sigmytube Thank you very much for the complement. It took about 3 days worth of work ones the plan was thought up. It was fun to build. Many blessings to you and yours. 73's....N1TZU...Bob.
Nice set up! Especially nice for not really using a brake & shear! It looks almost bullet proof! I have a guy that works for a sign company that can bend me a box with thinner aluminum, shave off some pounds, and keep it water tight. He does a lot of guitar amp chassis work for me. I do have my eye out for a good used box & pan brake. I am too old to schlep something like that around. I just use an HT with vehicle repeater/extenders, now. FYI Those 857 control heads are not that water resistant. I have had to dry mine out and clean it once. It took on enough water, I could hear the relays inside the main unit going nuts, before everything went black. 38 years of cleaning beer & soda pop out of guitars & amplifiers came in handy, again! The vehicle repeater will take any 2meter/1.25meter/70cm HT and I can get 5-75 watts VHF/UHF and or 10-600 watts HF from the vehicle, remotely using the ht & 857D and or a 897, and a 75 watt VHF mobile. If I have it set up with tuners & the the linear I can do 600 watts, but no more than 2 HF bands, and that is only if I load up the truck with everything. 73, KI7AQJ
+Seth B Thank you for the complement Seth, That would be awesome if you could get a box made with thinner aluminium to cut weight. This rig I built is not too bad in the poundage, it weighs about 37 lbs.. I'm almost 56 and still have enough strength to tote it for some distance. In fall of 2014 I lugged it up a small mountain in Camden Maine. The trek was about a 2 mile hike all up hill of course. I must admit though, I was a bit winded when I reach the top. And yes, I do realize the FT-857 head is not water proof or even water resistant. This rig is not something I would use out in the pouring rain. Most of the time I'm using it camping and set up on a picnic table under a canopy. I built it more for the all in one and rugged thing. Plus I like the military pack look. Anyways, thanks for viewing and comments my friend, Many blessings to you and yours. Bob...N1TZU. 73's
+Richard Slusher ...Thank you very much for the complement my friend. I had lots of fun building it for sure. I would be interested to see how your build came out. Do you have any photo's posted.? Again,thank you, 73's and many blessings to you and yours. N1TZU..Bob.
+Robert Fernandez ....Thank you Robert for the complements. I did have some help from a good friend with the aluminum fabrication. He works at a gun shop so he has some great machining tools, which made some of the fab work easier. And yes, as you can see I like the design of some of the PRC radio's. That was my idea, to make something that resembled a PRC portable radio but with modern equipment. Many blessings friend, to you and yours. 73's
Thank you so much Garrett for the complement. More importantly, Thank you very much for your service. I am assuming you served in the U.S. military. Many blessings to you and yours my friend.
Thank you so much again for your kind comments and compliments my friend. It was a fun project. As you can see I love to fabricate and build things. Many blessings again Aidar. :-)
+Aaron Thomas...Thank you for the complement Aaron. A PRC radio is what I was trying to simulate but with modern equipment. Again thank you. Many blessings to you and yours my friend.
omery aguilera Hello friend, I'm afraid it would turn out to be pretty costly. There is lot's of time involved as well as the cost of the aluminium. ( Sorry). But, Many blessings to you and yours friend.
QrpRadioListner Thank you friend for the complement. I have a General class License. Thank you for translating your original comment. Hello from Maine U.S.
What a fantastic idea. I am going to have to make something myself but to include digital Forms of communication also. Like a mini Lap Top computer. Thanks for the food for thought. DE: N6PGG / 7 Dave
Thank you very much Dave for your complement and comments. Digital mode would be a great idea as well. Many blessings to you and yours my friend. 73's N1TZU...Bob.
Great video and homemade manpack. I also have an FT857 pedestrian mobile backpack on an EX British army Clansman frame but nothing as good as yours. I like your idea of the semi weatherproof enclosure. Very well built a and great idea. I use the MFJ1979 telescopic whip which I find to be a great DX antenna near the water. Best wishes for 2016 and hope to work you on air 73 M0DAD David North East UK.
+m0dad Thank you very much David for the complements. I looked at your QRZ page. You have some cool idea's as well. I like how you devised a way to go bicycle mobile. I've thought of trying that before as well. And, Best wishing to you in this new year. It may be a very interesting one with all that's happening in the world. Many blessings to you and yours my friend. 73's N1TZU....Bob.
Thank you very much for this video. - VERY nice made !!! How do you ensure the heat dissipation of the FT-857? Do you have an overtemperature indicator for the interior?
Thanks for the complement Hammer. So far I haven't had a problem with heat but, I do open the cover slightly when I'm using it while set up on camping table. I'm sure if I kept it closed while running 100 watts it will would build up some heat in the enclosure. Again, Thank you for viewing and many blessings to you and yours. 73's N1TZU
+Ham R. thats great man , i have been trying to come up with a rig , for portable , and yours seems the best planned and laid out from the ones i have seen so far. if you had it to do over again do u think that a thinner aluminum sides than 1/4 inch would lower the strength, i was just trying to bring the weight down?
I suppose using thinner aluminum might lower the weight some but, keep in mind by using thinner aluminum the box probably would be strong enough but, probably would require internal bracing. So, would it really lower weight.? I'm not sure it would. Keep in mind my design has no internal bracing because of the sides,top and bottom being 1/4" thick material.
Can you give me some info on two items. 1) Did you have to do any special settings on the radio to work with the tuner, or just use the y-acc cable? 2) Can you share how you wired up the h 250 mic to work with the 857?
Hello Roland, I did no special settings on radio with the LDG Tuner. Not even using any special cable between the two except just the coax cable. Then I just tune where ever I'm operating. As far as the H 250 mic hook up. I did a google search on mic pin out configuration for H 250 and then gathered the connectors to make the connections. I've got notes somewhere here but finding them could take some time. It would be much faster for you to just do a google search. Start with these images here at this link> www.google.com/search?q=h-250+handset+pinout&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW8vmvyMDXAhVG04MKHRqXC5wQ7AkINQ&biw=1600&bih=809
+Michael Zehrfeld ...Thank you Michael for the Wow and complement. And yes, I was using a counterpoise but the conditions that day were not very great on 20 meters. You know how radio waves can be at times. Thanks again and many blessing my friend. 73's.... Bob.
Hello friend, This is the type of diodes I used-allbasicsofece.blogspot.com/2014/01/diodes-types-and-applications.html#.WNDzzvnyuCg and the number on the diode is 6A05 1040. I have 2 parallel banks of 5 in series which gives me a voltage drop of about 1.5 volts. I hope this helps. Many blessings to you and yours from N1TZU...Bob. >----5----5---->
I could never understand why manufacturers didnt build a tactical ham rig, they always leave out a tuner, or battery, or antenna mount. It's like Harris RF has anyone killed imediately that tries to make something like this commercially? have stacks of 706s,817s,G90s,prc74s, people want a radio like this, whats the hold up china?
Would you be willing to give me the list of all the items and parts used to build your man pack? The info would be much appreciated. Thanks. Sincerly, Msgt Brad Wiebe Southern Texas State Militia
Hello Msgt Brad Wiebe, When I built this manpack it was all done on the fly and in my head. So, I have no parts list or build design on paper. My video pretty much explains most everything on how it was constructed. There is also many different designs out here on you tube today that one can choose from. Some complex as well as simple. Best of luck to you on building your own. God bless you much. Bob.
The battery is from here>www.batteryspace.com/High-Power-Polymer-Li-Ion-Box-with-fuel-gauge-14.8v-10Ah-148-Wh.aspx When battery is fully charge it is about 16.8 volts so just remember you will need to build a step down device to drop max battery voltage by 1.5 volts to make it safe for radio battery input voltage. When battery is fully charged I can easily run about 75 watts for a while. Most of the time though I run about 25 watts. Hope this helps and many blessings friend. 73's N1TZU.
Hello Sean, Sorry but I only have this video to show how it's made. I never did do any kind of design on paper or even any list of what I used. Many blessings to you and best wishes on your own manpack project.
Well thought out set up, I love the way it clips to the Alice frame, very neat.
Better than before - Very nice job!
Looks professional class, must have been hours of effort. Love the hidden tuner.
sigmytube Thank you very much for the complement. It took about 3 days worth of work ones the plan was thought up. It was fun to build. Many blessings to you and yours. 73's....N1TZU...Bob.
Nice set up! Especially nice for not really using a brake & shear! It looks almost bullet proof! I have a guy that works for a sign company that can bend me a box with thinner aluminum, shave off some pounds, and keep it water tight. He does a lot of guitar amp chassis work for me. I do have my eye out for a good used box & pan brake. I am too old to schlep something like that around. I just use an HT with vehicle repeater/extenders, now. FYI Those 857 control heads are not that water resistant. I have had to dry mine out and clean it once. It took on enough water, I could hear the relays inside the main unit going nuts, before everything went black. 38 years of cleaning beer & soda pop out of guitars & amplifiers came in handy, again! The vehicle repeater will take any 2meter/1.25meter/70cm HT and I can get 5-75 watts VHF/UHF and or 10-600 watts HF from the vehicle, remotely using the ht & 857D and or a 897, and a 75 watt VHF mobile. If I have it set up with tuners & the the linear I can do 600 watts, but no more than 2 HF bands, and that is only if I load up the truck with everything. 73, KI7AQJ
+Seth B Thank you for the complement Seth, That would be awesome if you could get a box made with thinner aluminium to cut weight. This rig I built is not too bad in the poundage, it weighs about 37 lbs.. I'm almost 56 and still have enough strength to tote it for some distance. In fall of 2014 I lugged it up a small mountain in Camden Maine. The trek was about a 2 mile hike all up hill of course. I must admit though, I was a bit winded when I reach the top. And yes, I do realize the FT-857 head is not water proof or even water resistant. This rig is not something I would use out in the pouring rain. Most of the time I'm using it camping and set up on a picnic table under a canopy. I built it more for the all in one and rugged thing. Plus I like the military pack look. Anyways, thanks for viewing and comments my friend, Many blessings to you and yours. Bob...N1TZU. 73's
Wow! Very nicely done! I built my setup in an army surplus medical supply case; but yours totally rocks!!
+Richard Slusher ...Thank you very much for the complement my friend. I had lots of fun building it for sure. I would be interested to see how your build came out. Do you have any photo's posted.? Again,thank you, 73's and many blessings to you and yours. N1TZU..Bob.
Nice build. Those PRC radios...sure bring some memories.... heavy SOBs. Wished I would do what you can do with aluminum.
+Robert Fernandez ....Thank you Robert for the complements. I did have some help from a good friend with the aluminum fabrication. He works at a gun shop so he has some great machining tools, which made some of the fab work easier. And yes, as you can see I like the design of some of the PRC radio's. That was my idea, to make something that resembled a PRC portable radio but with modern equipment. Many blessings friend, to you and yours. 73's
Great job. Brought back memories for me of my time in the service.
Thank you so much Garrett for the complement. More importantly, Thank you very much for your service. I am assuming you served in the U.S. military. Many blessings to you and yours my friend.
Great job! Design, protection, attention to details are very impressive!
Thank you so much again for your kind comments and compliments my friend. It was a fun project. As you can see I love to fabricate and build things. Many blessings again Aidar. :-)
Great job, need to put my 857 into something that nice. Simper Fi
Thank you Daniel for the complement. It was a fun project. It seems I'm always finding thing to fix or build. Many blessings to you and yours. :-)
Nice setup
Thank you very much Jerry Boyd. Many blessings to you and yours. :-)
Awesome 🙂👍
Thank you very much. Many blessings to you and yours.
perfect job man...well done
Thank you very much for the complement my friend. Many blessings to you and yours. Bob.
Looks just like an ol AN/PRC-119, Semper Fi
+Aaron Thomas...Thank you for the complement Aaron. A PRC radio is what I was trying to simulate but with modern equipment. Again thank you. Many blessings to you and yours my friend.
+Ham R. Can u build a bother one I'll buy
omery aguilera Hello friend, I'm afraid it would turn out to be pretty costly. There is lot's of time involved as well as the cost of the aluminium. ( Sorry). But, Many blessings to you and yours friend.
+Ham R. It's cool when u try to sell it just let me know I got money that's not a problem but thanks anyway but let me know
Awesome configuration. I'm both impressed and very envious!!!
Thank you Stuart for the complement. Many blessing to you and yours. Bob.
Very nice work indeed. I guess that's the SG-303 whip (1.8 to 30MHz).
Thank for the complement James. And Yes, The whip is for that frequency range. Many blessings. :-)
Bellissimo lavoro, molto bravo.
Ciao from Italy.
I'm not sure what you have said here, but many blessings to you friend. :-)
Good job my friend, you are technician.
Hello from Italy.(traslate).
QrpRadioListner Thank you friend for the complement. I have a General class License. Thank you for translating your original comment. Hello from Maine U.S.
What a fantastic idea. I am going to have to make something myself but to include digital Forms of communication also. Like a mini Lap Top computer.
Thanks for the food for thought.
DE: N6PGG / 7 Dave
Thank you very much Dave for your complement and comments. Digital mode would be a great idea as well. Many blessings to you and yours my friend. 73's N1TZU...Bob.
Navy Davy this is awesome. I ask for specks, electrics and Aluminum?
Great video and homemade manpack. I also have an FT857 pedestrian mobile backpack on an EX British army Clansman frame but nothing as good as yours. I like your idea of the semi weatherproof enclosure. Very well built a and great idea. I use the MFJ1979 telescopic whip which I find to be a great DX antenna near the water. Best wishes for 2016 and hope to work you on air 73 M0DAD David North East UK.
+m0dad Thank you very much David for the complements. I looked at your QRZ page. You have some cool idea's as well. I like how you devised a way to go bicycle mobile. I've thought of trying that before as well. And, Best wishing to you in this new year. It may be a very interesting one with all that's happening in the world. Many blessings to you and yours my friend. 73's N1TZU....Bob.
man what an awesome setup!
+Chad Steiner ...Thank you Chad for viewing and the complement. Many blessings to you and yours my friend. 73's
Thank you very much for this video. - VERY nice made !!!
How do you ensure the heat dissipation of the FT-857? Do you have an overtemperature indicator for the interior?
Lol this looks like a new version of the PRC-77 we used in the military. I like the tube one better.
You watched it already.? I like the tube ones as well. The advantage with this is modern radio and tuner. Give me all the bands.
Wow. Nice job. Very nice.
Thats a nice setup sir!!! Thanks for posting
God bless brother
)
+Darren Votaw Thank you Darren for the fine complement. 73's Many blessings to you and yours my friend.
very nice work!
+Featured Listing ...Thank you my friend for watching and for the complement. Blessings to you and yours. N1TZU...Bob...73's.
Vary nice work
Thank you very much 2slow rcer. Many blessings to you and yours.
nice job 73
Alvaro Gaitan Thank you very much my friend. Many blessing to you and yours. 73's.
great job man, looks professional . Do you have any issues with temperature, keeping the unit cool, i did not see any type of venting or circulation
Thanks for the complement Hammer. So far I haven't had a problem with heat but, I do open the cover slightly when I'm using it while set up on camping table. I'm sure if I kept it closed while running 100 watts it will would build up some heat in the enclosure. Again, Thank you for viewing and many blessings to you and yours. 73's N1TZU
+Ham R. thats great man , i have been trying to come up with a rig , for portable , and yours seems the best planned and laid out from the ones i have seen so far. if you had it to do over again do u think that a thinner aluminum sides than 1/4 inch would lower the strength, i was just trying to bring the weight down?
I suppose using thinner aluminum might lower the weight some but, keep in mind by using thinner aluminum the box probably would be strong enough but, probably would require internal bracing. So, would it really lower weight.? I'm not sure it would. Keep in mind my design has no internal bracing because of the sides,top and bottom being 1/4" thick material.
+Ham R. good point
Can you give me some info on two items. 1) Did you have to do any special settings on the radio to work with the tuner, or just use the y-acc cable? 2) Can you share how you wired up the h 250 mic to work with the 857?
Hello Roland, I did no special settings on radio with the LDG Tuner. Not even using any special cable between the two except just the coax cable. Then I just tune where ever I'm operating. As far as the H 250 mic hook up. I did a google search on mic pin out configuration for H 250 and then gathered the connectors to make the connections. I've got notes somewhere here but finding them could take some time. It would be much faster for you to just do a google search. Start with these images here at this link>
www.google.com/search?q=h-250+handset+pinout&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW8vmvyMDXAhVG04MKHRqXC5wQ7AkINQ&biw=1600&bih=809
wow - awesome work - perfect pack!
What do you think....bad conditions on 20 meters or need a counterpoise?
73s Mike
+Michael Zehrfeld ...Thank you Michael for the Wow and complement. And yes, I was using a counterpoise but the conditions that day were not very great on 20 meters. You know how radio waves can be at times. Thanks again and many blessing my friend. 73's.... Bob.
sir this is S21VB please tell me detail about `zener diode` how many pices you attached and digram ..........please
Hello friend, This is the type of diodes I used-allbasicsofece.blogspot.com/2014/01/diodes-types-and-applications.html#.WNDzzvnyuCg and the number on the diode is 6A05 1040. I have 2 parallel banks of 5 in series which gives me a voltage drop of about 1.5 volts. I hope this helps. Many blessings to you and yours from N1TZU...Bob. >----5----5---->
I could never understand why manufacturers didnt build a tactical ham rig, they always leave out a tuner, or battery, or antenna mount. It's like Harris RF has anyone killed imediately that tries to make something like this commercially? have stacks of 706s,817s,G90s,prc74s, people want a radio like this, whats the hold up china?
Would you be willing to give me the list of all the items and parts used to build your man pack? The info would be much appreciated. Thanks. Sincerly, Msgt Brad Wiebe Southern Texas State Militia
Hello Msgt Brad Wiebe, When I built this manpack it was all done on the fly and in my head. So, I have no parts list or build design on paper. My video pretty much explains most everything on how it was constructed. There is also many different designs out here on you tube today that one can choose from. Some complex as well as simple. Best of luck to you on building your own. God bless you much. Bob.
What battery did you use?
niceeee.
+David Meale .....Thank you very much David.
That thing cant be fun to wear without the pad on the top of the frame.
Jim K ...Hello Jim, the top of frame really doesn't touch the top of shoulders.
I have rucked more miles than I can count with an alice pack. That pad is worth ten times its weight in gold!
what battery is that there on the vid? at what power do you tx?
The battery is from here>www.batteryspace.com/High-Power-Polymer-Li-Ion-Box-with-fuel-gauge-14.8v-10Ah-148-Wh.aspx When battery is fully charge it is about 16.8 volts so just remember you will need to build a step down device to drop max battery voltage by 1.5 volts to make it safe for radio battery input voltage. When battery is fully charged I can easily run about 75 watts for a while. Most of the time though I run about 25 watts. Hope this helps and many blessings friend. 73's N1TZU.
Can you give me dimensions and component breakdown I am interested in building this
Hello Sean,
Sorry but I only have this video to show how it's made. I never did do any kind of design on paper or even any list of what I used. Many blessings to you and best wishes on your own manpack project.
Thank you anyway
Very well done! 73 KD8WBF
Thank you very much Dakota for the complement. Many blessings to you and yours. 73's N1TZU Bob :-)