Questions tagged [portable]
Transporting, setting up, and operating a temporary station. For operation from a vehicle, use [mobile] instead.
19
questions
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Operating on the US-Canada Border
How would one identify if one were operating from a location directly on the US/Canada border? Wxxxx/VEx or Wxxxx?
How about POTA? If I were to operate a POTA twofer on the boundary at the border of ...
- 314
4
votes
1
answer
359
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Using NanoVNA to tune antenna
I'm extremely new to this, so I'm mostly asking for tutorials and so on.
I have tried configuring the device according to one tutorial I found. When I hook up the cheap antennas that came with a ...
- 155
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vote
1
answer
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Creating a single feed wearable wire antenna
When I was deployed, our commo guys gave us wire antennas we could thread through our body armor (through the MOLLE loops).
These antennas were just lengths of 50Ω coax that had the insulation ...
- 155
1
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1
answer
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A new ham should start with Digital or Analog Portable Radio?
I am interested in acquiring two portable radios to talk between a family member and me (both new hams), e.g. when we go trekking in a National Park or to communicate in the same city. We used PRM ...
2
votes
1
answer
209
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Portable indoor VHF antenna for SDR
I want to make / buy VHF antenna that can meet the requirements below:
Portable (easy to install and transport).
Indoor (I want to install the antenna at a windowsill).
Low noise level, no (or not ...
- 21
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0
answers
140
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What is the best way to ground a whip antenna in a hotel room?
We have a 102" CB whip antenna cut for 10 meters. We're staying in a hotel and trying to figure out the best way to ground this antenna. Right now we're using a pile of wires on the floor, but we'...
- 179
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1
answer
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Can an American General licensee operate in Portugal during a visit?
I am an American and I have an American General License (k8axf), and I tried to make sense of all the legal documents to see if I can operate while visiting Portugal and I think I can under a CEPT CAT ...
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4
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805
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Can I power a QRP station with an USB powerbank?
I recently found out there are very cheap (down to under a dollar) adapters that convert the 5 Volts from a USB port to 12 Volts. Manny small QRP stations draw very little power. For instance, the ...
- 359
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2
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94
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How to figure out my car battery's capacity?
I was participating in an emergency radio training and I was asked how long I could operate.
I'm using an old car battery, which was sometimes not capable of starting the car in winter, which is why I ...
- 325
0
votes
2
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250
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Receiving range of ham radio on SSB with a portable radio receiver
I'm learning about shortwave listening. I want to listen to amateur/ham radio on a portable radio (eg a XHDATA d-808) with SSB, I hear SSB is the main place hams would be on. I know it's hard to give ...
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votes
1
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Using crocodile clips to make modular QRP antennas? Are there downsides?
I'm trying to get into backpacking QRP, which has lead me to read up on various ways to construct very portable wire antennas. I would ideally like to have a single antenna for the CW parts of the 40, ...
- 359
1
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What length and number of radials should be used for a dual band vertical whip backpack antenna?
The Situation:
Very new Ham
I have a 2m/70cm 48" Abree whip antenna, originally designed to be connected directly to an HT
I would like to mount this antenna to the side of my hiking backpack, ...
- 157
4
votes
3
answers
606
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Need batteries for backpack operation
I am building an HF backpack rig using an Icom IC-706MkIIG with a Opek HVT-400B antenna. The specifications on the radio say 20 A draw at high power, so what size and type batteries would be suitable ...
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Lowest cost portable HF radio with at least 100 W output?
My use case is intercontinental HF radio, and I am frequently traveling. Lugging a big rig is inconvenient and expensive ones get you into customs trouble all the time. So, I'm looking for a low cost ...
- 405
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votes
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answer
358
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Counterpoise wire voltages?
One practice which seems common when operating temporary or portable QRP, SOTA, etc., is to throw a counterpoise wire out on the park lawn or shrubbery, mountaintop or hillside or parking lot ground, ...
- 13.2k
2
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2
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496
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Grounding of a portable setup
I am occasionally using an extremely simple shortwave portable setup consisting of a battery, the transceiver, a short coax feedline and a vertical half-wavelength vertical antenna with a transforming ...
- 222
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Temporary/Portable station coax pl259 connector water proof?
Currently, I am running a semi-portable setup at home. I have a spool of 100ft of lmr400 coax outside in the porch where it free from most weather and rain. I only drag it out to the yard when I am ...
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How should I select an HF antenna for portable work?
I'd like to get started doing portable HF work and I'd like some information on antenna possibilities.
My broad (and somewhat flexible) criteria are:
By "portable" I mean it can be carried in a ...
2
votes
2
answers
1k
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Building a portable APRS iGate/digipeater
I've been experimenting with APRS for the last year or so. There are a lot of areas that I go that don't have digipeaters or iGates. (Luckily, I live about three blocks from one, so around home I'm ...