M0JCQ's Ham Blog ← Adventures in Ham Radio ← Page 5

Receiving Long Path Asian DX on the Elecraft KX3 1

Sep

12

2016

While out portable yesterday I tuned around 20m, keen to see if I could hear any DX during the Worked All Europe (WAE) SSB contest. What I experienced, is I can only assume, Long Path (LP) Asian DX. Essentially the Short Path (SP) would have been within a path of darkness from East to West. ...

Amateur Radio Contests – Why the Love/Hate Relationship? 10

Sep

1

2016

Regardless of opinion Contesting seems to be one of the real growth areas in Amateur Radio. Contests across the HF and (at least here in the UK) VHF spectrum are more popular than ever. What is interesting for me is the polarising nature of contesting, it seems you either love it or you hate it. ...

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 ...

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) 7

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 ...