CW POTA at US 5396 with the Xiegu G90
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- My family and I decided to camp for the night at US-5396, Long Pond State Forest. I'd only activated this park once, and it was so long ago it was all SSB. I hadn't even begun learning CW yet. Prior to this activation there were only 175 total QSOs at this park (15 of which were mine). Needless to say between this activation, and the one the next morning (video next week), I'm now the top activator at this park by a country mile. My buddy Eric, K9VIC is now the top hunter too. I used the G90 because a little more power never hurt, and since I was stationary I didn't have to worry about carrying the big radio, and the battery, etc. I ran the cwmorse billet aluminum paddles here. I apologize for now noisy they are, but they got the job done. I used the Wolf River Coils Silver Bullet along with a 213" whip, the WRC tripod, the WRC radials, and a section of Faraday cloth. It tuned up no problem on every band I ran. I'll try to activate from more rare parks this summer, and also try to use more gear that is realistic for the average beginner to buy. I have a ton of expensive and hard to obtain gear, and that can probably be demotivating for newer ops. Anyway, thanks for watching and 73!
Evan
K2EJT
www.buymeacoff...
You really handled a pileup really well! I love my G90 great radio. Your CW is amazing thanks for sharing this video. 73
Thanks!
Great radio
Thank you for showing so many details of your activations, I learn a lot with your videos. Currently working my way through the beginner carrousels on LICW until I can attend one of your intermediate classes. 73 de VA6JLG.
I look forward to seeing you in class one day!
Thanks… AD2ER
Once I had this issue with the skcc as well. I had a small pile up and they just started using the same frequency. 73!
Irritating, isn't it?
BCC me on that email to those SKCC guys I wanna watch 😂
Nothing worse than no cell service when activating I’ve had some nightmares with my spot but you got sorted right away with some great pileups you worked like a champ.
Awesome setup! I need to pick your brain on that cloth you use with the WRC. I got my G90 really for my garage since I hang out in there a ton and wanted a base station rig. But I might take it with me to some camp outs I have planned! 73
The Faraday cloth I'm using for the WRC is from Amazon. I've found that the antenna can be REALLLY picky about ground conductivity with the cloth, hence the extra radials. My buddy Mike sewed three of those panels together and has a great big section. THAT works great, and I may give that a shot as well.
I used to live back east (ex-W8EZE 1949-1966) and I remember what mosquitoes were like in the summer. (We have them here in the PNW too, but I don't think they're nearly as bad.) When I saw your bare arms and legs at the beginning of the video, I thought "he's going to get eaten alive" and that's exactly what you later said. I might be able to copy morse code while the bugs were bugging me, but I can't imagine being able to send it with any accuracy.
Did you use DEET? Nothing like wearing more clothing to keep the miserable things off, though. I've been known to put on my Gore-Tex rain jacket (only thing in the pack with long sleeves) on a warm sunny day to keep from going insane while not moving at lunch time. You can drink lots and lots and lots of water if you're too hot. If car camping instead of backpacking, it's easy to keep a good supply of beer in the cooler. Were the mosquitoes less of a problem the next morning?
My other suggestion is for the antenna. I really don't think a vertical is a good choice for shorter distances on the lower frequencies. Fine for DX, but if you want to work stations within a few hundred miles on 80 m or 40 m at night, a low horizontal antenna is easy to erect and very effective. Ground losses on 80 m with the short vertical and short radials must have been horrendous, and what RF did get radiated didn't get aimed at high angle the way you would want.
David VE7EZM
Yeah, the mosquitos are obnoxious, but I'm used to them LOL. As for the antenna, you are correct. The issue is that in a lot of these places you can't put anything in the trees, so a wire antenna isn't really viable. It's a pain in the butt, but it is what it is.
I activated PT-0111 today .... with my G90 😊
Sweet!
Perfect timing. Just got my G90 last night. Activating now (on my 891) but will watch later tonight 73 de KI7QCF
It's a great little rig for what it costs!
Love both of you guys videos! I'm possibly at the stage where I'm about to go out and try and activate with my trusdx for the first time on CW (probably terribly). I'm aiming to upgrade to a g90 eventually, so it's nice to see more POTA videos with a G90 in!
@@anthonylwalkerdo it!!! The morning of April 13th I woke up and told my wife “I’m just going to go activate” completely unplanned. I was nervous. And I think I sent a question mark to every call sign I worked that day. My first ever QSO activating I wrote NVCD. Lmao: like I didn’t realize there needs to be a number there (it was N4CD). Get out there and just do it. You’ll be surprised how fast your proficiency sky rockets.
@@anthonylwalker Get out there, rip the band-aid off, and get that first activation under your belt! It's not as bad as you think it'll be, and once you get the first one out of the way, the rest come much easier. I actually recorded my very first one. It's on the channel. The (tr)uSDX will get the job done for sure. The audio is a little harsh, and the filtering is non-existent, but it will absolutely make contacts. I've done activations with mine before. The G90 is the best starter rig you can buy in my opinion. Absolutely can't go wrong with it.