| Author |
Message |
    
Metro
| | Posted on Friday, April 12, 2002 - 9:53 pm: | 
|
I'd like to have DX capabilities for backpacking, here's my idea. Titan SSB handheld (any other suggestions would be appreciated) pushing through a KL-40 powered by a 6 volt lantern battery (which does work, I have tested it, short term) finally exiting a whip mounted to my backpack. I'd like suggestions on everything, radio, power source, antenna. I already have the KL-40 and figure with it's size it's a good choice. Remember, in backpacking, weight is everything!!
Metro 446 |
Copperfan
| | Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2002 - 2:25 pm: |
|
here is your answer and you can use the KLV with it also 
http://www.yaesu.com/amateur/ft817.html
FT-817 The Ultimate Backpacker!
Multi-mode Portable Transceiver
The world’s first self-contained, battery-powered, Multi-mode Portable Transceiver covering the HF, VHF, and UHF bands!
For more than four decades, Yaesu has been a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance multi-mode base station and mobile transceivers, as well as FM handhelds. Now Yaesu breaks new ground with the introduction of the FT-817: the world’s first HF/VHF/UHF self-contained battery-powered Multi-mode Portable Transceiver. Providing up to five watts of power output, the FT-817 is designed for operation on the 160-10 meter HF bands, plus the 6 meter, 2 meter, and 70 cm bands. Whether your preferred operating mode is SSB, CW, AM, FM, Packet, or SSB-based Digital modes like PSK31, the FT-817 is ready to join you on your next hiking, camping, or search-and-rescue adventure!
|
Copperfan
| | Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2002 - 2:34 pm: |
|
|
METRO 446
| | Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2002 - 8:00 pm: |
|
WOW!! ONLY 700 BUCKS!!!!!! |
Taz
| | Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2002 - 10:02 pm: |
|
WOW ONLY? WOW |
bruce
| | Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2002 - 11:50 pm: |
|
i almost bought one but bought a 2nd alinco dx-70 the yaseu is a very nice radio |
Taz
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 1:18 am: |
|
It looks like its for a serious back packer |
bruce
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 8:34 am: |
|
the ONLY drawback is its low power but its one heck of a radio i may buy one anyway... if the wife lets me have ONE more toy |
Copperfan
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 8:51 am: |
|
I like the little radio i just wonder if a small HF amp would get enough drive from 5 watts???????? I know you can get a decent vhf or uhf amp |
Metro 446
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 9:53 am: |
|
Taz, the "wow! only 700 bucks" was a joke. No way am I gonna dump 700 on a radio |
Znut
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 10:27 am: |
|
Notice, the radio is almost as small as the mic!
It holds its own power source(batteries) and works great. I know a guy that has one and talked around town to him portable with a 6 meter whip stuck on the front. He had to hold it kinda sideways 'cause my ant. is horizontal.
Check this out. You know how yeasu rigs are not know for great am sound? This little yeasu breaks that trend! It sounds great on am as well as fm and SSB.
Znut |
Metro 446
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 10:46 am: |
|
What about a lightweight battery to power the KL-40? Any suggestons? |
707
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 11:46 am: |
|
One thing about the 817 is that it will NOT(according to a couple of posts I've found on the web) go on 11m, although if I find out it can be modified, I will buy one the very same day.
Techs will certainly enjoy the 6m, 2m and 70cm capabilities. So, it would be great if you have an amateur license, otherwise, you will be hard pressed to find anyone to talk to. BTW...these radios go used on Ebay for around $550-650, practically new. I believe a lot of hams buy them and find out that QRP is not that much fun unless you are really hardcore, so they dump 'em on Ebay. It's kind of humorous when you think about it, that is, to go to all the trouble of buying a portable rig like the 817, then put a big amp on it. Why not just buy an Icom 706 or Yaesu ft100 in the first place?
Metro- with only 6v battery you are only getting a fraction of the output that amp is designed for. You should try a 12v gel cell.
I think you have the basis for a good portable DX rig with the Titan handheld. Considering the current DX conditions on 11m, there are LOTS of potential contacts out there.
Antenna- If you can find one somewhere on the web, the Wilson NG-4 is a No Ground antenna, basically a fiberglass J-pole with adjustable matching slider. It would be fairly impressive mounted on a backpack frame. I have one and have talked to South America a couple of times on it with my Eagle handheld, just holding the antenna in one hand and radio in the other. |
SpliffMaster 420
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 2:09 pm: |
|
I've seen the 817 selling new for around $650. |
Metro 446
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 2:49 pm: |
|
Lets end any and all disscussion about the Yaesu, no way am I gonna spend even 650.00 on a radio. I think it's gonna be the Titan with my KL-40.
Metro 446 |
Copperfan
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 4:11 pm: |
|
ok thats fine Metro and 707 they can get 11 meter my Brother has one and its a easy mod
http://www.mods.dk/mods.php3?radio=yaesu&model=ft-817&selectid=1950
|
Copperfan
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 4:26 pm: |
|
And actually if you were going to power the radio and the amp you may as well buy something like the magnum 257 this has dual finals plus alot more freq coverage with extra modes FM,CW this way you only have 1 battery and one radio as for the battery if you look in those little jump packs for jump starting cars they have a great little 12 volt battery in them and they last a long time and i think they are made by YUASA thats right not Yaesu here is a link i see them at ham fests for 50 bucks
http://www.buck.com/yuasa.html
|
707
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 5:21 pm: |
|
Metro, if you really want to have a cool setup, get a small solar charger and gel cell OR NiMH camcorder battery. The solar cell will carry the talkie OK on receive, and even trickle charge the gel cell to give you better battery life. I've seen the little solar chargers for around $20 at Auto Zone, and Sears, kind of like this one:
http://www.4cbradio.com/icpg-04041_solar_battery_charger.htm
About your antenna. The main problem with "human mounted" antennas is the lack of ground plane. Now..you will have some metal under the antenna if you use a small backpack frame. Other wise, the only way you will get a a good match is to go with the groundless antenna like the NG-4. There are some "groundless" fiberglass whips out there, but I believe the NG-4 will outdo them on transmit gain, plus it can be easily adjusted on-the-go for matching. Here is a link to it so you can see how it works.
http://www.bellscb.com/products/antennas/wilson/Wilson_Antenna_Product_Guide_No-Ground.htm
I don't know if Copper carries them or not. I know that about a year ago, they were discontinued, but then reappeared. I bought mine at a trucker CB shop. For your purposes, it will work just fine. Again, check with Copper to see if they might have this stuff. Also, if you can find the Mobil-Com adaptor for the Titan/Eagle/Cherokee/Magnum handhelds which slides on in place of the battery pack, you will essentially have a full function SSB rig in the palm of your hand.
|
Znut
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 7:14 pm: |
|
Metro,
With the SSB power the Titan has, why not get a battery pack for the Titan instead of the KL 40 and invest time and effort in the antenna? A dipole rolled up in the pack 'till you get still and something to wear while you're afoot. We all know that the antenna is very important, maybe much lighter than enough battery power to sustain an amp.
Take Care,
Znut |
Highlander
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 7:26 pm: |
|
FIFTY POUNDS!!!! LOL!!!
I wouldn't want to have to haul that beast on my back for very far..... |
bruce
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 8:37 pm: |
|
znut been there done that took my titan a cb 18 in wip and a 12 volt battery pack .... a better battery would have made it work realy good and went on 10 meter ssb from my back yard ... worked like a champ now im working on a better pack ...hummm maby even put a handle on it cool... yes the titan 485 will work.... you know what ive got a solar pannel....... na to little current..... its only good for 85ma |
707
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 9:20 pm: |
|
BTW..Metro, what kind of power output do you get on the Titan? My Eagle is stock and does the 8w SSB OK. If you get that much, you should be able to push the KL40 to about 30w. Drop the talkie output to LOW and you should get about 2-3w SSB which should give around 15-20w out on the KL40. 20w out through a dipole strung up about 8ft should be equivalent to any mobile running a moderately tweaked SSB CB radio. I talk to people all the time on the East coast who are running barefoot mobiles on a Wilson 500,1000 or similar. That dipole will beat a mobile whip watt for watt and get better receive. Your local ham store will have a 10m dipole which can be easily tuned to 11m, or Workman makes a lightweight one for 11m for like $9.95 |
707
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 9:23 pm: |
|
Hey Copperfan- what kind of 11m coverage will the 817 do after the mod? I didn't see anything listed. |
Metro 446
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 9:59 pm: |
|
Znut, you're the kind of soldier I like to have behind me. I should have said it a long time ago, this rig will mainly be used after camp has been set. Another idea I had is to have a short wire and ground rod for the antenna. This system will break free from the main pack for a easy scramble to a nearby peak. So far I am thinking, the Titan and KL-40 with a 12 volt gell cell, thanks for the tip on that 707! found one that will be only about 2lbs. I do need to use a whip though I think, in my area there are'nt too many trees to stretch a dipole. My thought is to carry a couple of pieces of PVC and a couplers. Put them together and bingo! the whip is 10 feet in the air. If I am wrong on the dipole idea though, please correct me. |
Metro 446
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 10:27 pm: |
|
Highlander, how do you come up with 50 pounds?!?! The Titan looks to be about the same as my Midland 75-810, with batteries and speaker mike it's 1 lb. 5 oz. The KL-40 is 8 oz. the gell cell will be about 2 lbs. add 2 pounds for whip, ground wire and rod and you're lookin at around 6 lbs. My entire pack with food, water, GPS, gun and ammo for 3 days is less than 25 lbs. My math shows about 30 pounds. You're packin too much crap!!
Metro |
Metro
| | Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 6:57 pm: |
|
Hey 707, whats the latest on the Eagle spitfire 454 shipment? Looks like you can't find a Titan, Cherokee or spitfire anywhere to save your life!!
Metro 446 |
Metro
| | Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 7:16 pm: |
|
Highlander, just saw that battery. So thats what you were laughing about! Yeah, thats definently not an option!
Metro 446 |
Biged
| | Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 11:11 pm: |
|
Metro, I can get you a gel cell battery if you were to just pay for the shipping. They are great batteries. I have been using one for about 2 years now and I have really put it through the ringer. I have used it for my Yaesu ft 890 and now it runs my Palomar 225 (which I got off of Sodapop by the way). So if your interested, email me...Eddie |
Metro
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 12:02 am: |
|
Thanks, but nothings gonna happen till I get my hands on the Spitfire or Titan. I did find a 10 meter handheld by Magnum (SSB 1010) goin for 250.00 The freq coverage is 28.000-29.699 MHz, anyone know if this unit can modified to get down to the 26's. Also it says it's MARS and CAP capable, what is that?
Metro |
bullet/151 southern Indiana
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 3:11 pm: |
|
if this is for cb the first thing id do is dump the little amp and use a good export radio!
an amp needs to much juice to run it with enuff volt/amps that it needs to operate properly without harming the final transisters,unless you want to carry a big battery, and hell its only doing 30-40 watts. not worth the weight of it and the battery. "imho" when an export would do the same job and be less weight.
"remember you got to dubble output power to make much of a differance in your received signal and your not going to do this over a good export radio with that amp/battery set up".
for an antenna you could use a wire antenna like the normal dipole,or a wire star duster made with sticks for the bottom as spreaders. this works great. i used these as our field expeadiant antenna when i was in LRRP.
we normally packed 4 days minimum supplies/gear/ammo/demo ect. in our packs so you counted OZ's as these packes were on average of 90-100 lbs counting water blaters, and no one wants to carry more than they need to.
if interested i can give you the run down on it! its simple,light and very effective for backpacking. |
707
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 12:56 am: |
|
Metro-
If Copper doesn't have the Eagle yet, check Ebay. There are some Eagles and Titans every once in a while for pretty cheap. I wouldn't spend the $200 on a Magnum without trying it first. It looks Identical to the Titan/Eagle/Albrecht/Dragon but costs $50 more. The specs on the Magnum show 15w P.E.P. while the others only claim 8w. I know the Eagle to do the 8 no prob, but would have to see the Magnum doing it to believe it. I guarantee if it does 15w it would trash the battery pack in no time. |
707
| | Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 6:48 pm: |
|
and I would NOT pay BeckyBurk $200 for that used AM/SSB Cherokee. |
Metro
| | Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 10:39 pm: |
|
I would'nt either, I have a bid in for a lot less than that, much less than the price of a new one. Do you know something about that seller that I need to know. Also, should I just keep working on the tech ticket and go 2 meter for backpacking? I went to QRZ again today and scored a 100% on the first 20 questions and finished with an 88% so I am not worried about passing the test especially if I finish the rest of the book and read it once again, also I would take a lot of pride in holding a tech license. Basically I guess the question is, what would be a better radio for backpacking, a 6meter/2meter/440 handheld or a SSB handheld. Can I use the KL-40 amp with a 2 meter handheld? If not, is there a small amp that can be used with a 2 meter?
Metro |
metro
| | Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 10:58 pm: |
|
Also, what would be the best triband radio to get?
Metro |
707
| | Posted on Friday, April 26, 2002 - 12:43 am: |
|
Metro-
Depending on your area, and where you are planning on backpacking, 6m/2m/70cm might be fun for you, plus the radio/antenna size/power requirements are more manageable.
If you are really serious about SSB DX, then do the tech ticket first, then get the 5wpm out of the way so you can run on 10m as well someday. In the meantime, you'll have a blast with your VHF/UHF priveleges. Get a Morse Code program and force yourself to do at least one hour a day. You will be "up to speed" in about two to three weeks.
One thing you have to remember with VHF/UHF is that you need either line-of-sight or a repeater. All the power in the world does no good without a clear path on VHF. If you plan on doing some mountain backpacking, you will find that even a 2-4w talkie will carry over 50 miles from a mountaintop on a normal day.
With all your interests, it sounds more and more like you need the FT 817. Barring that, you can start with an Alinco dual-band or if you want to spend half the price of an 817, you can get a tri-band handheld(Yaesu/Icom). Some of the them have wideband receiver coverage so you get the bonus of a nice portable Shortwave receiver to boot. However, unless you know for a fact there is 6m FM activity in your area, don't spend a wad on 6m just yet. Also, consider that you might want something with wideband UHF capability to communicate with those FRS handhelds in the event of an emergency on the mountainside.
About that Cherokee.... It will be of little use to you if you ever plan to use it on 10m, since it does not have FM mode, nor repeater splits and sub-tone. Also, it is likely not converted for use above ch 40. Let me put it this way.. If a Magnum is around $225, an Eagle is around $150, and a Titan is around $109(all the same radio), then the Cherokee is worth about $100-$130 brand new, with adaptors. Used, I wouldn't give more than $100. OF course, value is relative to the buyer. It depends on how badly you want it.
Keep searching for "SSB Handheld" on Ebay. I'm sure you'll find one in the next couple of weeks. There were lots sold over the past 6 months and it's time for them to re-surface. Email that Cherokee seller and see if they have any of the Titans, hint, hint. |
Metro
| | Posted on Friday, April 26, 2002 - 8:43 am: |
|
Thanks, I was under the impression that the Cherokee, Titan, Eagle, Magnum were all the very same radio just different names, guess I was wrong. There is a an Eagle spitfire on E-bay also I have a bid on, or should I wait to find a Titan?
Metro |
707
| | Posted on Friday, April 26, 2002 - 12:58 pm: |
|
I like my Eagle |
707
| | Posted on Friday, April 26, 2002 - 1:01 pm: |
|
Also, with the Eagle you are getting a battery case that can take alkalines or NiMH or NICad, while the Cherokee only comes with the rechargeable pack and a wall charger. |
BATTLESTAR
| | Posted on Friday, April 26, 2002 - 2:47 pm: |
|
SOUNDS FUN. I WOULD LIKE TO HIKE UP ON TOP OF ONE OF THE HIGH MOUNTAIN PEAKS HERE IN NC AND SHOOT SOME DX.TAKE A A99 APART AND COAX AND BATTERY AND OF COURSE MY RADIO AND CAMP OUT UP THERE AND TALK ALL NIGHT. |
707
| | Posted on Sunday, April 28, 2002 - 12:07 am: |
|
Holy Crap! I can't believe how high that Eagle Spitfire is going for now on Ebay. I might have to put mine up on the block, but of course, that'll be all modifed and ready to rock, desktop drop-in charger, rechargeable battery pack, empty battery shell(for alkalines/NiCad/NiMH), 2 antennas(long and short), wall charger, 12v plug, Mobile-Com adaptor, shoulder carry case and hard plastic padded carry case, plus a brand new KL200p bi-amp and PDC5 compact meter/matcher..hint hint... |
Copperfan
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 - 11:13 pm: |
|
707 1.8 to 29.999 Mhz and 135 to 174 Mhz TX and 420 470 Mhz
also how about that radio magnum keep on their page????? is that ever going to happen?????
SSB1010
|
707
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 12:19 pm: |
|
you talking about the 40m radio? I saw that same radio under a different brand name on Ebay, claiming to cover from 6 to 9 mc. |
Metro
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 9:38 pm: |
|
Gimme that number 707!! |
Copperfan
| | Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2002 - 4:55 pm: |
|
nooooooo the FT 817 |
Metro
| | Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2002 - 7:30 pm: |
|
Could I put an amp inline and use that 817 as a base unit? If so, what antenna would I need? Right now I am using a Skylab 30 feet up tunned for my VR 9000.
Metro |
707
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 12:57 pm: |
|
Metro- drop me an email. I lost your address. |
|
