CQWW SSB QRP park portable.

The kids were going crazy at home. So I volunteered to take them to the local park for a play. And packed the FT817ND along for the ride. This weekend is the CQWW SSB contest so I hoped active bands would nab me some portable contacts. I set up the squid pole and radio. And gave…

Sota Activation – VK3/VC-019 Mt Warrenheip

Having day release (thanks wifey) to attend the Ballarat hamfest saw me spend some time activating two more local mountains. Both Mt Warrenheip VK3/VC-019 and Mt Bunninyong VK3/VC-018 are ~10km form Ballarat and are the remains of old volcanoes. This was my second summit for the day, having worked Mt Bunninyong earlier in the afternoon. After my previous hill…

CHIRP and the FT817ND

An easy way to program and manage this new 817nd is with some simple computer control software (and with the intention of having it work with VKCL logging into the future if need be, I lashed out and spent $11 on ebay and purchased a USB to CT-62 yaesu CAT control interface cable. The cable…

FT817ND – My New QRP Rig.

I have just acquired a second hand Yaesu FT817ND for portable operation, microwave radio driving and camping holidays and I also plan to start to participate in SOTA activations. More posts to come as I explore this nifty little radio and the Z-match ATU i acquired in the bundle, as well as some useful SOTA…