A while back I acquired most of a Mosley MP-33 triband which had been modified to be taken on a DXpedition 20ish years ago. The parts I got were the director, reflector and boom, so my task was to build a driven element. My approach was to try and replicate the original design as accurately […]
Anytone 878 UV II Plus, APRS and beaconing
Even though APRS is over 30 years old, there are a significant number of threads on getting beaconing working on a given device and, of course, I have found this very difficult. So I am writing this to help someone add yet another opinion to their lengthy search. APRS is magic, and confusing. It is […]
APRS handheld radios – a quasi-exhaustive list
I got back from summer activities to find that my Anytone 878 UV II + no longer powers on. I had been using this radio as my primary HT for a year and a half, and I use APRS to spot myself using APRS2SOTA 20% of the time. The 878 is on the workbench, in […]
Adding SOTA summits to your Garmin.
I have been active with Summits On The Air for a year and a half, and had been navigating exclusively with Guru Maps until very recently. Guru is an exceptional app, been using it for 10 years: even its free version allows you to have offline vector maps with routable topography. The paid version is […]
Xiegu G90: digital and CAT control.
My uBitx v6 has been my main FT8 rig for over a year, thanks to the (discontinued) Funtronics sound card which gives me full CAT control and sound in/out with a single USB port. This is a huge advantage with Windows, since the OS tends to change audio settings erratically on my machines, both of […]
Updating an older Garmin (GPSmap 60CSx)
In the past year and a half we have been hiking more, and after missing the trail on a hillwalk due to our phones’ GPS inaccuracy, I bought Lauren a Garmin eTrex 22. I recently found an older Garmin GPSmap 60CSx at a hamfest for cheap, so that I could also stop walking with my […]
Making a cheap LiFePO4 battery for SOTA.
I needed a good battery to power my Xiegu G90, so that I could carry it up hills and talk to strangers in my bid to join the SOTA community. In 2023 the general trend for portable lighteweight power is to buy a *premium* battery like the Bioenno pack–which are designed specifically for this purpose–or […]
Xiegu G90 weight loss: Preparing 20w for SOTA activations
I bought a used Xiegu G90 in 2023 as a portable rig to take on SOTA (Summits On The Air) activations, and to use as a travel rig. The G90 is a compact unit, about the size of an airport-best-seller novel which covers all modes from 160m to 10m at 20w output: it is SDR […]