ve3ips

During the ARRL Sprint I worked K1RZ

I heard Pete at 52 to 55 running a FT100D at 25 watts with an Arrow 4 element Yagi up 20 ft

FN03 to FM19 was 338 Miles

I now have 4 states on 2m SSB

I am ready and prepared

Tested out my new Arrow GP6 vertical and my mast took a drop when its hitch pin fell out when I tugged on the 40m leg

I will use a bolt and nut to retain it going forward

The vertical took a bit of a bash with some elements bent

You are not a Ham until the antenna you bought gets crashed before making a single contact

It performs like a vertical should and its rugged so no damage doen and no swr worries from 50.1 ssb to 52.525 to 53.3 for repeaters

Any other antenna would have crumbled as the Arrow is solid aluminum rod

No luck on 1296 with the Looper on the red tripod and the Icom 705 so we will see on Saturday at the Sprints

I need to get a bit more organized as I bring more stuff to the field. The Ham Radio Workbench memory button box worked like a champ

Yaesu FT-891, Buddipole Power Analyzer, Bioenno 12v 9AH, Diamond AH502B

I gotta say this Diamond antenna is a breeze to set up for field operations and its not really designed for Permanent Usage

Yaesu’s proprietary C4FM based digital voice radio, model number FT-5DR.

Estimated retail price in the Unites States upon a potential October 2021 availability should be about $500 USD.  

Overview

• This radio will support dual independent receivers, but is not Full Duplex
• Reception is just AM/FM/DV
• Wideband 0.5 to 999 MHz tuning range.
• Access point mode via a USB cable can be made to create a hotspot when connected to a computer.
• Bluetooth headset for voice/PTT
• Bluetooth not available for radio programming
• SD card for recording audio and loading memorys

• Compact Design and Reliable 5W RF Power Output (Selectable 5W / 2.5W / 1W / 0.3W)
• High Visibility Full-Color TFT Touch panel Display (*The color of the operating frequency may be selected from White, Blue or Red.)
• Dual band Simultaneous Receive (V+V / U+U / V+U / U+V) & C4FM/C4FM Standby – Advanced C4FM Digital Mode with AMS (Automatic Mode Select), DG-ID feature and Smart Navigation
• 1W (1000mW) of loud audio power with C4FM clear and crisp audio quality – Rugged Construction: Robust Rubber Protection / IPX7 Rating Water Protection
• TOUCH & GO Operation with Activity Monitor
• PMG (Primary Memory Group Activity Monitor)
• CAM (CH Activity Monitor)
• VFO Band Skip Function
• Memory Auto Grouping (MAG) Function
• High Speed Band Scope Function enables monitoring up to 79ch centered on the current VFO frequency (Selectable 79 / 39 / 19ch)

• Full-Flat back body provides excellent grasp / Quick Release Holster(SHB-26BK) Included
• Built-in 66ch High-Sensitivity GPS Receiver
• Built-in Bluetooth® unit and the VOX function support wireless and easy Hands-free operation
• WIRES-X Portable Digital Node compatible
• Dual Simultaneous AM/FM Broadcast Reception and 2-channel Monitoring
• 1200/9600bps APRS® Data Communication
• Recording Function
• Micro SD Card Slot (up to 32GB)

Thanks Yaesu for another shiny hand held that we can spend our Covid savings on

FT5D VS FT3D

The FT3D has been discontinued and is no longer available, but what makes the new FT5D different from the FT 3D?

The design has a more colorful impression. The size is almost unchanged. 

The main body has the following two strengthening points.
・ Improved waterproofness FT3D IPX5 equivalent → FT5D IPX7 equivalent
・ Speaker volume improvement. Built-in speaker FT3D 700mW → FT5D 1000mW (1W). External SP terminal FT3D 300mW → FT5D 500mW.

Other newly added functions

[Touch & Go operation] by activity monitor (new function) (convenient for simultaneous monitoring of air band )

◆ PMG (primary memory group activity monitor ) function
Register frequently used frequencies and press the [PMG] key. only registered with the state (signal intensity) of the frequency display (bar graph up to five channels)
moving instantly to that channel by simply touching the bar graph

◆ CAM (CH activity monitor) function 

It is possible to register frequencies (memory channels ) frequently used by friends in the CAM group and operate while monitoring the status (signal strength) of each channel with a bar graph . Instantly move to that channel by simply touching the bar graph

◆ Dual LED indicator FT3D has one indicator
◆ The character color of the band to be operated can be switched between white / blue / red
◆ Full-scale robust and shock-resistant structure equipped with a rubber protector
★ New equipment (included) Quick release holster (SHB-26) standard equipment