SOTA - Raft River Hat Trick

In pouring over SOTA Maps a couple years ago, I noticed a location where three 8-point peaks were in close proximity:

• W7U/BO-002 - an unnamed peak "9335," 
• W7U/NU-045 - George Peak, and 
• W7U/BO-001 - Bull Mountain

After three attempts and hours on Google Earth, I finally figured out how to get up there. This post is an attempt to make the directions more clear for others--with luck, this can be a 24-point day!

I first activated George and Bull back in 2018. Didn't make it back until ARRL's 2020 Field Day, when I activated 9335 and George the day before Field Day, and participated in Field Day from Bull Mountain (until the wind hit sustained gusts over 40 mph and thunder and lightening "appeared" in the imminent forecast).

The Route

Google Maps and most of the other online maps really don't understand how to get here. Plus, jeep trails and routes on maps in real life end up either 1) completely faded and overgrown or 2) on private land. So finding a safe, feasible, legal way to get up there was a challenge! In short, it's a series of Forest Service roads as you leave Standrod, UT:

1. From Snowville, UT head west to Standrod
2. From Standrod, take FS 005 south
3. At the "T" take FS 011

FS 011 is not for the faint-hearted and absolutely requires 4WD (4L, in fact). At times, I locked my rear diff to get through steep sections with loose rock (rock, not gravel - rock). 

"9335"

As you hit the top of the mountain, you'll see 9335 in the distance. Park anywhere that's safe (there's a lot of undergrowth, so don't take risks and cause this place to burn), and head up to 9335. This is the view from 011 about 1/2 mile south of where I parked to activate 9335 in 2020.

 For 9335, you're above treeline so mostly it's sagebrush, grasses, some flowers, and a whole lotta cow pies. The hike up is just walking over, around or through sage. There is a fence line that cuts the actual summit off - I was on the "wrong" side of the fence line but well within the 250' activation zone, so I activated just west of the actual summit.

George Peak

Your next adventure will be George Peak. You'll still be in 4L for this, for sure! Continue east on 011 until it turns south. It'll connect first with 022 and then with 009.

Follow 009 to the southwest all the way until you hit George Peak. You'll come to a gate (might be closed, might be open) and signs about a private hunting club. You are allowed to pass through but you must stay on the road. 

The route is mostly road, with a lot of grass and sage. 

The views are, however, amazing -- you can see the Great Salt Lake, Promontory Point, even Antelope Island off in the distance.

If you've programmed the coordinates into your GPS, you'll find George Peak easily. On the map, the flat spot on the ridge appears to be the same altitude as the peak in the distance, so it's unclear which is the actual peak.

This either is, or is not, George Peak.

And yet this either is, or is not, George Peak. For the sake of SOTA (and since Bull is literally a drive-up), I activate the craggy peak each time.

One geological survey marker is good, but...

Two must be better :)

Panoramic view from George Peak looking from west to north to east (panning from 270 to 0 to 90 compass degrees). Not a lot of trees up here, but very green.

Bull Mountain

The final "peak" in this hat trick is Bull Mountain. I'm always torn up about this one - honestly, the road literally drives across the summit--how do you consider it activated? It's a moral dilemma but for the purists, you can park somewhere and hike a ways in.

The area around Bull Mountain is incredibly beautiful, with plenty of grassland and some wildflowers.

Not a bad place to watch the sun set!

Bull Mountain itself? Not so much special, just a grassy area where cows like to munch.

This is my SOTA setup for Field Day 2020. I lasted about 6 hours in this spot, after moving here around 10 am. By 3 PM the winds were blowing my antennas down and literally lifting half of my rooftop tent. Tuning into the Weather Service forecast, it was obvious I needed to beat a hasty retreat!

Overall, this 24-point "hat trick" is a fun trip with a couple nice peaks and a flat area that's amazing for propagation. There are other peaks nearby, so the area still has some opportunities for exploration. It's neat to have first activations on all three summits but I hope these directions help other SOTA enthusiasts get out and visit this range. Let's not make it too popular, but more people should have the chance to enjoy the incredible views up here!

- 72 de K7JTO

SOTA - Frary Peak

Had an awesome afternoon activating Frary Peak (W7U/NU-073, or DN30vx). This peak is located on Antelope Island, in the southeast corner of the Great Salt Lake, in the "Antelope Island" state park. As a Utah state park pass holder, all I had to pay was $2 to drive across the causeway, so it was a cheap way to spend an afternoon.

It being so early in the year, the peak is usually covered in snow and the upper parking lot was closed, so that added about 1/2 mile each way to what's generally a 3.3 mile hike/climb, with 2100 feet of elevation gain. The trail's been rerouted since I last summited, and I really like the new route. It's a lot safer - it passes south along the west side of the summit, just below the actual summit. Then it switchbacks north. So much easier on the knees.

Starting off the climb. It was in the lower 40's with a stiff wind. All the exertion of carrying a heavy pack allowed me to hike in warm pants and a light long-sleeve tech shirt.

The approach is from the north and generally follows the ridge, with some pretty stunning views of the Great Salt Lake, as well as the Wasatch range.

Just in case you weren't paying attention, this is a trail. ;)

Looking west off the lower trail. The rise in the distance is "Elephant Rock"

Looking to the NW across the Great Salt Lake

Again to the NW over the Great Salt Lake.

After a fairly strenuous hike, you traverse about 200' below the summit, headed south on the west side of the summit. This traverse is mostly new - it used to end with basically scrambling straight up, which was pretty intimidating. A local ham who loves the island worked hard to get some Boy Scout crews together to redo the trail. It's very nice now.

Finally, you're there! This is the original survey marker from 1892. There's a round marker in the rocks just to the south of this.

Without further ado, in temps around 30 with a slight breeze (enough to evaporate any warmth in a hurry) I went about setting up my SOTA station.

KX3, with 12v 5ah SLA battery - ugh, so heavy. Picking up a 14.4v 4 AH LIPO RC battery soon, I hope. What I love about the KX3 is that it's half the weight of my old FT817, can output as much as 15 watts, and has a tuner built in. Right there it's saved me a ton of weight!

I haven't taken the time to build my SOTA antenna (half wave wire antenna with a matching box at the end), so I lugged my Buddistick up with me this time. I've only made a couple contacts on this in the past, in spite of owning it for 4-5 years and trying valiantly! I wasn't sure what to think of it today, but it came through right along with the KX3!

This SOTA trip is a big deal to me. It's been (honestly) years since I last made a contact on HF. I've sold all my older gear, and bought an Elecraft KX3 which I recently built. After a week of hammering away on HF bands here and there, I'd started to wonder whether it was my antenna, my coax, or actually my radio but I've not had a single contact. Judging by my logbook today, I do believe I can narrow it down to my coax.

I logged 18 QSOs (threw out two because the call signs aren't showing up in the FCC database - I must have misheard the operators). Great day's work - including an amazing QSO with Heriberto in Puerto Rico, as well as KB3RHR in Pennsylvania.

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
23:30z	KG5PJG	14MHz	SSB	59 to Stillwater OK
23:30z	WA5OBV	14MHz	SSB	10w 59 to Phil in Stillwater OK
23:30z	WB6YOK	14MHz	SSB	4 miles LOL
23:35z	KB3RHR	14MHz	SSB	55 into PA
23:40z	KN8TOA	14MHz	SSB	57
23:40z	W0MNA	14MHz	SSB	55
23:45z	KP4EYT	14MHz	SSB	Puerto Rico - 57
23:45z	W0ERI	14MHz	SSB	55 KS
23:45z	W5AHA	14MHz	SSB	58 into Tipulo MS birthplace of Elvis
23:45z	KD0MQO	14MHz	SSB	3x3 into Missouri
23:45z	K5UQE	14MHz	SSB	57 into LA
23:45z	KI4TN	14MHz	SSB	1x1 hard to copy
23:45z	K1LIZ	14MHz	SSB	2x2

Quick summary and a 360 shot from Frary:

All good things must come to an end. I packed up quickly as soon as the action died down (didn't even bother with 40 meters). The hike down was just as rewarding as the hike up. I've been struggling with knee problems since September, but I've been climbing a lot of local trails lately and the work is paying off - the soft tissue is getting strong, and the hike down didn't really cause much pain at all.

Looking west, about halfway down.

These are the peaks just above my house - there are 5 SOTA peaks right here, hoping to activate them all this summer.

APRS Decoding - Windows

I'm setting up to decode APRS on Windows with a simple RTL-SDR USB dongle. Here's what's needed:

• SDSharp: grab it from http://www.sdrsharp.com
• or alternativeily, HDSDR: grab it from http://www.hdsdr.de/
• Qtmm AFSK1200 Decoder, from http://sourceforge.net/projects/qtmm/
• Virtual Audio Streaming (or another virtual audio connector) from http://www.virtualaudiostreaming.net/

Eventually I'd like this to all be self-contained--seems like a great add-on for SDR#. But that's for a later date... My first step is receiving and decoding APRS, but my next step will be to use my HackRF to actually send encoded APRS packets.

I've been fighting Windows and various Linux OS's trying to make this work. In this article, I'm taking a step back and moving slowly back to the point where it's working successfully. My eventual goal is to use a Raspberry PI with a DRA818* radio chip, in a weather-proof box at the base of my antenna mast. But I digress...

If you follow the steps here, you'll get this up and running quickly. I spent the better part of New Year's Day morning on this.

What You'll Need

1. Install your SDR software of choice
2. Install the RTLSDR USB driver (the HDSDR site gives some good info on installing the driver)
3. Grab Qtmm from sourceforge

What to Do

1. Start your SDR tool
2. Connect to the RTL-SDR dongle
3. Tune up to 144.39 (North America) or whatever your APRS frequency is.

You should start to see signal on your waterfall. It will look something like this:

Note that I prefer HDSDR to SDRSharp. That's just me...

Getting Audio into Qtmm

The trick here is to pump the decoded audio out of your SDR tool into the AFSK decoder. For some people, this will be easy because their Windows sound card chip supports "Stereo Mix" in the Sound Recording control panel. My chip does not, so I had to use "Virtual Audio Streaming," a virtual sound card too. I installed it, and set the "Rec. Play" device to the default device in the sound control panel:

Next, I set "Virtual Audio Streaming" as the output to speaker in HDSDR's sound card selection dialog:

Wide vs Narrow

I had some issues capturing the signal early on when I was using SDR#. Wide FM seemed maybe too wide, but narrow wasn't right. I messed with the signal bandwidth till I had something I liked. In HDSDR, I have bandwidth set to 18,205.

Qtmm AFSK Decoder

Next, just launch Qtmm AFSK decoder and select "Rec. Play (Virtual Audio Stream) for input and click the "Decode" (play) button:

You should begin to see packets streaming in!

Action-Packer Go Box

One of my favorite organizing tools is Rubbermaid’s Action Packer. They make these things in several sizes (from 80 gallons to 8 gallons), they’re just about bulletproof, and they pack a zillion items. So when it came time to build a go-box, there really was no option – it’s the Action Packer or nothing! (Well, I have debated using something metal, to protect from an EMP, but I haven’t found anything that’ll work for that—yet).

What’s a go box? It’s a box or container you can grab and just run with. It’s great for field day or for the special events station we’ll be manning in June (for the Pony Express 150th anniversary). It contains essentially everything you need to operate in the field. Most go-boxes include radios, antennas, wires, batteries, and even food. I like to keep my food separate; it allows for a slightly smaller go-box.

My goals for building a go-box were:

• Store both my Yaesu FT-100 and my Yaesu FT-817 radios, in an upper shelf.
• Carry at least two lead-acid batteries below.
• Be completely wired – I should be able to open the top, plug in a radio and an antenna, and just GO.
• Be wired with ARES/RACES standard Anderson Powerpoles.
• Include an external connection so I can input power at any time, easily.
• Have room to store antennas, cables, a quick repair kit, etc.
• Include luxuries such as a flashlight and more.

Given that I want it to be easily portable AND I want it to hold a limited amount of gear, I opted for the smallest Action Packer, which is 8 gallons in size. Great choice!

Here are some photos of what I’ve got so far:

Batteries in the bottom, and the hole in the side for external power tap.	Close-up of the hole – I added a small rubber gasket for waterproofing. I also drilled the hole on a down-ward facing slope, to keep out water.
As you can see, the power out will have Anderson Powerpoles on it. That way I can plug into just about anyone’s system.	These are the lead acid batteries at the bottom. I have 1) power in, 2) lead acid batter, 3) second lead acid battery, and 4) power up to the top. Wanting to save a boatload of cash, I built my own power distribution unit (power distribution block) out of Anderson Powerpoles – I’ll write a quick blog on that. I also made room in the power block to plug in two additional batteries (I’ve got 4, after all), just in case.
Some things are just too easy… This is an Energizer brand battery charger. It just happens to take… 12v to charge batteries! You never know when you need a AA or AAA battery!	The comforts of home! I made 1) alligator clamp connector for auto batteries, 2) ring connectors for power supplies, 3) ring connectors with small alligator clamps, 4) 12v battery charger with the power supply cord modified, 4) Anderson-equipped power supply for my FT-817 (which happens to use the same tip as some old PockePC power supplies—and is the same tip the VX-7R uses). There’s a sample power distribution block. Oh and that’s the COOLEST flashlight I’ve ever seen – it’s LED powered. They sell them at NAPA for about 8 bucks—they have a hook and a magnet on the back of them.

There’s still some work left to do—I would like a shelf at the bottom to cover up the power supply. I’m worried a wrench or something will fall in between the batteries and cause a short. I need a shelf on the top on which I can put the radios (padded for transport, of course). I hope to wrap all that up shortly, and I’ll add final photos when I do.

Quick note on batteries – I left my QRP (low-power) Yaesu FT-817 running the other day. I went a full 24 hours on one lead acid battery. Twenty-four hours! And that included a couple hours of heavy HF transmission at full power (5 watts). Can you imagine what 4 batteries will do, if I shut the thing off now and again? It measures in weeks…

Ultimate Backpacking Yagi

If you’ve read my blog, you know I got started in amateur radio because I was looking for a reliable emergency communications solution for the backcountry. I found it, but in 2009 while taking my Scouts on a 50-miler, I knew next to nothing about radio. I wasn’t all that successful with my transmission. Part of the issue was that I didn’t know enough about programming the radio nor about VHR radio to set things up correctly. I had all the wrong data – wrong offset, wrong tone for opening repeaters, etc. But there is more – I had equipment problems. And now I know several reasons why!

• Yaesu VX-7R: my first challenge (not problem—challenge) is that my Yaesu VX-7R is a 5-watt hand-held unit (in ham radio vernacular, it’s called an “HT” or handie-talkie). 5 watts isn’t all that much power, you know? A decent 5-watt HT with a good antenna will transmit about 30 miles line-of-sight. I was never much more than 30 miles from any repeater, but there were trees all over the place. Nice things about the Yaesu? On standby, this puppy can remain on for a good two days. It’s a tough little unit, and the LCD has just enough info to keep you going, without getting too cluttered. What are you going to do with an awesome 5-watt handheld? Since they don’t make many handhelds with a higher wattage, especially with all these features, I’m sure not going to throw it out!
• Whip Antenna: I own a Diamond SRH-999 antenna. This is an awesome quad-band antenna which will transmit and receive on 50, 144, 220, and 445 (6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm). The problem is that a whip antenna transmits in a big circle—the transmit power is spread out 360 degrees!
• No Gain: the other problem with a whip is that there’s essentially no gain. The radio pumps out 5 watts, and that’s what’s transmitted out of the antenna.

So is there an answer to this problem? I’ve got a great little radio. I have learned so much more about VHF radio, repeaters, and programming my radio that I have all the repeater settings correctly dialed in now. But how do I get around the transmission limitations of a 5-watt HT with a whip antenna? Simple: the two-meter Yagi.

Directional Antenna: the Yagi

Welcome to the world of amateur radio antennas! As I’ve studied about radio, I have learned that it’s pretty incredible what you can do with a low-power radio. As a matter of fact, there’s an entire dark art in ham radio called “QRP” or low-power radio. Most QRPers use 5-watt CW (continuous wave, or Morse code) radios. Some of them are as small as an Altoids tin (I’ll be building one of those – it’s my reward for earning General class). If you can transmit cross-county on a fraction of a watt, with a 9volt batter, you ought to be able to transmit 30, 50 or even 60 miles with a 5-watt HT! It all comes down to having the right antenna. And the right antenna will accomplish two things: first, it will focus all your power into a narrow beam; second, it will actually increase your transmission power.

The antenna that accomplishes this? Simple – the Yagi or beam antenna. Remember the old TV antennas? Those are Yagi antennas!

But I’m not looking for just any antenna. I’m looking for a Yagi I can take backpacking.

• 2-meter backpacking Yagi: Now, I thought I had the perfect antenna when I found the 2-meter backpacking Yagi plans presented at my local club. This has it all! It’s light (PVC and aluminum rod), it’s small (stuffs down into the PVC) and it’s convenient. Unfortunately, it calls for some pretty advanced stuff—ever try to by Delrin rod? Great stuff, but it’s not necessarily sold at your local Ace Hardware. I never really got started on this antenna, simply because I don’t know where to by aluminum rod, Delrin rod, etc.
• Simple 2-meter backpacking J-match Yagi: so imagine my excitement when I found plans for a 2-meter J-match Yagi antenna. Not only is it easier to build, it’s made out of parts you can buy easily (aluminum grounding rod, apparently available at Radio Shack, and a few alligator clips).
• Ultimate 2-meter backpacking Yagi: I had my heart set on building the J-match yagi, until I found the ultimate 2-meter backpacking yagi (see pages 5-6). Not only is this puppy light, it’s ultra-light and it’s ultra-compact! Check out in this youtube video how easy it is to build!

So tomorrow I have a slowish day and I plan on buying the parts for the J-Match 2m Yagi and building it. I’m going to keep an eye out for an arrow or even a broken fishing pole out of which I can build the KD5IVP antenna though. THAT’s going to be the bomb for backcountry communications!

General Class!

Wow, I’m really falling behind! It’s been 8 months since earning my Technician class. In those months, I’ve built myself out quite the set-up. My Yaesu VX-7R has served me well, and I’ve added a Yaesu FT-100 to my collection. The joy about the FT-100 is that it’s a mobile HF radio – it goes great in my car, and it does all bands (160m to 70cm). In my most recent article, I mentioned I made my first HF contact (on 10 meters, with a guy near Sacramento, CA).

Well, this week I reached a long-time goal: I earned my general class license! I am now licensed to operate on all amateur radio bands! Pretty exciting, frankly.

So the day after I earned my tech, I hopped onto the 160, 80, 40 and 20 meter bands to make my first General contact. And sure enough – next thing I knew, I was chatting with Hector, XE2GAG, in Ensenada, Mexico (about an hour south of San Diego).

Just goes to show you, you can do just about anything you set your mind to. Eight months ago, I had only heard about amateur radio once (when I was living in Virginia, my buddy Fred told me we’d be able to chat together, even though he lived in Washington at the time). Now I’m learning about HF and the big wavelength bands.

My Second Radio: Yeasu FT-100

I am officially a member of the amateur fanatics—I own more than one radio! <GRIN>

As I’ve been contemplating accepting an offer to serve as the communications chair for Centerville City’s CERT committee, I have been thinking about my preparedness. I’ve also been encouraging an interest in amateur radio in my children (with varying degrees of success). All of this led me to conclude that I need to get myself a base station. So last week, I visited one of my Elmers (N7UPI) to check out his station and talk about local communications.

One of the big questions I had for John was how to select a base station. Contrary to outward evidence, I am TRYING to limit my investment. As we chatted, I told John I wanted a mobile station, so I could provide support for ARES. At the same time, I wanted a base station which would allow me to communicate around the world, in hopes that I would draw my sons’ interest. He picked the radio to do both—the Yeasu FT-100.

Let me preface that by explaining that you can drop a LOT of cows for a base station (probably five figures, if you looked really hard). And mobile stations are usually limited to VHF/UHF frequencies (2m and 70cm being the most prevalent). I was looking to pack a whole lotta radio into a small package; turns out, Yeasu beat me to it!

You probably need to understand that Yeasu has been building radios for years, and that the FT-100 has long since been retired. So I’m talking about a used radio here. The current standard produced by Yeasu is the FT-857D. For $900, you’re getting one heck of a radio. Powerful enough in terms of bands, features, and functionality that you can use it as a base station, yet it fits in a mobile situation. I was inclined to buy an 857D, but for the $400 I saved, I can buy myself quite a few antennas. So I’ve opted for the FT-100, trusting that, when I’m all set up and have some cash, I can easily upgrade and still get a fair price on reselling the FT-100.

You can read a review about the FT-100 here: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/ft100.html

So far, I found the learning curve to be steep but short. I was up and broadcasting within a few minutes of setting it up, but getting it programmed took a while longer.

Are You Seeking Power?

The biggest benefit – and challenge – to the FT-100 is its power. This little beast will push 100 watts on HF, and 50 watts on 2m. That kind of power doesn’t come for free though, with the radio drawing an incredible 22 amps. The little 10 am DC power supply I borrowed is, well, completely insufficient for the radio. The first time I keyed up the mic, everything just shut down.

So my current home setup is the FT-100, a car battery, and a 10-amp automatic charger. The car battery is stop-gap temporary, and there only because I couldn’t find anything powerful enough to use. I understand this battery won’t last me very long; the next step will be to pick up an RV/Marine battery, which is designed for these long, low-amp draws. But I just happened to have the car battery available, and I wanted to get on the air.

It’s Never Just a Radio

Unless you’re buying a 5-watt HT, you’ll quickly learn that it’s never just a radio… This is one thing I love about the FT-100: it’s nearly self-contained. The other key purchases are an HF antenna, a VHF/UHF antenna, and a couple of cables for each. So far, I have a VHF/UHF antenna and a 50’ cable. Saving up for next month, when I can afford an HF antenna and the fun really begins. I bought a short 8’ antenna which will eventually become my mobile antenna for field days and field deployments.

It could be a lot worse. Most base stations require you purchase an amplifier (to boost your signal), a tuner (to fine-tune your signal to your transmit frequency) and a bunch of other little things. I didn’t just save by going with a used radio, I saved by buying this all-in-one!

Next Steps

I’m already working on next steps. I want to build out my home station like this:

1. 35-amp DC power supply
2. Marine battery
3. HF-antenna and cable
4. (eventually) solar panel to recharge things

Going Mobile

Next step will be the acquisition of a Yeasu ATAS antenna. This antenna covers HF/VHF/UHF frequencies and mounts to a car. I’ll pick up the antenna, two mounts, and two cables and get things mounted up in my Jetta and my Jeep. Then I’ll be truly mobile.

Field Box

Finally, I’ll be putting together a field box. Next year the family will be participating in the Timpanogos Emergency Response Team. I’ll be at the high camp with my HT; my family will be staffing a trailhead station. As such, they’ll also need a radio. Rather than buying another HT, I think we can set up a field box, which is pre-wired for batteries, meters, etc. My field box will have:

1. Solar input panel
2. Inbound amp meter
3. A second amp meter to measure draw
4. Small speaker
5. Radio and necessary cabling
6. Several UPS batteries
7. Integrated iPod charger
8. 12v LED light
9. 12v outlet

Buying a Radio – What I Wish I’d Known

I was very lucky… My best friend (Fred, KE7JBA) is my Elmer. Fred had already researched and purchased a hand-held radio, so I just went with whatever he said. And I’m glad I did!

When buying your first radio, you really need to start by thinking about what you’re going to do with it:

• Hand-held, local, emergency and public service: some hams are really into helping in the community, and boy are hams useful in the local community! My club (DCARC, Davis County Amateur Radio Club) is active pretty much year-round. Every July we assist with the Independence Day parade. This October we’re assisting the Centerville City with their disaster drill. Also in October, we’re helping with the Davis Cup (battle of the high school bands) during which 35 different high school bands will shuttle through Davis High. We provide logistical support for all of this. I’m also volunteering next year with TERT (Timpanogos Emergency Response Team), providing rescue and other services to hikers on Mt. Timpanogos. All TERT communications is done on amateur bands (2 meter, to be precise). For this kind of service, a hand-held amateur radio is critical—also known as a handie-talkie or HT.
• Long and distance voice and community support, non-mobile: if you’re interested in helping with various logistics but don’t have an HT, you can still help out. You need a good station with headphones and a microphone. You’ll also need an antenna, tuner, and reliable power source. Many parades end up setting up with a stationary base station, coordinating the efforts of mobile volunteers. With the right equipment (antenna, tuner, and amplifier) you can make voice contacts in other states as well as overseas, too. It gets pretty interesting!
• Long distance morse: finally, you can use your base station to broadcast morse code signal (CW, or continuous wave) to make really long distance contacts—like half-way around the earth.

I bought my radio (Yeasu VX-7R) based on Fred’s recommendation. I needed a radio for backcountry communications because I was taking a group of scouts on a long hike through Utah’s Uinta mountains and I wanted a reliable source of communications in the event of an emergency. I’m glad I picked the hand-held – I have learned that I can make contacts locally as well as world-wide, using a series of repeaters and IRLP frequencies. So I get the best of both worlds – the portability and availability of an HT, with the long-distance communications of a powerful base station. I’ll be the first to admit the HT is average at everything – average distance, average broadcasting ability, etc. Unlike my friend Bob (N7XJ), I won’t ever contact Japan from a high mountain peak in Utah, but so far I have made contacts from Rocky Sea Pass, Lewiston Peak, and Mt. Timpanogos.

So the first step in buying a radio is to assess your ambitions. Based on that, make your radio selection. Frankly what I’m learning is that it really doesn’t matter what you buy as your first radio; you’ll probably buy a radio in another ‘category’ soon enough. That having been said, the nice points of an HT are that they are self-contained (you don’t need to buy a radio, tuner, amplifier, headphones, microphone and antenna) and you get a great taste of the flavor of amateur radio, with less investment – both in terms of time as well as money.

My purchase included the VX-7R (and I’ll review that in a later article), a AA-battery adapter for emergency power, and a Diamond quad-band antenna because the stock antenna (called a rubber duckie) just doesn’t have the broadcast range I needed. To prepare for my exam, I bought a copy of the Technician class test bank for my iPhone – it was invaluable!

Upcoming purchases (very soon) include a second rechargeable battery and a microphone, for my local event and disaster support. Down the road, I’m sure I’ll be building a true base station with an antenna tuner, amplifier, and all the bells and whistles.

In addition to commercial purchases, I’ve been planning to build two hand-held ‘backcountry’ antennas. My friend Bob (N7XJ) has been helping—he’s a very experienced backcountry transmitter, with CW contacts all over the world from the peaks of various Utah mountains. Over the winter, I plan to build a quad and a Yagi antenna for 2m voice transmission.

• HT or Handie-Talkie: portable batter-powered radio capable of transmission and reception on amateur bands. Most often used in conjunction with a repeater.
• Repeater: a signal broadcaster – you connect to it with your low-power radio on one frequency, and it re-broadcasts your transmission on another frequency at a much higher power.
• IRLP: Internet Radio Linking Project is an effort to link amateur radio systems via the Internet. On my local IRLP repeater, I am connecting to the Western Reflector, and have personally heard enthusiasts from all over the United States (Texas, Arkansas, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, New Jersey and Delaware come to mind) as well as from Germany, England, and New Zealand.
• CW: Continuous Wave or Morse code. This is communication in the form of short and long tones. Because this is ‘binary’ communication (on or off) the signal holds up over long distances and despite interference. It’s easy to make a CW connection around the world – you just need to understand the language.
• Quad: an antenna with four elements—the first two elements are ‘driven’ or powered – these carry the signal transmission. The others are reflectors. When the driven and reflector elements are sized correctly, they form constructive interference and boost the power of a signal.
• Yagi: a form of antenna similar to the quad. I have a recipe for a backcountry Yagi made of tape measures and PVC pipe. It ain’t pretty, but it’ll be light.

Welcome to KF7DVJ!

Welcome to my blog about getting into amateur radio (also known as ham radio). Hopefully this will serve as a virtual elmer to other new hams over time. Feel free to post questions (and answers) as comments and I'll try to get to them as soon as possible.

If you're interested in technology, check out my other blog - thoughtsonqa.blogspot.com. I haven't been very active for a while, given that I've accepted a new job which is very demanding! But I'll pick it back up.