Saturday Night Portable
Overview
My third HF Mobile field test, building on my first two and involving four continents!
Field Test 3 - 05 June 2021
Field Test 3 is to build upon Field Tests 1 & 2 and test out a new battery and a new digital mode adapter.
Objectives
- ✅ Set up new MiniSCPro digital mode kit
- ✅ Test new LiFePo4 battery
- ✅ Make some 20m FT8 QSOs
Kit deployed
| Serial | Category | Item | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Radio | Xiegu G90 | Worked well as ever |
| 002 | Radio | Hand Mic | Not used |
| 003 | Radio | Digital mode stand and fan | Worked well |
| 008 | Antenna | AMPRO-20 HF antenna | Worked well |
| 009 | Antenna | Mag mount | Worked well |
| 015 | Digital Modes | MacBookPro with s/w for digital modes | Worked well, some issues getting WSTJ-X and Gridtracker configured |
| 016 | Power | Zippy LiFePo4 4.2Ah battery | 2 hours of FT8 and was still showing 12.4V under load |
| 017 | Power | 5.5mm bullet to Anderson PowerPole lead | Worked well but came loose on unplugging |
| 018 | Digital Modes | MinProSC | Flawless |
Field Test Report
Location
As for Field Test 1 and Field Test 2, I took the drive out to Portishead beach on a Saturday evening. Ideal location as its near the water, low noise and lots of space to park away from other vehicles when its 'off-peak'.
New kit
I had two new items of kit to field test:
- MiniProSC - a smaller digital interface for the G90. Less wires to tame!
- Zippy 4200mAh 4S2P 30C LiFePo4 battery - small, compact LiFePo battery ideal for what I want when I go mobile. It helps that from my RC kit I already have a balance charger. They are frequently out of stock, I set up an email alert and ordered from the EU warehouse when I saw they had availability.
Both items of kit performed flawlessly. The MiniProSC as a replacement for the CE-19 interface, USB soundcard and a lot of wire is a real triumph, much cleaner set up and easier to manage for RF. Also the battery is nice and compact and performed well over the 2 hours of FT8 that I put it through.
Outcome
Conditions on 20m were very changeable all week. Lots of QSB, even out of the noise and with the Ampro 20, I still had a lot of fading to contend with during the operation. I'd gone out just before dusk to see if there was any greyline propogation to be had and there was. I had the usual European and American stations but also heard (but couldn't contact) a few South American stations, and made three contacts in Japan! Looking at PSKReporter later, I also saw that I was decoded in Australia.
I've included my PSKReporter pics, but the highlights were:
- First Japanese QSOs
- West Coast of the US - California worked
- Worked Gibraltar
- Worked Algeria - first African QSO
- Decoded in Australia and Brazil but couldn't make a QSO on either continent.
Conclusions
I think I picked a good time to get out and play portable. Even with the QSB, I was able to work four continents with ease and if I'd have worked it longer, could have worked six! Still, you need something to aim for next time. Hat tip to Tim - G5TM who made the video that inspired this setup. I'm standing on the shoulders of giants.
