[TenTec] A Fun Day with Ham Radio, and a Question about Portable Operating

[Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP]

Nice story Jack.
Something fishy about the Navy guy.
If he were really a Navy guy, he would have been drinking beer, not coffee! (hi)

The biggest problem with any kind of portable operation is battery life.
The continuous current drain of the receiver plays a much bigger role in determining battery life than the current drain during TX.

In the interest of long battery life, nothing beats an old analog radio.
I used the TEN-TEC Argonaut 509 for many years.  The Argonaut 515 would be slightly better.
When you turn the dial lamp off, the old Argonauts draw only 150mA of current on RX.

If you want more power, a small 15 or 20w amp will suffice for CW.
The biggest downside is, the old rigs do not have a second VFO so if you work split, you are limited to the range of the RIT.
They don't cover the WARC bands either.

The newer radios have the following current drain on RX:
   <> Eagle:       1.25 A
   <> Argonaut VI:  550mA

You'll be on the air a lot longer with the Argonaut VI than you will with the Eagle.

73
Rick, DJ0IP


-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jack Emerson
Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2013 4:11 AM
To: TenTec at contesting.com
Subject: [TenTec] A Fun Day with Ham Radio, and a Question about Portable Operating

    Hey de Jack W4TJE in Fancy Gap, VA. Radio-wise, today has been a blast. You know it’s going to be a good radio day when ur working a strong Russian station on 15m cw just after ur sunrise, and he tells you that he is running a ten tec stn (Omni V). I think in all my years on air, that is the first Russian ever worked running Ten Tec gear. Note to Ten Tec: Send me an e-mail, and I will send you his call sign. He deserves a mug, or at least a cap.
Then, at mid-morning, my buddy Todd, N4LA, drove up from NC with his backpacks and portable gear, and he and I then drove a few miles up the road, parked, and climbed to the top of Buffalo Mtn in Floyd County, VA. Todd and I are the same age (49), from the same town originally in NC (Siler City), grew up together, both learned radio together, and even have common relatives by marriage. After school, he joined the Navy, while I joined the Marine Corps, so it did my heart proud today to show the U.S. Navy how a Marine humps to the top of a mountain peak (SINGING THE MARINE CORPS ANTHEM WHILE CARRYING BOTH BACKPACKS).
So a full hour after I (USMC) had made it to the top carrying all of the gear, Todd (Navy) finally arrived, and we were ready to get on air. We set up at the summit at 3970 feet, with me (USMC) doing all the work, while Todd (USN) drinking coffee and telling sea stories (LIES) about how rough life at sea was for him.It was then that I was introduced to the world of the Summits On The Air (SOTA). IT WAS AWESOME.!! We operated both phone and cw and put that peak on the air for only the second time. We had stns calling us from Europe to the West Coast, and put over 70 of them in the log before shutting down and climbing down the mountain ( I had to carry Todd, he had ran out of both coffee and sea stories ((LIES)) by then).
So now, I’m all pumped about operating SOTA, and checking their web site tonight tonight I see that there are quite a few peaks near me that are rare or have never even been activated. I’ve never been into qrp, but am intrigued by the Argo 6 for use as a SOTA portable rig, but am also interested in the Eagle for the same use. So any Argonaut 6 or Eagle owners, pse tell me any pros and cons for portable use. I am very interested in knowing what ur opinions are, esp with respect to battery use/power drain.
And finally, tnx to Todd for introducing me to SOTA today, and don’t get mad when you read how I picked on you here on this reflector.
73 de Jack W4TJE

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