It was a great time being back in Ottawa, visiting with friends from my old neighborhood and also spoiling my Daughters two cats.

However on the “Radio side” of things …. not so good

The plans were that I would be able (weather permitting) continue to control my hour on the Trans Provincial Net while away. It seemed that “Mother Nature” had different ideas. Most days rain or the threat of rain kept me from heading over to the park.

Above pic showing where the park was and the route I took

As I mentioned in a previous post…. there was a local (non-POTA) park within walking distance to operate from. It was a local sports field and had some bleachers for when the crowds came for Junior Soccer/Football and or Rugby…

Below pic showing how I set up at the park

Although the operating position was excellent there was NO PROTECTION from the elements which in my case meant rain.

I was able to wrap my MFJ mast to one of the bleachers and stretch the end of the EFHW antenna to the other bleacher and it did work like a charm. Signal reports were great considering I was running 50w into the antenna

So for 1 out of a potential 5 operating days it was fun and dry. Walking home with the gear safely packed in the backpack “Mother Nature” paid a short visit.

I also managed to activate CA1515 and CA1516 using my Xiegu X5105 along with a 29 foot wire (supported by the same mast mentioned earlier) with a 9:1 unun, a 17 foot counterpoise with a choke on the radio end of the coax. Jose VA3PCJ was nice enough to offer me a ride there and back. I activated the parks using SSB and VA3PCJ activated the same parks using CW and his KX3.

For Jose’s version of the park activation click HERE

I am expecting to be returning to Ottawa in Mid-January 2025 for another visit with my GrandKits and like last years winter visit there will be a car to keep me warm and dry.

73bob

It was a great time being back in Ottawa, visiting with friends from my old neighborhood and also spoiling my Daughters two cats.

However on the “Radio side” of things …. not so good

The plans were that I would be able (weather permitting) continue to control my hour on the Trans Provincial Net while away. It seemed that “Mother Nature” had different ideas. Most days rain or the threat of rain kept me from heading over to the park.

Above pic showing where the park was and the route I took

As I mentioned in a previous post…. there was a local (non-POTA) park within walking distance to operate from. It was a local sports field and had some bleachers for when the crowds came for Junior Soccer/Football and or Rugby…

Below pic showing how I set up at the park

Although the operating position was excellent there was NO PROTECTION from the elements which in my case meant rain.

I was able to wrap my MFJ mast to one of the bleachers and stretch the end of the EFHW antenna to the other bleacher and it did work like a charm. Signal reports were great considering I was running 50w into the antenna

So for 1 out of a potential 5 operating days it was fun and dry. Walking home with the gear safely packed in the backpack “Mother Nature” paid a short visit.

I also managed to activate CA1515 and CA1516 using my Xiegu X5105 along with a 29 foot wire (supported by the same mast mentioned earlier) with a 9:1 unun, a 17 foot counterpoise with a choke on the radio end of the coax. Jose VA3PCJ was nice enough to offer me a ride there and back. I activated the parks using SSB and VA3PCJ activated the same parks using CW and his KX3.

For Jose’s version of the park activation click HERE

I am expecting to be returning to Ottawa in Mid-January 2025 for another visit with my GrandKits and like last years winter visit there will be a car to keep me warm and dry.

73bob

If you’re a fan of Yaesu’s exceptional lineup of transceivers and amateur radio accessories or if you’re in the market for your first rig, don’t miss today’s OnAllBands showcase video.

It features Tim Duffy, K3LR, DX Engineering CEO, interviewing John Kruk, N9UPC, amateur division national sales manager of Yaesu USA.

***

N9UPC explains that Yaesu has made 2024 a year of education for amateur operators—a mission near and dear to the hearts of the hams at DX Engineering. N9UPC and other members of the Yaesu team have been fixtures at hamfests and club meetings, answering questions and helping amateurs get the most out of the company’s popular transceivers, including the FT-710 AESS HF/50 MHz Base/Portable Transceiver (below) and FTDX10 HF/50 MHz 100W SDR Transceiver.

“We’ve been getting out there, and, man, we have had a blast,” N9UPC said. “And I tell you it’s not so much talking about our products, but it was so interesting for us at Yaesu to see the many different ways that people are using our products beyond what we even had our products designed for.”

N9UPC also discusses the convenience of Yaesu’s WIRES-X HRI-200 High Performance Digital and Analog Internet Linking Interface (below).

The device provides Internet-to-RF communications that expand the range of Yaesu VHF/UHF C4FM amateur radios using internet-enabled Voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology. With WIRES-X, an amateur radio node station connected to the Internet and interfaced to the WIRES-X HRI-200 unit can communicate using VoIP over long distances reliably and with ease.

Visit DXEngineering.com for the full lineup of Yaesu products, including ATAS-120A Auto Active Tuning Antenna, VX-6R 2M/220/70cm FM Heavy-Duty Tri-Band HT, M-90D Desktop Microphone, and much more.

The post Yaesu: Devoted to Educating the Ham Radio Community (Video) appeared first on OnAllBands.

Three new radios were introduced last month at this year’s Japan Amateur Radio Leage (JARL) Ham Fair, including:

• the Icom IC-7760
• the Yaesu FTX-1F
• a new mobile VHF/UHF transceiver from Kenwood

Icom IC-7760

Icom tried to get hams talking about the new IC-7760 by displaying a bunch of prototype board under a plexiglass case at the Dayton Hamvention. It generated some buzz, but in general, most hams here in the U.S. took a wait-and-see attitude.

When it was finally unveiled, many were disappointed, mostly because of the price, I think. DXZone reported that “the initial price in Yen was approximately $6000 or 5400 €. Just a few weeks later, European dealers began publishing the official IC-7760 price at around 6650 €, significantly higher than the original estimate.” None of the U.S. dealers has published a price for the radio yet.

The radio does have some interesting features, including:

• 200 W output
• Separable control head and RF deck
• In-house remote operation through a wired LAN
• Two displays, 7-inch wide and 2.4-inch

The question is whether theses features justify the high price. Members of the IC-7610 mailing list don’t seem to think so. One of them noted, “I think the biggest competition to the 7760 will be the 7610, at nearly half the price and with very similar features, my guess is that few will opt for a 7760 unless they ‘just have to have one….'”

Yaesu FTX-1F

The FTX-1F is Yaesu’s replacement for the very popular FT-817/818. Its features include:

• SSB, CW, AM, FM and C4FM digital modes
• SDR technology and 3DSS (3-Dimensional Spectrum Stream) on a 4.3-inch high-resolution full-color touch display panel
• Two independent receivers for true simultaneous dual-band operation, whether in the same band or in different bands.
• USB ports support CAT operation, audio input/output and TX control
• 9 hours battery life on HF bands, 8 hours on V/UHF bands

Like the IC-7760, it’s not currently available from U.S. dealers, so the pricing isn’t set yet, but the word is that it’s going to cost around $2,000 when it’s finally released sometime in 2025. That’s quite a bit higher than the price of the FT-817/818, but it does have more features, and presumably, better performance.

Like the IC-7760, the question is whether these features justify the higher price. There are lots of interesting comments about this on qrper.com.

Kenwood mobile transceiver

The last announcement from the JARL Ham Fair is a new mobile radio from Kenwood. Details on this radio are sketchier than for the other two, but hamlife.jp reports the following:

• Compatible with D-STAR and APRS. 
• Separate controlunit and RF deck.
• Built-in GPS receiver
• USB ports on both the control panel and the radio body.
• Currently developing it for release in 2025.

They also report that, “Price is expected to be higher than the TH-D75.” That puts the price north of $750.

---

The question that I have with regard to these new radios is are they making ham radio better? This is only a partly-baked idea, but please stick with me on this. I can see where these new radios might make Icom, Yaesu, and Kenwood more money, but I don’t really think that they make ham radio better.

First, how many hams can actually afford a $6,000 radio? And of those, how many will actually buy one? I’d love to see Icom’s marketing study for the IC-7760. Same goes for the Yaesu FTX-1F and the yet-unnamed Kenwood radio.

Second, I teach a lot of ham classes, and work with a lot of new hams, so I have a particular point of view here. That being the case, I’m not so sure that I’d counsel a new ham to buy one of these three radios. These are not radios for people just getting started in the hobby.

I think that what we need are more radios like the HF Signals sBitx. The sBitx is a reasonably-priced radio that offers reasonable performance at a price that’s affordable. And, it’s hackable, too!  It’s not the perfect radio, but it’s certainly more accessible.

As I say, this is just a partly-baked idea, so I’d love to hear what you think. What features should a radio have to make the hobby better for all radio amateurs.

Vom 24. bis 25. August fand die bedeutendste Amateurfunkmesse des Jahres statt. Wir haben für euch die spannendsten Neuheiten und Highlights kompakt zusammengefasst. Am 24. und 25. August 2024 öffnete die weltweit bedeutendste und größte Amateurfunkmesse Asiens erneut ihre Türen. Allerdings gab es in diesem Jahr eine wichtige Veränderung: Nach 21 Jahren im internationalen Messezentrum … Tokio Ham Fair 2024 – Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, Azden, … weiterlesen

Join us, every Sunday at 21:15 UTC (5:15 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, 4:15 PM Standard), for an informal livestream chat session about: – current space weather — the Sun/Earth connection — including sunspot activity, solar x-ray flares, and geomagnetic activity, as well as, – current radio signal propagation conditions on the shortwave (high-frequency, or HF) […]

The big three amateur radio transceiver manufacturers each featured new transceivers at Ham Fair in...

Via Google Translate: Yaesu Musen Co., Ltd. exhibited the new portable radio “FTX-1F” that supports...

Today I found about a new Rig coming out (early 2025??) by Yaesu.

Now if you follow this link it will take you to the ML & S website which is where I got the information.

Just give it a good look over…. They did the work so it seems only fair that you read up on it from their site…

Now here are some of my early comments….

From what I have read (and the way I see it) the new Yaesu FTX1F will be in direct competition with the Elecraft KX3 along with the Icom IC705.

I’m guessing that it will also be close in price with Icom and Elecraft.

However that expected price point will keep it out of my backpack. Although I am a BIG FAN of the Yaesu brand. I have 3 (FT991a, FT891 and FT2dr) of them in the shack right now.

I just can’t justify any radio costing approx $2000.00 CDN going out with me into the field where it can easily get damaged.

If (when)I buy one it will be sitting on my desk beside the Yaesu FT991a that is working great for me.

I have very well used Xiegu X5105 that works well for me in the field. If it was to fall off the picnic table or get damaged in any other way I will be out about 25% of the expected price of the FTx1F.

Guessing that there will be more info coming out in time for the Hamcation in Florida along with Hamvention in May.

I’m looking forward to seeing a North American Price…

Then all I have to do is convince Liz we need one.

73bob

Today I found about a new Rig coming out (early 2025??) by Yaesu.

Now if you follow this link it will take you to the ML & S website which is where I got the information.

Just give it a good look over…. They did the work so it seems only fair that you read up on it from their site…

Now here are some of my early comments….

From what I have read (and the way I see it) the new Yaesu FTX1F will be in direct competition with the Elecraft KX3 along with the Icom IC705.

I’m guessing that it will also be close in price with Icom and Elecraft.

However that expected price point will keep it out of my backpack. Although I am a BIG FAN of the Yaesu brand. I have 3 (FT991a, FT891 and FT2dr) of them in the shack right now.

I just can’t justify any radio costing approx $2000.00 CDN going out with me into the field where it can easily get damaged.

If (when)I buy one it will be sitting on my desk beside the Yaesu FT991a that is working great for me.

I have very well used Xiegu X5105 that works well for me in the field. If it was to fall off the picnic table or get damaged in any other way I will be out about 25% of the expected price of the FTx1F.

Guessing that there will be more info coming out in time for the Hamcation in Florida along with Hamvention in May.

I’m looking forward to seeing a North American Price…

Then all I have to do is convince Liz we need one.

73bob

Join us, every Sunday at 21:15 UTC (5:15 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, 4:15 PM Standard), for an informal livestream chat session about: – current space weather — the Sun/Earth connection — including sunspot activity, solar x-ray flares, and geomagnetic activity, as well as, – current radio signal propagation conditions on the shortwave (high-frequency, or HF) […]

Noch vor dem Start der Ham-Fair in Tokio kommt aus Japan die Interessante Meldung von Yaesu über den Nachfolger des FT-818 zu uns durch. Der FT-X1F ist ein Allmode QRP Transceiver mit Kurzwelle, 6m und den VHF/UHF Bändern. Sein 5670 mAh großer Akku sorgt für bis zu 10 Stunden Funkbetrieb. Die Ausgangsleistung soll bis zu … Yaesu FTX-1F – HF/50/144/430 MHz Allmode SDR Transceiver weiterlesen

Yaesu hat ein Firmwareupdate für den Handfunkgerät FT-5DE veröffentlicht, das die Frequenzanzeige bis 100 kHz im VFO/PMS Scanmodus verändert. Yaesu scheint aktuell mit Firmware-Fehlerbehebungen an ihren Amateurfunkprodukten beschäftigt zu sein, denn einen Tag vor dem Firmwareupdate des Mobilfunktransceivers FTM-500 wurde bereits ein Update für das Handfunkgerät FT-5DE veröffentlicht. Die Korrekturen fallen hierbei aber deutlich kleiner … Yaesu FT-5DE – Firmware Update August 2024 weiterlesen

Yaesu hat ein Firmwareupdate für den Mobilfunktransceiver FTM-500DE veröffentlicht, der einige Fehler behebt. Yaesu hat am 20. August 2024 ein Firmwareupdate für den Mobilfunktransceiver FTM-500 herausgegeben, dass unter anderem die folgenden Fehler beheben soll: Zusätzlich sollen noch weitere Funktionen verbessert worden sein, die von Yaesu aber nicht näher beschrieben werden. Hinweise: Solltet ihr ein Europäisches … Yaesu FTM-500DE – Firmware Update August 2024 weiterlesen

People who know me have heard me say that after all these years there are 3 radios I have sold that I actually regret selling. Well now there are only 2 radios that I regret selling…

.

Welcome the Xiegu X5105 back into my portable shack…

.

Between my FT991a and my FT891 there was a bit of a gap. The Yeasu FT891 Portable Station was a bit too heavy for my old bones. I needed something in a lighter backpack to make it easier to carry if I was to choose to activate one of the local POTA Parks here in Kingston.

The above pic shows my old X5105 with the Bandspringer attached

The Xiegu X5105 fills that gap. With the built in battery pack, the built in automatic antenna tuner along with the contest keyer and the built in CW Decoder it makes it a dream portable station.

My antennas are a 40m EFHW made with 28ga wire and a QRP AMAZON 49:1 unun. I also can use a 29foot end fed random wire using a QRP EARCHI 9:1 unun.

I also have the SOTABeams Bandspringer antenna that plugs right into the antenna input and uses the built in tuner to operate between 10m and 60m.

So what’s the other two radios you might ask?

Above is my first QRP setup. FT817, LDG QRP Autotuner.

If I could work a deal for a Yaesu FT817 and a Flex 1500 it would complete the list. However used rigs are pricy and it seems most hams think that radios seem to appreciate with age so like I mentioned above it has to be a good deal for both the seller and myself.

73bob

People who know me have heard me say that after all these years there are 3 radios I have sold that I actually regret selling. Well now there are only 2 radios that I regret selling…

.

Welcome the Xiegu X5105 back into my portable shack…

.

Between my FT991a and my FT891 there was a bit of a gap. The Yeasu FT891 Portable Station was a bit too heavy for my old bones. I needed something in a lighter backpack to make it easier to carry if I was to choose to activate one of the local POTA Parks here in Kingston.

The above pic shows my old X5105 with the Bandspringer attached

The Xiegu X5105 fills that gap. With the built in battery pack, the built in automatic antenna tuner along with the contest keyer and the built in CW Decoder it makes it a dream portable station.

My antennas are a 40m EFHW made with 28ga wire and a QRP AMAZON 49:1 unun. I also can use a 29foot end fed random wire using a QRP EARCHI 9:1 unun.

I also have the SOTABeams Bandspringer antenna that plugs right into the antenna input and uses the built in tuner to operate between 10m and 60m.

So what’s the other two radios you might ask?

Above is my first QRP setup. FT817, LDG QRP Autotuner.

If I could work a deal for a Yaesu FT817 and a Flex 1500 it would complete the list. However used rigs are pricy and it seems most hams think that radios seem to appreciate with age so like I mentioned above it has to be a good deal for both the seller and myself.

73bob

Last night around 9pm I was browsing Amazon and found the same 64:1 unun that I use with my 40m EFHW. This antenna is my primary antenna for my “Transportable/POTA” setup with my FT891.

I decided that the last one worked so well for me that it was time to see if the 1st one was the real deal or a fluke.

Around noon today I checked my front door and found the Amazon Fairy had magically made the new 64:1 unun appear sometime between 10am (last time I checked for it) and noon.

I had a spare 100 foot roll of Princess Auto 18ga insulated wire in the shack and as a bonus for my home environment is was even green.

I quickly measured out 64 feet and then did the connection things. As with most of Eastern North America it was a rather wet day.

Around 4pm locally the rain stopped and I was able to remove the old wire and install the new antenna, once again using the fir trees on the edge of my yard for camo as not draw attention to the antenna.

The SWR is pretty good especially for a wire hidden in the branches:

6m – 2.5:1, 10m – 1.7:1, 12m- 1.2:2, 15m – 1.6:1

20m – 2.0:1, 40m – 1.3:1, 80m – 3.0:1

The bands are not the best, but signal reports (90w output pwr) were fairly well (S7-S9+) with the stations that I was able to contact.

All in all for what it is…. I’m impressed and the best part is that using the built in auto tuner on my Yaesu FT991a I can easily bring it down to 1:1 on all the bands listed above.

The results are the same on my Yaesu FT891 with the same style of balun and a 64 foot length of quality (Red) Princess Auto 18 ga automotive wire. The only real difference is that as I use the 891 with no tuner I have to be careful on some of the bands.

As the new install gets more use I will let you know if there are any “issues” with its performance.

73bob

Last night around 9pm I was browsing Amazon and found the same 64:1 unun that I use with my 40m EFHW. This antenna is my primary antenna for my “Transportable/POTA” setup with my FT891.

I decided that the last one worked so well for me that it was time to see if the 1st one was the real deal or a fluke.

Around noon today I checked my front door and found the Amazon Fairy had magically made the new 64:1 unun appear sometime between 10am (last time I checked for it) and noon.

I had a spare 100 foot roll of Princess Auto 18ga insulated wire in the shack and as a bonus for my home environment is was even green.

I quickly measured out 64 feet and then did the connection things. As with most of Eastern North America it was a rather wet day.

Around 4pm locally the rain stopped and I was able to remove the old wire and install the new antenna, once again using the fir trees on the edge of my yard for camo as not draw attention to the antenna.

The SWR is pretty good especially for a wire hidden in the branches:

6m – 2.5:1, 10m – 1.7:1, 12m- 1.2:2, 15m – 1.6:1

20m – 2.0:1, 40m – 1.3:1, 80m – 3.0:1

The bands are not the best, but signal reports (90w output pwr) were fairly well (S7-S9+) with the stations that I was able to contact.

All in all for what it is…. I’m impressed and the best part is that using the built in auto tuner on my Yaesu FT991a I can easily bring it down to 1:1 on all the bands listed above.

The results are the same on my Yaesu FT891 with the same style of balun and a 64 foot length of quality (Red) Princess Auto 18 ga automotive wire. The only real difference is that as I use the 891 with no tuner I have to be careful on some of the bands.

As the new install gets more use I will let you know if there are any “issues” with its performance.

73bob

.

This weekend is the Summer Support your Parks event. Basically get on the air and Hunt Activators from the comfort of your shack and/or Activate some parks and let the Hunters find you.

Below is a “Cut N Paste from the POTA Website

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Support Your Parks

This event happens seasonally, on the 3rd full weekend of the month (Saturday & Sunday UTC). These are ‘activity weekends’ where the main purpose is to get out in the parks, and have as much fun as possible.

• Winter – 3rd Full Weekend of January. January 18-19, 2025
• Spring – 3rd Full Weekend of April. April 19-20, 2025
• Summer – 3rd Full Weekend of July. July 20-21, 2024
• Autumn – 3rd Full Weekend of October. October 19-20, 2024

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For myself the plan (remember plans can change without notice) is to spend some time on Friday night as a hunter and then on Saturday as an activator spread some RF out in a couple of the local Kingston Parks.

The below map shows the local parks (Yellow Dot)

If the band conditions co operate I hope to hear you on the air and also get you in my log.

Keep an eye on the POTA Spots pages

73bob