Even though I have done this set up many times , I still watch this video before I hit the trail just to go through the paces and make sure I have everything and that my set up is good to go. Thanks
Nice to see a POTA activation from the beginning. Sounds like lot of fun for the person actually doing the activation. I am very close to doing a solo road trip and do some POTA. Thanks for sharing Mike!
I reached you there from my front porch & lawn in Colorado with a similar battery-powered setup. Any radio play is like POTA for me thanks to taking up the hobby *after* moving into an HOA.
I put grommets at the corners and on the edge of each side. Tent stakes or whatever will fit in the grommet will hold it down pretty well and only need to be shoved in by hand. We run basically the same kit. Heil headset with homebrew ptt, same 20ah battery. Two differences, I sold my 891 and bought an FT-710 for portable and I don't record video. 😁 Thanks for another fun video.
About 20 years ago I worked on a project in Wausau and a local guy, and great mentor, showed me around and took me to Rib Mountain. Your video brings back fond memories of the time I spent there. Picked up an FT891 and hoping to do my first POTA activation in a couple of weeks. 73, and thanks for the great tips!
I love this video as it’s very informative seeing the whole process. What great fun! I feel like a loser going to parks for hiking, etc. when I could be doing this instead. Thank you!
@@KB9VBRAntennas I'm the guy that didn't quite get to meet you last year. You got any recommendations for 50 amp hour lithium battery. Putting in my teardrop trailer. Just want to use it for led lights and electric blanket. Thanks. Jim k1az ps I'm good friend of don wv1w the pota book man. 73 and many thanks mike.
Excellent demonstration. When I do mini-expeditions, I always forget something...kind of frustrating. So, your tutorial is most appreciated. Aloha, Russ (KH6JRM).
I have a faraday cloth for the radials. I installed grommets in each corner. I bought small ground stakes at Menards, which slide easily through each grommet. Holds it down well.
The noise maker is a mystery to me. I've activated from that spot enough times that I know the noise isn't normal. If it continues to happen, I may have to do some searching for the source.
The Parks on the Air program is limited to state and federal owned parks, wildlife area, natural areas, forests, and trails. Local and county parks are not part of the program as it would make administration onerous. But even with that limitation there are more than 12,000 entities to activate from in the US alone, so there is a pretty good chance an eligible park is close by were you live.
Another fine video. Does the flag base connect electrically to the Faraday cloth by direct apposition, that is just put on the cloth, no jumpers needed? Thank you.
Hi Michael. The battery that you are using here seems to be a good affordable replacement for the expensive Bioeno batteries. What charger are you using to charge your eco-worthy battery? Thanks for another walk-and-show video.
I'm using an inexpensive 10 amp LiPO4 charger that I picked up online for around $40. The model I'm using is no longer sold, but this one is close: amzn.to/3zXe4oB
Vertical antennas need a ground plane. the vertical portion of the antenna is actually only half of the antenna, typically you would use a wire counterpoise or multiple wires. Instead of using radial wires, the faraday cloth does the same thing. The grounding reflects RF energy back into the antenna. Basically it gives the antenna signal something to "push against"
A few loops in your coax, especially if they are somewhat large (over 12 inches in diameter) isn't going to hurt anything. I typically on phone at 50 watts. I've found that this is a good tradeoff between output power and battery life. You are only losing 1/2 S unit while almost doubling your battery's operation length.
Nice work man, few (Hopefully not to silly) questions :) First off, would that faraday cloth be effective for use with Hamsticks on a tripod, and second what do you use to charge that battery? :) TIA!!!
The cloth works the best with ground mounted antennas. As long as the feedpoint is close to the cloth (like within 1 foot), then the hamstick will work with it. Elevating the radiator makes the cloth less effective, the jumpers and tripod add inefficiencies to the system. At that point, you are better off using an elevated tuned radial.
RG-8X. I view coax for portable use as a consumable. It will get beat up over time, so I don't invest a lot of money into it. I usually carry one 50 foot piece and two 25 foot pieces. This assures I have a spare if something breaks. Currently my main piece of coax is from ABR, but I like CableXperts, and MPD Digital stuff too.
@@KB9VBRAntennas ah ok, good to know! I thought to use RG 58 or RG 316. It’s also affordable and the loss it’s not so much by 30 ft. Thanks Michael ! 🙂
Michael, it seems, that you are using an Eco Worthy battery pack. How many amp hours does it have and which kind of charger do you use? Thank you from Germany, 73.
I'm using the Eco-worthy 20ah battery. I've had it for three years and used it on countless activations with excellent performance. For charging, I use an inexpensive 10 amp LiPO4 charger that I picked up online for around $40. The model I'm using is no longer sold, but this one is close: amzn.to/3zXe4oB
X signifies Reactance, which is the opposition to a resistive load. Typically we want the impedance of our antenna system to be close to 50 Ohms. When this happens, the SWR will be close to 1:1. But not all antennas are resonant at 50 ohms. For example a dipole will be resonant at 70 Ohms and a 1/4 wave vertical will be down to 30 Ohms. In those cases we will see the SWR rise slightly, but the reactance will drop to near zero, signifying that the antenna has hit its resonant frequency. Your system will be more efficient with this slightly elevated SWR because reactance is gone and the RF load is completely resistive. Joe does a better job at explaining AC theory, so you will want to check out this video: ruclips.net/video/IUHicVvMyEY/видео.html
@@KB9VBRAntennas that great! I used to have a GH4 Micro 4/3rds and when Panasonic came out with full frame a few years ago, I went to that system. I now shoot on a Lumix S5IIx now and have all the L mount full frame glass. Panasonic/Lumix has great image stabilization too. BTW great BTS video of POTA ops.
I can hotspot with my phone if I need to. But I don't bother with that for a couple of reasons. First, while some parks have good connectivity, most of the places I go to have a weak signal and I often barely get enough signal to spot myself on the pota.app page. Second, while having the laptop connected to wifi is nice as you get information like the person's name and location, I find that doing so doesn't add much value to the activation. When i get home, I'll take my time, double check my logs, and make sure everything is correct before uploading it to the POTA site.
Coming up in October is the Wisconsin Ham Radio campout in northern Wisconsin. You can find details on it here: www.jpole-antenna.com/2024/02/01/2nd-annual-wisconsin-ham-radio-campout/
I was in the hospital carpark in front of a street lamp about 15-20 meters high, can I plug into an un-un and use it as an antenna? Ore is it unless because its earthed?
Ignoring the electrical components inside the street lamp that may cause interference to your signal, you may be able to successfully radiate it. The big question would be what is the impedance at the feed point and how you will match it the 50 Ohm output of your transceiver. An UnUn probably won't be enough, you may need a shunt feed or at the very least a wide range manual tuner. There are scores of articles on turning seemingly random objects, like bridges, railings, fences, etc, into antennas. Reading some of those article will give you insight on how to approach your street lamp question.
The ground screen acts as a counterpoise for the antenna. elevated counterpoises need to be tuned for optimal use, but when ground mounted, the earth detunes the radials. At that point surface area coverage becomes more important for effective coupling, so a big screen or conductive cloth provides the same effect as an elevated radial. This video explains more: ruclips.net/video/UadUg5H8KO8/видео.html
Michael, the last item in my “POTA checklist” was a logger. Until today I have only used paper and pencil. Thanks for the great video, and the tip on “Smart Logger”. As always, time well spent watching. Hope to catch you on the air. KQ4IXD
Signal reports aren't required for uploading your Parks on the Air log and I find that the received report often matches the sent report, so I often leave that second half blank.
@13:49 "We're gonna see who's on 20meters"...ULS License Search noises intensify...DANGIT, WH0S is taken 😂 Great video Michael, lots of tips to learn from! 73,
1) use a marker to mark the right spots on a telescopic antenna. 2) were there no stones to anchor the cloth? You had to kill an oxygen-producing bush?
Marker rubs off, if you can't eyeball the whip length, use Dave's tip of a string with knots at the whip length settings: ruclips.net/video/dxTEJl7jqDY/видео.html. As for the 'oxygen producing bush', as you could see in the video it had already been cut, most likely by park staff when they mow and trim the area. I was just repurposing it, and put it back in the brush so it could continue to be a habitat for small critters.
I don't think it is my cell phone or computer track pad, those make different noises. But I think you are right in that it is on my end. I've heard similar noise when the ski hill chair lifts are running, but not in the summer months, so the noise is a mystery to me.
This is a good lesson in patience and listening closely. Sometimes you really gotta pay close attention to get through the noise. Every call sign is worth your time! ❤ - KF0QNM
I love pulling weak signals out of the noise. This is also a good example of "your 59 please repeat your call." Sometimes rapid fading, QSB, or interference blocks out part of the transmission and a repeat is necessary.
Even though I have done this set up many times , I still watch this video before I hit the trail just to go through the paces and make sure I have everything and that my set up is good to go. Thanks
Wow, I am glad to see I am not the only one who has to deal with noisy channels sometimes. Thanks for the run down on how you set up Micheal.
Happens to me as well...
Nice to see a POTA activation from the beginning. Sounds like lot of fun for the person actually doing the activation. I am very close to doing a solo road trip and do some POTA. Thanks for sharing Mike!
Thanks for the take-a-long Michael. It’s very helpful to see all the details and learn extra tips.
Thanks for taking the time to film this - working on my general and looking forward to POTA. 73
I reached you there from my front porch & lawn in Colorado with a similar battery-powered setup. Any radio play is like POTA for me thanks to taking up the hobby *after* moving into an HOA.
I put grommets at the corners and on the edge of each side. Tent stakes or whatever will fit in the grommet will hold it down pretty well and only need to be shoved in by hand. We run basically the same kit. Heil headset with homebrew ptt, same 20ah battery. Two differences, I sold my 891 and bought an FT-710 for portable and I don't record video. 😁 Thanks for another fun video.
About 20 years ago I worked on a project in Wausau and a local guy, and great mentor, showed me around and took me to Rib Mountain. Your video brings back fond memories of the time I spent there. Picked up an FT891 and hoping to do my first POTA activation in a couple of weeks. 73, and thanks for the great tips!
That's great to hear. I hope to get you in the lot soon, maybe even when I'm operating on Rib Mountain
I love this video as it’s very informative seeing the whole process. What great fun! I feel like a loser going to parks for hiking, etc. when I could be doing this instead. Thank you!
Thanks for using actual radio traffic for this video and not some fake audio like the video I watched just before this.
Enjoyed watching and listening to this activation. Hope to see you on the air sometime.
73! KB5AEB (NE TX)
For a moment when you were walking toward that stick I thought you were going for those boulders to use as the magic carpet hold down 😂
Those boulders keep my car from rolling down the hill
@@KB9VBRAntennas I'm the guy that didn't quite get to meet you last year. You got any recommendations for 50 amp hour lithium battery. Putting in my teardrop trailer. Just want to use it for led lights and electric blanket. Thanks. Jim k1az ps I'm good friend of don wv1w the pota book man. 73 and many thanks mike.
I got my General yesterday! Pota here I come!
Awesome, I hope to catch you on the air.
POTA is the best... the reason I got my general.
Excellent demonstration. When I do mini-expeditions, I always forget something...kind of frustrating. So, your tutorial is most appreciated. Aloha, Russ (KH6JRM).
I have a faraday cloth for the radials. I installed grommets in each corner. I bought small ground stakes at Menards, which slide easily through each grommet. Holds it down well.
I’m currently studying for my tech. This is amazing !! 👍🏻
Best of luck, I'm sure you will do well.
Wow there must be something close to you making those severe noise levels ! Sounds like your at my house LOL Thanks for sharing Michael !
The noise maker is a mystery to me. I've activated from that spot enough times that I know the noise isn't normal. If it continues to happen, I may have to do some searching for the source.
Most helpful. I need to jump into this POTA.
Been hunting for a few months. You have motivated me to take the leap. Thanks! Don K1DLA
Another great video! I've been trying to get out and do a POTA activation. You made it look easier than I thought. -KA2AUB
I’m glad you found it it helpful and I hope to get you in the log as a park to park soon
I use fishing weights to keep the Faraday cloth in place.
Dave KZ9V uses beanbags from a cornhole set
Very helpful as always.Thankyou michael ,73
Thank you for making your videos.
I have GOT to get myself up to Rib Mountain at some point. That view....
Let me know when your gonna be in the area and we can do a joint activation
@@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you! I think that would be great!
This was super helpful. Thank you for the step by step tutorial Michael. How do you find the identification number for the park that you're in? 73
I'm glad it helped. You can find a list of eligible parks and their numbers on the www.pota.app website.
@KB9VBRAntennas - Michael - thank you for the answer. One more question - why does a park have to be eligible? Can't you do POTA from any park?
The Parks on the Air program is limited to state and federal owned parks, wildlife area, natural areas, forests, and trails. Local and county parks are not part of the program as it would make administration onerous. But even with that limitation there are more than 12,000 entities to activate from in the US alone, so there is a pretty good chance an eligible park is close by were you live.
@@KB9VBRAntennas - Great explanation. Thanks again. Really appreciate your videos.
Great video, inspiring and motivating for an outing at a park!
73 Steven IW2MJQ
Thank you Michael
I have a tripod with a camera mount. how do we attach a antenna to this ? is their something special that will adapt to the tripod ?
Sporty Forty is an excellent choice. Love mine!!! N4TRD
73 from Argentina. "lindo video" Felicitaciones.
Another fine video. Does the flag base connect electrically to the Faraday cloth by direct apposition, that is just put on the cloth, no jumpers needed? Thank you.
Yes it does. The base is all metal and has good conductivity with the screen, so no jumpers are required.
Hi Michael. The battery that you are using here seems to be a good affordable replacement for the expensive Bioeno batteries. What charger are you using to charge your eco-worthy battery? Thanks for another walk-and-show video.
I'm using an inexpensive 10 amp LiPO4 charger that I picked up online for around $40. The model I'm using is no longer sold, but this one is close: amzn.to/3zXe4oB
@@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you very much Michael!
What do you use for mobile wifi?
Newbi here what exactly does the faraday cloth help with?
Vertical antennas need a ground plane. the vertical portion of the antenna is actually only half of the antenna, typically you would use a wire counterpoise or multiple wires. Instead of using radial wires, the faraday cloth does the same thing. The grounding reflects RF energy back into the antenna. Basically it gives the antenna signal something to "push against"
I use cornhole bags to hold down the radial cloth Mike
Dave, KZ9V, does the same thing with his.
Is it a good idea to unwind your excess coax instead of leaving it coiled up? And how come 50 watts instead of 100?
A few loops in your coax, especially if they are somewhat large (over 12 inches in diameter) isn't going to hurt anything. I typically on phone at 50 watts. I've found that this is a good tradeoff between output power and battery life. You are only losing 1/2 S unit while almost doubling your battery's operation length.
Nice work man, few (Hopefully not to silly) questions :) First off, would that faraday cloth be effective for use with Hamsticks on a tripod, and second what do you use to charge that battery? :) TIA!!!
The cloth works the best with ground mounted antennas. As long as the feedpoint is close to the cloth (like within 1 foot), then the hamstick will work with it. Elevating the radiator makes the cloth less effective, the jumpers and tripod add inefficiencies to the system. At that point, you are better off using an elevated tuned radial.
@@KB9VBRAntennas Thanks man, maybe I'll try the flag mount you have (I already have a clamp Jaw for it) with it. :) still learning all this :)
Which coaxial cable do you use with POTA?
RG-8X. I view coax for portable use as a consumable. It will get beat up over time, so I don't invest a lot of money into it. I usually carry one 50 foot piece and two 25 foot pieces. This assures I have a spare if something breaks. Currently my main piece of coax is from ABR, but I like CableXperts, and MPD Digital stuff too.
@@KB9VBRAntennas ah ok, good to know! I thought to use RG 58 or RG 316. It’s also affordable and the loss it’s not so much by 30 ft. Thanks Michael ! 🙂
I do have some RG-316 that I carry as part of my lightweight QRP kit, but it's not a cable I use every day.
@@KB9VBRAntennas ok good to know! Thanks Michael!
How many feet of coax do you typically take with you?
I carry one 50 foot piece and two 25 foot pieces of RG-8X. I typically only use the 50 foot piece, and the 25's are spares in case a piece goes bad.
Michael, it seems, that you are using an Eco Worthy battery pack. How many amp hours does it have and which kind of charger do you use? Thank you from Germany, 73.
I'm using the Eco-worthy 20ah battery. I've had it for three years and used it on countless activations with excellent performance. For charging, I use an inexpensive 10 amp LiPO4 charger that I picked up online for around $40. The model I'm using is no longer sold, but this one is close: amzn.to/3zXe4oB
How are you recording your transmission and then pushing a button the the 891 and it plays? What magic is this?
It's the built in voice memory keyer. Here's how it works: ruclips.net/video/sdwSVqUMiOw/видео.html
Nice video 😊
Can you explain more about the X number? Lower is better? What is the range? How high is too high?
X signifies Reactance, which is the opposition to a resistive load. Typically we want the impedance of our antenna system to be close to 50 Ohms. When this happens, the SWR will be close to 1:1. But not all antennas are resonant at 50 ohms. For example a dipole will be resonant at 70 Ohms and a 1/4 wave vertical will be down to 30 Ohms. In those cases we will see the SWR rise slightly, but the reactance will drop to near zero, signifying that the antenna has hit its resonant frequency. Your system will be more efficient with this slightly elevated SWR because reactance is gone and the RF load is completely resistive. Joe does a better job at explaining AC theory, so you will want to check out this video: ruclips.net/video/IUHicVvMyEY/видео.html
@@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you!
What mirrorless camera is that? Lumix GH6? Micro four thirds or full frame?
It’s a Lumix GH5MkII micro four-thirds. I’m a long time Panasonic user. That camera never overheats and puts up to all the abuse I throw at it
@@KB9VBRAntennas that great! I used to have a GH4 Micro 4/3rds and when Panasonic came out with full frame a few years ago, I went to that system. I now shoot on a Lumix S5IIx now and have all the L mount full frame glass. Panasonic/Lumix has great image stabilization too. BTW great BTS video of POTA ops.
What does the laptop use for Wi-Fi?
I can hotspot with my phone if I need to. But I don't bother with that for a couple of reasons. First, while some parks have good connectivity, most of the places I go to have a weak signal and I often barely get enough signal to spot myself on the pota.app page. Second, while having the laptop connected to wifi is nice as you get information like the person's name and location, I find that doing so doesn't add much value to the activation. When i get home, I'll take my time, double check my logs, and make sure everything is correct before uploading it to the POTA site.
What were they talking about in October?
Coming up in October is the Wisconsin Ham Radio campout in northern Wisconsin. You can find details on it here: www.jpole-antenna.com/2024/02/01/2nd-annual-wisconsin-ham-radio-campout/
I was in the hospital carpark in front of a street lamp about 15-20 meters high, can I plug into an un-un and use it as an antenna? Ore is it unless because its earthed?
Ignoring the electrical components inside the street lamp that may cause interference to your signal, you may be able to successfully radiate it. The big question would be what is the impedance at the feed point and how you will match it the 50 Ohm output of your transceiver. An UnUn probably won't be enough, you may need a shunt feed or at the very least a wide range manual tuner. There are scores of articles on turning seemingly random objects, like bridges, railings, fences, etc, into antennas. Reading some of those article will give you insight on how to approach your street lamp question.
Best way to learn, armed with info, is to activate!
Forgive my newbie question but why is a counterpoise not needed like on my Buddistick antenna?
The ground screen acts as a counterpoise for the antenna. elevated counterpoises need to be tuned for optimal use, but when ground mounted, the earth detunes the radials. At that point surface area coverage becomes more important for effective coupling, so a big screen or conductive cloth provides the same effect as an elevated radial. This video explains more: ruclips.net/video/UadUg5H8KO8/видео.html
Michael, the last item in my “POTA checklist” was a logger. Until today I have only used paper and pencil. Thanks for the great video, and the tip on “Smart Logger”. As always, time well spent watching. Hope to catch you on the air. KQ4IXD
Why do You not change rcvd report?
Signal reports aren't required for uploading your Parks on the Air log and I find that the received report often matches the sent report, so I often leave that second half blank.
@13:49 "We're gonna see who's on 20meters"...ULS License Search noises intensify...DANGIT, WH0S is taken 😂
Great video Michael, lots of tips to learn from! 73,
1) use a marker to mark the right spots on a telescopic antenna. 2) were there no stones to anchor the cloth? You had to kill an oxygen-producing bush?
Marker rubs off, if you can't eyeball the whip length, use Dave's tip of a string with knots at the whip length settings: ruclips.net/video/dxTEJl7jqDY/видео.html. As for the 'oxygen producing bush', as you could see in the video it had already been cut, most likely by park staff when they mow and trim the area. I was just repurposing it, and put it back in the brush so it could continue to be a habitat for small critters.
@@KB9VBRAntennas I stand corrected. Have to admit I don’t use that antenna much, but the marks are a couple of years old.
I tried to make it to you today but conditions were not friendly
Great Video Michael!!! I Like your Videos, 73 DO2MHV
I thought my location was bad with noise, seems like it's been all over the U.S.
I start with park to parks and then find a station and end with park to park
That static interference sounds like something on your end. Possibly your cell phone causing it.
I don't think it is my cell phone or computer track pad, those make different noises. But I think you are right in that it is on my end. I've heard similar noise when the ski hill chair lifts are running, but not in the summer months, so the noise is a mystery to me.
A balding man with a pony tail... That just ain't right.
Time to visit the barber, Michael.
Love the video. Thanks for great content. I learn so much from you. Thank you. VE3DRO,
This is a good lesson in patience and listening closely. Sometimes you really gotta pay close attention to get through the noise. Every call sign is worth your time! ❤
- KF0QNM
I love pulling weak signals out of the noise. This is also a good example of "your 59 please repeat your call." Sometimes rapid fading, QSB, or interference blocks out part of the transmission and a repeat is necessary.
What is a tent stick! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Don't be daff.
Great video! de W2CSI