Raspberry Pi_3 Field Test
I ran a quick backyard field test today with the following equipment:
-Yaesu 817ND
-Par End-Fedz Trail-Ready antenna
-Signalink USB
-17,500mA power bank (cellphone charger)
-Raspberry Pi_3
--Raspbian distro
--7” TFT LCD screen
-SecurSolar charger
-Homebrew line shooter (fishing reel and slingshot combo)

Powerbank battery and solar charger:
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The setup:
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Powered up and working stations:
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Everything ran well. Fldigi worked without a hitch on the Pi and was able to make 4w QSO’s into NC
and VA from my QTH in MN. I did have (1) undervolt during the initial boot but I suspect that was the
battery pack not keeping up with the initial power draw. Once it booted to the home screen, I had no
more undervolt conditions when booting fldigi or powering the USB’s.

The TFT was actually nice to use with the help of a stylus. This go-around, I was using a full sized
keyboard which will be switched out to a smaller Rpi keyboard in the future. I’ve also modified the
LCD case so that I can access the SD cards. Personally, I think it’s a dumb idea to have a case where
you cannot access the cards but I digress. I’ve also added a 12v CPU fan to the back of the case as I’ve
overheated the Rpi when running SDRplay. In testing, the fan runs at a perfect speed with 5v and plan
on tying it into the gpio power. When that is done, I’ll run some more tests to see if I have any other
undervolt issues with that but I don’t expect any as once a program is booted, the power draw
substantially reduces.

Everything packed easily in a 24-hour pack and I suspect that I could get everything into a fat-50 can
for hard protection. Overall, I’m happy where this is at so far and look forward to finishing this up and
testing it someplace farther than my backyard.
73,

What distro are you running on the Pi?
Nevermind. Raspian mentioned above.