[TenTec] Field Day GOTA Station, if available we think a Pegasus may work out well

[w4chl at mindspring.com]

Dear Mark N8ME,

Agree with the posts about use what is available.  However, if a Pegasus 
is available, then perhaps read on ! 

We are planning on using a Pegasus. For many younger ops, presenting a PC 
defined radio isn't a problem, quite the contrary presenting that 
interface has  spurred some into greater interest in HF. And either the 
TenTec or N4PY client runs happily on older pretty energy efficient 
Pentium 90 laptops such as a ThinkPad 755.  I do have the keypad, so at 
least radio tuning and executing macros can be done by twiddling a dial 
and pushing dedicated "radio" buttons !

We are planning a GOTA station with our local Orange County Radio Amateurs 
(OCRA) on Field Day, here is some of the planning for both the IRB and 
Field Day ops:
http://rtpnet.org/parc/Station/IRB

We plan on operating QRP, battery, so the energy budget is in issue, here 
is an interesting set of measurements I did comparing energy use of the 
rig we used in the past, an IC-706, with a Pegasus and with a FT-817 of 
mine. The laptop was used as a logging computer last year, so was there 
anyway:

Options for FD2003                              Idle pwr Booster needed 
Peripherals             Xmit 5W PS curr
Pegasus w/ min 486/100 logging PC (TP755)       660ma           Likely  
k'pad, internal AT      1.8A
FT-817 w/ more basic logging/control PC 350ma           No external AT 
2.0A
IC-706 w/ more basic logging/control PC         1700ma          Yes  
external AT             2.3A
IBM ThinkPad 755                                100ma           Likely  
external Kb (key prob)  250ma (PSK w/ disk drive idle)

So Pegasus running 5W actually fares well.  As mentioned here or on 
another list, yes a K-2 would be better than the FT-817 by a good margin, 
but the only fellow with a K-2 in our club is planning on using it 
elsewhere. 

Cheers & 73s de Mark W4CHL

Mark R. Smith  w4chl at arrl.org
Chapel Hill NC  USA   http://rtpnet.org/parc