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

Sat Apr 13 19:56:57 EDT 2013

K2, 180-250 mA receive

Curt KB5JO
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP" <Rick at DJ0IP.de>
To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec at contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2013 11:04 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] A Fun Day with Ham Radio,and a Question about Portable 
Operating


> Jeff,
>
> What other rigs are there out there that work 80/40/20/15/10 and possibly 
> even 160, yet require only a couple hundred mA on RX?
> I only know of the KX3, with its 250mA.
>
> I'm sure there are loads of rigs with only a couple of bands, but I don't 
> know of any other all band rigs like that.
>
> 73
> Rick, DJ0IP
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jeff Herr
> Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2013 5:27 PM
> To: 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] A Fun Day with Ham Radio, and a Question about 
> Portable Operating
>
> This is an outdated perception.  Look at the kx3.
> No "portables" draw much more than 250mils on recv these days....and a lot 
> do with less.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Bwana Bob
> Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2013 07:15
> To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
> Cc: Jack Emerson
> Subject: Re: [TenTec] A Fun Day with Ham Radio, and a Question about 
> Portable Operating
>
> Jack:
>
> Great story!
>
> The radio of choice for portable operation seems to be the Yaesu FT-817.
> It runs 2.5W on internal battery and 5 W on external power People seem to 
> really like them, though I hear that the receiver overloads in the 
> presence of very strong signals, and some folks do not like the menu
> structure. I've never tried one myself.   Most of the other amateur
> radios advertised as "portable" draw 1 to 1.5 amps on receive, not too 
> good for a battery power budget. At the other end of the spectrum are the 
> military packsets, like the AN/PRC-104. They are cool, rugged, and 
> expensive, even on the surplus market. Good for spot frequency use, but 
> tuning the band won't be that much fun using the frequency selection 
> switches. Again, I've never tried one.  In the middle is Ten Tec. While 
> they don't seem to be marketing the Argonaut VI as a portable rig, Ten Tec 
> has made efforts to keep the receive current drain down and 10 W is a more 
> practical level that 2.5 or 5 W, especially for working SSB. A lower cost 
> alternative, if you can find one would be the T-T Scout or Argosy.  I have 
> successfully used my Scout portable on several occasions. I crank the 
> power back to 25-30 W and it will run fine on CW on a 7 Ah battery for at 
> least a couple of hours. A bigger battery, like those automotive jump 
> starting packs, will give you longer run time.
> Running the Scout at lower power will also make it run cooler, which helps 
> prevent  VFO drift. The receive current drain for the Scout is 600 mA.  I 
> think that the Argo VI would be better, especially if one can buy or 
> fabricate a pack or handles for it.
>
> What do you use for antennas?  My portable preference is simple dipoles 
> instead of the short, loaded dipoles and verticals.  I made a reel-out 
> dipole from surplus AN/CRT-3 antenna reels and a smaller version using 
> plastic "campers clothesline" reels. Here are some antenna ideas from
> N6CC: http://www.n6cc.com/antenna-system-ideas
>
>                 73, and let's hear more stories!
>
>                 Bob WB2VUF
>
>
> On 4/6/2013 10:10 PM, Jack Emerson wrote:
>>      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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>>
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>
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