Ten DXCC entities from a public park

On this video I call CQ from a public park in Acea de Ama with my Yaesu-SGC manpack radio and make 12 QSO with 10 differents DXCC entities.

I made QSOs with EA1LQ, SV2HXX, PA2CVD, ON7HLU (Hakim), RA1OD (Dima), RV1CT (Genna), R3BT, F4HDI (Franck), HA5OKQ (Jozsef), G6UKV (Phillip), EA8OT, IW0HLE.

Backpack portable from a public park

On this video I operate portable from a public park in Acea de Ama, near A Coruña, using my backpack transceiver.

I made QSOs with England (G6TUH), Asiatic Russia (RV9DC) and Eastern Spain (EA5YI).

Portable ham radio from Beiramar

This is a video of portable radio operation from a public park in Perillo, near the city of A Coruña, called Beiramar.

I was using my FT-857D light backpack transceiver and had the help of my son Adi to extend the counterpoise wires, and my friend Robi, who recorded the operation on video.

SOTA activation of Breamo - Christmas 2012

This is a video of the activation of Breamo (SOTA reference EA1/CR-035) to wish merry Christmas to my SOTA friends around the world. I was using an FT-897D with an internal antenna tuner and a wire antenna.

It includes a couple of QSOs with American stations. Thanks very much to everyone and Merry Christmas to all.

Romania (YO4RIU) on 12m SSB

This is a video of a QSO with Romanian station YO4RIU on 12m SSB.

I was using my mobile setup consisting of an FT-857D, an FC-40 antenna tuner and a 4m whip antenna.

EA1IEZ's first SOTA activation

Ernesto (EA1LQ) and I accompanied Abel (EA1IEZ) in his first SOTA activation, in Alto do Anxelio (EA1/CR-020), which is a summit relatively close to A Coruña.

It turned out to be extremely windy up there, but Abel managed to make a lot of contacts. Welcome to SOTA!

Finland (OH1TIN) on 15m

This is a video of a QSO I made in February from a public park called Beiramar, in Oleiros, near the city of A Coruña.

I was using may usual backpack radio considting of a Yaesu FT-857D, an SGC SG-211 smartuner, a LiPO battery and a military whip antenna.

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

Here are a couple of pictures of my FT-897D with an LDG YT-100 antenna tuner fitted inside.

In the first picture you can see the rear top view of the radio. As you can see, I added a couple of binding posts for wire antennas and a push button to activate the tuner. I also plan on adding another UHF connector for coax-fed antennas in the near future. I am just waiting for the connectors to arrive.

In the second picture, you can see the rear bottom view, with the four phillips screws that hold the tuner board in place. The back cover is raised a couple of milimiters so that the tuner has enough room inside the battery compartment.

QSO with Norway from Cova da Serpe (EA1/LU-046)

This is a video I have just found of an activation of Cova da Serpe two years ago that was unpublished so far.

The backpack radio is based on a Yaesu FT-857D with an SG-211 smartuner. The red hat is a blend of Romanian and SOTA style. Plese do not confure with Gangnam style.

Yaesu FT-897D with internal antenna tuner: First test

I this video you can see the first test of my new project: a Yaesu FT-897D with an internal antenna tuner.

I intend to use this as a table-top portable radio. This is not intended as a backpack transceiver for SOTA operations in adverse conditions. For that purpose, I have opted for my FT-857 manpack, which is smaller and lighter.
Thanks to Robi and Ernesto (EA1LQ) for the help with the construction and tests.

Testing my FT-857 manpack: Cedeira (EA1/CR-010)

This is a video of an SOTA activation of Cedeira (EA1-CR-010). On this video I was using my light manpack radio consisting of an FT-857D, an SG-211 tuner and a whip antenna.

I was accompanied by Ernesto (EA1LQ) who is also an avid SOTA activator.

My FT-857D manpack

Here are some pictures of my low-weight FT-857D backpack transceiver. It consists of an FT-857 transceiver, an SG-211 automatic antenna tuner, an antenna base for military whips, and a 5200mAh LiPo battery pack. The particular whip I use has a metric thread (M10). It was property of the army of the GDR.
The frame is made of aluminum and the total weight of the set is around 4Kg. I developed this backpack transceiver with SOTA (Summits on the Air) operations in mind, so I gave priority to low weight and rapid deployability, for when weather conditions are adverse. The rucksack also protects the radio from bumps and from the elements.