The goal of this project was to create a sort of go-box for my ham radio. I was getting tired of filling my back seat with my radio equipment and lugging everything out one by one. I used an Apache 4800 weatherproof padded case from Harbor Freight. I got the extra large one to accommodate…
Author: nate
2024/09/06 – POTA Activation at US-1024, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area
This was just a quick activation at US-1024 after work on a Friday. This was my first activation on SSB using my Kenwood TS-120V radio and a 20m hamstick antenna. Logging was done through HAMRS. The Kenwood only draws about 3-4 amps, so I was able to easily use my EV for power. I was…
Building an EFHW Antenna
This build is for an End Fed Half-Wave (EFHW) antenna. There are already many pages that go into details of EFHWs so I won’t go into that here. First is the balun. I used a clear top project box to house the components. The balun is wound for 49:1. On the top is a 5/16″…
Rewinding a 64:1 Balun
I had purchased a 64:1 balun from amazon, however I paired it with a length of wire meant for a 49:1 EFHW. Instead of changing the length of wire, I decided to rewind the balun to accommodate the existing wire length. Below are pictures of this short project.
2024/08/10 – POTA Activation at US-1024, Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area
On 08/10/2024, Calvin (KE0DIT), Ed, (K9QW), and myself (N8PIC) activated US-1024 as WJ9UNK, our club. We made a total of 239 contacts over FT8 and SSB on 15m, 20m, and 40m HF. Weather was 75 °F with very light cloud coverage. We operated FT8 using a QRP-Labs QDX (5W) and a Kenwood TS-140S with Signalink…
POTA Dry Run – 2024/08/3-4
This time, I made sure to clean my setup with less wires and a more logical layout of the equipment. On 2024/08/03, Ed (K9QW) stopped by with a NanoVNA to test my antenna. As it turns out, I was using a 1:64 balun with a length of wire meant for a 1:49. The next morning,…
POTA Dry Run – 2024/07/27
First dry run for a POTA activation. Seen here is a QRP-Labs QDX, my bench power supply fed with a battery, my laptop, and a EFHW antenna. 9 contacts were made this session. The setup seems good, although I would like to clean it up a bit. There are wires going every which way and…
Bench Power Supply
Background My goal with this project was to create a power supply that could be used for various electronics projects. Ideally, It would have a fixed 5V and 12V output, as well as a variable output. Hardware For the input power source, I used a laptop power supply, supplying 19V at 5A max. Two buck…