Re: [digitalradio] Re: Digital OPS: QRP Battery Portable
Andy, Nice laptop - wish I had one of those! The mini Acer runs ok with DM780 and Multipsk, but the eyes do get a tired of looking at the tiny fonts. The battery lasts a long time though so that's a plus. Speaking of batteries, I can usually get 2 hours of air time out of the FT-897D and it's twin 4500 mAh batteries. The setup works well, but I'm sure there are cheaper / better ways to get the most bang for the buck. The PY1AHD Alexloop continues to amaze me; working Europeans QRP with a hand-held loop that's only 3 feet in diameter is something only a ham would appreciate. It turned out to be a pretty good multi-band alternative to portable dipoles and verticals. I recorded a short video of the first CW DX contacts with the loop back in August 2009. It was right before a contest so the big guns were out in force. See -- http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/83698345/file.html I'll record some digital mode videos this weekend; the weather is supposed to be nice so I should get some backyard portable air time. Tony -K2MO On 4/30/2010 5:35 AM, obrienaj wrote: Interesting Tony. I just got my ham software installed on my company laptop (takes the IT folks a while). I have Multipsk, Fldigi, HRD/DM780, Microkeyer device router, SpectraVue and SDR-Radio Console all working nicely . It's a fairly big laptop rather than a mini-netbook, 17 inch screen (wide screen too) . So, I really do need to do as you suggest, get a station that can use the laptop for QRP operations via battery rather than AC or generator power. I need to get a rig to do this though, will have to start looking around for bargains. By the way, the Centrino Duo 1.8 CPU, in the laptop handles Multipsk in SDR Direct mode with RS ID, handles the demand well just 20% CPU use. Andy K3UK --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com mailto:digitalradio%40yahoogroups.com, Tony d...@... wrote:
Re: [digitalradio] Re: Digital OPS: QRP Battery Portable
Nice video Tony, amazing little antenna! On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 2:18 AM, Tony d...@optonline.net wrote: A The PY1AHD Alexloop continues to amaze me; working Europeans QRP with a hand-held loop that's only 3 feet in diameter is something only a ham would appreciate. It turned out to be a pretty good multi-band alternative to portable dipoles and verticals. I recorded a short video of the first CW DX contacts with the loop back in August 2009. It was right before a contest so the big guns were out in force. See -- http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/83698345/file.html I'll record some digital mode videos this weekend; the weather is supposed to be nice so I should get some backyard portable air time. Tony -K2MO
Re: [digitalradio] Re: Digital OPS: QRP Battery Portable
On 5/1/2010 6:19 AM, Andy obrien wrote: Nice video Tony, amazing little antenna! Thanks Andy... I was wondering if you had a particular portable rig in mind? I could be wrong, but it seems there are only 3 battery powered HF rigs on the market today; the Icom 703, Yaesu 817 and the Yaesu FT-897. All of them have low current drain for longer battery life. The Icom 703 for example, uses 300ma in standby mode while the 706 uses 1.8 amps. The 703 uses 450ma with the audio set on maximum while the 706 uses 2.0 amps. I guess it doesn't matter much if the rig requires higher current as long as the external battery pack has enough reserve to give you a few hours of air time. The low current rigs will always get more air time with the same pack though so it's something to consider. Tony -K2MO On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 2:18 AM, Tony d...@optonline.net mailto:d...@optonline.net wrote: A The PY1AHD Alexloop continues to amaze me; working Europeans QRP with a hand-held loop that's only 3 feet in diameter is something only a ham would appreciate. It turned out to be a pretty good multi-band alternative to portable dipoles and verticals. I recorded a short video of the first CW DX contacts with the loop back in August 2009. It was right before a contest so the big guns were out in force. See -- http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/83698345/file.html http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/83698345/file.html I'll record some digital mode videos this weekend; the weather is supposed to be nice so I should get some backyard portable air time. Tony -K2MO __ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5076 (20100430) __ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com
[digitalradio] Re: Digital OPS: QRP Battery Portable
Interesting Tony. I just got my ham software installed on my company laptop (takes the IT folks a while). I have Multipsk, Fldigi, HRD/DM780, Microkeyer device router, SpectraVue and SDR-Radio Console all working nicely . It's a fairly big laptop rather than a mini-netbook, 17 inch screen (wide screen too) . So, I really do need to do as you suggest, get a station that can use the laptop for QRP operations via battery rather than AC or generator power. I need to get a rig to do this though, will have to start looking around for bargains. By the way, the Centrino Duo 1.8 CPU, in the laptop handles Multipsk in SDR Direct mode with RS ID, handles the demand well just 20% CPU use. Andy K3UK --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Tony d...@... wrote: All, My son was kind enough to lend me his mini laptop today so I could run digital from the backyard with my portable station. I normally use my battery powered FT- 897D for portable work (CW / QRP), but this time it was going to be digital. I expected a little RF hash coming from the PC after I hooked up the Rigblaster plug-n-play, but the Acer mini was very quiet. My portable HF antenna is a 3 foot diameter magnetic loop made by PY1AHD; it's lightweight and easy to tune from 7 to 30 Mhz (see attached). I had my first QSO with CO2NO on 20 meters and managed to work a QRP-to-QRP/P contact with AF2M in Orlando Flordia running Olivia 8 250 mode. As 20 meters started to fade, I QSY'd to 30 meters and worked KB9MUT on PSK31 with his plus 20db signal. It dawned on me after pulling the plug that portable contesting might be something that would interest the group. A two hour monthly Sprint for example, where both portable and non-portables can participate. Higher points would be rewarded to those running portable as an incentive to get out there and brave the elements; non-portables who seek out portables would be awarded higher points as well. Sort of a mini digital mode Field Day sprint each month that lasts a couple of hours. Just an idea. Tony -K2MO
