Posted: 7/23/2020 12:13:11 PM EDT
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Below is my "man pack" designed more for picnic portable than actually hiking. The sled holds a 35ah SLA battery or an 18ah SLA. All the bits are held together with Velcro, spot faces for the rear feet on the txcvr keep it secure. It fits in the top of an LAPG ruck. Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File My laptop fits in the hydration pouch. I can put stakes on one side pocket, ropes and wires in the bottom pocket, and strap my spider beam mast to the other side. |
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COOL! I've been playing with my picnic-portable (I've been calling it "tailgate portable" because I prefer to go to places that don't have picnic tables unless I bring my own). mostly just radio and stuff in a small duffle bag. The SLA looks heavy! I find I need a boost to use a Lead Acid battery for most 12V radios. I have a huge AGM and a board with boost & power pole distribution, fine for FD, just too much stuff to carry for an hour break during a hunting trip... So I got a Bioenno 15Ah LiFePO https://powerwerx.com/bioenno-blf-1215a-12v-15ah-lithium-iron-pvc Li costs 4X SLA but weighs 1/4 for given Ah rating and its nominally >>12V so you don't need the boost, I hope... so far, on its first charge since getting it, I've made a dozen or more 100W QSOs and hours of RX with no sign of letting up. .- .- ....- --.- |
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A typical operation for me is either at an overlook or at a campsite. Either case I pitch a pop up over the back of the truck and operate off the tailgate. If that isn't possible it's a folding table under the pop up near the car. It would be rare to be more than 50' from the vehicle. The SLA is heavy, no doubt. But it's got a large capacity per dollar so... I want a large buck boost converter to get 13.8v regardless of input voltage but those are more expensive than a LiFePO4 battery. |
Nice, perhaps a pair of these rails would be in order to protect the VFO etc? https://portablezero.com/ |
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Nice looking set up op- I have used a lot of AGM lead acid batteries for my shack over the years. Heavy - good for home use but better battery technology today for portable. I have been switching over to LifePo4 batteries. More expensive but 500% better value. About 60%-70% lighter- 2,000-5000 cycles with 80-100% discharge compared to 400 -600 cycles and only 50% discharged with lead acid batteries. Good luck with your contacts and portable ops— Thanks for the pics- |
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Quoted: Nice, perhaps a pair of these rails would be in order to protect the VFO etc? https://i.postimg.cc/c1nP7V6b/BD81-E082-F664-4-D76-AD87-BF1-D674-F36-C1.jpg https://portablezero.com/ LIKE I have those on my FT-818, they are really nice.  
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I've considered making side rails but currently I can put the ATU and 7300 in a single HF 4800 case. With side rails the radio would have to be rotated and the ATU put in a separate case. Attached File |
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Operating off the balcony of our beach condo. Used a 41' endfed from the handrail on the 3rd floor balcony above us (In-laws room) over to a fence about 100' away. 50' counterpoise wire dropped straight down. I set it up at night and don't have good pictures. PSK reporter said I did well. I also have a 12m mast and might try a vertical or to shorten the 80m efhw wire to 40m as they will fit on my lot and try that with the same setup. I'm shying away from the mast as I could leave the wire up all week, just removing the unun when I'm not using it. JS8 QSO w/ Swampfoxoutdoors: Attached File |