Amateur Radio FAQ

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

  • No ad networks!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Slim

    Active Member
    Sep 13, 2015
    489
    HoCo & Worldwide
    I'm trying to make HF contacts for the first time, I'm on 20m. My radio is a 5w Yaesu FT-817. I've been calling cq every couple of minutes for three beers now and I haven't had anyone respond. Is that normal? I've never made a contact with this radio so I'm not sure if it is even transmitting. I've heard other hams in conversations but can't get a qsl. Is it normal to keep calling cq without a response back?
    49100168c6786969357c9b804edf7ad5.jpg
    Nice. I had an FT817 when I was abroad, mainly to receive, but tried a few transmissions. No one heard me, as far as I can tell. Using a 40-6 Meter OCF Dipole. Antenna and propagation paths certainly matter, but a 5w radio makes it tough.

    When running 5w on an antenna like that, you're gonna have to get used to that. Running QRP is fun, but only when you get a good signal path.

    Here's a tip, try calling out "CQ QRP" and try to seek out contesting stations. I've had contesting stations actually stop everyone to pull me out of the mud when I was running 5w QRP in a national park.
    Good advice. This has worked for me when trying to check in to VHF and UHF nets. Usually with an HT, no one hears you because guys with huge shacks full of gear are putting out 100W. Appending “Portable” to my callsign usually got the attention of one operator nearby who would let net control know.
     

    Slim

    Active Member
    Sep 13, 2015
    489
    HoCo & Worldwide
    I hope you were in compliance with local laws. :)
    Oh absolutely. Funny story, after months of trying to work my way through the bureaucracy of getting a license, I ran into the Minister responsible for radio & frequencies, told him about my interest, and he assigned me the equivalent of a vanity callsign on the spot. Turned to his assistant and told him to write it down. That was it. :shrug:
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Oh absolutely. Funny story, after months of trying to work my way through the bureaucracy of getting a license, I ran into the Minister responsible for radio & frequencies, told him about my interest, and he assigned me the equivalent of a vanity callsign on the spot. Turned to his assistant and told him to write it down. That was it. :shrug:

    Cool. Things like that can happen in some countries.

    I know some countries do have reciprocity. You use their Country ID/your call sign.

    Others require you get a local license and call sign, based on your US one.

    But some people think that their license is valid world wide.
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    I thought I had posted this but I didn't. I finally got my Gap Titan DX installed and I've been making regular contacts on 20 and 40 meters with my Yaesu 450D.

    This week I received a Yaesu FT-891 and a Chameleon MPAS 2.0 antenna system. I've hunted a few POTA spots so far, this weekend will (hopefully) be my first activation.

    c34b9157bcd67cdee6b5eb2e2a1e331d.jpg
    ac62410bc43d98b3caadf490275a34ec.jpg
     

    gamer_jim

    Podcaster
    Feb 12, 2008
    13,233
    Hanover, PA
    I thought I had posted this but I didn't. I finally got my Gap Titan DX installed and I've been making regular contacts on 20 and 40 meters with my Yaesu 450D.

    This week I received a Yaesu FT-891 and a Chameleon MPAS 2.0 antenna system. I've hunted a few POTA spots so far, this weekend will (hopefully) be my first activation.

    Very nice, thanks for sharing.

    How difficult was it to set up? Is it portable at all?
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    Very nice, thanks for sharing.



    How difficult was it to set up? Is it portable at all?
    The antenna itself is 25' tall. It took a full day to put it together, mostly due to the worthless instructions it came with.

    To mount it I dug an 18" diameter hole 3' deep, and poured in concrete that I set a 1 1/2" PVC pipe into. Then I used a piece of 1 1/2" electrical.conduit 10' long that fit perfectly into the PVC that was concreted into the ground. The 25' antenna is clamped onto the top of the 10' conduit so that the antenna is electrically isolated from the mast. I used four guy lines to help anchor the antenna because we often get gusts up to 100 mph here at the base of the Rockies.

    If a nasty storm is forcasted I can remove the ground plane from the antenna then lift the antenna out of the PVC and lay it on the ground. That's about as portable as it gets.

    I dig an 18" deep trench 33' long from the base of the antenna to my deck. I drove five 8' long ground rods into the trench and bonded them all with 6awg ground wire and clamps. One end of the ground wire is attached to the antenna mast and the other comes out of the ground at the edge of my deck and them runs under the deck to a window at my QTH.

    Here is the antenna on saw horses with the mast sitting in the PVC.


    d3faed0b98eb3782e67659dd011dd950.jpg


    The ground rods in the trench:
    4c74ea044773568bd8ea81cb875455f5.jpg
    c86bcadfe3f16395578c155e7735ed19.jpg
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    The Chameleon MPAS 2.0 is my portable HF antenna. I got the antenna last week and my new Yaesu FT-891 came yesterday. The backpack the Chameleon MPAS 2.0 came with was garbage so I ditched it and use a Direct Action Dragon Egg pack the I had. The 17' vertical antenna, 40+' wire antenna, ground spike, radial wires, 50' coax lead in, FT-891, LDG tuner, laptop, and Bioenno Power LiFePO battery fit in the Dragon Egg with room to spare. I'm looking forward to taking this setup out for a POTA activation or two this weekend.

    66797ed634b5e0caebde04d6171451f0.jpg
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    I went out and activated my first park for Parks on the Air this morning. In just under 2 hours I got 53 QSOs on 20m. I was using a Yaesu FT-891 wit the Chameleon MPAS 2.0 antenna system. I received several 59 reports from the east coast and Canada.
     

    Attachments

    • 20200620_092744_HDR1.jpg
      20200620_092744_HDR1.jpg
      118.3 KB · Views: 559

    K31

    "Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 15, 2006
    35,632
    AA county
    I guess they haven't started any kind of virtual test yet.

    The last I read they had but, at least with one method they came up with, they could only test one person at a time, so most testing organizations just opted to social distance and/or test outdoors.
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Latest posts

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    274,931
    Messages
    7,259,516
    Members
    33,350
    Latest member
    Rotorboater

    Latest threads

    Top Bottom