Getting Started ← M0JCQ's Ham Blog

Watch my RSGB Presentation: Portable Adventures with SOTA 1

Sep

11

2020

On Monday the 7th September I did a live YouTube stream for the RSGB ‘Tonight at 8’ series. It gives an overview of getting out on the hills and taking part in SOTA, tips and tricks and lots of photos from activations around the world. It was received well and you can rewatch it for ...

How to Undertake a SOTA Activation – Step by Step Guide 1

Sep

17

2016

Recently I’ve been shooting a number of videos for YouTube outlining the kit I use for SOTA and now I’ve done one showing how I go about activating a SOTA summit. It’s a step by step guide to carrying out a SOTA activation in the great outdoors. It covers the set-up, spotting, operating procedure ...

My Kit for SOTA & Portable Amateur Radio 4

Sep

14

2016

I’ve thought about doing a YouTube film (you can Subscribe to my channel here) of the kit I use for my SOTA and Portable amateur radio operations for some time now. Yesterday I finally got around to it and made the most of calm and sunny conditions (quite rare here in England!). The selected equipment ...

Batteries for Portable Amateur Radio Use 56

Aug

30

2016

One very common question I get about portable Amateur Radio operation is what do I use as a battery? I have answered this question individually more times than I can mention so I thought I’d write it up as a post to help others. I’ve used everything from car batteries, Sealed Lead Acid Batteries (SLAB), ...

Portable Logging for iPad & iPhone 5

Aug

21

2016

I’ve had a lot of questions about the portable logging App I use when out on the hills. Most of the time people can see in photos and videos that I’m using an Apple iPad or iPhone but they can’t make out the App. Since 2014 I’ve been using RumLog2Go (developed by Thomas Lindner DL2RUM) on both my ...

Top 10 Reasons to Take Ham Radio Portable 56

Feb

1

2016

Update 12/07/16: This blog post has been published as an article in the August 2016 Practical Wireless magazine here in the UK. Check it out, looks better in print! Portable amateur radio operation is the reason I’m still in the hobby. There you go, I said it! Since getting licensed I’ve not lived in a ...

Yaesu 817ND vs Elecraft KX3 Differences for Portable Use 57

Jan

25

2016

I use and love both the Yaesu 817ND and Elecraft KX3. Both of these rigs inspire passion in their owners for good reason and both are excellent. That said, having used both for portable operation I have a favourite. This post came about during email exchanges with Andreas (SM6UNC) about which one I’d recommend. ...