Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Phil Wheeler]

I know where you're coming from, Mike. Like you I 
built my own K2 from the ground up starting in 
1999 and "completing" it in 2003 with the KDSP2 
(and some other adds updates in 2014); I still use 
the K2 regularly even with a K3/P3/KPA500 etc. My 
favorite time in the hobby was building QRP rigs 
-- many designed by Wayne -- in the 90s. And, 
Mike, I do note with appreciation your many 
contributions to the K2 odyssey!


Alas, times have changes and short of building 
another K2 that sort of pleasure is no longer 
available to me: SMT and have not become friends.


Sure I'd like to have a KX2 schematic -- and 
haven't concluded Elecraft won't provide one in 
time. But I won't deny myself the pleasure of 
using it -- and pleasure it does provide -- for 
lack of a schematic.


73, Phil W7OX

On 10/5/16 9:08 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:

Phil wrote:


Why "But the KX2 has no schematics for the
customer, so that prevents my purchase.", Mike?
Mine works just fine, without schematics.

It's just a matter of principal, Phil.  I've never in almost 49 years a ham 
purchased HF gear that did not, at minimum, include the schematics.  I'm a 
retired electrical engineer for whom knowing a little about what's inside the 
box is actually **much more important** than knowing how to operate the box.

I accept that firmware will always be shrouded and proprietary.  For the 
hardware, if the complete (though not wholly current) KX3 system schematics can 
released, it is hard to understand why the same hasn't happened for the simpler 
KX2 system.

Mine is unpopular philosophy today, when ham gear is becoming more and more 
like smartphones whose internal workings are shielded from the view of the 
vulgar mob.  (For my phones, I get as much info as I can from the FCC OET 
Device Listings ... even for Bluetooth headsets!)

I just did not expect Elecraft to adopt that attitude.  :-)

73,
Mike / KK5F

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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Ian White]

I strongly agree, Mike - especially with that last sentence, "I just did
not expect Elecraft to adopt that attitude." 

The K3 schematics were published shortly after the release of the K3
itself and have proved invaluable. They have saved me literally hundreds
of dollars in return shipping costs for repairs that - thanks to having
the schematics - turned out to be very minor and easily done at home.

Fast forward to last year when, as an early adopter of the K3S, I was
very disappointed to hear afterwards that the schematics would not be
published. Having already had to repair the K3S more than once using the
old K3 schematics, I can tell you that was no fun at all!

Same as Mike, that was not the deal I'd had thought I was buying into.

We have a saying in Scotland that "someone needs to have a word with
himself" about this.


73 from Ian GM3SEK


>-Original Message-
>From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of
>Mike Morrow
>Sent: 06 October 2016 05:08
>To: Elecraft Reflector
>Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now
>
>Phil wrote:
>
>> Why "But the KX2 has no schematics for the
>> customer, so that prevents my purchase.", Mike?
>> Mine works just fine, without schematics.
>
>It's just a matter of principal, Phil.  I've never in almost 49 years a
ham
>purchased HF gear that did not, at minimum, include the schematics.
I'm a
>retired electrical engineer for whom knowing a little about what's
inside the
>box is actually **much more important** than knowing how to operate the
>box.
>
>I accept that firmware will always be shrouded and proprietary.  For
the
>hardware, if the complete (though not wholly current) KX3 system
>schematics can released, it is hard to understand why the same hasn't
>happened for the simpler KX2 system.
>
>Mine is unpopular philosophy today, when ham gear is becoming more and
>more like smartphones whose internal workings are shielded from the
view
>of the vulgar mob.  (For my phones, I get as much info as I can from
the FCC
>OET Device Listings ... even for Bluetooth headsets!)
>
>I just did not expect Elecraft to adopt that attitude.  :-)
>
>73,
>Mike / KK5F


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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Holger Schurig]

> it is hard to understand why the same hasn't happened for the simpler
> KX2 system.

If I recall it right, the schematics of the KX3 wasn't released
immediately after the radio, it took more than a year.


Holger
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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Jim Brown]

Mike,

I completely agree with your position. I suspect that Elecraft having 
not yet published a schematic is simply a matter of time. Schematics for 
most, if not all, of their products have been published, and the later 
ones (K3 and later) are on their website as pdf files.


DX Engineering does not publish any of their schematics. K3LR , who I 
consider a good guy, runs that company, and  I've let him know what I 
think about that policy.


73, Jim K9YC

On Wed,10/5/2016 9:08 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:

It's just a matter of principal, Phil.  I've never in almost 49 years a ham 
purchased HF gear that did not, at minimum, include the schematics.  I'm a 
retired electrical engineer for whom knowing a little about what's inside the 
box is actually **much more important** than knowing how to operate the box.



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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Matt Maguire]

The block diagram you linked to is for hardware only; it is not a software 
functional block diagram.
If you are interested specifically in the noise reduction, the source code for 
the K2's NR is open source. I imagine Lyle would have adopted a similar sort of 
approach for KX3/K3.
73, Matt VK2RQ

_
From: Walter Underwood <wun...@wunderwood.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 6, 2016 1:09 pm
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now
To: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft@mailman.qth.net>, Matt Maguire 
<matt.vk...@gmail.com>


I was writing software for radios in 1981. Diagrams might help understanding, 
but the source code is the equivalent to a schematic. We already have a block 
diagram for the KX3 and people keep complaining.
http://www.elecraft.com/manual/KX3%20Manual%20Block%20Diagram.pdf
I’m still pretty danged curious about the noise reduction. I think it is based 
on a Kalman filter with the “known signal” input generated from a 
lowpass-filtered or averaged version of the input. But I won’t figure that out 
from the block diagram. So, not useful to me.

wunder
K6WRUWalter Underwood
CM87wjhttp://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)
On Oct 5, 2016, at 6:20 PM, Matt Maguire <matt.vk...@gmail.com> wrote:
Source code is too low level to get a conceptual understanding of what the 
software is doing -- a software architecture diagram is likely to be more 
useful for that. (in a similar way, for hardware a schematic diagram abstracts 
out implementation details such as PCB layout and track routing to make it 
clearer how the circuit works at a conceptual level).

73, Matt VK2RQ



On Thu, Oct 6, 2016 at 11:59 AM +1100, "Walter Underwood" 
<wun...@wunderwood.org> wrote:

These days, the source code matters as much as the schematic. Want to find the 
Weaver SSB demodulator? That is in software.wunderK6WRUWalter 
UnderwoodCM87wjhttp://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)> On Oct 5, 2016, at 
5:43 PM, Phil Wheeler  wrote:> > Why "But the KX2 has no schematics for the 
customer, so that prevents my purchase.", Mike?  Mine works just fine, without 
schematics.> > Phil W7OX> > On 10/5/16 5:37 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:>> Around 
1960 to 1962, on my family's tent camping trips to remote locations in the 
Arkansas Ozarks, I would help my dad set up his Drake 2-A receiver, Multi-Elmac 
AF-67 AM transmitter, and 80m dipole in the trees.  Power was from a military 
surplus 120 vac 300 watt generator (run only if no body was camped nearby).>> 
>> When I got out of the Navy 37 years ago, I immediately returned to Arkansas 
campsite ham ops with the new TS-120S, MFJ tuner, and deep-discharge battery.  
(Most of the areas my family had camped years earlier had become the Buffalo 
National River.  I return there every Fall that circumstances allow.)  This 
type of ham operations will always be my favorite use of radio.>> >> My 
now-defunct K1 had been my principal camp rig since 2001.  I'd like to replace 
it with a KX2 immediately.  But the KX2 has no schematics for the customer, so 
that prevents my purchase.>> >> Mike / KK5F> > 
__> Elecraft 
mailing list> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft> Help: 
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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Mike Morrow]

Phil wrote:

> Why "But the KX2 has no schematics for the 
> customer, so that prevents my purchase.", Mike?  
> Mine works just fine, without schematics.

It's just a matter of principal, Phil.  I've never in almost 49 years a ham 
purchased HF gear that did not, at minimum, include the schematics.  I'm a 
retired electrical engineer for whom knowing a little about what's inside the 
box is actually **much more important** than knowing how to operate the box.   

I accept that firmware will always be shrouded and proprietary.  For the 
hardware, if the complete (though not wholly current) KX3 system schematics can 
released, it is hard to understand why the same hasn't happened for the simpler 
KX2 system.

Mine is unpopular philosophy today, when ham gear is becoming more and more 
like smartphones whose internal workings are shielded from the view of the 
vulgar mob.  (For my phones, I get as much info as I can from the FCC OET 
Device Listings ... even for Bluetooth headsets!)

I just did not expect Elecraft to adopt that attitude.  :-)

73,
Mike / KK5F

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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Walter Underwood]

I was writing software for radios in 1981. Diagrams might help understanding, 
but the source code is the equivalent to a schematic. We already have a block 
diagram for the KX3 and people keep complaining.

http://www.elecraft.com/manual/KX3%20Manual%20Block%20Diagram.pdf 


I’m still pretty danged curious about the noise reduction. I think it is based 
on a Kalman filter with the “known signal” input generated from a 
lowpass-filtered or averaged version of the input. But I won’t figure that out 
from the block diagram. So, not useful to me.

wunder
K6WRU
Walter Underwood
CM87wj
http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)

> On Oct 5, 2016, at 6:20 PM, Matt Maguire  wrote:
> 
> Source code is too low level to get a conceptual understanding of what the 
> software is doing -- a software architecture diagram is likely to be more 
> useful for that. (in a similar way, for hardware a schematic diagram 
> abstracts out implementation details such as PCB layout and track routing to 
> make it clearer how the circuit works at a conceptual level).
> 
> 73, Matt VK2RQ
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Oct 6, 2016 at 11:59 AM +1100, "Walter Underwood" 
> > wrote:
> 
> These days, the source code matters as much as the schematic. Want to find 
> the Weaver SSB demodulator? That is in software.
> 
> wunder
> K6WRU
> Walter Underwood
> CM87wj
> http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)
> 
> > On Oct 5, 2016, at 5:43 PM, Phil Wheeler  wrote:
> > 
> > Why "But the KX2 has no schematics for the customer, so that prevents my 
> > purchase.", Mike?  Mine works just fine, without schematics.
> > 
> > Phil W7OX
> > 
> > On 10/5/16 5:37 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:
> >> Around 1960 to 1962, on my family's tent camping trips to remote locations 
> >> in the Arkansas Ozarks, I would help my dad set up his Drake 2-A receiver, 
> >> Multi-Elmac AF-67 AM transmitter, and 80m dipole in the trees.  Power was 
> >> from a military surplus 120 vac 300 watt generator (run only if no body 
> >> was camped nearby).
> >> 
> >> When I got out of the Navy 37 years ago, I immediately returned to 
> >> Arkansas campsite ham ops with the new TS-120S, MFJ tuner, and 
> >> deep-discharge battery.  (Most of the areas my family had camped years 
> >> earlier had become the Buffalo National River.  I return there every Fall 
> >> that circumstances allow.)  This type of ham operations will always be my 
> >> favorite use of radio.
> >> 
> >> My now-defunct K1 had been my principal camp rig since 2001.  I'd like to 
> >> replace it with a KX2 immediately.  But the KX2 has no schematics for the 
> >> customer, so that prevents my purchase.
> >> 
> >> Mike / KK5F
> > 
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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Matt Maguire]

Source code is too low level to get a conceptual understanding of what the 
software is doing -- a software architecture diagram is likely to be more 
useful for that. (in a similar way, for hardware a schematic diagram abstracts 
out implementation details such as PCB layout and track routing to make it 
clearer how the circuit works at a conceptual level).

73, Matt VK2RQ




On Thu, Oct 6, 2016 at 11:59 AM +1100, "Walter Underwood" 
 wrote:










These days, the source code matters as much as the schematic. Want to find the 
Weaver SSB demodulator? That is in software.

wunder
K6WRU
Walter Underwood
CM87wj
http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)

> On Oct 5, 2016, at 5:43 PM, Phil Wheeler  wrote:
> 
> Why "But the KX2 has no schematics for the customer, so that prevents my 
> purchase.", Mike?  Mine works just fine, without schematics.
> 
> Phil W7OX
> 
> On 10/5/16 5:37 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:
>> Around 1960 to 1962, on my family's tent camping trips to remote locations 
>> in the Arkansas Ozarks, I would help my dad set up his Drake 2-A receiver, 
>> Multi-Elmac AF-67 AM transmitter, and 80m dipole in the trees.  Power was 
>> from a military surplus 120 vac 300 watt generator (run only if no body was 
>> camped nearby).
>> 
>> When I got out of the Navy 37 years ago, I immediately returned to Arkansas 
>> campsite ham ops with the new TS-120S, MFJ tuner, and deep-discharge 
>> battery.  (Most of the areas my family had camped years earlier had become 
>> the Buffalo National River.  I return there every Fall that circumstances 
>> allow.)  This type of ham operations will always be my favorite use of radio.
>> 
>> My now-defunct K1 had been my principal camp rig since 2001.  I'd like to 
>> replace it with a KX2 immediately.  But the KX2 has no schematics for the 
>> customer, so that prevents my purchase.
>> 
>> Mike / KK5F
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Walter Underwood]

These days, the source code matters as much as the schematic. Want to find the 
Weaver SSB demodulator? That is in software.

wunder
K6WRU
Walter Underwood
CM87wj
http://observer.wunderwood.org/ (my blog)

> On Oct 5, 2016, at 5:43 PM, Phil Wheeler  wrote:
> 
> Why "But the KX2 has no schematics for the customer, so that prevents my 
> purchase.", Mike?  Mine works just fine, without schematics.
> 
> Phil W7OX
> 
> On 10/5/16 5:37 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:
>> Around 1960 to 1962, on my family's tent camping trips to remote locations 
>> in the Arkansas Ozarks, I would help my dad set up his Drake 2-A receiver, 
>> Multi-Elmac AF-67 AM transmitter, and 80m dipole in the trees.  Power was 
>> from a military surplus 120 vac 300 watt generator (run only if no body was 
>> camped nearby).
>> 
>> When I got out of the Navy 37 years ago, I immediately returned to Arkansas 
>> campsite ham ops with the new TS-120S, MFJ tuner, and deep-discharge 
>> battery.  (Most of the areas my family had camped years earlier had become 
>> the Buffalo National River.  I return there every Fall that circumstances 
>> allow.)  This type of ham operations will always be my favorite use of radio.
>> 
>> My now-defunct K1 had been my principal camp rig since 2001.  I'd like to 
>> replace it with a KX2 immediately.  But the KX2 has no schematics for the 
>> customer, so that prevents my purchase.
>> 
>> Mike / KK5F
> 
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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Phil Wheeler]

Why "But the KX2 has no schematics for the 
customer, so that prevents my purchase.", Mike?  
Mine works just fine, without schematics.


Phil W7OX

On 10/5/16 5:37 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:

Around 1960 to 1962, on my family's tent camping trips to remote locations in 
the Arkansas Ozarks, I would help my dad set up his Drake 2-A receiver, 
Multi-Elmac AF-67 AM transmitter, and 80m dipole in the trees.  Power was from 
a military surplus 120 vac 300 watt generator (run only if no body was camped 
nearby).

When I got out of the Navy 37 years ago, I immediately returned to Arkansas 
campsite ham ops with the new TS-120S, MFJ tuner, and deep-discharge battery.  
(Most of the areas my family had camped years earlier had become the Buffalo 
National River.  I return there every Fall that circumstances allow.)  This 
type of ham operations will always be my favorite use of radio.

My now-defunct K1 had been my principal camp rig since 2001.  I'd like to 
replace it with a KX2 immediately.  But the KX2 has no schematics for the 
customer, so that prevents my purchase.

Mike / KK5F


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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Mike Morrow]

Around 1960 to 1962, on my family's tent camping trips to remote locations in 
the Arkansas Ozarks, I would help my dad set up his Drake 2-A receiver, 
Multi-Elmac AF-67 AM transmitter, and 80m dipole in the trees.  Power was from 
a military surplus 120 vac 300 watt generator (run only if no body was camped 
nearby).

When I got out of the Navy 37 years ago, I immediately returned to Arkansas 
campsite ham ops with the new TS-120S, MFJ tuner, and deep-discharge battery.  
(Most of the areas my family had camped years earlier had become the Buffalo 
National River.  I return there every Fall that circumstances allow.)  This 
type of ham operations will always be my favorite use of radio.

My now-defunct K1 had been my principal camp rig since 2001.  I'd like to 
replace it with a KX2 immediately.  But the KX2 has no schematics for the 
customer, so that prevents my purchase.

Mike / KK5F
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Re: [Elecraft] Camping Radio Ops: Then and Now

[Wes Stewart]

Your first mistake was buying the Fiat.  Everything went downhill from there:-)

On 10/4/2016 4:37 PM, Dauer, Edward wrote:

I don’t recall anything particularly interesting from my hamming youth;  but 
the most vivid memory of portable ops came in 1973 in a Fiat 124


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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

My first was in the summer of 1954 in the Mojave Desert near a place called
"Giant Rock", actually an Air Force emergency landing strip where Flying
Saucer enthusiasts gathered for meetings, calling it the "Giant Rock
Interplanetary Airport" although I never say any extra-terrestrial visitors.


My buddy John (also a Ham) borrowed his family's Willis station wagon and
built up a motor generator set with a small gas engine driving two 115 VAC,
400 Hz surplus aircraft generators. We had a national receiver and a Babcock
and Wilcox CW/AM transmitter running a single 2E26 in the final so, I
suspect about 30 watts d.c. input. No trees in the desert, so we had two 30
foot masts made out of pipe and lots of guy wires. 

It was more of an adventure setting up and getting on the air than actually
making contacts, but a fun 3 days in the desert. We slept on the ground and
perhaps the most memorable part of it was waking up one morning, crawling
out of my sleeping bag and when I went to roll it up I discovered that a
rattlesnake had crawled in with me to keep warm during the cold night.
Fortunately he was still pretty cold and lethargic and so it was easy to
extract him and send him on his way after a few minutes in the morning sun.
It has henceforth known as the Great Rattlesnake Expedition.

73, Ron AC7AC 

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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[K9MA]

Hi John,

Links to regulator and tuner schematics:

http://sdellington.us/hr/KX-1_regulator4.pdf

http://sdellington.us/hr/EFHW_Tuner2.pdf

 A couple notes:

I had some trouble with the LT1965 regulator oscillating, probably due 
to the lead inductance of the leaded (non-smt) capacitor I used, hence 
the LC network.  The MIC29150 regulator data sheet claims it works with 
all capacitors, though I haven't tried it. If the MIC29150 is used, the 
LC network is replaced with a short. The way I wired the regulator to 
the KX1 required cutting a trace on the PWB, so the power could be 
switched ahead of the regulator.  This prevents the regulator from 
discharging  the battery when the KX1 is off.  If you prefer not to cut 
the trace, you could wire the batteries to the regulator input through a 
connector, and just unplug that connector when you're not using the KX1.


The tuner is based on the Pacific Antenna BLT+, using most of the same 
parts.  I bought the BLT+ kit without the case, replaced the 
transformer, and put it in my own box.  The kit includes the N7VE SWR 
bridge.  Note that my version is only intended to match end fed half 
wave multiples, with impedances from about 1,000 to 6,000 Ohms, and it's 
strictly QRP.


73,

Scott  K9MA


On 10/4/2016 13:04, John Ellsworth wrote:

Scott - I also have KX1. I have not taken it on bike trip yet, but it
does come along in the camper a lot.

I'd be interested in the details of your regulator and tuner.  Thanks
for posting the note in the forum.

73 de JohnE/kd0nqc

On 10/04/2016 11:54 AM, K9MA wrote:

For what it's worth, here's my recent solution for bicycle portable
operation:

http://cwt1605k9ma.blogspot.com/2016/08/equipment.html

It weighs a bit more than Wayne's station, but I don't need trees to
hold the antenna up.


73,

Scott  K9MA





--
Scott  K9MA

k...@sdellington.us

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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Dave KW4M]

Not counting Field Day outings with the local club, my first camping radio
excursions were with a Heathkit HW-104 powered from a gel-cell battery about
the same size as a car battery.  Needless to say, I didn't set up camp too
far away from the car!  But it was rather nice to have a battery-powered
all-solid-state rig without needing a step-up switching supply for a tube
radio.

A few years later I homebrewed a transceiver with camping as a primary goal,
see  here.    
This was a major step forward in convenience with a high fun factor.

Now I usually just carry along the KX2 in a small pack.  The antenna varies,
but most often I use a 20 meter inverted V suspended from a cord tossed up
into a tree.

73,
Dave






-
Dave
My Web Site 
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View this message in context: 
http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/Camping-radio-ops-then-and-now-tp7623097p7623108.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Bill Frantz]

On my first portable operation, I put my Small Wonders Labs 
PSK-20 (a 20M 5W transceiver fixed tuned to the PSK subband), a 
MacBook, a SignaLink, a battery, a dipole, and a Thermarester 
portable chair into a backpack and hiked about a mile up into 
the Sierra Azul open space district above Los Gatos, CA.


I found a lovely site overlooking the valley with trees giving 
me about 15' elevation for the dipole. I had a fun afternoon 
making PSK contacts.


73 Bill AE6JV

---
Bill Frantz|Security, like correctness, is| Periwinkle
(408)356-8506  |not an add-on feature. - Attr-| 16345 
Englewood Ave
www.pwpconsult.com |ibuted to Andrew Tanenbaum| Los Gatos, 
CA 95032


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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Mike Flowers]

My first real portable operation wasn't really camping at all.   I was on
Maui at a condo with a switching power supply, an IC-7000 and a 20M dipole.
My wife would bring me out cold Coronas and I had a blast working my buddies
on the mainland as KH6/K6MKF.  

https://www.icloud.com/iphoto/projects/#08;CAEQARoQbdL1Gz3QdtRohgj8O_vXyg;D5
A845C0-5AD7-4715-A0CF-23CB4F01C337

The KX3 and the KX2 are intriguing and Christmas is coming ... ;>) 

- 73 and good DX de Mike, K6MKF, Past President - NCDXC 

> -Original Message-
> From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-boun...@mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of
Wayne
> Burdick
> Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2016 9:37 AM
> To: Elecraft ; KX3 
> Subject: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now ...

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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Phil Wheeler]

Mine was from the Blue Mountains in NW Oregon in 
1955. ARC-V gear powered via a dynamotor.


Those were NOT the good old days :-)

Phil W7OX

On 10/4/16 9:36 AM, Wayne Burdick wrote:

My first attempt to operate from a campsite was in 1972, when I was 14. My dad 
chuckled as I hefted my box of gear into the camper. At the time I had no 
battery powered radios. The receiver was a Heathkit HR-10B. The transmitter was 
a 3-tube, 10-watt, WW2 CW monstrosity I borrowed from someone in the El Cajon 
ARC. I also didn't have an antenna tuner, so I brought a full-size 40-m dipole 
with #18 wire and 100' of RG58. Keyer was a Heath HD-10.

Our campsite in Utah didn't have an electrical outlet. Fortunately I had a very 
long extension cord that I routed through the window of the  men's room, two 
campsites down. I had to apologize to hostile strangers as I wove the cord 
through bushes and around cars.

Getting the heavy dipole up into the ponderosas required rope, rocks, and a few 
swear words I hadn't used in front of my parents prior to that time.

Finally, I was on the air. Unfortunately the band wasn't particularly open that 
day, and I think I ended up making three contacts. Still, I got The Bug.

These days, I use a KX2, two lengths of #26 wire, an earbud/mic, and a KXPD2 
paddle. Total station weight: 2 lbs, counting the CS40 bag. Setup time: 2 or 3 
minutes, depending on how many times it takes to hit just the right branch with 
a 1 ounce stainless steel weight. Or 1 minute if I'm using a whip.

It's been a wild journey that I suppose could be graphed in terms of miles per 
watt per pound over 40 years.

I bet there a few other variations on this theme

73,
Wayne
N6KR


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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Kevin - K4VD]

​For me, portable operations went from a rare, scheduled event requiring a
team of people and equipment to a small Nikon camera bag that fits in a
corner of a bag on my motorcycle. In other words, it went from a chore to a
joy.
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Re: [Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[K9MA]

For what it's worth, here's my recent solution for bicycle portable 
operation:


http://cwt1605k9ma.blogspot.com/2016/08/equipment.html

It weighs a bit more than Wayne's station, but I don't need trees to 
hold the antenna up.



73,

Scott  K9MA


--
Scott  K9MA

k...@sdellington.us

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