M0JCQ's Ham Blog ← Adventures in Ham Radio ← Page 3

Top 10 Reasons to Take Ham Radio Portable 53

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 ...

Protecting the Elecraft KX3 on the Hills 2

Jan

31

2016

After writing my Yaesu 817ND & Elecraft KX3 comparison post I received a number of questions on how I keep my Elecraft KX3 protected when out and about on SOTA summits. I use my KX3 out portable, normally in quite harsh conditions on SOTA summits through out the year. I’ve also taken it abroad to 3 islands on EA8 ...

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. ...

SOTA Activation of Craig y Llyn (GW/SW-010) 3

Jan

18

2016

Craig y Llyn (GW/SW-010) was my second SOTA activation of the day and I arrived to find the whole area turned into some kind of building site. It transpires that they’re building a wind farm here and are in the process of clearing trees. Summit Factfile GW/SW-010 – Craig y Llyn – 600m, 4 points Latitude: 51 43 0 N, 3 35 0 W Grid Reference: SN 907032, QTH Locator: IO81FR Parking: Park in the forest entrance on the E side of the main road at SN923027 (CF44 9UF, N51:42:45, W3:34:15). Walk: 338ft of ascent in 1.33 miles. Easy summit – well defined track. Trig: TP2534 – Craig-Y-Llyn WAB: SN90 ...

New Years Eve SOTA Activation in Cornwall (Kit Hill G/DC-003) 4

Jan

12

2016

As I was staying nearby in Dartmoor with the YL over New Years I decided to activate the SOTA summit of Kit Hill (G/DC-003) when the chance arouse. In the morning we had been walking on Dartmoor and towards the end we got a thorough drenching so we headed back to our holiday cottage and ...

SOTA Activation & Wild Camping (Fan Brycheiniog GW/SW-003) 5

Jan

10

2016

Fan Brycineog – Wow! This activation was a real experience! I arrived at the base of Fan Brycheiniog at 11pm after activating another 4 summits in the area on the same day (13th August). I carried a large rucksack with everything I would need for the night and my 35 litre rucksack with radio equipment. I ...

My Amateur Radio Targets for 2016 8

Dec

26

2015

Well, it’s that time of year again when I cast my mind to the coming year and set some targets around my Amateur Radio hobby. I have done this during the last two years and also posted the outcomes (2014 and 2015) I find setting the targets helps to focus my enjoyment of the hobby and ...

Did I Achieve My Amateur Radio Targets for 2015? 1

Dec

22

2015

It’s that time of year again when I assess how I got on with my Amateur Radio Targets that I set at the start of the year. I did this at the end of last year and found it good for recapping on my achievements and assessing my level of procrastination! It also actively spurs ...

Winter SOTA Activation of Drosgol (during Storm Desmond)

Dec

12

2015

Drosgol was my second Mid-Wales SOTA summit of the day. I had activated Plynlimon-Pen Pumlumon Fawr (GW/MW-001) earlier so I knew conditions were going to be wet, wild and darn windy! It took me about 10 minutes to drive around the Nant-y-Moch reservoir from my last activation parking spot. I arrived with the rain continuing to hammer down really ...

SOTA Activation of Plynlimon During Storm Desmond 1

Dec

12

2015

Have you ever activated a SOTA summit during a storm? No , me neither, until today! Turns out the storm even had a name, unknown to me then, Storm Desmond! I had a day’s annual leave to use up at work so I decided to visit Mid-Wales, booked some time ago so I didn’t really ...