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
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
Anyone who has been with me for awhile knows that every now and again “Murphy” of Murphy’s Law fame comes for a visit.
Things here have been going fairly well (Ham Radio wise) recently. I have been able to some contacts (mostly 20m SSB) during the daytime and also in the evenings (mostly 40m SSB) and considering the band conditions I think that’s pretty good.
But (and you know there had to be a “but”!
After making some evening 40m ssb contacts last night I shut off the power supply and left the shack. I came back to the shack and turned on the power supply and the radio would not turn on.
I did a quick check and the power supply now had an output of 4v dc. Not what I was expecting as before I shut it down it was steady at 13.5v dc which is normal for this unit.
I then took the cover off and could not smell the “magic smoke” and there was no visible issues on the board itself. No burn marks on the board, everything attached and no signs of any thing out of the ordinary.
I did have a backup PS so I’m still on the air with a 25 amp unit rather than the 30 amp unit that now is a paperweight.
The replacement from “The Toronto Toystore” will set me back around $220.00 after shipping/taxes, so it won’t break the bank and they have one in stock so “fingers crossed”.
So, this morning I look out into my backyard and notice the counterweight attached to the end of my “Stealthy Inverted L” is laying on the ground. A quick check found that the wire itself was intact but…. (yup but again) the wire had slipped off on of the branches that support the horizontal section of the wire. This does happen every now and again so…. 30 minutes later I’m back on the air.
The plan now is to see if the band comes to life (the numbers are looking good) and I can get (more than) a few contacts in the log.
.
Ending on a positive note I was able to contact VE3FI Bill as he activated POTA CA-2376 as part of his cross Canada tour. I guess the antenna is working after all that.
73bob
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