Clansman memories

Today reminded me of my first manpack, the Clansman PRC-320. When I first bought this radio from eBay, I didn't have a charger, and I bought the hand-crank generator thinking that it would be good enough to start making contacts. I was wrong!

Then I decided to use a solar panel to charge it, which at least worked, but it was not until I bought a Tenergy NiCd/NiMh Smart charger that I was able to start working seriously.

I used to carry the manpack on the boot of my Suzuki Jimny, and operate from Monte de San Pedro, the university campus where I worked, and even some mall parking lots.

Today reminded me of my initial troubles with the Clansman because I am facing exactly the same issues. A couple of days ago I got my radio back from Craig (EA1JCA), who did a full overhaul of it, but I haven't been able to test it yet because of the lack of a charger.

My old charger completely disappeared, so I have been forced to find a workaround, with the difference that NiCd batteries are so obsolete now that it is really difficult to find a suitable charger. Today I tried to adapt a Black&Decker power tool battery charger, without any luck so far.

Anyone else would give up on an old, heavy radio that is so difficult to operate, but it is precisely this kind of challenges what make the Clansman so attractive. It's simply irresistible, so I'll keep you posted!

Beaches On The Air: France, US, Russia and Italy from Riazor

FT 817nd QRPp QSO with DK65DARC

FT-817nd QRP 1W with DJ5VB

FT-817nd QRP 1W: QSO with ON4YOTA

FT-857D: DK65DARC

FT-817nd QRP 1W: QSO with EA8JK

Yaesu FT-991 vs FT-897 with internal LDG YT-100 antenna tuner

My colleague Ernesto (EA1LQ) pointed out to me that Yaesu had just brought to the market a new compact radio, the FT-991, that featured a built-in antenna tuner and therefore was the natural substitute of my FT-897D in which I fitted an LDG YT-100 antenna tuner in the battery compartment. I must recognise that I was very excited and looking forward to find out more about the new radio.

When I looked it up on yaesu, the first difference was the big colour display and the impression it was bigger than the FT-897D. But I was more interested to see the specifications, and here they are:

Feature	FT-991	FT-897D with internal tuner and battery
Weight	9.5 lb (4.3 kg)	10.3 lb (4.7 kg)
Battery capacity	---	2200 mAh
Power consumption RX	1800-2200mA	600-1000mA
Impedance	16.7-150 ohms	4-800 ohms

So it seems that the FT-991 is 10 percent lighter than its competitor, which can be partly  due to the fact that it does not feature an internal battery. The consumption on receive is also between two and three times higher than on the FT-897D, which is also a handicap when operating portable on battery power. Finally, the range of the tuner is much narrower, which can be a minus when operating portable.

All in all, the conclusion is that the FT-991 seems to be a very nice radio, with a colour display, an USB port and new features, and is a welcome addition to the Yaesu line, but is designed with a different style in mind and is therefore not a direct replacement for my Yaesu FT-897D with internal tuner and battery.

Versatile backpack frame on eBay

I just found this interestng backpack idea on eBay. It looks very versatile.
It is made of stainless steel and weighs 1360 grams.
Here is the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ham-Radio-station-Antenna-Tuner-backpack-frame-for-YAESU-FT-817-LDG-Z11-LDG-Z100-/331198564376?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d1cf90818
What do you think about it?

Greece on 12m (SV3AQR)

Testing my Yaesu FT-897D with an internal LDG YT-100 antenna tuner and an internal LiPO battery, using 20W into a random wire on 12m SSB.

FT-897D with internal LDG YT-100 antenna tuner

Tjis is a picture of my FT-897D with an internal YT-100 antenna tuner and a small LiPO battery.

I put this picture on the blog because I had posted a video of the radio with the internal tuner in action on Youtube, and there was a person who disputed the title of the video. He said that the tuner was not internal. So this picture is for him.

I also replaced the battery switch with a push-button with a led to activate and monitor the operation of the tuner.
On the picture you can also see some DC terminals coming out from the battery compartment. These are to charge the small 2200mAh battery that I also fit in the space left after adding the automatic antenna tuner.

HA7LW (Hungary)

This is a nice eQSL from a QSO in CW back in 2007:

Thanks.

EQSL from 5T0SP (Mauritania)

I have received this beautiful eQSL card from Mauritania. It is a new confirmed country for me. Now I have 85 for my eDX100 award.

The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won.
In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.

International Police Association from Martinique (TO4IPA)

I just made a QSO with TO4IPA (op. Henri) from Martinique on 20m SSB thanks to Enesto who sent me the spot.

TO4IPA -  FM5AM Paul,  FM5GI Jean Baptiste,  FM5CW Valere,  FM5CY Claude. - F6FLO Henri IPA team will work 18/04/2013 - 02/05/2013  of the city of St Pierre MARTINIQUE on SSB-CW-RTTY - PSK.

Expedition to YO-land: Which radio to take?

I am preparing an expedition to YO-la and am in doubt about which radio to carry with me. The three candidates are a Yaesu FT-897D, a Yaesu FT-857D and a Yaesu FT-817ND. Each one of them has its own advantages. The FT-897 is the most powerful, because it can give its full output of 100W with the YT-100 antenna tuner, and the FT-817ND is the lightest. The FT-857D is in between, being able to work at 60W with the SG-211 tuner. What do you think?

United States (KT4TN) from a public park

This is a video of a QSO I made about a year ago when I was in Monte de San Pedro, a public park in A Coruña.

I went there with my elder son Adi.

Belarus (EW7EW) on 20m

This is a video of a QSO with Belarus station EW7EW using my mobile whip tide to my car's front wing.



I was testing this setup for a trip to Astorga.

50 years in amateur radio (S503EO)

This is a video of a QSO on 15m with Slovenian special event station S503EO. I was using my FT-897D trolley.



Milos (S53EO) celebrates his 50 years in amateur radio. Thanks for the QSO and congratulations!

Azores (CU7AA) on 15m

This is a video of a QSO with Azores on 15m.



This is my favourite band...

Ireland on 20m from the park

This is yet another QSO from the Acea de Ama park using my Yaesu FT-857D with an SG-211 antenna tuner and a military whip antenna.

These are very nice tables, but they are seldom used. Maybe because they lie just beneath a high voltage power line.