More than enough for an afternoon of casual operating. And I am a casual qrp'er!

Thanks all

I agree with N5RWJ about dropping 160 meters and adding 6 meters!

Thanks for all of the info. I figure if I buy two brand new 7Ah gel-cells and run them in parallel, that will be enough for a half a day of picnic table operating at the local state park. BTW, Palisades state park north of Savanna, IL is a great operating location in nw Illinois.

I have an FT817ND and have been wanting to try portable qrp. Recently I was in our local hobby shop (I'm also an O-gauger) and I noticed 12v 7Ah gel-cell batteries and charger for the r-c folks.

Would that be enough battery for a day of operating, or should I buy 2 and wire them in parallel?

I was looking for an Icom IC-703, but I might just wait for this new Ten-Tec instead.

True! My attic (which peaks at 4 feet high!) has not hindered my 20 meter dipole fed with 450 Ohm ladderline. Wooden rafters and asphalt shingles are rf transparent. Enjoy that antenna!

I don't know if this will help you or not. However, I cut a 20 meter dipole and feed it with 450 Ohm ladderline. This antenna is up in my crawlspace and the ends droop in the form of a z.

My shack is on the second floor in an unused bedroom and I'm using an MFJ balanced line tuner. I'm able to work 20 - 6 meters with one antenna. I usually run 25 watts or less on ssb and am able to work all of the USA and all of western Europe.

This antenna was cheap and seems to work pretty well. Did I mention that this 33 foot dipole is in a 24 foot long space? Droop the ends and it works fine.

Good luck and keep trying!

73 de AA9ZY

Sounds like an interesting idea with running the feedlines in under the eave, into my crawlspace. I've seen other hams do that, but it always looked unsafe.

If I understood you correctly, you're recommending that I place my lightning protection up at my roof? I currently have my roof tripod grounded, so that would be a convenient location for protecting the rotator and coax from my vhf antennas, but not practical for my Carolina Windom, or for the inverted-L antenna I'm planning for 75 mtrs.

73's,

AA9ZY

I recently got permission from the xyl to relocate my shack to a spare bedroom on the 2nd floor our house. Unfortunately, the antennas and rotator cable come in the house through the basement.

I could run the cables in through the bedroom window, but wouldn't that create more risk for damage from lightning? I'm using Alpha-Delta transi-traps with an outside ground rod and have a roof tripod grounded to the same ground rod.

So far, none of the local hams have been able to solve this problem for me. I really don't want to run long runs of RG-213 upstairs next to the hot air ductwork if I don't have to, but what can I do? Relocate back to the basement?

73's,

AA9Zy