Newbie here... I'm thinking of combining my hiking with ham radio.
Couple questions, are there any contacts to be made with only a tech license? Seems like 2M is only good for repeaters.

I only have a 5 watt ht and my tyt th9800. Thinking of taking the tyt out and making it mobile. It has 2M, 6m and 10m but only FM. Not sure either of these will be very useful here in Georgia.

Any tips or suggestions? What about better radio options with out breaking the bank. And Chinese HT with HF? Are they all FM ?

I know ham and budget never goes together but what a good into setup for this?

Thanks!
Seth

Hey Man, This Show is for You!

More on SOTA, maybe even some Arfhams mixed in......

First show linked describes a new hams effort to get on the air with SOTA :)

scw

Thanks for the podcast. I'll listen to it on the way home in traffic.

Her lists several app. How do they work with out cell coverage?

I listened to it this morning. Thanks for the info. That kx2 sounds pretty interesting.

You guys some of other SOTA pod casts you've had. Do you have the link for those? Also what was that store that has used equipment? HSC?

I've had some success using 2m FM for SOTA activations, but it will really depend on your location. There's some remote areas that have very few people monitoring 2m, and other areas that have quite a lot.

For HF, the KX2 is probably the best radio currently on the market for SOTA. I own one, and having a radio with integrated tuner, key, mic, batteries, etc. is definitely the way to go.

Another option is 6m, 2m, and 70cm SSB. These will get you a little more range than FM, but on the other hand they're less commonly used, so it's a trade off. Either way it's good to have as another tool in the bag.

As a technician class licensee, a Yaesu FT-817ND would probably be your best bet for SOTA. You'll get FM, SSB, etc. on all the bands, and it's reasonably small and light.

The thing about 2 meters is that it is typically line of sight. Obviously, the higher you get, the further your line of sight.
The second thing about 2 meters is that it's popularity on simplex varies greatly with location. It's very popular some places, other places it isn't nearly as active.

I have always been active on 2 meters simplex. The national simplex calling frequency is 146.52 (on FM).
I know that where I used to live (Las Vegas NV), it would be very rare indeed to put your callsign out on 146.52 simplex and NOT have someone come back to you. The same thing applies here where I live now in Ohio. Locally, there are a number of people who regularly use .52 including me, and when I am on there, I often hear other people in the distance on .52.

I have used 146.52 FM simplex from mountain tops and typically had people answer me (in the southwestern US). I have operated 146.52 FM simplex from an airplane and had lots of people come back to me. I have driven across the country from coast to coast and had many long ragchew QSOs on 146.52 Simplex; in fact I have driven for hours and worked one guy and just as we were getting out of range of each other, another guy would jump in and I would talk to him for 20 minutes or so. And so on, sometimes all day.

In the east, the line of sight thing becomes an issue because of the terrain (I am talking about mobile, like when I have driven across the country) (on a mountain top this wouldn't be anywhere near the issue it is mobile).  Out west where things are a lot more wide open, like I said before; I would work a guy for 20 minutes or a half hour with good signal quality the other than right at the end. In the east, I had people answer me on .52 (with me being mobile) but, within a couple transmissions, the signal dropped out due to the terrain (hills) as I was moving down the road.

Long story even longer, I believe that if you got on a mountain top with the radio you have now and put out a call on 146.52 FM simplex, you would probably have success and your 5 watt HT would get you some contacts. If you upgraded the antenna, you would have more success. For example: I own a Arrow Antenna, satellite antenna (they also make other antennas appropriate for portable/mountain top type stuff). The antenna is pretty lightweight; the antenna elements are made from aluminum arrow shafts. The boom breaks down into two pieces, you unscrew all the elements and it all fits into a nylon case. The coax can be purchased with an SMA connector on it, so you can plug it right into most HTs. An antenna like this would greatly improve the signal of your HT. Arrow sat Antenna   This antenna is nothing but a dual band yagi (a "beam"). You can use it for one band, or both bands.  You can use it for simplex, repeaters, weak signal modes, ARES type "emergency" comms,  or for satellite/ISS contacts. It is a nice thing to own for anybody. Again, it is lightweight and you typically just hold it in your hand and point it in the direction you want to contact. Although, I drilled a hole through the boom of mine, so I can attach it to a tripod to free up my hands.  Get on YouTube and search for Arrow Antennas; there are plenty of videos out there for you to take a look at.

Get up on the mountain and point the antenna in the direction of a metro area, and you will have success with your HT on FM simplex. Which is not to say, you might not have success using your HT with a rubber duck antenna on it: you probably will.

The KX2 and KX3 see a lot of SOTA action.

If you're going to do HF SOTA, the biggest advantage will be learning CW.

Right now I'm leaning toward the Yaesu ft859d. It's bigger than the elec and the 817, but it also is 100w and would work great in a car.

Now to just find one, and one I would trust the source.

here you go

this guy could post here from time to time maybe not NPOTA/SOTA

this guy is tall and likes to take his radio outside Stu-baby

more from the Tall one NPOTA recap

dang, I've done alot about something I never do

Goats and SOTA

Maybe another Higher Learning

This guy, well he gets to live in HI what else can one say

Green Radio

Packtenna

MTC Radio, former sponsor of my show and friend of the Arf-hams!

No monetary gain, just some good Texas Peeps! Tell 'em Kel said to call!

I would take a used Yaesu 817 too..... Still can't find either.

Where do you look for used equipment? EBay is out of the question, too many bad experiences...

Arfcom EE, eHam.net, QRZ.com, swap.qth.com, Craigslist, eBay.

Got my 817 on Eham. Good deal for quite a lot. If I had to do it again I would have waited for a nice 857d to come around.

I would suggest an 857, or something that can do 100 watts if you want it too. You may not always want to do SOTA, and that radio can do double duty, albeit a bit heavier.

That's what I'm thinking too. I don't have the budget for a portable, mobile, and shack setup. That one seems to fit all the scenarios.

That being said out you wanna all your 817....

I'd prolly start with an 857, but my man Julian loves his 817! Link to OH8STN

I had a KX2 loaner for a few months (loaded up to gills $1,200+/-) from Elecraft (former show sponsor) it was really sweet, but I can't see myself spending that on a portable radio especially when I never actually foresee myself doing portable ops like that. YMMV

I'm not sure I really want to sell mine :-)

Keep an eye out here:
https://swap.qth.com/search-results.php?keywords=817&fieldtosearch=TitleOrDesc

Thanks again for the more enjoyable ride in to work today. So I noticed something funny, when listening to your pod casts my ride takes an extra 15 min. I guess that's because I'm not changing lanes and flying down the road, I'm taking my time....lol

Got any shows that deal with antennas? Portable to begin with but sadly anything on antenna theory as I'm pretty clueless.

I'd like to make a yagi for the HT, since in stuck with that until I can find a 857. But also want to hear more about how the loops work and the chameleon mentioned in the light weight show.

Am I fooling myself to think I'll find one around $400? On Facebook they are saying used for $400, but reality is allowing closer to $600 (occasional $500).

857's I'm heading $450, but not finding any under $650 :(

The Packtenna Show talks about their design: here

Chameleon sent me a loop, I tried it a few times with the KX2 with NO (0) luck.  I really like the design and the fact, it too, is Made in the USA.

A Recent Field Radio Podcast episode focused on Antennae: link

This Link lists every show I've done in reverse order.

Here is a link to the Field Radio Podcast

Here is the link to the Workbench Show

Great to hear you're enjoying the show! thx

$400 for an 817 maybe... then you'll need to add stuff. you'll be at 650 in no time at all.

check your IM's

If you can bide your time and keep an eye out on the various For Sale sections, good deals can be had. I've bought and sold something like five FT-817's over the last 10 years, and the cheapest one I bought ended up being like $350 - that was a package deal with antenna, tablet, etc for around $550, so by the time I sold the extras that's how much the radio cost.

For a stock radio with no extras I would expect to pay between $400-$500. If it has any extras (filters, bhi DSP, W4RT OBP, Windcamp battery, etc.) It could be anywhere from $600-$900.

Of all the radios I've bought and sold over the years, I keep coming back to the FT-817. It's small, does everything - just a fantastic little workhorse. After all the ones I've bought/sold I've finally come to senses and have one that I plan to keep. It would be awesome if a manufacturer could come up with a upgraded replacement, but that's yet to be seen. I'm sure it comes down to sales & profits, but there surely aren't any technological roadblocks for a Gen2 FT-817. I'm daydreaming now, but if it could have 10+ watts, 160m-70cm, all mode, DSP, internal wide range tuner, high capacity lithium batteries, USB port for digital modes, and no larger than the current radio...I would buy one on the spot.

If you do decide to get an FT-817 make sure that it's the ND model - it has more robust finals.

Also be aware that an FT-817 with all the extras (digital interface, extra batteries, DSP mods, tuner, etc.) costs about the same as an Elecraft KX2, so be sure to weigh the pros and cons of each. This is coming from first hand experience. I had a full FT-817 station, and finally got tired of the rats nest of cables/wires, interface, connectors, etc. and consolidated the entire package down to a KX2 which has everything completely integrated - no muss, no fuss. Granted, I don't have 160m, 6m, or VHF/UHF, but that was a sacrifice I was willing to make for an ultra-portable HF station.

The Non ND model and Finals are not entirely true. I have an older one, and its been proven that if you leave the internal batteries in and connected it cooks the finals.

Just don't leave it plugged in!

Mine is still going strong!

Another user of a 817 (NON nd).
I picked mine up at a hamfest dirt cheap. The previous owner took it as partial payment for something else and sold it to me for the same. He never used it and didnt want it.

Working qrp is more of a challenge but 817's sip battery power.

Looking at the sold only ones on ebay I do not see any under $550 or so, most 650-750.

I'd get a new one for that delta.

Technicians have CW privileges on 40 and 80m, no need to wait for your general to get on the air with HF.
If you don't know CW, bring a tablet or Raspberry Pi and touch screen to run fldigi or another program to translate.

Kharn

In studying for my general right now, CW will be next.

Between family, career and the rest of life I don't have much free time..... lol

General is worth it.

Agreed, General is where the fun begins.

March.

March is the next General test. I'll have it then

Yaesu 857 order from MTC radio.

Have the fo time podcast credit in the notes.

Got any pod casts specific to using that radio? Lol

I have an 857D (great radio, you're going to love it) and highly suggest getting a Nifty manual for it.  It's got the whole menu system tree broken out with explanations for everything.  It's also laminated, spiral bound, and compact, when compared to the included paper manual.

I've purchased most of my gear used, and all of it off QRZ.  I like the fact that they have some rules in place.
Always had a good experience.  Good luck to you.

Them good Peeps the only real discussion about the 817/857 is Jeremy saying not to buy it on all the shopping shows .

Everyone has an opinion, I hope you enjoy your new radio!  Julian, OH8STN, on youtube (linked above) does a ton with an 817, so there may be some cross over?

Dont know until you try..  The cool thing that was suprising to me is the distance I could hear using an arrow antenna..  I can make longer distance contacts on 2m with an ht and my arrow antenna, than my base @ 50w using a comet gp-15 on top of the house..  Darn handheld yagi works real good!   Give it a try and see how it works..  The tape measure yagi is super easy and cheap to build...

Prosise

MY old thread on the 817. Pics are broken now thanks to photofuckit...
My old 817 thread

I'm a big fan of the 817 from a versatility standpoint, and that kit has evolved somewhat since I posted that. In its current form its more of a kitchen sink do-everything-you-can-do-with ham radio in a very small package kit.

Some general thoughts. ANTENNAS, this is what matters most, understand how to best use antennas and what antennas work best and you will get a ton more milage out of it.

Upgrades, it depends on what you want to do but the best thing is probably to learn CW to make the most of the 5W. SSB with 5W mostly sucks, though I made a bunch of contacts from Devils tower this past summer in an hour or two, with 5W SSB and paar end fed (not the best antenna but its one you can buy if making your own scares you).

For SSB, get a good voice prossed mic, either an inline processor (DYC-817) or one built into the mic (from 73de or w4rt), the crystal SSB filter is supposedly supposed to help some on TX as well.

For CW/data get a 500hz crystal filter (not the 300hz IMO, its too finecky)

If W4RT is still around you can get him to build you a dual filter set. Do not expect hand holding customer service tho.

BHI DSP, its a great addition for recieving

Windcamp LiPo battery, this is a must have upgrade IMO. Way better than any other battery pack, mainly because it has a cut-off switch so you don't ever have to remove it, and you can charge it in-place.