Looking for a non-destructive solution; I want to re-use the mount.  Do you have a name for the lock tite solvent?

Well I did too good of a job securing the K400 mount.  Now that our trip is over, I want to remove it.  I used green threadlock on the 4 setscrews, and none of them will break loose.  I already partially rounded one setscrew already.

I tried applying a soldering iron tip directly to the setscrews, to the plate they insert into, and also tried to scrape some of the thread lock off where a bit had overflowed.  No dice.

Is there a chemical that will dissolve this stuff or some other trick I can use to break these setscrews free that won't round the inserts?

Thanks,

Jeff, W6UX

I decided on a compromise between the small and large AGM batteries.  Another Ham had good success this past Field Day by wiring two 12V 12Ah batteries in parallel and it lasted them the whole contest, he claims at 100W SSB.  Now he didn't say what the duty cycle was, my guess is he was operating "search and pounce" rather than "running".  The 857D manual says it draws about 1A on receive, so with a 100% topped off battery, he'd be lucky to get 24 hours just listening, and really you figure it's more like 12 since apparently you don't want to run AGM batteries down more than about 50% (to maximize the # of cycles you can get out of them).  Perhaps he had another set of batteries and swapped them out during the contest; he didn't say.

I'll dedicate a smaller 12V 7.5Ah batter for the SG-239 tuner.

12V 24Ah should give me several hours at 5-50 watts, and allow me to boost to 100W for short DX contacts (the 857 draws 22A @ 100W); I'll be happy so long as I can get 2-3 hours, which is about the longest session I will have time for during my vacation.

I got a pack of 2 12V 12Ah batteries from Gruber Power Systems.  Their eBay store sells the 2-pack for only $37!

I plan to power the tuner with it's own 12V 7.5A battery for that reason.  So it's really down to what I use for the transmitter.  I supposed it's probably prudent to just invest another $18 in a second 7.5A battery and try the rig out at 5 watts and see how it goes.  A Yellow Top optima battery is around $130, I think, so that's kind of the other possibility I'm trying to decide.

Hi everyone,

I hope this is the appropriate forum for my question.  I will be operating portable with my FT-857D during a road trip from California to Colorado, via Nevada and Utah.  The antenna I'm bringing with me will be a 1/2 wave dipole (inverted-v) at 40 feet, fed with ladder line and tuned with an SG-239 smart tuner.  So, I should have a decent antenna for DX, assuming propagation cooperates, and will be able to work 10-40 meters, maybe even 80.

My dilemma is deciding between operating SSB at 5 watts, and using a few small AGM batteries, or getting a monster battery that weights about 60 lbs so I can run closer to 100 watts.  I'll just be operating a few hours at a time, probably 1-3 hours in a session.  I'll have a Battery Tender Plus charger to keep things topped off.

I can get a couple of AGM 12V 7.5Ah batteries from Powerwerx ($17.99 each).  At 5 watts, that should provide me at least a few hours of operating.   The SG-230 draws just 230mA.  I'd prefer to not have to lug around a heavy deep cycle type battery.

What do you guys recommend?

I'm planning a temporary mobile radio installation and wanted to get feedback as to whether what I plan to do is acceptable or a bad idea.  We'll be taking a long road trip later this summer, and after doing some research and talking to others, we settled on the following components:

- FT-857D radio
- ATAS-120A antenna
- Diamond K400 antenna mount

We chose those components for a variety of reasons, so let me get to my questions...

First, we need to get power to the radio.  The consensus is that running power directly from the car battery is the prudent thing to do.  The FT-857D came with a power cable, which has inline 25A fuses.  The instructions also say to wire this cable directly to the battery, and that is what I plan to do.  So first question is, is this acceptable? Is my radio going to get damaged when I start the car? I assume I'll have to be diligent in always remembering to turn off the radio otherwise it's going to drain the battery, right?  Are there any electric doo-dads I can purchase to prevent damage from startup currents and/or an auto-shut off? (I don't know if the 857D has an auto shutoff; still reading the manual...)

After inspecting our Nissan Rogue, we were unable to find any existing route through the firewall, so we're planning to drill a new hole and insert a grommet.  I plan to cut the radio connector off of the power cable so I can feed it from the engine compartment through the firewall and into the cabin.  I plan to re-attach the connector using Anderson Powerpole connectors.  K0BG's site recommends using a protective sheath on the power cables to prevent chaffing, and I plan to do this for the entire length of the power cable.  So, my next question is, what connector should I use to attach the power cables to the battery terminals? Is it ok to just use some of those big "eyelet" type connectors with a diameter large enough to slip over the posts, and under the car's battery connectors? I would of course solder these "eyelet" connectors onto the radio's power cables (rather than crimp).

The main unit of the radio will be in the back of the Rogue, secured in some manner yet to be determined.  I'll run a grounding braid from the radio's chassis to a bolt on the car which is attached to the body/frame (the same location I will run braid from the K400 mount to the car).  My next question is, should the remote microphone cable and antenna control cable be run a good distance away from the radio's power cables?  We figure since this is just for a road trip, we can route these under the seats and floor mats to the front of the cab.  We're going to use a Lido cup holder mount for the remote head unit, and run the AUX audio out jack into our car's AUX IN audio jack (so we can use the car's speakers to hear the radio).  Any problems with this tactic?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as the install proceeds, but just wanted to know if what I plan to do is dangerous to the car or to the radio?  Again, this is an installation strategy for temporary use; just for long road trips.  The radio and antenna, and antenna mount will be removed the majority of the time.

73 de Jeff, W6UX

How did you run the power cable? It looks like we're going to have to drill a dedicated hole in the firewall (somehow, if we can get to it) to run the factory power cables that came with the radio.

I'm in the preliminary planning stages for my first mobile installation.  This will be on our new Nissan Rogue (2009).  The wife is excited to have this installed, but it needs to be done neat and without messing up our paint job.

Ultimately, I'd probably get something like a Little Tar Heel II antenna.  I'd like to mount it off the rear hatch (as high up as possible) on the left side.  It looks decent and I want the antenna at the roof line if possible.  My concern is whether something like a Diamond K400 mount is going to scratch the exterior paint.

The radio and antenna will only be installed for trips, and removed when not traveling.

I see a couple options, all are compromises since we're not going to use a mag mount in the center of the roof or drill holes in the body...

a) Mount the antenna on the rear hatch as high as possible (with something like a K400 mount)
b) Mount it on the trailer hitch down low (probably the worst choice)
c) Fabricate a 2x2 inch steel post that rises from the hitch about 4 feet to get the antenna up high (and hope the post can be grounded well enough to the frame)

I need this to work well enough to enjoy with a 100w radio like a 706mk2, ic-7000 or 857d (or an older, cheaper 100w mobile rig).  It doesn't have to be the best or quietest reception, but I don't want to have so much noise I can't use the darn thing.

What say the mobile experts?

I will be spending the better part of tomorrow combing through K0BG's website for tips and advice.

Thanks for the tips on masts.  BTW, my wife WANTS to setup the mobile radio, she thought it'd be fun and provide better entertainment than XM radio while driving across the desert.

I'm going to be taking a road trip from SoCal to Colorado this Fall.  We'll be making a few stops along the way in Nevada and Utah, and I'll be staying with family for a week in Colorado.  I want to take a portable, easy to setup HF station with me.

This will be my first QRP/portable setup, and here's what I'm considering, having done some research in the Articles area and looking around the web...

- Yaesu FT-817ND radio (will run on internal battery)
- YoYoVee dipole antenna w/ 1:1 current balun from HamRadioFun.com
- Some sort of telescoping mast w/tripod base that goes 20 to 30 feet (where to get???)
- Nylon rope, rope tensioners, and tent stakes (to secure the antenna, and provide additional guying)

Nice to have:

- An amp (e.g., 50w kit from hfprojects.com)
- Adequate external battery for QRO operation (like a deep cycle gel battery w/o acid spillage issues)

Since I don't yet own an antenna analyzer, I was going to get an MFJ-249B so that I can mark off different band lengths on the YoYoVee dipole.  That way I can quickly unspool the proper length for the desired band.  I'm considering picking up an LDG Z-817 tuner if I find it to be difficult to easily reconfigure to a different band (I realize this is limited to 20w).

Please comment on or critique my choices!

73 de Jeff, W6UX

"Oh, meant to ask, if you're worried about audio getting into the pasband when using AFSK, have you thought about using dtraigh FSK? The rig generates the two tones, not the sound card software."

I believe with the MicroKeyer II, you need to keep the K3 in AFSK mode.  I'll confirm that with Joe.  I understand FSK might be preferred during contesting because you can use narrower filters in noisy/crowded conditions.

I'll see what I can do with AFSK for a while, probably casually participate in the EA RTTY this weekend if I can hear them.

Thanks for confirming what I suspected!

This morning I made my first RTTY contact (DX to Canada from SoCal).  He confirmed my signal looked good!  I think there is a RTTY contest coming up, so that will be fun.

-Jeff, W6UX

I've got PSK working nicely, have received good signal reports and no complaints that my signal is too wide.  I usually run 20 to 30 watts for PSK.

I'm using Airlink Express for software, and a Microkeyer II for the sound card.

When changing my settings from PSK to RTTY, I place my K3 in AFSK A mode and increase the power level to 50 watts (1/2 of max).  All other levels and settings are left the same as they are for PSK operating.

When calling CQ, the signal appears to have a lot of parallel tracks, more so than with PSK.  Obviously RTTY requires more bandwidth, but I am trying to understand how much wider is normal.

I guess my question is this: If my PSK transmit levels are good, can I assume I don't have to change much else for RTTY (other than increasing my wattage from 20 to 50 and K3 DATA mode from DATA A to AFSK A)?

(I haven't found any RTTY traffic the past couple nights, so I'm not able to get confirmation from the other side of my signal).

73,

Jeff