tone of featurs but no tuner inside... If I get my License I will buy the Icom :) Thank you and 73! DE1CTL
Looks great! I love working the POTA stations. What a gredat way to promote parks AND amateur radio. Do you get a lot of curious people who wonder what you're doing? Thanks for participating and showing your equipment. Also, do you find these end fed antennas are easier, better than others or all of the above? Thanks for sharing and 73.
I prefer to deploy any of the end fed antennas whenever possible. I only use the SuperAntenna MP-1 vertical when I can't use one of the wire end-fed antennas (no trees or other support structures available).
Hi there! Greetings from the UK. The KX2 is a great radio for portable operating and having a small selection of wire lengths, coax and several connectors it allows to deploy your antenna to suit operation conditions. A quick question regarding power cable. Do I need to fit a fuse or a couple of fuses between the radio and the Battery? Btw I only have 3000mAh LiFePo batteries. I would prefer not to like you show on the video but all my other portable radios, Icom IC-705, Yaesu FT-818, Lab599 TX-500, all have on the power cables fuses pre-installed which I find a bit bulky. The KX2 is the only radio that the power cable does not come fitted with a fuse. Thanks for sharing
The pack is offered separately from Elecraft: elecraft.com/products/es60-compact-padded-carrying-case But, I purchased the "KX2 Shack in Box" package, which included the case, the battery & charger, the internal tuner, the optional realtime clock and a few other goodies.
The internal battery will give several hours of run time, so I have typically only been using that so far since most of my operating activities are only for an hour or two. When I return home, I recharge the pack so it is ready for the next outing.
One more question. Why both a 40m and a 20m EFHW since the 40 will do 20 also. Is it just so you have something to use depending on how much room you have?
The 7005 is pretty close to the KX3 in size so I’m thinking the larger ES-80 case will fit. I also asked on the Elecraft reflector list and they seem to think so too.
Hi Alan There is something wrong with your older videos, they are playing at like 3fps, completely unwatchable, it literally hurts the eyes to watch. I recently started playing with rf and i was going through your old videos, and some have it worse than others, but many of them have this problem. At first i thought it's something with my pc, but I checked on my laptop, on my phone, different browsers etc, no luck. Look at the video 195, it's like an epilepsy simulator. Edit: I just verified from the source video stream, youtube has downconverted your old videos to 160 frames per 10s, or 2.66(6) frames per second.
TH-cam made a change to how some of older .mts videos are rendered. They were shot at 30fps. When they were first uploaded, they played fine. A few years ago, all of the .mts files started playing at 15fps. Jittery, but watchable. I just checked 195, and it is playing at 15fps for me. There's nothing I can do about what TH-cam is doing with my videos unfortunately.
I think yt is storing different versions per region, because I'm in eastern eu, and I'm getting the 2.66 FPS version, that even the build in statistics on the yt player confirms. Anyway, I appreciate you took the time to check this and respond. Thank you for all your educational content, it helped me a lot over the years. I made stuff I would never be able to without channels like yours.
Great go kit…waiting for my new KX2 (8-10 weeks!). Your kit is pretty much all I need…thanks for the video. Cheers, Alex K9YTT
Over the last 11 months, I've found that different items have migrated into and out of my KX2 kit, but it has been a *perfect* POTA kit for me. I waited 20 weeks for mine!
What a great kit! With a bottomless supply of gear. Awesome!
Wonderful setup! I got some of that especially the kx2. 73’ de n5vwn
So organised! I stand in awe of your ability to plan for any eventuality!😃
Nice go kit! I am about to order the KX2 and I love how much equipment you have in such a small package.
You'll love it! Too bad the lead times are still a bit long, but it'll be worth the wait. I've altered some of the antennas, and replaced the mic with something much smaller (but still haven't used it).
I concur with this excellent video! Very nice setup…I will be setting up a portable rig and accessories as I have more time now! Looking forward. Thanks for sharing, 73’s
Nice setup Alan, I enjoy seeing what other HAMS pack and getting new ideas. I have a KX3 and an IC-705 -- am currently kitting out my go-bags for them. I put together a bag and then went out to my truck in the driveway - went 'mock portable' and wrote down things I either needed or items I could do without. Of course with the winter weather upon us, I'd just assume bring it all and stay inside a warm vehicle hihi
Good to see you back. I’ve missed your videos for the last few months.
Yes, a major remodeling project at the house, and increased work travel have severely limited my video production.
Wow you’re really making the most of that space. I’m glad I found this as I just received my KX2. Nothing better than CW POTA! 73 de KI7QCF
Cool to learn about your setup. You asked about mine: Maxpedtion Bottle Carrier houses - IC705, Mic, Stand, KM4ACK Build a Pi, 6Ah Bioenno. Daypack has GoTure Red Fox fiberglass rod (Mast) and KG6HQD speaker wire dipole (20M) and K6ARK 2019 Prototype QRO EFHW (20-40), iPad (for my JS8 SOTA contacts). Changes? Get the smaller versions of the antennas and a 3aH Bioenno and Carbon 6 mast to be self contained (minus the iPad); finish learning morse code and toss in a small key. KC6ARY
Hi Alan, thanks for producing this nice video. You seem to be doing pretty great with this kit. I have seen a lot of POTA Activations from your call recently. My kit looks similar however a little bit bulkier since I use the FT-818, an 6AH LifepoE Batteriy and a selection of longwires with a HF-Kits 1:49 Balun (as seen on your channel). I use to carry some tent stakes (?) made from steel. I put them into the ground with some attached wire to give the radio a good grounding. I also take my Rigexpert Stick Antenna Analyser with me. I find that more useful as a tuner. I am usually bicycle portable; I do not own a car.
That kx2 looks like fun.
Great video. Gives me a lot of ideas. Currently using Xiegu X6100. Agree on carry iambic paddle and microphone. Antenna is a EFHW by KM4ACK
Another wonderful video. Alan I think your viewers would love to see a video similar to the ones where you adjust "L" and "C" parrallel and shunt and walk us around your electric Smith chart, but with a swinging link on a balanced tuner. I think showing how K factor affects impedance transformation would be fascinating to a lot of viewers. Best of 73 OM, de Tom, AB9NZ
Well, I would have to build a balanced tuner first... ...something to add to the list.
I love it. How compact is that go bag. You did an excellent job of putting that together and thank you for sharing. Love it.
Sir, Glad to see you again with your comprehensive crash course. Expecting some day you will reveal the secret behind bipolar transistor's working(current through reverse biased cb junction)
🙏
Hi, the video is very good, everything that fits inside the bag is incredible,😁👍👍
Nice video, nice setup. I kind of have the same setup. I also use a HWEF40 with #22 wire to keep the package compact. I also use RG 174 which takes up less space in the carry bag.
Amazing how far we have come when it comes to the radio, which includes the battery and even an internal ATU. Compare that to the old HW 8 Heathkit. Hi Hi
Barry, KU3X/QRP
My portable opps got much easier with a KX2. I carry the AX1 and a longer End fed antenna on most of my expeditions. When I can get to a tree I use the End fed and it gives very good results. When I work HOTA there I typically use the AX1 because there are few trees around Hotels.
Great set up. 👌
Nice shack-in-a-bag!
Saving my pennies for the KX2. Nice to see you can fit so much in there! 👍
That stock hand mic is taking up a lot of room. I would replace it with lapel mic with ptt switch.
I have a Bovke case that I keep my Xiegu x6100 in. I have videos showing off my POTA kit. I was actually at a POTA spot when you were also doing POTA, but at the time I wasn't confident in my CW skills yet to work you. I really hope that one day I can get both you and K4SWL in my logbook! -Jonathan KM4CFT
If you ever hear me on the air, please give a call. I’ll slow down to whatever speed is comfortable for you!
What a nice compact "Go" pack! I'm curious to know if the Elecraft internal battery will go for awhile on transmit as well as receive. I guess that Marconi park will be seeing more of you once the warm weather returns!
I've operated a few hours, tx and rx, with the internal battery.
Excellent video. I agree w everything in your kit and would add a 3S Lipo RC battery. These are very inexpensive and give me piece of mind that in my battery dies that I can continue to operate. I would also suggest you utilize the battery ahr monitoring feature in the KX2, you can monitor usage and hopefully prevent a prematurely shortened activation. KQ9L
Hello Alan, I just wish it would have a color display with the scope and waterfall just like the ICOM IC-705. I know that has a tone of featurs but no tuner inside... If I get my License I will buy the Icom :) Thank you and 73! DE1CTL
Did someone say go-bag?
Looks great! I love working the POTA stations. What a gredat way to promote parks AND amateur radio. Do you get a lot of curious people who wonder what you're doing? Thanks for participating and showing your equipment. Also, do you find these end fed antennas are easier, better than others or all of the above? Thanks for sharing and 73.
I prefer to deploy any of the end fed antennas whenever possible. I only use the SuperAntenna MP-1 vertical when I can't use one of the wire end-fed antennas (no trees or other support structures available).
No common mode choke? I find I need one with my gear. Maybe the Elecraft is more forgiving?
So far, haven’t needed one. But, definitely worth adding.
@@w2aew Maybe a future video?! :)
Hi there! Greetings from the UK. The KX2 is a great radio for portable operating and having a small selection of wire lengths, coax and several connectors it allows to deploy your antenna to suit operation conditions.
A quick question regarding power cable. Do I need to fit a fuse or a couple of fuses between the radio and the Battery? Btw I only have 3000mAh LiFePo batteries.
I would prefer not to like you show on the video but all my other portable radios, Icom IC-705, Yaesu FT-818, Lab599 TX-500, all have on the power cables fuses pre-installed which I find a bit bulky.
The KX2 is the only radio that the power cable does not come fitted with a fuse.
Thanks for sharing
I would suggest Rite in the Rain notebooks.
Never heard of them, I'll have to check them out.
Perfecto!
Nice video. I like the kit. What model number is the case that you are using? Thanks. 73 KB3WAQ. George
The padded case I am using is this one: elecraft.com/collections/compact-cases/products/es60-compact-padded-carrying-case
Thanks@@w2aew
(mostly^^) perfect. Small and complete.What plate is it under the bamakey? It isn't original.
just a scrap piece of galvanized steel I cut from a junk PC chassis.
What's the make of the pack and link?
The pack is offered separately from Elecraft: elecraft.com/products/es60-compact-padded-carrying-case
But, I purchased the "KX2 Shack in Box" package, which included the case, the battery & charger, the internal tuner, the optional realtime clock and a few other goodies.
Very nice pack! Are you always running on embedded batteries or also carrying a different power source with you? Adrian, YO6SSW
The internal battery will give several hours of run time, so I have typically only been using that so far since most of my operating activities are only for an hour or two. When I return home, I recharge the pack so it is ready for the next outing.
@@w2aew I would love to see more videos on deploying antennas when portable. Thank you for all the valuable content!
@@benish0r Check out this video - I show an antenna deployment at about 0:35 in the video. th-cam.com/video/Q77OyvSMjfs/w-d-xo.html
Very instructive! Would love more of that, including tips on tying those knots :-)
One more question. Why both a 40m and a 20m EFHW since the 40 will do 20 also. Is it just so you have something to use depending on how much room you have?
Precisely - it all depends on the space available, trees or other support structures, etc.
@@w2aew Ok. Thanks. I was just wondering if I was missing something.
Which bag I’d that? Is it the 60 or the 80?
It is the ES-60
@@w2aew thanks. I’m wondering if an IC-705 would fit in that?
@@w4mkh I don't think so. The 705 is about 8" wide, while the KX2 is less than 6" wide.
The 7005 is pretty close to the KX3 in size so I’m thinking the larger ES-80 case will fit. I also asked on the Elecraft reflector list and they seem to think so too.
@@w4mkh Based on the dimenions, it probably will fit: elecraft.com/products/es80_es80-kx3-carrying-case
73" 88"
🌟🌟🌷🌟🌟
Hi Alan
There is something wrong with your older videos, they are playing at like 3fps, completely unwatchable, it literally hurts the eyes to watch.
I recently started playing with rf and i was going through your old videos, and some have it worse than others, but many of them have this problem.
At first i thought it's something with my pc, but I checked on my laptop, on my phone, different browsers etc, no luck.
Look at the video 195, it's like an epilepsy simulator.
Edit: I just verified from the source video stream, youtube has downconverted your old videos to 160 frames per 10s, or 2.66(6) frames per second.
TH-cam made a change to how some of older .mts videos are rendered. They were shot at 30fps. When they were first uploaded, they played fine. A few years ago, all of the .mts files started playing at 15fps. Jittery, but watchable. I just checked 195, and it is playing at 15fps for me. There's nothing I can do about what TH-cam is doing with my videos unfortunately.
I think yt is storing different versions per region, because I'm in eastern eu, and I'm getting the 2.66 FPS version, that even the build in statistics on the yt player confirms.
Anyway, I appreciate you took the time to check this and respond.
Thank you for all your educational content, it helped me a lot over the years. I made stuff I would never be able to without channels like yours.