10m Manpack is finished

After a bit of work the 10m manpack is finished. It's built on a Philips TP-92 portable chassis (originally for the Philips FM92 radio) and one of the benefits is that any compact/mobile radio can be added to the unit. I've currently got the Dragon SS485H in there but with a bit of rework my Alinco DX-70 could be used instead.

 

The radio is attached by removing the top cover and riveting it to the TP-92 door. I could have gone with a normal mounting bracket but wanted to maintain the lowest profile for the unit. This makes it a pain to open up the unit as the radio has to be unscrewed from it's top plate but not the end of the world.

 

 

I'm running a 5AH LiPo battery from Turnigy which replaces the original SLA batteries. The original charging circuit and speaker have also been removed. I've added a Power-Meter to monitor the battery......but have put it after the regulator so won't get too much useful info although the ammeter measuring instant and peak current is a good tool to have. With the LiPo in place and the potential to dump a lot of current quickly I have gone fuse crazy with 2 internal fuses and one chassis fuse on the outside.

 

Without the original internals it does lose some of it's weight and potentially some of it's stability although I have not seen this as being an issue so far. Current weight without an antenna is 4.4Kgs.The main antenna is the 2.7 metre ANT-129 military antenna I got in from Greece - great buy and recommended. Without a tuner I am still getting a sub 1.7 SWR on 10m. If you are looking for one for yourself I bought mine on eBay from a great seller (and their eBay photo below):

Military-Whip-Antenna-ANT129-22-30Mhz-New-Old-Stock-PRC-Army-Radio-Singcar-radio

 

I'm not running any counterpoise at the moment as when I tried 2 3m wires my receive went backwards so that area needs a little bit of work.

 

I'm thinking it's nearly time to join the SOTA ranks and start hiking........

New Zealand account is open

Great propagation into New Zealand the last few days on 10 metres. ZL2FT - Jason was coming in strong with a 5x9 signal and despite being plagued by frequency drift on my Kenwood we still managed a pretty good QSO.

I received a 5x9+10dB report from Jason and the first "+10 over" I've had with my little 10 watts. Very pleased.

I'll have a YouTube clip to follow shortly.

Re-housing a Motorola XTS3000

My new high-viz housing for the Motorola XTS3000 arrived today and I was straight into it.

Not a complicated task by any means but maybe a few tricks.....

You don't really need the special Motorola tool to get the housing off unless you are truly hamfisted. I used 2 flat blade precision screwdrivers and a circlips pliers with an angled attachment.

Just pop the two screwdrivers in between the radios metal body and the housing and gently angle them outwards till the tabs are visbile and free.

Using the circlips pliers in the other hand I gently prised the radio from the housing. Just be gentle and your case should not crack. Disconnect the radio from the controls connector that is inside the housing - just pulls off (but not by the ribbon cable).

Get the other housing ready, make sure the rubber gasket running around the radio is properly in place, you have reconnected the ribbon cable from the new housing to the radio, the keypad is in?

I forgot this one and had to pull it apart again. You can see the ribbon cable in the old housing above. Angle the radio in at the top and ensure it is seated up as far as it goes and then gently push the rest of the radio into the base. Watch out for the little switch board on the side of the radio foulding the radio chassis and also make sure the gasket doesn't sneak off as it goes in.

Check everything works.

....and this is the final product with the newer UHF/GPS antenna on board.

....and with the rest of the family to give a sense of scale (Alinco DJ-G5, Moto XTS3000, Moto Saber II)

There's a bit more detail on the disassembly from "Snarlingrabiddog5150" on Youtube who goes chasing an encryption board inside his XTS3000. Some of his other videos are also very informative if you check out his youtube channel.

Quick field fix

Just noticed the Kenwood was jumping around on frequency by about 5Kc - mainly when I keyed up. A little research and the solution appeared to be re-tightening the VFO shield.

Job done, problem solved....so far. It's like a vintage car, always something to fix.

*** Update - problem is back again and present on transmit and receive ***

*** Latest update - bit of research on Google and found the lights in the meter and the VFO display generate a bit of heat that it doesn't like. Ripped out lights and seems steady so far....fingers crossed! ***
*** Latest update - was very good for a while but now it's back again. ***

Motorola 2M rig for the car.

....so after all that "fun" I had playing with the Motorola Saber IIs I seemed to be on the path to more Motorola ownership. The Kenwood TM241A I have been running in the car became problematic about 3 weeks ago with a dodgy screen (apparently a common fault).













This seemed like a good opportunity to pick up another mobile rig. A bit of perusing on EvilBay and I picked up a Motorola GM339, remote head for a good price. The radio arrived and as expected it had been used commercially in the mines (still programmed with their frequencies) but was in excellent condition.

Same story as before, you need to make sure you get the correct cables and software to program the radio correctly. This time the CPS (programming software) was not restricted to DOS or slow PCs. GUI was back baby. I first tried a serial ribless cable and to do this I used a USB to serial adaptor. This did not work and was a waste of time. Next I moved onto a USB Ribless cable (no need for a serial adaptor), this one would talk to the radio but I got errors about wrong versions. This is where I had to start looking for another version of the software - a little harder bit not impossible to find on the internet. Right cable, right software and we were in business.

Again, I read from the radio and saved the codeplug (radio config) before starting to change the settings. There are a lot more settings to change in this one compared to the Sabers.My main aim was to get it working so after clearing all of the previous channels I loaded in all of my local repeaters. I setup scan as well, the type of squelch, and any tones that were needed. I also customised the power settings so Low was 5 watts and High was 10 watts. A lot of the paging and id management I did not know what to do with so disabled as much as I could. When saving the new codeplug before writing it to the radio the CPS will advise of errors you have and not write till you fix them - this helped to ensure I had most of it right.


The install is pretty simple with the radio body in the glove box and the remote head mounted on top of another mount that is used for my VX-7R.

I even got my callsign to display on startup.

Scan doesn't work properly and I seem to have programmed the backlight timeout incorrectly.....will get to it eventually......have to be eventually as I also bought a Motorola XTS3000. It's a beater but has UHFCB already programmed in and I'll be rehousing it in the hi-viz housing the emergency services use. Will post when complete.

It's a Motorola thing.....

Some of the forums I'm on seem to have some rabid Motorola fans on them and I decided to give the "bat" a bit of a try.

Picked up 2 VHF Motorola Saber II handhelds from the states, in pretty good condition but very pricey on shipping - Saber info here: Repeater Builder. Waiting for the radios I had a scout around for a charger and also picked up another 2 chargers for $30 each. The shopping continued with 2 new VHF antenna, a Motorola RIB and cables to interface the radios with the computer for programming.

One of the attractions on the Sabers I picked up was the optional DES encryption modules (called Securenet) they came with.....research ensued and that's when the Motorola quirks started to come out: CryptoMuseum , Batlabs

1. You need a Key Loader to put the encryption key into the radios
2. Radios without power for about 40seconds lose the encryption key
3. KVLs are hard to get outside the States and they're not keen to ship them outside of the USA
4. By all reports encryption cripples the radios range and as it is not permitted on a ham licence you may choose not to bother with it.
5. Forget what the seller says the radio is - you need the model code off the actual radio and then decode it to ensure you are getting what is being advertised - go here to decode your model code: Repeater Builder
6. Because of the way the programming software is coded you need an old (slow) computer - as in a 286, 386, and you're pushing it with a 486.

The last point is where I came unstuck. I thought I'd try a newer one and see how it went but that didn't work no matter what I tried. I also thought finding an old PC would be the easy part but it appears that old computers are now called vintage and command a fair whack from collectors. The hunt started and after a bit of messing around I landed a Dauphin 486 pen computer (ipad forerunner for PC) dating from circa 1993. This was a mistake and I should have gotten a normal PC rather than something so unique.






















So after a lot of messing around with the Dauphin, the cables and connections, and software the radios were programmed with VHF Marine frequencies, charge fine in their chargers and work quite well.

Some feedback:

• They are solid in the hand, not girly-man radios - I like them
• They feel industrial - I like this too

• Squelch settings are universal on all channels and the level has to be programmed (no squelch knob)
• Channels are limited to 12 per Zone - bit of a pain for a bandplan with more than 12 channels (VHF Marine, UHF CB).

• Does scan but I haven't bothered with it.
• Programming is a pain, slow, and at times can be cryptic.
• Software is DOS based - no GUI here.
• I haven't tested battery life yet but feel optimistic of a good result.
• Chargers are industrial as well and can keep the battery topped up.

Some tips for the uninitiated:

1. You need the old computer
2. Using tricks such as throttle and slowdos to slow down your computer will not work
3. You need the RIB and cables
4. You need the correct version of the software - if your radio is programmed with a different version of the same software you may have problems reading  and writing to the radio.
5. Always read from your radio the first time and save the config (codeplug in Motorola parlance) in case you need to restore this to the radios.
6. My sabers ended up locked with an error code when I tried to write to them with a version of the software that proved incompatible. The fix is to begin programming them again and turn the radios off half way through the programming, changes the error code and the radio will now accept a fresh codeplug in full - this is where you reload the original one you read before you started playing.
7. For the issue above this is where I also changed the version of the programming software I was using and the writes no longer caused the radios to error.
8. Be careful when writing to your radio and choose to use the RF settings in the radio not the ones from the CPS - otherwise it messes with your radios alignment.
9. Get onto the Batlabs forum and search for Saber - lots of information and help there: Batlabs forum

Overall it was "fun" (but expensive) to get the gear in and play around with them myself.....so much fun I bought some more....see the next post.

...also running a scanner feed

Finally getting some use out of the radios I have had hanging around for so long. I have setup a scanner feed on the RadioReference website (now hosted on broadcastify):

http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/15136/?rl=rr?rl=rr

I'm running an old Realistic Pro 2036 scanner covering Queensland Ambulance, Queensland Fire, and Queensland Police for Brisbane southside. Not running on the AOR Discone as I'm having some trouble with my scanner splitter so am running a telescopic antenna straight into the scanner. I disconnected the speaker so the line out could be run a bit harder for the feed without deafening myself in the shack. There are already a few southside feeds on there but I put my one up there anyway....won't be long before they've all gone digital so my humble contribution to scanner land. I think I'm off frequency with one of the QAS despatch ones - will have to scan around and get it correct.

EFHWV

Thinking about the next antenna and I'm liking this end fed half wave vertical in the video below. I already have the squid pole (need to check the length) and just need the 9:1 transformer dooby and some wire...and some coax. Looks great for portable work or on the side of the car when stationary.

Special event station - Kesennuma earth quake

Just twiddling the dials and came across 8J7FUKKO special event station remembering the Kesennuma earth quake in Japan. A mouthful for us both to pass our call signs back and forth but a good contact.....and my first QSO video below:

Reliving past glories

A long time ago I bought a Yaesu FT-530 and moved it on after about a year. It seems to have reached some sort of cult status as it is very popular in reviews and sought after to some degree. I started looking for another one.......didn't find one but up came an Alinco DJ-G5. Cue past glories from around 1998/99. I sold my last one as I headed over seas for a year but had fond memories of it as a solid performer. Price was right and I won the auction. Opening the parcel I received a mint example and am very happy with the unit. Feels solid in the hand - more than the Yaesu VX-7R I have.....

.....and in typical fashion right after I buy the Alinco a Yaesu FT-530 pops up for sale and goes for $65.....DOH!

Dragon 10m HF portable is finished

A final bit of motivation and I finished my 10M portable radio. Here we are on Sunday finalising the wiring:

It has a Dragon SS-485H HF rig along with a Z11 ATU and runs a 7Ah SLA, All housed in a bench instrument enclosure from Jaycar. Some space constraints within the enclosure so the ATU is on the outside. I have a section to attach some counterpoise wires but haven't made any up yet.

And out in the back garden running a 2.4 metre ex-mil HF whip - ANT-129 22-30Mhz....

A local operator Darren - VK4HDO, came back to my call on 28.480 reporting my audio as good but the signal was low and according to his radio I was about 3Khz off frequency.

.....and with a more managable HF antenna

.....and on the radio bench running into the external 10M vertical

I'm hoping to get it ready for the WIA National field day on the 13th and 14th of April and see how it goes communicating from a hilltop.

I've got GAS....

Gear Acquisition Syndrome continues unabated.... I have removed the 40 channel UHF CB in the car and replaced it with a new Uniden UH7740NB 80 channel narrow band one.





Works well, very happy with it...although I don't care much for UHF CB. The Uniden UH012SX is now in the radio shack.....which led me to a need for a UHF CB antenna for that one....time for some DIY. Following the instructions on http://www.aurfscan.com.au/ I tailored it for 477Mhz. Had problems, split the T-junction, bracket was wrong, drilled mounting holes 10 degrees off vertical.





But it's all done, up in the air pointing North West and hitting Ch2 and Ch7 repeaters. At the same time I took down the Station Master antenna and put up the new version from Shockwave Antennas. A bit of messing about tuning it to 10m and I've now got a SWR of 1.2:1 on 28.480Mhz and now getting all of my meager 10 watts up the stick.



Next items on the list are to chase another HF radio, keen to get onto the 40 metre band. Also starting to plan for the next antenna mast (possible another vertical and a G5RV Jr. dipole). Have to balance this with getting the RGV250 on the road....and upgrading to the Standard licence.

Nearly...kindof....yes....absolutely!!!!

Oleg - RK9UN came through with his eQSL below so the QSO is confirmed. Excellent!!!!!!!!

Siberia? Nearly... nearly....kindof.

Barely made it into Siberia today - a lot of QSB on 28.480 but RK9UN - Oleg and I managed to swap callsigns all the same, and signal reports......I think. Let's see if he confirms the QSO in his QRZ log.......

Aus to Ukraine - 12,842 klms

Another long distance contact into Europe thanks to Alex UR4MSF in the Ukraine. It took a while to get the RSTs confirmed but a 5x5 recieved and a 3x3 provided. Thanks again Alex! Put him onto the VKLogger so hopefully some other aussie hams can pick up some contacts into Europe.

My RST is wrong

Made a contact with Doug KH6QR this morning - Brisbane to Hawaii. Doug was running 200W from a Kenwood TS480HX into a 6 element beam 40 foot off the ground. A lot of fading on the signal and he had a little chuckle at the 1x3 RST I gave him.......hmmmm....oh oh, I've been confusing my RST...woops! Seeing as messed up the RST I'll not log this one. Have also printed out the RST matrix so I can get my signal reports correct for the future.

Ham Radio RST Signal Reports
R-S-T Characteristics	Readability R	Strength S	Tone T (cw)
1	Unreadable	Faint signals, barely perceptible	Sixty cycle a.c or less, very rough and broad
2	Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable	Very weak signals	Very rough a.c., very harsh and broad
3	Readable with considerable difficulty	Weak signals	Rough a.c. tone, rectified but not filtered
4	Readable with practically no difficulty	Fair signals	Rough note, some trace of filtering
5	Perfectly readable	Fairly good signals	Filtered rectified a.c. but strongly ripple-modulated
6	N/A	Good signals	Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation
7	N/A	Moderately strong signals	Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation
8	N/A	Strong signals	Near perfect tone, slight trace of modulation
9	N/A	Extremely strong signals	Perfect tone, no trace of ripple or modulation of any kind

Aus to Bulgaria - 13,272 klms

Just leaving the shed after repairing a Kenwood mic for my 2m mobile rig and thought I'd have a quick scan of 10m and up pops Mike - LZ2DF running an FT-920 into a Yagi and looking for DX contacts in the pacific.

A lot of QSB on the signal but eventually we managed to swap signal reports completing a 13,272 kilometre contact from Australia to Bulgaria. Definately my farthest contact so far and still with the same vertical (new one hasn't gone up yet).

Another contact with Japan and VK8 (NT)

A quick QSO with JA2DYI - Mike in Nagoya, Japan. A lot of fading on the 10m band today but we still managed the contact.



Also spoke with Peter - VK8HPB in Darwin a couple of days ago. Need to start collecting all the states and territories around Australia.

Another portable component

I'm still gathering the bits for my new 10m portable rig. Latest addition is the LDG Z11 Auto tuner. Should be here shortly.



Other items on the list:

• Stick with the 3x12V 7.5AH SLAs I already have? How many to use vs. weight?
• Transceiver - Have 10M rig
• Auto Tuner - On the way - needed to allow for different types of antenna
• Antenna - ex-military whip on the way from Greece, need mounts for new antenna
• Counterpoise?
• Enclosure - this is the problem, stick with what I have or go with a new enclosure like EC1CW?
• Wiring - looking to expand my first effort and some extra features especially on the charging and fuse side.

Japan is open for business

Propagation on 10m was pretty good this evening and after trying for a while I managed to generate a contact on 28.480 with Masa - JE1SDO in Japan.

Great to talk to another ham in a different country and he very kindly gave me a 53 to 55 signal report. Masa was running 200Watts into a Yagi so I didn't feel too bad making the 6,631 kilometre return trip on my 10 watts and the 1/4 wave vertical. WooHoo!!!!!