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What did you do in the shack today?
- Thread starter CatSnoutSoup
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ChevyGuy91
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I think the control head has a 1/4x20 mount spot on the bottom, which would make coming up with a dash mounting solution pretty easy.
I am intrigued.
f***ing admin, got me looking at an other $1200 radio.
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
ToddDubya
NES Member
I use those Ram mounts on my motorcycles and they'd solid. I bet they have something that would work.
I also use a Lido mount in the car for the 6000r faceplate and it's real nice. I really only have it in there for road trips, but I leave the mount because it's bolted using a passenger seat mounting bolt.
I also use a Lido mount in the car for the 6000r faceplate and it's real nice. I really only have it in there for road trips, but I leave the mount because it's bolted using a passenger seat mounting bolt.
CatSnoutSoup
NES Member
CatSnoutSoup
NES Member
A cool radio and an optimal time to have mobile HF with the solar cycle leading to a peak.
CatSnoutSoup
NES Member
ToddDubya
NES Member
After using a "portable" tripod that is car portable but not person portable, I was looking for a solution for my 17' whip. I've wanted one of those Chameleon JawMount doohickeys, but at ~$60 plus shipping for glorified Vise Grips, I couldn't do it. I was looking for alternatives and found a Workman QRCS3 that looks to be exactly the same thing. You need to provide the 3/8-24 mount or whatever your antenna uses. I have a mirror mount I can steal one from. It even has a small hole to attach radials.
This should be able to clamp to a picnic table, maybe with a little something to protect the table. Or one of those picnic area grills, a small tree branch, a small tree, you name it. The part the 3/8-24 mounts to swivels, so you can orient it however you want. I'm a little leery ordering from Amazon because it's $21.50 when everywhere else is $35, and the Chameleon is $65, but it looks good to go.
Amazon product ASIN B0785MC7VHView: https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-Release-Mirror-Degree-Swivel/dp/B0785MC7VH/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=Workman&qid=1701582319&sr=8-9
For comparison, here's a picture of the Chameleon.
This should be able to clamp to a picnic table, maybe with a little something to protect the table. Or one of those picnic area grills, a small tree branch, a small tree, you name it. The part the 3/8-24 mounts to swivels, so you can orient it however you want. I'm a little leery ordering from Amazon because it's $21.50 when everywhere else is $35, and the Chameleon is $65, but it looks good to go.
Amazon product ASIN B0785MC7VHView: https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-Release-Mirror-Degree-Swivel/dp/B0785MC7VH/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=Workman&qid=1701582319&sr=8-9
For comparison, here's a picture of the Chameleon.
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ToddDubya
NES Member
You're in luck, it's just about antenna season.
I use whatever software I can for the various radios, and do like the RT Systems software. The only thing about their software that I would prefer different, is if each radio software was integrated into one application, similar to how CHIRP is. I would prefer to only need to open one application, pick which radio I want to communicate with, maybe have multiples open in different tabs, etc... I think they could do this easily, you buy a license for a new radio, you get a new DLL or whatever they need to support the radio. Keep the same business model, just package the application differently.The RT Systems cables arrived yesterday and they are quite good it seems. The materials look to be of good quality and the assembly is excellent. Their USB-to-Serial interface chips were recognized by Windows 11 right away upon being plugged in. The Programing software that is part of each of the two packages is radio specific and worked flawlessly with less hiccups than the ADMS software that Yaesu has for download.
ToddDubya
NES Member
The clamp mount came today. She's a beau, Clark. I think the only difference between this one and the one from Chameleon is this didn't include an allen wrench to adjust the angle. No worries, I found one in my collection of allen wrenches that came with things that needed assembly. Pro tip, keep those allen wrenches. Since the SO-239 blocks the adjustment screws I gotta cut the wrench down so it'll fit without taking off the 3/8-24 adapter. Then just tie it to the mount so I always have it. If the bolt wasn't stainless I'd just weld something to it.
Edit: Sike, you only have to loosen one of the bolts and it's accessible. Even better.
Edit: Sike, you only have to loosen one of the bolts and it's accessible. Even better.
Last edited:
ToddDubya
NES Member
I just ordered a Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet 1000. I've been liking the 17' whip I figured I'd add this and pick up 40 and 80m. I bet there's no reason I couldn't get 30 and 60 now that I think about it.
Gonna have to get serious making up radials. The two elevated radial system seems to work really well so far. I look forward to running out 1/4 wave radials for 80m in the woods this winter.
Gonna have to get serious making up radials. The two elevated radial system seems to work really well so far. I look forward to running out 1/4 wave radials for 80m in the woods this winter.
ToddDubya
NES Member
The Buddistick Pro uses a single raised counterpoise, which is sort of what I recently started doing (just two instead of one). They have it on a wire winder with markings for the different bands. That might be a good alternative to having a separate set of counterpoises for every band. And in that case I can probably just use PowerPoles to attach it, which was also a problem I was trying to solve. Unfortunately that renders all of the radials I already have useless (or just make dipoles out of them).
I suppose the next question is will it work the same with one counterpoise vs two? I've seen where people tested the alleged directionality of the raised counterpoise system and it was a little inconclusive in my book. And this particularly heady study tells me that if the counterpoises aren't balanced I might be worse off than if I just had one. So maybe I'll start off with one like the Buddistick system. I can probably just steal the wire from my EFHW, which should be a quarter wave on 80m.
This sure doesn't feel like a good system for people who like hopping bands. But if you're going to sit on a band/frequency for a while, it should work very well.
I suppose the next question is will it work the same with one counterpoise vs two? I've seen where people tested the alleged directionality of the raised counterpoise system and it was a little inconclusive in my book. And this particularly heady study tells me that if the counterpoises aren't balanced I might be worse off than if I just had one. So maybe I'll start off with one like the Buddistick system. I can probably just steal the wire from my EFHW, which should be a quarter wave on 80m.
This sure doesn't feel like a good system for people who like hopping bands. But if you're going to sit on a band/frequency for a while, it should work very well.
Boghog1
NES Member
Went out and looked through the box of radio stuff dad gave me before he passed away, I think I have a power supply somewhere just need to build an antenna and get to listening
ToddDubya
NES Member
I got out to a shelter on the AT to test out my new clamp mount. It was a comedy of errors.
Error the first: The picnic table I intended to clamp said mount to is under a roof. A metal roof at that. So I could maybe extend the whip enough to work 10m.
Error the second: The wire I stole off my end fed and intended to use as a counterpoise, feeding out the correct amount for each band, which was already bolted in place, was wound onto the winder the wrong way to feed it out as I intended. F-
Error the third: The two bars of cell service I had there last time were a fluke. 0.0 bars today.
Error the fourth: I forgot the allen key to swivel the mount, which would have allowed me to clamp to a small tree instead of something horizontal.
Error the fifth: The whip would NOT tune on 20. It was more like 15.750. Using my arm span I measured the counterpoises to make sure those were right. Yup, about 17'. It had to be that I missed a section when I extended the whip. I took a good hard squint at it and that was the problem.
I learned a few things.
1. I want a separate counterpoise for each band. Dicking around with a 67' wire trying to feed out only the correct amount would get old real fast. Just clip a new counterpose to the stud, adjust the whip, get to work. Gotta try single vs double counterpoise to see if it makes a difference. One would cut down significantly on tangling.
2. Find a way to affix the allen key to the mount so I don't forget it again.
3. Label the counterpoises somehow. 10, 12, 15 are going to look alike and 17 and 20 will too.
4. Maybe head out a little earlier. It was a half hour hike each way to the shelter and it gets dark EARLY.
5. The clamp mount is pretty nice. I tried clamping it to a log and almost succeeded, but ended up clamping to a small branch. It's nice having that flexibility.
Back in April I ordered a telescopic mast from DX Engineering. It's sturdier than the uber flexible ones everybody uses. It's allegedly going to ship on 12/27 and if it does, that might be a nice alternative. I could use it as a vertical exactly how I'm doing with the whip, or just put up dipoles. It extends to 23', so it should be decent for dipoles up to 20m, and probably still fine on 40m.
Or, do I make the counterpoise like this? With spots stripped for each band, I could feel when I've let out enough wire. I'd probably use it the reverse of the way the guy in the article does it, so I could just walk backwards until I let enough out and tie the winder to a tree. Hmm.
Error the first: The picnic table I intended to clamp said mount to is under a roof. A metal roof at that. So I could maybe extend the whip enough to work 10m.
Error the second: The wire I stole off my end fed and intended to use as a counterpoise, feeding out the correct amount for each band, which was already bolted in place, was wound onto the winder the wrong way to feed it out as I intended. F-
Error the third: The two bars of cell service I had there last time were a fluke. 0.0 bars today.
Error the fourth: I forgot the allen key to swivel the mount, which would have allowed me to clamp to a small tree instead of something horizontal.
Error the fifth: The whip would NOT tune on 20. It was more like 15.750. Using my arm span I measured the counterpoises to make sure those were right. Yup, about 17'. It had to be that I missed a section when I extended the whip. I took a good hard squint at it and that was the problem.
I learned a few things.
1. I want a separate counterpoise for each band. Dicking around with a 67' wire trying to feed out only the correct amount would get old real fast. Just clip a new counterpose to the stud, adjust the whip, get to work. Gotta try single vs double counterpoise to see if it makes a difference. One would cut down significantly on tangling.
2. Find a way to affix the allen key to the mount so I don't forget it again.
3. Label the counterpoises somehow. 10, 12, 15 are going to look alike and 17 and 20 will too.
4. Maybe head out a little earlier. It was a half hour hike each way to the shelter and it gets dark EARLY.
5. The clamp mount is pretty nice. I tried clamping it to a log and almost succeeded, but ended up clamping to a small branch. It's nice having that flexibility.
Back in April I ordered a telescopic mast from DX Engineering. It's sturdier than the uber flexible ones everybody uses. It's allegedly going to ship on 12/27 and if it does, that might be a nice alternative. I could use it as a vertical exactly how I'm doing with the whip, or just put up dipoles. It extends to 23', so it should be decent for dipoles up to 20m, and probably still fine on 40m.
Or, do I make the counterpoise like this? With spots stripped for each band, I could feel when I've let out enough wire. I'd probably use it the reverse of the way the guy in the article does it, so I could just walk backwards until I let enough out and tie the winder to a tree. Hmm.
You're just using 1 counterpoise on each band? If it were me I would probably try the chalk line method you linked. 1st exposed part =10m, 2nd = 12m, etc... Should be pretty easy to keep track.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Yeah, I think I'm gonna try and put that together tomorrow. I stole the wire off a failed 40m EFHW antenna. That'll give me a quarter wave on up to 80m. If I'm lucky, the Wolf River Coil I ordered will be here early enough tomorrow and I can try that too.
ToddDubya
NES Member
I'm gonna rate the chalk line counterpoise a "probably not". It was a PITA to swap out the string and replace it with wire, and then I couldn't wind up the full 67'. The chalk box I bought really only locks in one position, so you have about +/-1 foot of granularity. However, I ran 20m today with the new clamp clamped to a stair, and one counterpoise about 3' off the ground. One adjustment and I had a great SWR across the whole band.
It looks like the right solution is to make a counterpoise for each band and be done with it. Ideally I'd use PowerPoles, but one for each band would burn through a lot (like 6 through 80). I'll think of something.
I think some QSOs aren't on the map, but you get the idea. I got out there.
One more tidbit, I worked a guy who was portable and had incredible audio. I told him so, and he said he was trying out the yellow Heil headset (BM-17), which is the same one I got. When I say incredible, he sounded great. I always get compliments when I use mine and it was good to hear someone else to see how it sounds. I'm considering getting the one-sided style for portable work. I love the double-sided ones but I tend to get lost in the radio and have zero awareness of what's going on around me.
It looks like the right solution is to make a counterpoise for each band and be done with it. Ideally I'd use PowerPoles, but one for each band would burn through a lot (like 6 through 80). I'll think of something.
I think some QSOs aren't on the map, but you get the idea. I got out there.
One more tidbit, I worked a guy who was portable and had incredible audio. I told him so, and he said he was trying out the yellow Heil headset (BM-17), which is the same one I got. When I say incredible, he sounded great. I always get compliments when I use mine and it was good to hear someone else to see how it sounds. I'm considering getting the one-sided style for portable work. I love the double-sided ones but I tend to get lost in the radio and have zero awareness of what's going on around me.
ChevyGuy91
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Ok, I got my EMCOMM III base up on the peak of the roof and have it stretched out to the tree line as a nice and out of the way end fed slooper. I have the box grounded to the unistrut antenna farm I built, which I have a 8 gauge wire going down to a new grounding rod that I need to sink, hopefully tomorrow before the rain.
That should suffice for a good counterpoise, right?
Once I get the correctly sized conduit mounts, I will get my big VHF vertical and SDR discone up there as well. Pains of spreading the purchases out instead of buying it all at once.![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
That should suffice for a good counterpoise, right?
Once I get the correctly sized conduit mounts, I will get my big VHF vertical and SDR discone up there as well. Pains of spreading the purchases out instead of buying it all at once.
ToddDubya
NES Member
8# wire is probably only good for QRP. If running digital, QRPp. ![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
So the box is at the roof peak and it slopes down? Or it's like an inverted L with the box near the ground and the vertical part going up to the roof, then sloping down? Or fed at the ground end and sloping up to the trees?
What the heck does Chameleon put in their magic matchboxes? I have their Tactical (as f***) Dipole that uses two 60' wires and some mystery matchbox. My tuners don't have a problem with it, but what the heck is in there? I thought I once read it was a 5:1 transformer.
So the box is at the roof peak and it slopes down? Or it's like an inverted L with the box near the ground and the vertical part going up to the roof, then sloping down? Or fed at the ground end and sloping up to the trees?
What the heck does Chameleon put in their magic matchboxes? I have their Tactical (as f***) Dipole that uses two 60' wires and some mystery matchbox. My tuners don't have a problem with it, but what the heck is in there? I thought I once read it was a 5:1 transformer.
ChevyGuy91
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8 gauge wire is 1/4" of copper, that's not enough for bonding to a grounding rod?8# wire is probably only good for QRP. If running digital, QRPp.
So the box is at the roof peak and it slopes down? Or it's like an inverted L with the box near the ground and the vertical part going up to the roof, then sloping down? Or fed at the ground end and sloping up to the trees?
What the heck does Chameleon put in their magic matchboxes? I have their Tactical (as f***) Dipole that uses two 60' wires and some mystery matchbox. My tuners don't have a problem with it, but what the heck is in there? I thought I once read it was a 5:1 transformer.
The box is up at the ridge, 130 feet of wire slopes down to the tree line.
ChevyGuy91
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Lol, it was late.I guess my sarcasm was too subtle
Boghog1
NES Member
Ordered some contact cleaner, pulled the covers off the FT-7 and blew out the dust, polished the board contacts with a pencil eraser. Trying to learn about antennas so I can figure out where to put it.
CatSnoutSoup
NES Member
Working the ARRL 10 meter contest as a, CW only, low power entry. Europe is going to be closing out shortly, will be pointing south soon and then back into the States before dinner time.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Are you just trying to listen with it or also transmit? If just listening, a long ass wire should do the trick.
ToddDubya
NES Member
Dang, my buddy just dropped off a couple loading coils from an 80/160 dipole he bought years ago and decided to not use the 160 part. I don't have a meter for inductance, but I'm eyeballing these things at 10 farads. These things are monsters. I'm gonna need some sturdy wire to support these. Gotta do a little research to see how much wire I need after them. I probably won't get anything together until after New Year's, but such is #AntennaLife.
I also started working on a QRP dipole center with built in choke. I found a design on Thingiverse that I'm modifying to print. I glued a couple small toroids (FT50-43) together to handle more power. Allegedly one will handle 5w, but this ought to give me some margin. I like the winding method where you wind two pairs of wires, one up the left, the other up the right side of the toroid, but I don't know that I can fit all that in such a small toroid. I've got some pretty fine magnet wire, but I'll go blind trying to keep the wires straight and not overlapped.
Like this:
Below is another common method, often used with coax, so I may just go that way.
I also started working on a QRP dipole center with built in choke. I found a design on Thingiverse that I'm modifying to print. I glued a couple small toroids (FT50-43) together to handle more power. Allegedly one will handle 5w, but this ought to give me some margin. I like the winding method where you wind two pairs of wires, one up the left, the other up the right side of the toroid, but I don't know that I can fit all that in such a small toroid. I've got some pretty fine magnet wire, but I'll go blind trying to keep the wires straight and not overlapped.
Like this:
Below is another common method, often used with coax, so I may just go that way.
