First Dry Run of Portable HF Station

Putting it all together in the rear garden

9m tall Prowhip aerial erected in rear garden ~ tunes on all the Amateur HF ('Short Wave') bands.

Solar panels charging sealed lead acid battery ~ Yaesu FT450D HF radio on white folding table.  

This is my 6-year old sealed lead acid battery ~ used as a spare as the leisure battery is being charged.

The solar panels are working really well ~ allowing me to run 100 Watts output from the radio. The battery is being topped-up as it is being charged at 40 amps via the solar panels. 

Front view ~ note aerial coaxial cable off to the vertical antenna. Cable is 24 feet long, which helps with the tuning process for the vertical aerial on Amateur Radio HF bands.

Yaesu FT-450D radio ~ using a Heil Hand Mic for good audio response & driving of the rig (to get high power output ~ closer to 90W on peaks).

Even though the bands were not very good, due to a recent solar flare that knocked out HF communication to some extent, the radio did pick-up many Italian & German Radio Amateur Stations.

Getting everything ready for portable HF operating ~ Part 1

Solar Power Kit

The 40W @ 12V solar power kit arrived today ~ actually, the Post Office tried to deliver it yesterday but we were out in Canterbury. That means it could have arrived within 24 hours of ordering the kit! It was very well packaged and arrived safely.

The standard USB memory stick is on the floor to give you a sense of scale.

The whole system folds up into a case & the panels themselves are protected by the external case that the whole unit slides into. It is a very well made case ~ soft on the inside with some protection to the outside. The handle, attached to the panels' aluminium frame, is very substantial and secure.

The solar panels are hinged together and can be angled to suit the external conditions of the day.

The rear of the panels shows the voltage regulator, also limiting the power generated to 10 Amps, and the cable/clips to attach to the leisure battery (not shown). You can also see, at either end of the panels, the adjustable legs that support the unit to point effectively towards the sun ~ for maximum power generation.

I haven't tried the unit outside yet, so I have not checked that it is able to work effectively in daylight/sunlight ~ not the best day today, as we have had some fine mist/drizzle so far!

That's Part 1 :-)

73 (morse code for 'Best Wishes') de John

Callsign: G0GCQ

Long Time No Post

Crumbs! I forgot I had this blog!

Luckily, as I am about to start High Frequency (HF) mobile working as a Radio Amateur, I can use this blog as a record of my experiences ☺

I have recently joined the Worked All Britain Award Group, where I will be working HF ('Shortwave Bands') from different locations in Kent & Sussex, trying to cover as many 'squares', based on the Ordnance Survey mapping system in the UK, as I can. Some of them are quite rare - as nobody usually lives there or they are very difficult to reach.

I intend to start blogging about the equipment I will be using: the radio, the aerial, the power source and the solar power kit. I will be taking photos and videos  to show you how I get on.

Until then - Best 73 de G0GCQ