Long Range, Offgrid Comms Training - 1500 Miles
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2024
- In this video, we'll do a dry run and some training. The goal is to determine whether we can establish a 1,500 mile contact from Arizona to Tennessee.
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ANTENNA PARTS
* Cobra head connector - amzn.to/4cB78MM
* 1/4" ring terminals - amzn.to/49ozWWc
* 20 gauge wire - amzn.to/49j0oQR
* Crimper - amzn.to/49glWO2
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0:00 Introduction
0:58 The Gear
1:36 Objectives
2:47 Field Station Setup
3:46 Antenna Analyzer
4:41 JS8Call
5:15 HF Propagation
6:46 After Action Report
#thetechprepper #emcomm #prepper - Розваги
Isaac and T-Rex is what got me onto this path, ultimately finding your channel. Now coms between you and Isaac makes this full circle . 👍
Welcome aboard! He has great content that is easily accessible. In fact, he designed the first logo for the project that I have been working on.
Ditto to enjoying both channels. Enjoyed the livestream last week. I have some of those cobrahead bnc type connectors so I will make a 17m band antenna as an exercise once I get some of that nice wire!
@@Flatus4La Good luck. Shoot me an email through BMAC. I have an EmComm Tools tin for you.
Pretty cool to hear your call sign on a great channel such as yours. Happy to make the contact. Keep them coming.
Thanks for supporting the video. The goal was Tennessee. I appreciate you deploying your stations. 17m for the win.
Wind noise, not even remotely problematic. Content, spot on! Thank you!
Glad to hear it. Thank you!
Honestly if you didn’t mention the wind noise I don’t think I would’ve noticed it. Your audio was crisp and clear. It’s amazing how well a phone does for video.
Well, that is good to know. There was a lot more video that I had to cut. It was unusable. This kind of video is "one take" only. Either way, I was happy to be able to salvage enough it of and share the experience. Happy Easter.
Love the real world testing you. do. Thanks for sharing your progress. Learning a lot.
My pleasure! There are many ways to do this, but this is pretty much my style of man portable operating. You might enjoy my earlier videos on SOTA, too. I documented my entire comms journey here on UA-cam, starting with my first contact. Good luck with your journey. Cheers!
I've been waiting for this link up between Tech Prepper and T-Rex Arms. Looking forward to more of these and hopefully the other half of the "convo."
You may enjoy this video that I did along the same lines for a targeted contact. Both sides are demonstrated. ua-cam.com/video/ypMM0sCUFZM/v-deo.html
thanks for sharing the exercise and report! really enjoy picking up on obstacles you overcome along the way with the no random contacts. keep up the awesome work!
Thanks. One of the obstacles here was the lighter back. It allowed me to run instead of walk, but running with 20 pounds of gear is almost as strenuous as hiking with a 40 to 60 pound pack. These little challenges make the exercises very rewarding. Have a good one.
Fascinating stuff. Looking forward to your collab with Isaac!
I'm excited for it too. It should be fun.
I travel nationwide for work and been employing these methods for targeted contacts with people looking for POTA contacts in specific states. Doing the prep work including times, modes, bands, etc based on target location is an incredible skill building exercise and gratifying on completion. Great video.
I'm glad to hear that you're getting out their and training. These are perishable skills. Time of day, the season, the solar cycle, solar activity, and level of man-made noise all factor into the equation, too. Good luck with your deployments. 73s
Excellent video. I'd really like if you would fully include us on the G90 setup. A nice Yaesu is not in the budget, but I do have an affordable G90 and a FZ-M1. Thanks for your hard work!
Will do. I'll share the build when I get my hands on it.
Such good work!
Thank you! Cheers!
As always, Gastone, you CRUSHED it!
Thanks, buddy. It's a blast sharing the ride with you and the community. It's always nice when you stop by. I would have tuned the antenna if it wasn't for the horribly rocky conditions. I am glad that the math was spot on for the wire lengths and got me a pretty decent SWR on the first shot.
Happy Easter Gaston...💯🙋♂
Happy Easter, Günter! Cheers from the US.
As i have been working with js8 call, i realize in the real world how much farther it goes on such low power.
I will still use voice, but adding js8 training.
JS8Call is a great help when conditions are poor and output power is at QRP levels. Keep on training.
Great video!
Thanks. I appreciate all the testing on 12m and 17m over the last few days. I am down for that exercise you detailed. I'll respond tomorrow. Challenge accepted.
This is the core of it all, right here. Some homework + modest simple gear = success. You make it look easy but it is not. The homework towards that targeted contact is the biggest factor in success or failure. Anyone who thinks they can just jump on the air and make the contact without doing the homework will be in for a fast lesson. Great work as always my friend. 73 KC8OWL
I will tell you, it's not easy. The rock I climbed to was a bad idea. I could not have a picked a worse spot, but at least I made it work. Planning is everything. It's great that there's a simple approach to making targeted contacts possible. I look forward to sharing more of the planning. It was a rough contact between us, but at least you got my message later in the day via JS8Call's store and forward feature. Unfortunately, I left it out of the video due to the 30 mph winds that came through later in the morning. It ruined the audio.
Very nice video. The wind noise wasn't worth apologizing for.
Good to know. You guys actually missed a lot of interesting commentary ont
the relays and store and forward messaging used in this exercise. 30 mph winds started to kick up about 10 minutes into this deployment on the ridge.
And yes i may have been one of those "excited" ones as it was my first direct with you 😂
It's all part of the process of learning. It was great to pass messages back and forth with you. Thanks for making this targeted contact into TN a success. Stay tuned for a comms protocol plan on BMAC. Keep up the good work and happy Easter.
I thought he was talking about me. I don't get to talk with celebrities very often.
Another informative video as usual! 👍🏽
It's my pleasure. Thanks for the coffee. Also, what mug do you want from my store?
@@TheTechPrepperI’ll take the “Get Your Ass in the Field” mug please. That one is awesome!
@@JamesHannibalKH2SR RR. I like that one, too. Coming.
The noise was pretty low. Even the wind i noticed wasn't causing any issues.
I cut out about 20 minutes of video. The bits that I included were what was salvageable. Take it easy.
Enjoy your videos greatly. I usually listen on 10m to see what I can hear with my hamstick antenna. From central FL I pickup a lot out west in CO and AZ and quite a bit in the north east.
I'm constantly surprised by 10m propagation. I have worked Florida many times on 10m. Thanks for the support.
Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you.
Do you have a link for the antenna analyzer?
Excellent exercise Gaston
Thanks 👍
Id love to team up with you for a video like this. Im also a general level operator. Im in missouri. Im also focused on portable comms. And id love to hit the field, set up and see if we could make comms. Im running a ft891, signal link, and cf20 tough book. Also make my own antennas. Been following you for awhile. Definitely love the ideas i get from your videos.
Nice work. Look me up on QRZ, and let's start with some basic testing between AZ and MO. 73 de KT7RUN
Well done. Very helpful to anyone wanting to get into comms in general. I use a Buddistick on terrain like yours, but I have to say, the ROI using your 10 dollar antenna is amazing. Thumbs up.
Thank you. It's hard to beat the performance, ease of build, and price point if you're running QRP. Which part of the country are you in? Terrain really influences your deployment.
Great video. 17M does the job, without the congestion of the normal ham bands. WARC bands FTW! 73 De HI8ESF
I love this comment as I am someone who has climbed more than one mountain in the past for SOTA only to find that it was a contest weekend. The WARC bands are a great backup. Nice and quiet. 73
This is awesome dude. Thats a good little ruck too with 20 pounds!!
Thanks, man. That 11 liter pack is a great. It's easily the most comfortable pack that I've ever used.
Yes!!!
Love your work! have you looked into directional antennas? as referenced in the army field manuals, essentially they are long (1-5 wavelengths) endfeds or long v dipoles that get you directional patterns. A dipole cut for 80m (130ft) is quite directional on 20-10. Ideal for targeted contacts
Thanks. Yes, I have looked into the terminated V antenna for this exact reason. I found it in several military FMs. In fact, I used it for my No Random Contacts video with Jason KM4ACK last year. Check that video out. In general, I found a traditional 1/2 wavelength dipole to be more effective, simpler and it takes up less space.
I try to use digital modes and VARA-HF when I activate POTA.
How do you like the Toughpad? I've been thinking about getting one specifically for the usb port which tablets don't have.
I've shown the FZ-M1 for 15 months on this channel on every digital field video. It should be an indicator of my endorsement for it. I've done a dedicated video on it last year. Love it.
It's not the plan; it's the planning! Thank you for another great portable video. Going out to run some VARA! 73
Have fun! I like VARA, too. Nice and fast.
I would love to see the building of a G90 into a manpack, since that is what I have.
It is a bit heavy and large for what it does, but it is available unlike the FT-818 series, and it more affordable than an ICOM.
As always, awesome stuff. What pack do you have the FT-818 and Armoloq in? Do you have the battery attachment for the Armoloq? I bought the Armoloq for my FT-8800 with battery pack and may get one for my G90 but am looking for the pack to put it all in. Thanks for great content.
It's a modified version of the Helikon Tex E&E pouch. I chopped off the top cap and used the frabric to make a strap with a buckle.
@@TheTechPrepper Awesome. You don't have the MBS-1280 battery unit on the manpack do you? It is taller as I have the manpack for the FT-8900 and the MBS-1280 with a Dakota Lithium 12V 10 AH battery.
@@keithsafford3056 Negative. I am just running a small 3Ah TalentCell battery on the inside.
I learned tautline hitch in Boy Scouts several decades ago. Now re-purposed of course for antennas.
Good for you. I learned it later life. It's very handy. It's my go to knot. Happy Easter.
I'm in OR and would love to do some training with you if the opportunity ever presented itself.
Great Video as always
I'm on 40m daily on JS8. Although, 20m is a better path for us.
Awesome video love the fact you're going out and testing your gear in the wild. Very interested in your custom software btw. I also stumbled upon a project recently called reticulum and wondered if you had checked it out or would do a video on it? I think it fits into what you're doing with off grid comms.
I'm not familiar with that project. I'll put it on the whiteboard. Thanks. It's been a blast doing field videos for the last 4 years. Mother nature always throws a curve ball. If you didn't bring it, you don't have it.
@@TheTechPrepper I've played around with it and it kinda got me back into playing around with hf even though it's transmission medium agnostic. As you demonstrate hf is the way when everything else fails, it just has a learning curve. I might have missed it but do you have a community discord or matrix server?
@CTWilliams89 I have a Discord, but to keep the spam to near zero, it's for members on Buy Me a Coffee. It's been up and running for over a year now. That community is great. I even do a live stream once a month as well as extra content. They also get access to my limited products and field reference material. Link in the description.
Ham Radio is Hard! Yes SIR indeed it is hard to accomplish a INTENDED DIRECT CONTACT! I love the raw intel dump format of these off the cuff videos, here's what I intended, here's what happened. great info! Thanks
Thanks for the confirmation that this new format is not a deal breaker. I appreciate your long time support of the channel.
@@TheTechPrepper Believe me, your channel and the knowledge you impart, are definitely worthy of support! THANK YOU!
Good job! Wind noise was not a problem at all, minimal.
I'm glad to hear it. I'll put the media mod on next time and wire it the with a dead cat next time. It's a pain when running to be mic'd up like that. I ended up eliminating about 20 minutes of video due to really poor audio from the wind. I'm still trying to balance the production time so that I have time for the other initiatives. I hope the content and message still come across with my filming and editing shortcuts. Thanks, Brian.
I think it was great Gaston. I posted it in another group on discord.
Looking at a used 857d. Would you recommend it or go with a low power one like 818nd? Wanting to build a pack like yours and want the “ultimate” rig. Thanks!
Go with the larger FT-857D as you'll need more power when we go into a solar minimum in a few years.
@@TheTechPrepper thank you!!!
Great video! Keep em' coming.... FYI, your buy me coffee link is broke...
.
More on the way. Thanks. I confirmed that only the link is broken on the app.It works in a browser. I'll track this down. Thanks for letting me know. www.buymeacoffee.com/thetechprepper/membership
good morning just found you . kc0oki moved from missouri now in alamogordo new mexico . Wondering how close we are ?
We're in NVIS range. We're probably in the 250 mile range. Watch out for me on 40m JS8Call starting Tuesday of next week.
Garage door opener sensor wire might be ideal as long as it's not stressed.
My garage door is broken. I guess I can strip that wire when I replace it. I think a pack rat may have chewed a piece and caused a short.
You can jumper it at the motor temporarily to bypass the sensors. The safety reverse will still work.
What would your plan be for a shtf that doesn’t allow for checking which bands are best ?
;
Honestly, experience. Each of the amateur radio bands has pretty reliable propagation characteristics based on time of day and season. I also have developed some offgrid prediction software that provides predictions a few months into the future without the Interne. Lastly, most of my commo plans deals with multiple bands and methods of carrying out communication 7 days on a 24-hour clock. I'll share some of this with the community this year.
The Chameleon Tactical Delta Loop would be handy in making a targeted contact since the RF exits broadside and it's resonate on 30-6m. No tuner required to work those bands in the loop configuration.
It is pricey, but works great. I bought mine during a sale and saved some money. I believe the ECOMM III Portable EFHW is resonate on 17-10m as well. Haven't used that antenna in a while. Need to get it out soon and give it a whorl.
Yep. I have a TDL in my kit, but did not bring it for this exercise. I showed it earlier this year. It's a great piece of kit.
I must have missed it in your video.
I really enjoy the new quicker format. It seems to give you more time to focus on why we are all here -- you sharing your ham radio and com knowledge. Thanks! (n3rp)
Great assessment. That's exactly it. It's giving me a few extra hours every morning to focus on things like my software project, product development, research, and content for the members.
I've been watching your videos for a while now.
You're one of the few that approaches this from a scientific perspective. You come up with a well defined plan, stick to it, and note the results, comparing those results to any previously collected. No bull, no relying on marketing.
Something I read in an old book years ago, and have thought about ever since:
If one half of your dipole is connected to the shield of your coax, then it isn't really a dipole - It is a monopole in the vacinity of a grounded conductor.
Thinking about it further - The "other half" should be going negative voltage when the "first half" is going positive voltage. This can't happen because one half is tied to 0v through the coax and then to the chassis of the radio.
What's needed is a balun to allow BOTH halves of the antenna to vary in voltage. No impedence matching required as everything is as close to 50ohm as it needs to be - just a 1:1 balun.
I only just got back into HF, and this is something I've been experimenting with recently. My problem is that I can't reliably find others to meet on air at specific times.
My main interest is NVIS so that I can work stations in the UK (where I am).
I don't currently have the capacity to run JS8 (running an old Clansman PRC320 with about 9W on SSB).
Do you publish the times when you'll be on air? I'd be interested in listening and attempting a call-in.
Kind regards,
David - M3ODQ
Glad to hear that you like my operating philosophy and approach.
At these low power levels, I rarely ever need to run a 1:1 balun. I do have a QRP choke from N9SAB that I will use if I run my FT-857 with more than 5 watts.
I typically set on 40m daily on JS8 from 1400Z to 2300Z daily.
Welcome back to HF!
I am looking at a rugged tablet for this function, digital comms. Question, what was your deciding factors on choosing the Panasonic over Dell’s rugged extreme tablet?
The Dell rugged line, in general, are just the consumer boards with a rugged shell. The Panasonic line is architected from ground up for robustness and reliability. A component failure in one area is likely not going to impact and another area of the system.
@@TheTechPrepper Ahhhhh, thank you for that clarity, it makes perfect sense.
Well, with new clarity I see a Panasonic coming my way via Amazon. 73.
@@Toneblender Try to find an FZ-M1 MK2, the MK1 is slow, but it still works for this application. Happy hunting.
Thanks for the advice. Found a MK4, should provide adequate speed. Most HAM software isn’t to taxing on systems (JS8Call, FT8, Gridtracker, etc.) I appreciate your work. Good practical approach to comms. DXing is cool, but not every contact has to DX. XYZ country can’t help me locally when a disaster happens.
FYI, subscribed to channel. 73.
@@Toneblender Thanks for the sub. I actually just loaded an FZ-G1 MK4 for a supporter that loaned my his IC-705. That unit is much snappier than the FZ-G1s that I run. Welcome to channel!
can you tell me why you continue to choose JS8 vs VarAC, Vara chat, or winlink?
I hate Windows with a passion and refuse to run emulation with WINE under Linux. Once there is a native VARA modem for Linux, I will embrace it.
@@TheTechPrepper - understood. Thanks for sharing.
I just drank some coffee in my “No Random Contacts” coffee mug. 🤝
YES!!! I need to order another one from myself. I broke my original prototype mug. Thanks for the support l.
I will have to find people over on the mainland to try to do long-range targeted comms with from Hawaii.
I'm tied up for the next couple of months, but I'd love to plan for a contact to Hawaii. Shoot me an email if you're interested for late spring. 73 de KT7RUN
@@TheTechPrepper sounds good
Where can I find that keyboard at a decent price?
You can't. The eBay prices are higher than what you buy them brand new. I bought 20 last month and sold some to the members, but they sold out quickly. iKey is completely out of them. You're looking at $350 used. I sold my batch for $380 with shipping included.
Like you said your local group has their procedures, I use to to a lot of keyboard to keyboard and we used an extra carriage return at the end of our thought so the other guy would know when to respond, I think I have seen on js8 the use of RR for ready to receive maybe. Much of my efforts are in support of my community, so I am liking at pulling information into my area and pushing it out locally, I have been practicing AREDN ham WiFi my group is out to over 5 miles with good bandwidth.
Our group in the South uses BTU (back to you) and "out." We also make a point to watch the waterfall and the frequency that the other operator is on. Thanks for the additional tips.
"RR" I believe is roger-roger.
BTU is used in CW. That's an easy one. My ham club has members who are heavy into cw and use all those abbreviations in digital modes, so I had to print out a list. 😂
@@LeeMcc_KI5YPR I stand corrected, I have seen it at the end of messages on js8
That is one downside of JS8CALL. The auto responding and Tx happy folks cause issues sometimes. A group specific SOI is needed to set some ground rules.
Exactly right. We're working on an SOP to address this.
My two cents as a lover of knots and someone that probably uses string and rope in place of more appropriate tools: The prussic knot is like the taught line but it works in both directions. It's much more versatile than the taught line and you get the taught line as a side effect by just tying half of the prussic knot. I probably wouldn't pick it as the only knot to teach someone but it's a little better than the taught line as the only one to know.
End pedantry :P
Great point on the prussic. I'll use it for a ridge line, but for guy lines, I prefer the taut-line hitch.
@@TheTechPrepper yeah neither do I. I use truckers hitches for guy lines. My comment was more about the one knot to know and not entirely serious. I forgot tune my sense of humor this morning. It's pretty high swr today.
Can you plz maybe make a short video on how to sync time off other users on js8Call when there is no internet. Thankyou
That is actually a member video that I am making within the week. I will show three different techniques, none of which require onboard GPS. There is even a field card for the members to print out a laminate. Basically, I will be covering the manual time sync by the operator using the WWV time signal or using a reference GPS watch. Lastly, l'll show the time drift feature in JS8. That last one does not actually set the clock, but it has value for decoding signals.
Nice dachshund. We have a long dog, too.
Thx, dachshunds are great dogs
@@Don008Ramon Yep. Very loyal and smart.
Stop apologizing dude. It’s the meat we want, the wind was fine. Keep on keeping on.
Roger. Thanks.
Are you running Ubuntu on that Toughpad? 🤔
Yes. Ubuntu 22.10. It's heavily customized. It's the base OS for EmComm Tools.
Who cares about wind noise? You're set up it the field the field. Does that actually bother viewers? My PRC really works well on 17meters. It's very quiet, and the 9ft fold up antenna rocks there. 73s I don't have someone to target a contact with. Our 911 center checks in with the maritime mobile net for that regularly.
Believe it or not, people care and complain about everything. Recently, I had a guy threaten to unscribe because I drink coffee in every video while filming. I told him, this is not the channel for you, bud. My channel is low on the production quality side, but I hope that the content and the real world testing is enough to keep people coming back. Happy Easter.
@2ndPeterVBlack Thanks! More coming.
Bought a radio now trying to learn how to use it
Excellent. Good luck with your journey. Which radio?
I didn't think the wind noise was bad at all.
Phew... thank you. I tried to cut the video aggressively. I captured a lot more, but it was unusable. Next time, I have to bring the mic and dead cat. Thanks for the view and comment.
What kind of keyboard is that ?
It's the iKey keyboard. It turns this 7" tablet into a really powerful field notebook. They're pricey, but worth it if you do field work and space is at a premium.
Long range is easy. Use CB radio.
:)
Nice video… 73 de N3LUD.
Thanks for all the messages over the last few days. At least, I think it is your call. Did we make a contact on 12m or 17m? It felt like I was sending QSL cards all day Friday.