Recently found your TH-cam, and blog. I just want to say thank you for a no non-sense approach and focusing on the skills. Also for showing your fails and successes. Definitely a fan now and plan on following.
Many thanks for that Robert. We have come a long way since this video, but the journey continues. Many thanks for the comment and your kindness, It's very much appreciated.
I just discovered your channel about a week ago and I am THRILLED to find that your interests / video are very similar to mine. I also like the amount of detail you cover and the hands on approach. The fact that you actually field test the gear and show the actual setup is outstanding sir!! I am jumping around all of your videos in no particular order now! Thanks for doing such a commendable job!
Thanks for this wonderful comment. Be warned though, the oldest videos are terrible. The quality and story telling improved after finding my confidence and voice. 73 Julian oh8stn
Although the title of Julian's top notch presentation (and jam-packed content) is targeted at noob portable ops, it also covers portable operating strategy. His "Questions to ask yourself", is the critical thinking process that even the most experienced operators need when preparing for portable HF (or VHF/UHF) activity. 1. What kind of operating? 2. How long will I operate? 3. Operating QRP or QRO? 4. How will I get there? 5. Do I need to recharge in the field? Great stuff, Julian! -Bonnie KQ6XA
+Bonnie Crystal You're entirely too kind Bonnie! Hopefully operators new and old will find some value from the presentation. For those of you who don't know Bonnie, she is the Queen of Expedition Radio 👍👍👍 73 Julian oh8stn
I am pretty new to field portable operations but I have always been excited to learn from your videos. I have a QRO set up, a Yaesu FT 891 using a Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet TIA antenna, 12v 18Ah battery, windy nation charge controller with a flexible 30w solar panel. Keep up the good work Julian! Esteban, KX4EZ
Great video series. I have just started going portable with an IC-7100, a small SLA battery and a series of whip antennas that I put on top of the van. I watch your channel and just about any other portable operation videos I can find. I started in the driveway - fail! S9 noise level and bad prop. After the second deployment to the nearest park, I has Texas and Alberta from the Atlanta GA area, so I know my system works. Everything except the antenna fits into a small suitcase. I will never be able to go far from my vehicle, but I will master portable operations. Thank you for all your videos!
I man before stumbling over this video I had no idea that radio field communications was a hobby but now after just this one video, looking at your stunning setup I am already hooked :D My grandfather was a "Funker" in the German army in WW2 and kept radio communications as a hobby afterwards so it is something I remember from my early childhood (my grandfather sitting in front of his radios, talking to people all over Europe) and this video gave me some pleasant flashbacks to that time :) I would really love to pick this up as I enjoy being outdoors / bushcrafting a lot but without a tutor I feel totally lost in this vast field. So much knowledge I don't have yet.... way too much for me to pick up on my own just by books and TH-cam. Maybe one day I meet someone in my area who does radio field communications as a hobby and who teaches me a thing or two :) Thanks anyway for this nice video and impressions!
Lionheart XVa I really appreciate the comment and the kindness. Have a look at this playlist. th-cam.com/play/PLKMrdrsNkFA4t7aBQ8PBTUpuer6vU-JbM.html You know amateur field communications is really popular in Germany. I'm not really big into the whole group or Club thing, but it should be pretty easy to get help to get licensed in Germany. Check www.DARC.de for information about study material, and getting license in your country. I'm glad you enjoyed the video in there are more like it on the way.
Thanks for the channel. I think I found you through Radio Prepper. Love all the work you put into your videos: the visuals, split views, excellent narration and of course top notch content. Impressive stuff.
This is a good video to help many to get started with field opps. Me, I need to get good battery beyond the battery in the one built in my 817. Next I will get a charge control with solar and Home charging. Keep up the good work! It matters to many.
Great video, Julian. I want to add that while Bioenno Power and Genasun are, in my opinion, the premier manufacturers of portable 12V power gear, their products are not 100% compatible with one another. When I paired a Bioenno LFP battery with a Genasun GV-5 LFP solar charge controller, the result was an over-voltage error that damaged a tablet that I was using for digital modes. Again, both fine products that I would highly recommend, but not together. At just over 2 oz, the GV-5 is hard to beat. At just over 1 lb, Bioenno's 4.5 Ah LFP battery with internal balancing is also hard to beat.
Agreed. I'm certain the bioenno BMS was the culprit provided the correct gv-5 was used. It's a great point, and I hope to get the bioenno pack here for testing some time. Thanks for the feedback
Great video! I particularly enjoyed the very useful links you provided. I'm planning on a couple of versions of a field portable radio system. One would be a small 10-15 watt HF rig with a LiFePO4 battery and the option of carrying PowerFilm solar panel to charge them for extended use. I just started playing with digital modes on VHF and UHF and it looks like I might be able to reliably communicate with a handheld radio and my cell phone at 60 miles if I'm on top of a hill. More experiments coming. This is a very light weight and low power solution for medium distance regional communications and could be even better with a backpack Yagi antenna that I'm building.
Thanks, it's an old video but hopefully still relevant. If I could edit this video I would throw out the hardened power and bioenno power. Things change as we learn more, so an updated video is definitely required. A VHF is nice for fixed location Communications, but is unreliable at that distance with a handheld. Remember there's an incredibly large amount of bandwidth required for FM Communications. It's possible but it's not efficient. The cool thing is experimenting and learning is really fun oh, so don't let me stop you.
@@OH8STN - I took a look at the Bioenno and Hardened Power batteries. They didn't seem appropriate for what I'm trying to do, but I didn't think it was bad advice even though I know from your more recent videos that you choose to build your own batteries. I'm not seriously contemplating VHF for my primary prepping radio, much less a VHF handy talkie, however, I am impressed with the modest increase in range when using some of the weak signal digital modes on VHF, compared to the range with FM. Often, I'd like to have something very small and lightweight with a range that's double what I could get with an FM handheld to a repeater, and without the repeater! I'm playing around with JS8 on 2m, as I work toward a small portable HF rig with a Raspberry Pi 4. I'd like to keep my FT857D at home and build a QRP Labs QSX into a waterproof and rugged aluminum enclosure (doubling as a heat sink) and also containing the batteries, keyboard and display. Stopping me from experimenting? I'd say you're enabling me, in the way that a drug dealer enables addicts. :-) Thank you!
Thank you Julian for all your tutorials, new HAM here I am also operating on filed with my 817ND and a dipole for 40m detachable to use on 20m, I use my MTB to go on the site we're I practice my on field setup some 40 miles away from home, practice does really help!! slowly now I'am understanding the options on the FT817 and really getting good on trowing a rock over a branch hehehe to setup my antenna, someday iam hopping I can also have a setup like yours.. thank you again and 72 de 4I1ANA
Great video. I'm just about to take my Foundation license here in the UK and will be looking to start activating summits and working off grid shortly thereafter. I'll be just doing day trips through the winter but may be working for longer as the weather improves, and my range of radio equipment grows.
An excellent thought stimulating video. Thus far, I have operated from a fairly rare grid square in a park next to the ocean but am setting my sights on SOTA. The park is only 45 minutes away, the mountains, 4 hours. Add to that, what I carry up the mountain needs to have the greatest capability with the least weight which must be considered right down to the logbook and even the pens/pencils taken. Looks like it will be the KX-3 or FT-817. 5AH LiFo pack and both a segmented dipole and a wire antenna fed with an Un-Un. I have a 50W solar panel but that's going to have to stay in the car for any of the more challenging climbs. Am going to have to devise another solar solution along with another logging solution such as an iPad or some other kind of tablet. Again, thanks for the video, Julian.
+NSNorfolk Thanks for the kindness. If I were doing challenging SOTA ops, only several hours at a time with no overnights, i would consider a small multi-mode, or one of the CW only rigs, for maximum weight saving. You could use HamLog on your mobile phone since you have to carry the phone anyway. Your antenna sounds perfect! The PowerFilm panels have the best power to weight of all the consumer panels on the market. I love my 20w PF. It weighs nothing and takes no space in the pack. 73 Julian oh8stn
Great video. The way I operate in the field is mostly during WWFF activations or activating Lighthouses. All on QRP (FT-817ND) and a LiFePO4 battery. The antennas I am using are either a linked dipole or a quarter wave vertical on 20m. Favorite band 40m. Small HF antennas and QRP just don't work.
+UK Comms Prepper 2E0KIA interesting? 😉 This video doesn't even scratch the surface. Hopefully it helps operators to take those baby steps towards getting outside with their comms gear. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Julian, I did only one little SOTA expedition with a friend. We were operating with a Yaesu FT-817nd, a 40 m dipole and a 2 m HB9CV. Regarding the power, we had a small Lithium battery, we were on the air about 2 hours. We also carried some handheld radios for local FM and APRS operation. Of course we also carried some food, camera and tripod (ham radio and TH-camr life :)). The station worked and we made QSOs but it wasn't a "ready to run" man-pack, we were only 2 operators but we were a group of 5 persons so we were able to carry an heavier load (severals bags...) and it will be a problem if I go alone. I'm realy interested with field operation and I would like to have an QRP man-pack for HF (and sometimes VHF). Regarding the antenna, I think a vertical (like MP1 or Wonder Wand Widebander antenna) will be easier to carry and setup and it will have multi-band capability. Can you tell me what antenna are you using? 73's Adrien - F4GVE
+F4GVE Adrien hi Adrien. Sounds like a great time. I also enjoy SOTA expeditions, especially multi-day excursions. Here in the north, it's so difficult to get to those Summits that one might as well stay there couple of days camping while activating. This time the antenna was Chameleon MPAS with EXT, but I've also use the Duper Antenna MP1DXMAX kit. For field deployment I'm relying on an ALE compatible Broadband dipole, held Aloft with a telescopic Pole.
My favorite antenna for field use is an end fed dipole made of coaxial cable that acts as it's own balun and impedance match. It's literally just a half wave piece of cable shorted at the end but hooked up backwards with the feed line center conductor connected to the antenna outer braided shielding and the feed line shielding connected to the antenna center conductor. Normally this antenna would appear as a dead short but since it's hooked up backwards RF energy leaks off the now energized outer braid (kind of the point of an antenna?) so it isn't there to be reflected back to the feed point phased to appear as a short. This causes 73 ohms of radiation resistance to be added in series to the theoretically zero ohms of the shorted half wave. With a shorted end terminator, a connection swapping feed point, male to male adaptors, and a small selection of cables each double the previous one's length you can cover a wide frequency range with only a few components by adding and removing cables in a binary progression with the highest frequency and system resolution determined by the shortest cable and the lowest frequency by all elements in series. This whole thing can be cut in half size wise, or the frequency of the existing system halved, by using an open 1/4 wave coax instead of a shorted 1/2 wave but the open 1/4 wave develops lots of voltage at the open end and can arc with less than 4 Watts input (handheld CB) so an insulated stub that physically separates the hot braid from grounded center conductor is essential.
You are truly the GOD of communicating. Could you recommend a complete idiots guide to coms. I am at that the absolute completely stupid, beginners stage and could benefit greatly from your wealth of experience. Thanks
I don't know if you're really that far down at the starting line if you're watching my videos. I don't know if there is any guide but I always tell people you should try to figure out what it is that you want to achieve with amateur radio. It's kind of your project plan for ham radio. - What do you want to do? - what frequencies do you want to do it then? - do you want to do it fixed or portable? - do you plan on operating off grid or from a fixed powered location? Get the idea? Once you have that plan or at least the questions and you start answering them then it'll be easier to answer the question that you asked first 👍👍👍 by the way, thanks for the kindness.
I'm interested in getting started but have no clue what I would need to start with are there any suggestions or good sites to check that give a run down on basics. thanks getting some good ideas here.
For good site on Ham Radio go to www.arrl.org. The ARRL is the main organization for Ham Radio, has excellent magazine and lots of info on getting license and lots of books on it as well as out door and emergency operation.
Nice video thanks. I currenlty use a Ft-857d, Bioeno battery, and SOTA Beams 40/20 dipole antenna. I too would like to lighten my load, but continue to be skeptical about running QRP. I think it's more of should I buy a lighter rig and risk 0 contacts. Maybe I should try turning down my power and see how that goes first. I have only done a coupe SOTA activations but really enjoy them.
+Dave Ramos I agree it's often frustrating working with such low power. I do it because I love the challenge, but admittedly I do like to use about 20 watts for "sure thing" comms. Thanks for sharing your setup with us 👍👍👍 73 Julian oh8stn
Here I use a FT-817ND with both a 20 and 40 meter dipoles with trees for supports. I carry 3 sets of Eneloop Pro AA batteries with a Goal Zero 20 watt panel (if required) with a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus. To extend my frequency options I top things off with a Elecraft T1 ant. tuner. Dipoles most often are used at 3-6 feet elevation for NVIS operation. For added reserve battery power I also carry a Zamp LIPO battery. I have found the FT-817 to be an excellent Field Radio. I also carry several lengths of paracord for ant. attachment to trees... Everything is packed into a Pelican im2100 case, KC8MZW
+Roger Hill outstanding Roger. You have a very well-thought-out system. What do you use to launch the dipoles in the trees? If someone else has magic already I'm sure they're thinking it. Thanks for sharing this with us Roger 👍👍👍
NVIS requires very little height - 15 feet maximum but I use small 20 ' sections of paracord and just tie a rock to the rope to toss the wire antenna up on a tree branch other 20 ' sections of paracord can be tied together if required to flattop the wire. I have four 20' sections of paracord in my case. I enjoy your videos.
This is David DM3BC- I drive to. a nearby field away from power lines and other qrn sources. I have an ICOM IC-7200 and connect it to a Hyendfed EFHWA multiband antenna (no tuner). I have a 12 meter spiderbeam telescope mast and a 30AH AGM battery. I can sit in the car when the weather is inclimate or sit outside in a folding chair when the weather is nice. I take my macbook pro running ubuntu linux 14.04 LTS or a tablet with me. Of course, I have paper and pencils for loggint my qso's too. Oh, I also have a good flashlight or two along in case I work into the dark. Works for me.
+Frank Zappa Outstanding! I really enjoyed your music when Adrian Belew toured with you 😀 Thanks for telling us about your field ops and gear David. The mono-band endfeds are incredible antennas. In fact I have a couple of them here that are begging for some cold wx time. Like you I'm looking forward to working with the spiderbeam telescopic mast, to get the lightweight endfeds and dipoles up to height. 73 from 65°N Julian oh8stn
+GUERRILLACOMM thanks GC. In planning to reach out for a while I just haven't sent the email. The only reason I'm not using their batteries is the cost of sending them to Europe. That's what made me build my own packs. Thanks for stopping by.
I have both a Bioenno 12Ah and a 6Ah battery. I use the 12Ah with my FT-857D and the 6Ah with my mcHF RS-918 QRP rig. Both can be recharged with my TalentCell 24W foldable solar panel.
Thanks, Julian. I've really enjoyed your videos. I've gotten a lot of ideas for putting together my man-portable kit. Please keep the great videos coming!!
I highly recommend Bioenno Power batteries. Their products are great, they're actively seeking new business at a time when other LFP manufacturers seem to be dropping out of the market, they're staying close to the ham radio community, and they offer the best customer service I've ever experienced. Kevin Zanjani is the best. Matched with a Bioenno MPPT controller (made smaller and lighter by pulling out the PCB and giving it a smaller heat sink and enclosure) and a PowerFilm R28 panel, their 4.5 Ah LFP battery makes possible a man-portable 12V power system that for me is the perfect balance between light weight and robustness. My entire power system weighs about 3 kg, and it gives me plenty of QRP operating time.
That is and awesome video! I wish that I would have been able to come across something like this when I was getting into field operations. I operate /P with an FT817, Alpha loop (also carry the 40/80 extended loop and tripod, I have a small rigid solar panel and 12v 6.5 sealed lead acid battery ( If funds were available I would definitely upgrade the solar panel and battery), I also take along the internal battery pack as well as the AA battery pack for a back up. Most times I also take along a small volt meter and binoculars that fit in small pockets in my bag. I also carry a small flag that I use Velcro straps to attach to the top of my loop and a small zipper bag with extra coax connectors and accessories. The bag I use is a Rush 24 (37 Liter) 511 bag. Very rugged and durable. I took this bag along while working in EMS for a few years and any type of event there after. Well worth the money! I have taken this set up hiking up Clingmans Dome in Tennessee and it worked very well. If I had to change something, it would be the solar panel and battery. While both are small the battery is heavy considering and the while the solar panel fits well into the hydration pocket a flexible panel would be much better all around. Thank you for the video and keep it up!
Outstanding vid. I just operated in St. John USVI post Hurricane Irma, for the USVI Territorial Gov EOC, and 12 days later got caught in Hurricane Maria., I am home now and just bought 1 one hundred watt mono panel with a RENOGY 40 amp controller. Temporarily I have 3 , 100 watt deep cycle marine batteries. My purpose is to have a minimum HF capacity for NVIS EMM COMM capability as a DOD/MARS, Civilian Operator. 100 watts will give my IC7200 enough on 100 watts and maybe run a laptop. Can you think of anything I am missing ? My ops will be stationary at home QTH TKS George
+George Riedel hello George, sounds like you're on the right psth. Two things to test and take a look at. First, is that renogy controller rf quiet? Most pwm controllers make noise on HF. The other thing is operating @ 100 Watts. When were forced to use off-grid power, it's imperative that we also conserve that power by reducing are transmit levels. I would try increments of 10, 20, 50, then 100 Watts as last resort. For off grid emergency communications, we have to change the way we think about energy conservation. That's my two cents. What do you think? 73 Julian oh8stn
My Renogy controller is the 40 am MPPT Rover. I agree that xmit output will be down normally to about 20 to 25 watts when in use to conserve battery power. For what I want that is all I need for output. Your videos are outstanding and easy to understand . Thank You
Great video Julian, as always. Can you recommend ANY off the shelf battery, price no object, that I can plug into my solar panel and plug into my rig and operate? I'm too fumble fingered to build something like your battery pack.
+KM4DYX the Hardened Power System pack is totally plug and play, but I haven't tested it yet (and doubt I'll have a chance to). The bioenno packs just need a charge controller like a Genasun GV-10. Perhaps I'll do a video on wiring them up.
Hi Julian, where would you recommend I get milspec backpacks, for radios, bugout, etc.? Many of the us sellers don’t ship internationally, which makes it difficult to get, this kind of stuff in Australia at reasonable prices.... Tim.
+ctho admin hi Tim To be honest, I have some milspec packs and pouches but I rarely use them for comms gear. I've found medium to high end expedition gear more ergonomic and readily available than milspec. Of course the price becomes an issue. To answer your question I try to search the surplus shops or good ole ebay. Probably not the best dancer but it's the only one I've got. I hope this helps. Julian
I like psk31 QRP but I live in the Caribbean and no a lot of station near. So I depends on skip to make contact so it is very dificult to me. But I enjoy trying 73
Qro from the beach or river using a canoe or kayak to get there winlink Olivia and ssb phone rig is 857 delta output power around 10 15 watts I like the water as a mode of transportation here in eastern Texas and it helps with calories burned versus gear and supplies carried more capability less effort KG5OER 73
+Richard Liles Thanks for the feedback Richard. This video isn't meant as a first step in Amateur Radio, but more of an additional step. The reason i shared those otger channels is we all have field radio at different difficulty levels. So have a look in the description for k9arv radio for example. Hope this helps
In the field I operate the FT-817 or the PRC-104 on SSB mostly into a resonant off center fed vertical dipole so no tuner. I’m in Virginia and I use the trees here to toss a line into and suspend the antenna from that. Right now I am focusing on learning CW so I can use the smaller rigs with less weight for long duration (multi day) hikes planned for next summer. Details on my QRZ page. Charlie KM4ZZ
+crbrelativity excellent description and plan Charlue. I've also been planning some some multi-day hikes, taking ham radio along. Good luck on the CW and hope to find you on the air.
Good video. You cover a lot of elements. I am still waiting for the day when we have a video of our heated-tipi-camp-to-tipi-camp-digi-sked; 'OSO and I are ready to go for that. Have you read L.A. Moxon's book, HF Antennas for All Locations? (See: www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=217442752&searchurl=kn%3Dmoxon%2Bantenna%26sortby%3D17) Chapter 10, "The Antenna and its Environment", is an amazing chapter with interesting points about the location an antenna could be placed when operating portable. Fresnel zones and the uses of concave, convex or sloping ground are discussed too as well as the idea of harnessing environmental reflections. The book is easily found for a cheap price. The only thing I think you have yet to cover in your series of videos is making antennas. The antennas I have made myself with simple wire out-perform any of the commercial ones; and they do so at a fraction of the cost, storage size or weight; and for portable use in the field, homemade antennas of simple wire have no proprietary parts and are easily repaired in situ. --... ...-- VE3EFQ ve3efq.org/
Yep, some people like AGM because of its seemingly low cost at the register. It's better to look at it throughout its cycle life. An AGM battery of the same capacity would have been replaced many times over again before the lithium iron phosphate pack reached its end of life.
@@OH8STN yes i know that and i would love to buy lipo or lifepo4 but as a student you simply dont have the money for that or for things like ur radio as an example my little qrp go box costs just 140€ cause that was what i could afford and liked the most in that price range
I understand. And we all start someplace. My first radios were modified military radios for 10m, 6m, 2m. Those were exciting times because it forced us to be resourceful :-)
@@OH8STN ok great well in my go box is a leixen uv898 and my mobile one is teh baofeng however i am searching for a radio that is farely cheap that has a wider range of bands because my current one allows me to operate 136 to 144 and 400 to 480 however the frequency i found the most active here is sadly the most common one (pmr) which means taht u cant really do serious work
Episode notes: oh8stn.org/blog/2017/10/30/getting-started-amateur-radio-field-comms/
Recently found your TH-cam, and blog. I just want to say thank you for a no non-sense approach and focusing on the skills. Also for showing your fails and successes. Definitely a fan now and plan on following.
Many thanks for that Robert. We have come a long way since this video, but the journey continues.
Many thanks for the comment and your kindness, It's very much appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to put together a well thought out primer for those interested in leaving the hamshack.
I just discovered your channel about a week ago and I am THRILLED to find that your interests / video are very similar to mine. I also like the amount of detail you cover and the hands on approach. The fact that you actually field test the gear and show the actual setup is outstanding sir!! I am jumping around all of your videos in no particular order now! Thanks for doing such a commendable job!
Thanks for this wonderful comment. Be warned though, the oldest videos are terrible. The quality and story telling improved after finding my confidence and voice.
73
Julian oh8stn
Looking forward to future episodes in this series. Speaking from a novice perspective here, any and all info on this topic is appreciated...thanks!
+The Iron Good thanks for the comment. I'll definitely keep producing episodes. I think the next topic will be "portable antennas".
Although the title of Julian's top notch presentation (and jam-packed content) is targeted at noob portable ops, it also covers portable operating strategy. His "Questions to ask yourself", is the critical thinking process that even the most experienced operators need when preparing for portable HF (or VHF/UHF) activity.
1. What kind of operating?
2. How long will I operate?
3. Operating QRP or QRO?
4. How will I get there?
5. Do I need to recharge in the field?
Great stuff, Julian!
-Bonnie KQ6XA
+Bonnie Crystal You're entirely too kind Bonnie!
Hopefully operators new and old will find some value from the presentation.
For those of you who don't know Bonnie, she is the Queen of Expedition Radio 👍👍👍
73
Julian oh8stn
I am pretty new to field portable operations but I have always been excited to learn from your videos. I have a QRO set up, a Yaesu FT 891 using a Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet TIA antenna, 12v 18Ah battery, windy nation charge controller with a flexible 30w solar panel. Keep up the good work Julian! Esteban, KX4EZ
Great video series. I have just started going portable with an IC-7100, a small SLA battery and a series of whip antennas that I put on top of the van. I watch your channel and just about any other portable operation videos I can find. I started in the driveway - fail! S9 noise level and bad prop. After the second deployment to the nearest park, I has Texas and Alberta from the Atlanta GA area, so I know my system works. Everything except the antenna fits into a small suitcase. I will never be able to go far from my vehicle, but I will master portable operations. Thank you for all your videos!
I man before stumbling over this video I had no idea that radio field communications was a hobby but now after just this one video, looking at your stunning setup I am already hooked :D
My grandfather was a "Funker" in the German army in WW2 and kept radio communications as a hobby afterwards so it is something I remember from my early childhood (my grandfather sitting in front of his radios, talking to people all over Europe) and this video gave me some pleasant flashbacks to that time :)
I would really love to pick this up as I enjoy being outdoors / bushcrafting a lot but without a tutor I feel totally lost in this vast field. So much knowledge I don't have yet.... way too much for me to pick up on my own just by books and TH-cam.
Maybe one day I meet someone in my area who does radio field communications as a hobby and who teaches me a thing or two :)
Thanks anyway for this nice video and impressions!
Lionheart XVa I really appreciate the comment and the kindness. Have a look at this playlist.
th-cam.com/play/PLKMrdrsNkFA4t7aBQ8PBTUpuer6vU-JbM.html
You know amateur field communications is really popular in Germany. I'm not really big into the whole group or Club thing, but it should be pretty easy to get help to get licensed in Germany. Check www.DARC.de for information about study material, and getting license in your country.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video in there are more like it on the way.
Thanks for the channel. I think I found you through Radio Prepper. Love all the work you put into your videos: the visuals, split views, excellent narration and of course top notch content. Impressive stuff.
+ntc490 thanks. Gil (Radio Prepper) is awesome and I think our channels/websites compliment one another.
Thanks for the kindness 👍
This is a good video to help many to get started with field opps. Me, I need to get good battery beyond the battery in the one built in my 817. Next I will get a charge control with solar and Home charging. Keep up the good work! It matters to many.
+Thuff Thanks for the kindness T.
Great video, Julian. I want to add that while Bioenno Power and Genasun are, in my opinion, the premier manufacturers of portable 12V power gear, their products are not 100% compatible with one another. When I paired a Bioenno LFP battery with a Genasun GV-5 LFP solar charge controller, the result was an over-voltage error that damaged a tablet that I was using for digital modes. Again, both fine products that I would highly recommend, but not together. At just over 2 oz, the GV-5 is hard to beat. At just over 1 lb, Bioenno's 4.5 Ah LFP battery with internal balancing is also hard to beat.
Agreed. I'm certain the bioenno BMS was the culprit provided the correct gv-5 was used. It's a great point, and I hope to get the bioenno pack here for testing some time.
Thanks for the feedback
Great video! I particularly enjoyed the very useful links you provided.
I'm planning on a couple of versions of a field portable radio system. One would be a small 10-15 watt HF rig with a LiFePO4 battery and the option of carrying PowerFilm solar panel to charge them for extended use.
I just started playing with digital modes on VHF and UHF and it looks like I might be able to reliably communicate with a handheld radio and my cell phone at 60 miles if I'm on top of a hill. More experiments coming. This is a very light weight and low power solution for medium distance regional communications and could be even better with a backpack Yagi antenna that I'm building.
Thanks, it's an old video but hopefully still relevant. If I could edit this video I would throw out the hardened power and bioenno power. Things change as we learn more, so an updated video is definitely required.
A VHF is nice for fixed location Communications, but is unreliable at that distance with a handheld. Remember there's an incredibly large amount of bandwidth required for FM Communications. It's possible but it's not efficient. The cool thing is experimenting and learning is really fun oh, so don't let me stop you.
@@OH8STN - I took a look at the Bioenno and Hardened Power batteries. They didn't seem appropriate for what I'm trying to do, but I didn't think it was bad advice even though I know from your more recent videos that you choose to build your own batteries.
I'm not seriously contemplating VHF for my primary prepping radio, much less a VHF handy talkie, however, I am impressed with the modest increase in range when using some of the weak signal digital modes on VHF, compared to the range with FM. Often, I'd like to have something very small and lightweight with a range that's double what I could get with an FM handheld to a repeater, and without the repeater! I'm playing around with JS8 on 2m, as I work toward a small portable HF rig with a Raspberry Pi 4. I'd like to keep my FT857D at home and build a QRP Labs QSX into a waterproof and rugged aluminum enclosure (doubling as a heat sink) and also containing the batteries, keyboard and display.
Stopping me from experimenting? I'd say you're enabling me, in the way that a drug dealer enables addicts. :-) Thank you!
Most informative as I try to operate portable with limited physical ability, many thanks, Trig GM4NNC
Thank you Julian for all your tutorials, new HAM here I am also operating on filed with my 817ND and a dipole for 40m detachable to use on 20m, I use my MTB to go on the site we're I practice my on field setup some 40 miles away from home, practice does really help!! slowly now I'am understanding the options on the FT817 and really getting good on trowing a rock over a branch hehehe to setup my antenna, someday iam hopping I can also have a setup like yours.. thank you again and 72 de 4I1ANA
Awesome information. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, experience, product evals....priceless!
+Ron C you're too kind!
Great video. I'm just about to take my Foundation license here in the UK and will be looking to start activating summits and working off grid shortly thereafter. I'll be just doing day trips through the winter but may be working for longer as the weather improves, and my range of radio equipment grows.
+Andy Wragg Outstanding Andy. SOTA and day hikes are a great way to start.
Good luck on your foundation, and thanks for watching.
73
Julian oh8stn
OH8STN subbed.
An excellent thought stimulating video. Thus far, I have operated from a fairly rare grid square in a park next to the ocean but am setting my sights on SOTA. The park is only 45 minutes away, the mountains, 4 hours. Add to that, what I carry up the mountain needs to have the greatest capability with the least weight which must be considered right down to the logbook and even the pens/pencils taken. Looks like it will be the KX-3 or FT-817. 5AH LiFo pack and both a segmented dipole and a wire antenna fed with an Un-Un. I have a 50W solar panel but that's going to have to stay in the car for any of the more challenging climbs. Am going to have to devise another solar solution along with another logging solution such as an iPad or some other kind of tablet. Again, thanks for the video, Julian.
+NSNorfolk Thanks for the kindness.
If I were doing challenging SOTA ops, only several hours at a time with no overnights, i would consider a small multi-mode, or one of the CW only rigs, for maximum weight saving. You could use HamLog on your mobile phone since you have to carry the phone anyway. Your antenna sounds perfect! The PowerFilm panels have the best power to weight of all the consumer panels on the market. I love my 20w PF. It weighs nothing and takes no space in the pack.
73
Julian oh8stn
Thank you for all of the information.
Great video. The way I operate in the field is mostly during WWFF activations or activating Lighthouses. All on QRP (FT-817ND) and a LiFePO4 battery. The antennas I am using are either a linked dipole or a quarter wave vertical on 20m. Favorite band 40m. Small HF antennas and QRP just don't work.
Very interesting video, I really need to get out more with my radio. 👍🏻
+UK Comms Prepper 2E0KIA interesting? 😉
This video doesn't even scratch the surface. Hopefully it helps operators to take those baby steps towards getting outside with their comms gear.
Thanks for stopping by.
OH8STN love your videos, more QRP with the 817 would be great 👍 😊
So this is why I got 20 new subscribers tonight... Thanks for the plug!
+VA3OSO 👍👍👍
We'll have to make some more videos with the new 160m antenna.
Hi Julian, I did only one little SOTA expedition with a friend. We were operating with a Yaesu FT-817nd, a 40 m dipole and a 2 m HB9CV. Regarding the power, we had a small Lithium battery, we were on the air about 2 hours. We also carried some handheld radios for local FM and APRS operation. Of course we also carried some food, camera and tripod (ham radio and TH-camr life :)).
The station worked and we made QSOs but it wasn't a "ready to run" man-pack, we were only 2 operators but we were a group of 5 persons so we were able to carry an heavier load (severals bags...) and it will be a problem if I go alone.
I'm realy interested with field operation and I would like to have an QRP man-pack for HF (and sometimes VHF). Regarding the antenna, I think a vertical (like MP1 or Wonder Wand Widebander antenna) will be easier to carry and setup and it will have multi-band capability. Can you tell me what antenna are you using?
73's
Adrien - F4GVE
+F4GVE Adrien hi Adrien. Sounds like a great time. I also enjoy SOTA expeditions, especially multi-day excursions. Here in the north, it's so difficult to get to those Summits that one might as well stay there couple of days camping while activating.
This time the antenna was Chameleon MPAS with EXT, but I've also use the Duper Antenna MP1DXMAX kit.
For field deployment I'm relying on an ALE compatible Broadband dipole, held Aloft with a telescopic Pole.
My favorite antenna for field use is an end fed dipole made of coaxial cable that acts as it's own balun and impedance match. It's literally just a half wave piece of cable shorted at the end but hooked up backwards with the feed line center conductor connected to the antenna outer braided shielding and the feed line shielding connected to the antenna center conductor. Normally this antenna would appear as a dead short but since it's hooked up backwards RF energy leaks off the now energized outer braid (kind of the point of an antenna?) so it isn't there to be reflected back to the feed point phased to appear as a short. This causes 73 ohms of radiation resistance to be added in series to the theoretically zero ohms of the shorted half wave. With a shorted end terminator, a connection swapping feed point, male to male adaptors, and a small selection of cables each double the previous one's length you can cover a wide frequency range with only a few components by adding and removing cables in a binary progression with the highest frequency and system resolution determined by the shortest cable and the lowest frequency by all elements in series. This whole thing can be cut in half size wise, or the frequency of the existing system halved, by using an open 1/4 wave coax instead of a shorted 1/2 wave but the open 1/4 wave develops lots of voltage at the open end and can arc with less than 4 Watts input (handheld CB) so an insulated stub that physically separates the hot braid from grounded center conductor is essential.
Can you make a quick video about this? It's a lot to visualize
You are truly the GOD of communicating. Could you recommend a complete idiots guide to coms. I am at that the absolute completely stupid, beginners stage and could benefit greatly from your wealth of experience. Thanks
I don't know if you're really that far down at the starting line if you're watching my videos. I don't know if there is any guide but I always tell people you should try to figure out what it is that you want to achieve with amateur radio. It's kind of your project plan for ham radio.
- What do you want to do?
- what frequencies do you want to do it then?
- do you want to do it fixed or portable?
- do you plan on operating off grid or from a fixed powered location?
Get the idea?
Once you have that plan or at least the questions and you start answering them then it'll be easier to answer the question that you asked first 👍👍👍
by the way, thanks for the kindness.
I'm interested in getting started but have no clue what I would need to start with are there any suggestions or good sites to check that give a run down on basics. thanks getting some good ideas here.
For good site on Ham Radio go to www.arrl.org. The ARRL is the main organization for Ham Radio, has excellent magazine and lots of info on getting license and lots of books on it as well as out door and emergency operation.
Nice video thanks. I currenlty use a Ft-857d, Bioeno battery, and SOTA Beams 40/20 dipole antenna. I too would like to lighten my load, but continue to be skeptical about running QRP. I think it's more of should I buy a lighter rig and risk 0 contacts. Maybe I should try turning down my power and see how that goes first. I have only done a coupe SOTA activations but really enjoy them.
+Dave Ramos I agree it's often frustrating working with such low power. I do it because I love the challenge, but admittedly I do like to use about 20 watts for "sure thing" comms.
Thanks for sharing your setup with us 👍👍👍
73 Julian oh8stn
Here I use a FT-817ND with both a 20 and 40 meter dipoles with trees for supports. I carry 3 sets of Eneloop Pro AA batteries with a Goal Zero 20 watt panel (if required) with a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus. To extend my frequency options I top things off with a Elecraft T1 ant. tuner. Dipoles most often are used at 3-6 feet elevation for NVIS operation. For added reserve battery power I also carry a Zamp LIPO battery. I have found the FT-817 to be an excellent Field Radio. I also carry several lengths of paracord for ant. attachment to trees... Everything is packed into a Pelican im2100 case, KC8MZW
+Roger Hill outstanding Roger. You have a very well-thought-out system. What do you use to launch the dipoles in the trees? If someone else has magic already I'm sure they're thinking it.
Thanks for sharing this with us Roger 👍👍👍
NVIS requires very little height - 15 feet maximum but I use small 20 ' sections of paracord and just tie a rock to the rope to toss the wire antenna up on a tree branch other 20 ' sections of paracord can be tied together if required to flattop the wire. I have four 20' sections of paracord in my case. I enjoy your videos.
This is David DM3BC- I drive to. a nearby field away from power lines and other qrn sources. I have an ICOM IC-7200 and connect it to a Hyendfed EFHWA multiband antenna (no tuner). I have a 12 meter spiderbeam telescope mast and a 30AH AGM battery. I can sit in the car when the weather is inclimate or sit outside in a folding chair when the weather is nice. I take my macbook pro running ubuntu linux 14.04 LTS or a tablet with me. Of course, I have paper and pencils for loggint my qso's too. Oh, I also have a good flashlight or two along in case I work into the dark. Works for me.
+Frank Zappa Outstanding!
I really enjoyed your music when Adrian Belew toured with you 😀
Thanks for telling us about your field ops and gear David. The mono-band endfeds are incredible antennas. In fact I have a couple of them here that are begging for some cold wx time. Like you I'm looking forward to working with the spiderbeam telescopic mast, to get the lightweight endfeds and dipoles up to height.
73 from 65°N
Julian oh8stn
I've been eye balling the bioeno batteries for a while. they are at least lighter the the sla batteries by a mile. good vid as always.
+GUERRILLACOMM thanks GC. In planning to reach out for a while I just haven't sent the email. The only reason I'm not using their batteries is the cost of sending them to Europe. That's what made me build my own packs.
Thanks for stopping by.
I have both a Bioenno 12Ah and a 6Ah battery. I use the 12Ah with my FT-857D and the 6Ah with my mcHF RS-918 QRP rig. Both can be recharged with my TalentCell 24W foldable solar panel.
+Jim E. Excellent overview
Thanks for sharing Jin 👍👍👍
Thanks, Julian. I've really enjoyed your videos. I've gotten a lot of ideas for putting together my man-portable kit. Please keep the great videos coming!!
I highly recommend Bioenno Power batteries. Their products are great, they're actively seeking new business at a time when other LFP manufacturers seem to be dropping out of the market, they're staying close to the ham radio community, and they offer the best customer service I've ever experienced. Kevin Zanjani is the best. Matched with a Bioenno MPPT controller (made smaller and lighter by pulling out the PCB and giving it a smaller heat sink and enclosure) and a PowerFilm R28 panel, their 4.5 Ah LFP battery makes possible a man-portable 12V power system that for me is the perfect balance between light weight and robustness. My entire power system weighs about 3 kg, and it gives me plenty of QRP operating time.
That is and awesome video! I wish that I would have been able to come across something like this when I was getting into field operations. I operate /P with an FT817, Alpha loop (also carry the 40/80 extended loop and tripod, I have a small rigid solar panel and 12v 6.5 sealed lead acid battery ( If funds were available I would definitely upgrade the solar panel and battery), I also take along the internal battery pack as well as the AA battery pack for a back up. Most times I also take along a small volt meter and binoculars that fit in small pockets in my bag. I also carry a small flag that I use Velcro straps to attach to the top of my loop and a small zipper bag with extra coax connectors and accessories. The bag I use is a Rush 24 (37 Liter) 511 bag. Very rugged and durable. I took this bag along while working in EMS for a few years and any type of event there after. Well worth the money! I have taken this set up hiking up Clingmans Dome in Tennessee and it worked very well. If I had to change something, it would be the solar panel and battery. While both are small the battery is heavy considering and the while the solar panel fits well into the hydration pocket a flexible panel would be much better all around. Thank you for the video and keep it up!
Outstanding vid. I just operated in St. John USVI post Hurricane Irma, for the USVI Territorial Gov EOC, and 12 days later got caught in Hurricane Maria., I am home now and just bought 1 one hundred watt mono panel with a RENOGY 40 amp controller. Temporarily I have 3 , 100 watt deep cycle marine batteries. My purpose is to have a minimum HF capacity for NVIS EMM COMM capability as a DOD/MARS, Civilian Operator. 100 watts will give my IC7200 enough on 100 watts and maybe run a laptop. Can you think of anything I am missing ? My ops will be stationary at home QTH TKS George
+George Riedel hello George, sounds like you're on the right psth. Two things to test and take a look at. First, is that renogy controller rf quiet? Most pwm controllers make noise on HF. The other thing is operating @ 100 Watts. When were forced to use off-grid power, it's imperative that we also conserve that power by reducing are transmit levels. I would try increments of 10, 20, 50, then 100 Watts as last resort. For off grid emergency communications, we have to change the way we think about energy conservation.
That's my two cents. What do you think?
73
Julian oh8stn
My Renogy controller is the 40 am MPPT Rover. I agree that xmit output will be down normally to about 20 to 25 watts when in use to conserve battery power. For what I want that is all I need for output. Your videos are outstanding and easy to understand . Thank You
+George Riedel thanks George 👍👍👍
Great video Julian, as always. Can you recommend ANY off the shelf battery, price no object, that I can plug into my solar panel and plug into my rig and operate? I'm too fumble fingered to build something like your battery pack.
+KM4DYX the Hardened Power System pack is totally plug and play, but I haven't tested it yet (and doubt I'll have a chance to). The bioenno packs just need a charge controller like a Genasun GV-10. Perhaps I'll do a video on wiring them up.
Hi Julian, where would you recommend I get milspec backpacks, for radios, bugout, etc.? Many of the us sellers don’t ship internationally, which makes it difficult to get, this kind of stuff in Australia at reasonable prices.... Tim.
+ctho admin hi Tim
To be honest, I have some milspec packs and pouches but I rarely use them for comms gear. I've found medium to high end expedition gear more ergonomic and readily available than milspec. Of course the price becomes an issue. To answer your question I try to search the surplus shops or good ole ebay.
Probably not the best dancer but it's the only one I've got. I hope this helps.
Julian
I like psk31 QRP but I live in the Caribbean and no a lot of station near. So I depends on skip to make contact so it is very dificult to me. But I enjoy trying 73
Julian,
Where did you get the protective structure (the metal bracket) for your FT-817?
Dave K8WPE
+David J. Wilcox hi Dave. Its a product from Chameleon Antenna
Hi, where can I get that antenna nr the dogs with coils at the bottom on trípod. Name of store and data please. 73 EA8DIO
Hi. Can you tell me at what time in the video?
It is probably one of the chameleon magnetic loops. Could be f-loop 2.0 or p-loop 2.0. You can have them from www.chameleonantenna.com
Minute 1.30 of video.
No, it is the other one.
Qro from the beach or river using a canoe or kayak to get there winlink Olivia and ssb phone rig is 857 delta output power around 10 15 watts I like the water as a mode of transportation here in eastern Texas and it helps with calories burned versus gear and supplies carried more capability less effort
KG5OER 73
+Bill Goff outstanding
Just starting out, I appreciate your videos however they are a bit over my head.
Thank you so very much.
+Richard Liles Thanks for the feedback Richard. This video isn't meant as a first step in Amateur Radio, but more of an additional step. The reason i shared those otger channels is we all have field radio at different difficulty levels. So have a look in the description for k9arv radio for example.
Hope this helps
In the field I operate the FT-817 or the PRC-104 on SSB mostly into a resonant off center fed vertical dipole so no tuner. I’m in Virginia and I use the trees here to toss a line into and suspend the antenna from that.
Right now I am focusing on learning CW so I can use the smaller rigs with less weight for long duration (multi day) hikes planned for next summer. Details on my QRZ page.
Charlie
KM4ZZ
+crbrelativity excellent description and plan Charlue. I've also been planning some some multi-day hikes, taking ham radio along. Good luck on the CW and hope to find you on the air.
Good video. You cover a lot of elements. I am still waiting for the day when we have a video of our heated-tipi-camp-to-tipi-camp-digi-sked; 'OSO and I are ready to go for that.
Have you read L.A. Moxon's book, HF Antennas for All Locations? (See: www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=217442752&searchurl=kn%3Dmoxon%2Bantenna%26sortby%3D17)
Chapter 10, "The Antenna and its Environment", is an amazing chapter with interesting points about the location an antenna could be placed when operating portable. Fresnel zones and the uses of concave, convex or sloping ground are discussed too as well as the idea of harnessing environmental reflections. The book is easily found for a cheap price.
The only thing I think you have yet to cover in your series of videos is making antennas. The antennas I have made myself with simple wire out-perform any of the commercial ones; and they do so at a fraction of the cost, storage size or weight; and for portable use in the field, homemade antennas of simple wire have no proprietary parts and are easily repaired in situ.
--... ...--
VE3EFQ
ve3efq.org/
but im not willing to pay ~300€ just for lithium whilst i can get arroudn the same capacity in agm for just ~30€ in agm
Yep, some people like AGM because of its seemingly low cost at the register. It's better to look at it throughout its cycle life. An AGM battery of the same capacity would have been replaced many times over again before the lithium iron phosphate pack reached its end of life.
@@OH8STN yes i know that and i would love to buy lipo or lifepo4 but as a student you simply dont have the money for that or for things like ur radio as an example my little qrp go box costs just 140€ cause that was what i could afford and liked the most in that price range
I understand. And we all start someplace. My first radios were modified military radios for 10m, 6m, 2m. Those were exciting times because it forced us to be resourceful :-)
@@OH8STN ok great well in my go box is a leixen uv898 and my mobile one is teh baofeng however i am searching for a radio that is farely cheap that has a wider range of bands because my current one allows me to operate 136 to 144 and 400 to 480 however the frequency i found the most active here is sadly the most common one (pmr) which means taht u cant really do serious work
FB, 73 de PY1ZB
roney monte Thx, 73 👍