[50mhz] [VHF] FT817 and 6 meter portable operations

[n6ze at aol.com]

Using the FT-817 QRP rig takes patience, persistence, skill, luck, and the Propagation Gods must smile upon you! Be prepared to switch from SSB to CW, and be very liberal in the use of the word: QRP. I think that "QRP" is worth 10dB when someone hears you.

I used my FT817 for a number of years before I retired from the airline industry. I did Trans-Con Rover operation on 6/2/70, operated from atop a parking garage in Fort Lauderdale, from many airport terminals and hotel rooms, from a park bench on the western bank of the Hudson River, and from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.

I recommend a gel cell of some type: AA cells don't last very long, and yes, you can purchase 4 packs of AA alkaline batteries at the Gift Shop on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. A small switcher power supply is useful to charge the gel cell and to power the rig if you have an A/C socket available.

A?Yaesu supplied flexible dummy load and other whips work, but performance is always marginal due to lack of ground plane. My preferred setup is to use a TV rabbit ears fed directly with RG58 (I know that is a gross thing to admit, but it works!). To operate on 2m, I extend both ears out to 19.5 inches. To operate on 6 meters, I extend the ears out completely and then clip an alligator lead with 19.5 inches of wire to the end of each ear. (The alligator lead?with 19.5 inches of wire enables me to determine 19.5 inches of extension for 2 meter operations.) For 70 Cm, I use a "KQ Mini Loop" or a rubber duck. My mast consists five of 12 inch sections of pvc tubing with an assembly so that I can rotate the dipole from horizontal to vertical. A couple of small bungees permit attaching the mast to a convenient chair or lamp.

I have worked some single hop 6m Sporadic E and made one SFL - CO double hop 6m Es QSO. I heard far more than I ever worked! On 2m and 70 Cm, I have occasionally worked out to 200+ miles. Last summer, From Port Townsend, WA, (CN87) I heard guys near Atlanta, GA (EM74)?with just a 5/8? two meter whip on my car.

bt73Pete, N6ZE


-----Original Message-----
From: John Geiger <aa5jg at yahoo.com>
To: 50mhz at mailman.qth.net; 6meter at yahoogroups.com; vhf at w6yx.stanford.edu
Sent: Wed, 7 Jan 2009 2:25 am
Subject: [VHF] FT817 and 6 meter portable operations



I am making some plans for my FT817 and wonder what other list members 
experiences are with using the Yaesu FT817 for 6 meter portable operations.  I 
am referring to using it with an attached 1/4 wave whip antenna, and maybe off 
the battery pack or using a small PS.  How does it play portable in a hotel 
room, or situations like that?  I am guessing that you can hear quite a bit 
during a good Es opening, but can you work much?  

Will this be alot of fun to do or more frustrating than anything else?
What kind of performance should I count on?

73s John AA5JG
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