WooHoo!!! A couple hours ago I bought a shiny, new FT-857D from GigaParts!
Now the fun part...waiting on it! :'(
Awesome! Great minds think alike! :) 8)
I just ordered a FT-450D from Gigaparts as a Christmas present to myself. I sure considered an 857 but decided to go with the 450. UPS sez it'll be here Tuesday. When are you supposed to get the 857?
What antenna are you going to put on it? I'm going to try a Chameleon to see how they work. Good reviews from what I've seen.
Great choice. I have an 857D myself. I commute it from my shack to the car and have run it in the field on a 7Ah battery (power turned down to 10W). It's a great all purpose radio and draws only 0.75A listening, which is half of its iCom counterpart.
If you'r just doing HF you don't even need the programming cable, but if you plan on working repeaters you'll want that for sure.
You are going to love it! I had one that I used mobile and worked a LOT of CW/SSB and data with it. When it comes out of the box, everyone will be amazed at how small it really is. ::) :-* ///Hmmm, my wife said the same thing on our wedding night. I wonder which radio she meant??? ///
I have been SERIOUSLY thinking about (when I have money again...) buying one as a QRO home station and mounting it into a Pelican case to use for a full function portable station.
Congratulations!
>Ray
John, I haven't planned that far ahead yet. I'm kinda thinking a G5RV Jr. or maybe a WindTalk Mk 2.3; but I don't really know yet.
Bob, right now I've got two 10Ah SLA batteries that I use with my FT-8900. I've also got the programming cable that I use with my 8900 and the RT Systems programming software. I'm not sure that software will work so I may end up using Chirp. I bought the Nifty programming mini-manual just to be safe. I'm going to get involved with Texas Army MARS as soon as I get proficient on the radio and using it with in digital mode with FLDigi. It's going to be in my station-in-a-box and the 8900 will be the UHF/VHF backup.
Ray, my station in a box setup is going to be mounted in an army surplus medical instrument case. I'll have room for a rack with the radio, power, speaker and all the other stuff and a slide out shelf for my old, but still functioning Dell D800 laptop that I just use for my radio stuff.
Quote from: KF5RHI on December 14, 2013, 11:11:30 AM
John, I haven't planned that far ahead yet. I'm kinda thinking a G5RV Jr. or maybe a WindTalk Mk 2.3; but I don't really know yet.
Bob, right now I've got two 10Ah SLA batteries that I use with my FT-8900. I've also got the programming cable that I use with my 8900 and the RT Systems programming software. I'm not sure that software will work so I may end up using Chirp. I bought the Nifty programming mini-manual just to be safe. I'm going to get involved with Texas Army MARS as soon as I get proficient on the radio and using it with in digital mode with FLDigi. It's going to be in my station-in-a-box and the 8900 will be the UHF/VHF backup.
Ray, my station in a box setup is going to be mounted in an army surplus medical instrument case. I'll have room for a rack with the radio, power, speaker and all the other stuff and a slide out shelf for my old, but still functioning Dell D800 laptop that I just use for my radio stuff.
Which style of case is the medical instrument case?
Or do you have a pic of it?
I am considering a go box/portable station myself.
Thanks
(http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu126/RESlusher/Gear/MARS%20Station/MedicalChest1_zps2f155b05.jpg)
This is the type of case. It's both air and water tight. Mine doesn't have any rust or corrosion on it. I was able to pick it up from my local army surplus store for about $90. Watch out though...some places charge an outrageous amount for ones like mine that have wheels on them.
The downside is that I'm going to have to build the Rackspace inside it. You could go with a Gatorbox that has the rails built into it so you can use pre-fab shelves. I've got the free time coming up though.
I've got the sliding shelf for the laptop built already; but that's as far as I've gone.
Hey I like that box.
Cheaper than a Gator 6U.
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Great radio and such a small footprint for the amount of power. I use mine as my main rig at home and mobile in my truck. The removable head feature is real nice.
Yeah that's mine will be used! I'll slap some Power Pole connections on it so I can use it in the truck, backpack mobile or in my digital station-in-a-box!
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Ho! Ho! Ho!
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Quote from: KF5RHI on December 19, 2013, 11:04:58 PM
Ho! Ho! Ho!
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Just in time for the weekend!
One thing. My 857D is about 5 years old and I found that the white 6-pin "molex" connectors weren't from Molex and though the nylon bodies were compatable with the standard Molex parts everyone uses, the crimp pins weren't. The pins were slightly smaller and didn't make solid contact with the molex sockets. I searched and searched for compatable sockets without luck. I hated to do it but I changed the radio's pins to Molex so I could put the 6-socket Molex connectors on the various places I wanted to use the radio.
Thanks for the tip! I've got a friend of mine doing the MARS/CAP mod on it next week so maybe I'll see if he can do that to mine while he's got it.
HAAAAAAA! Proud owner RHI. Terry :)
Quote from: KF5RHI on December 19, 2013, 11:04:58 PM
Ho! Ho! Ho!
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Gonna try to play with it this weekend; but I don't really have a reliable HF antenna...plus it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. :'(
Might have to wait til I'm off starting Christmas thru January 1st. Screw the honey-Do's
Honey Dooze. Man, you just HAD to remind me, didn't ya...
Was thinking of you yesterday. I got the list of members over on the 'closed/private' Winlink network and I spotted the fact that you're a member there as well.
Not sure that you're aware of the GlobalSET that will be taking place this coming Spring. Now that the Europeans have got an inkling of what kind of traffic loads can be generated at them, based on this past October's Simulated Emergency Test, it'll be very interesting to see if they're up for the rest of NTS to get with the program. :)
Which leads to my question: What modes can you use to generate traffic at this point? I mean on-the-air. If none, that's cool 'cuz you could always use Winlink off the air.
So basically, it's a matter of whether or not you're interested. I gather from the very clever responses I got from you in October, that you enjoy such a thing. But how about the other nine bajillion hams that you know of in TX? Want to get them sending stuff during the GlobalSET? Maybe via you, maybe not. Doesn't matter.
I think we can do some SERIOUS damage. :)
Also, I learned that a number of the GBR and EU hams have kept weekly nets going and are anxious to receive traffic from the States. If you want a list of them, let me know.
Best 73
Luck, WA4STO
ARRL A1-operator, BPL Medallion holder, circa 1977
VUCC Satellite (all CW)
NTS(D) Digital Relay Station, Central Area
NTS(D) Target Station, CAN, TEN & NE
TCC Station "Fox"
I might be able to do that. I just got the radio the other day so I've got a pretty decent learning curve. When's the GlobalSET? Hit me up about it again a about a month or so out. :)
Quote from: WA4STO on December 25, 2013, 01:19:43 PM
Was thinking of you yesterday. I got the list of members over on the 'closed/private' Winlink network and I spotted the fact that you're a member there as well
I'm also a member of that private winlink network.
Shhhhhhhhhh...don't tell anybody! ;)
How's it going with the new rig? Are you programming any repeaters in with or without the cable and software?
I've programmed a few repeaters and special frequencies into the radio manually; but it's a pain! I do it now and then just to stay in practice. I bought the software last week. Definitely makes things easier.
I absolutely LOVE the 857D. I string up an inverted-V in the backyard and tie into the house power with my PowerWerx 30A power supply. All that's left is cracking open a cold one and my day is set!!
Quote from: KF5RHI on February 19, 2014, 08:30:44 AM
I've programmed a few repeaters and special frequencies into the radio manually; but it's a pain! I do it now and then just to stay in practice. I bought the software last week. Definitely makes things easier.
I absolutely LOVE the 857D. I string up an inverted-V in the backyard and tie into the house power with my PowerWerx 30A power supply. All that's left is cracking open a cold one and my day is set!!
I got the software right away but I've been programming repeaters into memory without it so far. It's kinda like reloading, once you get the hang of the repetition it's not so bad.
The 857 will be permanently slaved to my laptop as soon as I can get the rack built for it; but still I'll do the occasional one manually. Plus I've got the Nifty guide for that radio and my 8900.
Quote from: KF5RHI on February 19, 2014, 10:17:42 AM
The 857 will be permanently slaved to my laptop as soon as I can get the rack built for it; but still I'll do the occasional one manually. Plus I've got the Nifty guide for that radio and my 8900.
That is a sweet little book. I use mine all the time right now.