NAC on 1296MHz.

Yesterday I was up at the local hill with the '905 to operate a bit in the Nordic Activity Contest.

This time I brought a bit more equipment, apart from the 23cm yagi antenna:

- a tiny 3 band FM handheld, the Standard C710

- a 2400MHz long yagi.

Among a few contacts with SSB on the '905 and the 12 element yagi, with the local OZ4HZ, after the 1296MHz QSO we tested the 2400MHz band.

On 2400.500 we worked a nice QSO on FM with S9 signals noth ways. Now, with the correct polarization and operating from the hilltop, that was a massive improvement from the first test.

The test with the handheld radio was actually quite a lot of fun.

The radio operates a maximum of about 300mW on 1296, and some of the strations in the Copenhagen area had excellent signals. This radio comes with a tiny 10cm long "rubber duck" antenna, so I was a bit in doubt about the range. The first QSO was with OZ1GIN, working with an indoor antenna 2 small yagis, and reported S9 signals from the radio at about 25km. Yes, he was running horizontal polarization, so it was simple to turn the hand(held) for that.

A bit later I tried with OZ4HZ, and again wee had S9 exchanges, and a less local station, SM7FMX, just over 40km away)  came in for another handheld QSO with good signals.

All worked well, and then I noticed that the radio was in low power mode, so all those FM QSOs were actually worked with a mere 100mW. Now, that is fun portable work on 1296MHz.

I will probably try going light-weight portable on the hill with the handheld and a somewhat larger antenna, so everything can be carried in the rucksack.

New Toy: Handheld "Micro" QRP Transceiver.

 Today I received a small (even for my hands) handheld transceiver. 

The price from Ali Express was not too high, about €130.

This rig is based on the uSDX transceiver, but built into a handheld type casing with a rechargeable 1100mAh Lithium battery. 

I consider this Chines radio as a bit of a toy, so if it won't work for my purpose, it's worth the price for experimentation.

No manual included, so I pushed the power button to see what happened. Lo! and behold ...  The thing switched on and showed 14.074 (yes, the FT8 frequency on 20m), ans sound in the speaker. At least it appears to be working. 

Now, how to switch off this thing???

The power-on switch now acted as a PTT switch, so no good. long push (PTT), double push ... nope!

Internet to the rescue (almost) I found that the volume control set to level "0" should switch it off. Not quite ... I needed to push the wheel, and then turn it off.

Okay, at least I would not deplete the battery capacity.

The TRX essentially does what the uSDK does, so I am intereswted in how it will work with digital modes, like FT8.

This little radio can receive from 500kHz (?) to 30MHz, and is capable og transmitting on all the HF amateur bands. However, the filters are adapted for the 10-15-20-40m bands, and if I want to use it on other (especially lower) bands, I will need external filters. So the first tests will be on those bands.

I need more testing. I have seen a test by OM0ET on YouTube, and that's why I wanted to try it out, as a fun experiment.

OM0ET also has a video describing some modifications that would make the transceiver more useful, so after an on-the-air test, I might try those mods.

QRO or Not QRO? That Is the Question.

Some years ago I got myself a used HF power amplifier for 1kW.

The ACOM 1000 is regarded as a solid amplifier that holds it promises from 160m to 6m. That is also my experience.

However, with quite short distances to neighbours' houses, I am not quite comfortable with using it.

In fact I used it briefly on 10m with about 400W out. That was when the solar activity was still quite low.

Then I used it on 50MHz, also with about 3-400W. Tha antenna that could endure that kind of power was removed, and for some years I have used the V-2000 for (2m, 70cm and) 6m. Under no circumstances would I use more than 100W with that one, especially with  FM or digital modes like FT8. The capacitors will not stand that, and will be transformed into carbonized components.

So today the ACOM 1000, which has been on the radio shelf for a few years witout being connected to the power outlet (or a transceiver), was taken down from the shelf. I am probably going to sell it and get some more UHF/SHF equipment.

I will not abandon HF completely, but focus more on VHF/UHF/SHF, going a bit back to my old interests.

Over 30 years ago I was working a lot on 2m, 70cm and 23cm with relatively low power and decent antennas, and over 40 years ago I was working crossband 50 or 70MHz to 28MHz, and had a lot of fun with that. Now I want to try the even higher frequencies, too. probably mostly portable from hilltops, but also with a (very modest) station at home.