[FARC] Introduction and mobile operation question

[David Kindred]

Hi, Bob, Kirk and David,

Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm very excited to now be a part of FARC. 

The TAK-40 does look as if it would be pretty exciting to build,
regardless of whether or not it would be ideal for the summer camping
trip. I hadn't realized that PSK31 was used really primarily on the 20m
band. Thanks for pointing that out and also for the pointer to the
WonderLabs kits; that was really helpful.

My friend Mike (KB1MTS) in Boston pointed me to a discussion on the
TAK-40 project here: http://www.eham.net/forums/HomeBrew/5356. It looks
like, if you want to build one, it wouldn't be a bad idea to collect
some parts now, since they're surplus. I think it might be a real
educational experience, so I'll look into it. Perhaps some other folks
would be interested and we could get a better deal on the PCBs? If I can
pull this off, I'd be glad to talk about it, but do you think there'd be
much interest in hearing from a complete beginner? The thought of
squeezing DX out of a QRP rig warms my Scottish heritage heart. It's a
whole new way to be thrifty!

Thanks to you all!

--David

-----Original Message-----
From: farc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:farc-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
On Behalf Of Bob Moroney
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 10:26 AM
To: Frederick, Maryland ARC
Subject: Re: [FARC] Introduction and mobile operation question


David,

Welcome to the group!

If you're handy with the tools needed, I'd definitely vote for building 
the TAK-40 rig described in QST.  I haven't looked at the on-line files 
yet, but it doesn't look exceptionally hard to build, and all those 
features for $50 (or even $150 if you go the pc board route) is 
amazing.  Go for it.

As for talking with your friend in Boston, it will depend a lot on 
(surprise) band conditions and your antenna.   But your chances for 
success are greatly enhanced with PSK31.  And whether or not you are 
able to chat with your friend, you'll no doubt have a lot of fun trying,

and make a bunch of new friends in the process with the many other Hams 
you'll meet on the air. 

By all means, keep a log, including antenna configuration(s) used, 
weather and band conditions, etc.  Perhaps you could give a short talk 
about your adventure at a FARC meeting, once you get back from vacation,

and show off your rig to the rest of the group.  

I'll pencil you in right now.  Pick a month...  ;-)

Good luck & 73,
Bob K9CMR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David Kindred wrote:
> Hello, everyone,
>
> Since I'm brand new to FARC I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is

> David (KB3NAI), we have 3 sons (10 - 13) and live in Kemptown in the 
> southern tip of the county. I've had my ticket for a couple of years, 
> but I'm a really inexperienced ham, having only been having fun with 
> APRS and chatting a bit on 2m during that time. My equipment is 
> limited to a D700 and a VX-150 HT. I don't know any local hams, other 
> than having an acquaintance with the very cool Joe (NE3R), and didn't 
> know any hams growing up, so the full scope of amateur radio is still 
> a bit of an unknown to me. I'm hoping that my membership in FARC will 
> cure my ignorance and give me the chance to make some more friends. 
> I'm also hoping to perhaps find an Elmer!
>
> Our family is planning a camping trip to the upper midwest over the 
> summer. I thought it would be an awful lot of fun to set up a radio 
> and communicate from "the wilderness" (actually campgrounds with 
> showers) with a friend in Boston during that time. My funds are 
> somewhat limited, so forking out $500+ for equipment, unfortunately, 
> doesn't appear an option for me. The QRP project outlined in our most 
> recent QST looked intriguing. It only works on 40m. Do you think it 
> likely that 5w could make it from, say, WI to Boston on 40m for PSK31?

> If not, do you have any suggestions for what would make for a 
> reasonably-priced mobile HF setup?
>
> Thank you all!
>
> 73,
>
> --David, KB3NAI
>   
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