QRP
I've watched quite a few videos by Tracy VE3TWM on his YouTube channel Outdoors On the Air. He has lots of great content about setting up a QRP station while out in public parks around Ontario. Since I try to get out camping as much as I can, spending a bit of that time working the radio sounded like a great idea to me. I had a trip already planned to Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park (just north of Algonquin Park in Ontario) last weekend, so I decided to get everything together and give it a shot.
I suspect Yaesu intended the FT-847 to be portable (it has a handle on the side), but it is a bit more than I want to lug around. The FT-817 used by Tracy seems like a compact, easy to use rig, but has been replaced with the FT-818ND. I decided to pick one up at Radioworld on my way up north.
I already had portable antennas and fiberglass poles, so I was good on that front. I didn't think through the power requirements that well though - the internal battery of the FT-818ND wasn't charged and I didn't have anywhere to charge it. Fortunately it also comes with a battery holder for AA batteries, so I picked up a good supply as well.
The weather was great on Saturday, so after a monster hike I found a quiet part of the park and set everything up. I attached the fiberglass poles to a couple of picnic tables and ran the HyEnd Fed antenna between them on a slight slope. After a bit of reading I managed to get the FT-818ND on the air. First off, I was amazed at how much less noise there was up there! I could hear folks from Italy, Brazil and all across the US.
I only managed to make two contacts. The unit was running at 2.5W due to using the internal batteries - I will have to explore an external battery to run the full 6W.
Overall, it was a lot of fun. The radio is definitely coming with me on future trips!
I suspect Yaesu intended the FT-847 to be portable (it has a handle on the side), but it is a bit more than I want to lug around. The FT-817 used by Tracy seems like a compact, easy to use rig, but has been replaced with the FT-818ND. I decided to pick one up at Radioworld on my way up north.
I already had portable antennas and fiberglass poles, so I was good on that front. I didn't think through the power requirements that well though - the internal battery of the FT-818ND wasn't charged and I didn't have anywhere to charge it. Fortunately it also comes with a battery holder for AA batteries, so I picked up a good supply as well.
The weather was great on Saturday, so after a monster hike I found a quiet part of the park and set everything up. I attached the fiberglass poles to a couple of picnic tables and ran the HyEnd Fed antenna between them on a slight slope. After a bit of reading I managed to get the FT-818ND on the air. First off, I was amazed at how much less noise there was up there! I could hear folks from Italy, Brazil and all across the US.
I only managed to make two contacts. The unit was running at 2.5W due to using the internal batteries - I will have to explore an external battery to run the full 6W.
Overall, it was a lot of fun. The radio is definitely coming with me on future trips!
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