Thanks, Dr. Gerry,
That's interesting info. My Scout is spec'd at 600 mA on receive. I
typically run it at 30W and have had excellent results using a low
(NVIS) portable reel-out dipole made of AN/CRT-3 life raft antenna
reels. I've also had good luck on 40 with a base-loaded 16 foot military
whip mounted on my Explorer. On Field Day I used the dipole on 40, but
we did not do well on SSB. Later I switched to CW and did much better.
I am a believer in QRP, but I think that to maintain reliable comms
under a variety of conditions, 20-30 watts is optimum for reliable
communications with reasonable battery drain.
Regarding the Yaesu FT-817, I have no experience, but guys that have
them seem to really like them. Tokyo High Power Labs makes a 45 Watt
linear amp designed to go with the FT-817.
73,
Bob WB2VUF
On 12/28/2010 12:27 AM, Dr. Gerald N. Johnson wrote:
> My FT-857 manual says .55 amp receive squelched and 1 amp receive. There
> is a 5th pin on the power connector that when grounded cuts the power to
> 20 watts through 2m and 10 watts on 432, I think that's shared with the
> 897 that has a bigger case with room for a battery. There's no
> indication in the op manual that the battery sense pin (that 5th pin)
> affects receiver current consumption or PA idle current. I know that the
> RF power output can be reduced way below the factory settings by
> lowering the TX gain in the alignment menu. I did that to an 857 that I
> use for 10 G transverter service and now while the display says it
> varies from 5 to 50 watts, it actually puts out 2 watts on 2m.
>
> I've run 25 watts RF to an 8 foot whip through a manual tuner on 40, 20,
> 15 and 10 meters for FD with very good results on CW and SSB. I found I
> had to tune more often on SSB when working my way up a band than on CW,
> probably because 25 watts was plenty power for CW and there was more QRM
> on SSB. That whip was mounted on the roof of my all metal Airstream, so
> it had a really good ground plane though only about 8' wide by 15 feet
> long (a little Airstream).
>
> Back before FCC rules prohibiting a 3 watt input HF amp, Tentec made
> one, maybe called the 509?, that would be a fine accessory to an FT-817
> though a nearby club has run up a serious score the last two or three FD
> with a barefoot FT-817. They do take care to use effective antennas.
>
> Another FT-817 user finds his works fine on battery with a random wire
> backpacked into a western mountain camp. He makes contacts, like mostly
> CW, not necessarily on a prescribed circuit, but at random.
>
> 73, Jerry, K0CQ
>
> On 12/27/2010 10:15 PM, Bwana Bob wrote:
>> Alan:
>>
>> No, I don't have any processor problems. I was referring to the mod kit
>> available here: http://www.cholakian.com/TT1254upgrade.html, although I
>> don't find the coarse tuning steps of the 1254 that much of a burden.
>>
>> There are a number of popular portable general coverage transceivers on
>> the market, most notably the Yaesu FT-857, and 897 and the ICOM 703 and
>> 706, and the IC-7200. The QRP FT-817, while cute, and a lot of guys
>> like them, in my opinion it does not run enough power for reliable
>> communication under poor band conditions (a frequent occurrence, given
>> the lack of sunspots. Most of these radios are not well suited to
>> battery operation, because their typical current drain on receive is
>> about 1.5 amps. Older Ten-Tec radios do much better in the battery drain
>> area. A possible exception is the Yaesu VX-1210, which is a commercial
>> 20 watt manpack radio, currently favored by the "HF pack" crowd.
>>
>> I have an original Paragon as the main radio, but I use a Scout for
>> portable vacation use. I use it with a reel-out dipole and it works
>> great. I've looked at other portable rigs, but after reading a lot of
>> reviews and user comments, I always decide to stick with the Scout.
>>
>> The 1254 will certainly meet your needs if you mate it up with a simple
>> CW transmitter. Yes, the political and economic situation is spooky. I
>> keep a 72 hour kit and maintain all the radios, especially HF. Here in
>> NJ, there isn't much else that I can do. "Bugging out" is not really an
>> option.
>>
>> 73,
>> Bob WB2VUF
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
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