Portable Ham Radio Using the FX-4CR

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  • Опубликовано: 17 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 86

  • @mobiltec
    @mobiltec 9 месяцев назад +7

    Played with my brand new G90 all weekend. Started Sat. morning, first contact DX to England. WOW!... Talked all over the country and most everyone was surprised that I was only putting out 20 watts. Made lots of contacts. Mid day we got Mexico and finished up the evening with Hawaii... I just can't believe this little radio. Now I can't wait to get mobile with it. Thanks for everything you do. I will be having LOTS of questions for you I'm sure. Love the idea of building and setting up my own antennas.

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +2

      It’s a great radio! You’re going to love it!

    • @normnpat
      @normnpat 9 месяцев назад

      Another great video! Love my FX-4CR as well as my trusty G90. Looking forward to warmer weather to do POTA.

  • @MirlitronOne
    @MirlitronOne 9 месяцев назад +4

    I just KNEW you'd have to have an FX-4CR. Nice to see one properly in action.

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      I took mine to Poland and it was the only radio I used for 3 months last year. It’s a great little radio

  • @LB0FI
    @LB0FI 9 месяцев назад +6

    Activating on the SSTV frequency. That is bold my friend!

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +6

      It was winter field day here, the band was packed from end to end. The SSTV frequency is in the voice segment and was clear when I started.

    • @jessgypin-ko5ds
      @jessgypin-ko5ds 9 месяцев назад +1

      Roger Roger

  • @MikeN2MAK
    @MikeN2MAK 9 месяцев назад +5

    Nice activation! It’s always good to have multiple antennas and multiple ways to deploy them. When operating portable, you just never know.

  • @pasjeihobby
    @pasjeihobby 9 месяцев назад +5

    There is something tempting in those small QRP radios. 👍👍👍

  • @kennethblackwell1137
    @kennethblackwell1137 9 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks, Walt. It made my day connecting with you (Ken, KB4XT)thanks to Ham Alert.

  • @bryantwalley
    @bryantwalley 9 месяцев назад +3

    I love the FX-4CR also. I watch his site pretty regularly but never see them for sale.

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +2

      Great radio but takes a long time to get one. I think I finally got mine about 3 months after ordering.

  • @SteveH-TN
    @SteveH-TN 9 месяцев назад +1

    Walt nice POTA location. I visited there before I was Ham when I was Stationed
    at Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro NC. I especially enjoyed listening to your QSOs, I was nearly as excited as you. The pileup was fantastic great signal reports.
    BTW my G90 was delivered today and a HF-3 3.5 to 6m antenna. Hopefully I’ll be on the band myself soon.
    73 Steve AA4SH TN

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад

      Thanks Steve! you're going to love that radio. Hope to get a G90 to G90 contact with you. 73, Walt

  • @redstickham6394
    @redstickham6394 9 месяцев назад +1

    Those LDG tuners are awesome.

  • @ReformedPiper
    @ReformedPiper 9 месяцев назад +1

    Looked like you had fun! Thanks for sharing with us! - AI5CK 73

  • @Frank_K4FMH
    @Frank_K4FMH 9 месяцев назад +1

    Cool! I used to take Fall Break and go to the Outer Banks in that area when I was on the faculty at NC State. Good to see the FX-4CR. Yu is about to release another batch! Love mine…
    Keep on trucking, Walt!

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад

      Thanks! wow I've spent a lot of time at NC State when I was younger. My grandparents were farmers in Wilson and I spent all my summers there growing up. My grandfather had something going on with the aggie school there and we used to go there regularly. That would have been in the early 70's.

  • @Rickazine
    @Rickazine 9 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks for another great video and for the explanation of why you changed your setup. I just ordered a G-90 and a mag mount to start using for POTA and have been thinking about adding radials. Everything I've studied says to use tuned radials on elevated verticals, so im going to figure out a way to add radials to my mag mount and do some testing.
    Thanks for the inspiration! I got into Ham to have fun, and now I'm trying different setups to see what works and having a blast!
    73

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад

      Thanks for watching and for the kind words. Have fun experimenting! 73, Walt

  • @na5q
    @na5q 9 месяцев назад +1

    Great walk up that hill I did! Great park!!

  • @Steve-GM0HUU
    @Steve-GM0HUU 9 месяцев назад +2

    Antenna set up on the ground was obviously the wright solution. Then you were off to a flying start as conditions really took off.😁

  • @kq4aee
    @kq4aee 9 месяцев назад +2

    Growing up there, it was almost a yearly visit

  • @blugoose86
    @blugoose86 9 месяцев назад +1

    Another great video Walt. TY

  • @robertbain2894
    @robertbain2894 9 месяцев назад +1

    @N4TAF. Wife and I were just at Wright Brothers yesterday.. Love your vids. Shame I didn't see you and say hello. 73

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад

      Wow that would have been cool. It was a beautiful day.

  • @mattmason4546
    @mattmason4546 9 месяцев назад +1

    Excellent video! Thank you for publishing.

  • @michaelrosebud
    @michaelrosebud 9 месяцев назад +1

    KI4TOL....I have an idea Walt, next time you are at WBNM, how about trying to use the metal plane construction for an antenna, and some counterpoise wires? It appears that the Wright Brothers Plane is indeed constructed of all metal, and somewhat directional...lol Hey, anything is possible Wright? lol Thanks for all the great videos Walt. KI4TOL :-)

  • @bevo65
    @bevo65 9 месяцев назад +2

    Ham Alert also pegged you at K-0792, Thomas Jefferson National Memorial. I’m a newbie, but that seems impossible! 😂

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +3

      Hahaha yes impossible. Someone fat fingered that one!

  • @David-km8in
    @David-km8in 9 месяцев назад +3

    Hi Walt, I do love the FX-4CR. Great display. Also has a built in sound card for digital, such has FT8. Two things I don't like is the microphone connection and the price.
    Great park activation. Antenna works well. Have you considered using Ham sticks on the ground spike?
    Have fun, David M0DUU

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      Thanks David! I have used HamSticks on the spike and am actually thinking about doing that with a 40 meter HamStick one night this week. 73, Walt

    • @David-km8in
      @David-km8in 9 месяцев назад +2

      @@COASTALWAVESWIRES The advantage with Ham sticks is that once tuned they make a quick way of getting on air.
      I use them to work FT8 from my garden in the hot summer evenings.
      My best contact was Asia, over 7000 miles with just 4 watts. From my Xiegu X610.
      Thanks for the reply.

    • @David-km8in
      @David-km8in 9 месяцев назад +2

      The Ham stick on 40 meter works very well, but the bandwidth is only about 50khz wide. So if you want all band coverage I would suggest getting two. One for the lower and higher portions of the bands.
      Off course in the USA you have a extra 100khz of space than we do in the UK.

  • @CC-hk6vy
    @CC-hk6vy 9 месяцев назад +2

    Walt, you got to come to Dayton to see the Wright Brothers! If you every get to Hamvention and like aviation, come to Air Force Museum!
    What happened with mag mount? Thanks for showing warts as well as beauty de WO8USA🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      I will definitely get to Dayton soon! Both TX and RX were poor with the mag mount thus I made the quick switch. 73, Walt

  • @WX4CB
    @WX4CB 9 месяцев назад +1

    looks like you had fun... just pulling video from my phone now of the one i did... keep an eye out for when i post it as i mention you in it :D i'll be out the rest of this week in different ones as im doing a bunch of forestry/FWS work this week and will be the only person in about 5 sq miles at each one and ZERO NOISE!

  • @rohnkd4hct260
    @rohnkd4hct260 9 месяцев назад +1

    Wish I knew you were going to be there. Would love to meet you. 73 KD4HCT Rohn

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад

      I’m on the OBX all the time, I live just across the border in Virginia. 73, Walt

  • @K3JRZOnTheAir
    @K3JRZOnTheAir 9 месяцев назад +1

    Nice work Walt. 73!

  • @N4GW
    @N4GW 9 месяцев назад +1

    Glad to see you on the FX-4CR again

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      I’ve had it packed away for months. Great to play with it again.

    • @N4GW
      @N4GW 9 месяцев назад +1

      @@COASTALWAVESWIRES I like it better than your G90 but to each his own

  • @PopeyeKF4LBG
    @PopeyeKF4LBG 9 месяцев назад +1

    Thank you, Walt!

  • @ChrisfromGeorgia
    @ChrisfromGeorgia 9 месяцев назад +1

    Very nice 👍🏻

  • @Andrew-yx7sf
    @Andrew-yx7sf 9 месяцев назад +3

    The SSTV guys defend their territory. 😅😂😊

  • @georgebradshaw474
    @georgebradshaw474 9 месяцев назад +1

    Walt, really enjoyed the video! The location was very interesting. Question: why weren’t you able to utilize the HamStick with the FX4CR from inside the Jeep? Did I miss something? I too have HamSticks, a FX4CR and a Jeep…
    Look forward to each of your videos. It adds an element of education this hobby, thanks! AC3EA 😊

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      Thanks! I just wasn’t getting good RX or TX with the mag mount, I had a feeling it was the antenna setup and changed it. Worked much better after I did.

  • @almcrorie4132
    @almcrorie4132 9 месяцев назад +1

    when I saw you spotted on 14.230 Sunday, knew I had to give you a call. Brad operating VE3RSE called you first, then I had a contact with you (Al VE3GAM). QRN from slow scan was fierce but pulled you out, thanks for the contact, al ve3gam

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад

      Thanks! it was great to make contact with you guys!

  • @AmateurRadioUK
    @AmateurRadioUK 9 месяцев назад +1

    Great video Walt, I enjoyed that one. Unfortunately you beat me to it & I'm going to end up looking like a copy cat. I literally filmed a video with the FX-4CR on a SOTA summit yesterday. I haven't got round to editing it yet!
    Someone lent me an FX-4CR to try. After my experience with the Xeigu X-5105, I didn't think I was going to like it but I was very pleasently surprised. Audio is pretty good for such a small speaker. Still a little bit tinny & it does distort if you turn the volume up too close to maximum but it was significantly better than I was expecting.
    It doesn't really compete with my Icom 705 but that's more than double (probably nearer triple) the cost of one of these.
    20 watts in a small package that fits in the palm of your hand. That's a win in my books. I might have to look into buying one.........or see if the guy that lent me one to review wants to sell it!!!

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      Thanks! I’m really looking forward to your video!

  • @BungHoleCamper
    @BungHoleCamper 7 месяцев назад +1

    I had a WTF moment while watching your video. I heard my callsign being received and when I looked-up at the screen, I read the caption "VE3GAM - Ontario". Too close for comfort as my callsign is "VA3GAM"! What are the chances? Great video and I am certainly going to pickup one of these rigs to take out-and-about. Thank you!

  • @truckinguy92
    @truckinguy92 9 месяцев назад +2

    I was wondering what happened with the mag mount? Didn’t you already have the antenna tuned with it? I found that mag mount to finicky at best. It really hinged on the placement of the coax. I’ve never been a big fan of those sealed coax connectors. The coax also appears to cheap. Another great video Walt.

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      Yes it struggled with the mag mount. Thanks, 73 Walt

  • @mobiltec
    @mobiltec 9 месяцев назад +1

    I'm having a hard time with baluns. I can't seem to find out how to know what kind of balun I need for a certain antenna. If I make a wire antenna how do I decide on what kind of balun to use? And where can I get one that works properly??? Every time I try to look up a balun it takes me to ununs. I have no idea what an unun is and I barely understand a balun. Why is this so difficult?

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад

      Take a look at this video, I try to simplify it:
      ruclips.net/video/utgfXWC6SH8/видео.htmlsi=NJNlSPXaSaE_hazZ

  • @caulktel
    @caulktel 9 месяцев назад +2

    Great video Walt, I love my FX-4CR, did yours get hot doing POTA? Mine runs cool.

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      Thanks! No, mine hasn’t gotten very hot. It gets warm but nothing I worry about.

  • @mobiltec
    @mobiltec 9 месяцев назад +1

    Question. How much do you use the internal tuner on the G90?Really makes a lot of racket when tuning LOL. Do you ever use an external tuner with it?

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      I’ve become overly dependent on the G90’s internal tuner. It is absolutely incredible. I would never need to use an external tuner with it.

  • @dandypoint
    @dandypoint 9 месяцев назад +1

    It looks like your coax crossed a walkway. What did you use to protect it and keep it flat?

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      I just let it lay across the walkway, it was no issue as I was there for less than an hour

  • @grandmagordon1703
    @grandmagordon1703 9 месяцев назад +1

    tnx agn walt de wb8e

  • @byd3k157
    @byd3k157 9 месяцев назад +1

    Just seems wrong that the antenna tuner is larger than the rig. :)

  • @jerryKB2GCG
    @jerryKB2GCG 9 месяцев назад +1

    Hi there, how do you get that tri-mag off of the hood or do you just leave it there ?

    • @COASTALWAVESWIRES
      @COASTALWAVESWIRES  9 месяцев назад +1

      Pull up slowly on one corner and lift. It’s easy

    • @Locksnut
      @Locksnut 9 месяцев назад +1

      ​@@COASTALWAVESWIRESMy triple mag mount doesn't have the rubber protection some have. I put the thin plastic grocery bags between them and the car for protection. It helps with capacitive coupling. 73