Introduction

[BlinkyBill]

Hi All,

I've been lurking for several months, so thought it time to register an introduce myself.

I've been licensed for two years with the equivalent to your General license.  I live at the bottom of the world, in Hobart, Australia.

My interest in prepping is primarily related to the aftermath of natural disasters.  Fire, floods and wind cause problems here from time to time.  I live in paradise, geographically, socially and politically, so have no concerns about doom brought on by zombies, citizen uprisings or EMP's etc.  The primary attraction of this forum however is that people talk about getting out and using their gear, rather than discussion being limited to abstract or academic principles of amateur radio.

I am fairly active on 2m and 70cm, and am hoping to pick up my first HF radio in the next several months, probably an FT-857D.

Anyway, thanks for having me.

[KK0G]

Welcome to the forum, glad to have you aboard. 73 de KK0G

[cockpitbob]

Hi Blinky.  Welcome to the forum!

Opinions vary, but I like my FT-857D a lot.  I like all-purpose things and am willing to give up base station performance for something that I can use as my base as well as mount in my car for trips, campouts, etc.  My 857 has both Collins filters (SSB & CW).  I really can't say the SSB filter was worht it, but I use the CW filter quite often.  The unit's DSP filters are pretty good, but if the noise is big and close it works better to knock it out in the IF stage rather than at the end in the audio stage.  For battery operation it draws about 0.75A on receive(not good, but not terrible).  Turn the power down to 10W and you can operate for a little while with a 7AH sealed lead acid battery, or a very long time on a car battery.

Do you know Morse?  Is it required for your "General" ticket down under?  I assume you've seen that many of us here are Morse/QRP entheusiasts.  The day I made a 10,000 mile QSO to Antartica with 3W put the hook in me and I now own 4 QRP rigs.

[RadioRay]

‾˙  ‾˙˙˙ ʎɐɹoıpɐɹ>

- pɹɐoqɐ ǝɯoɔןǝʍ˙˙ɯǝɥʇ ǝʌǝıןǝq oʇ puǝʇ ı puɐ 'ǝɯ ןןǝʇ ʎǝɥʇ ǝןdoǝd ʎןǝʌoן ˙sʇıɐɹʇs ʇɹɐqoɥ ǝɥʇ ɟo ʇsǝʍ 'ʇɐoq ɹıǝɥʇ pɹɐoqɐ ǝʌıן oɥʍ -uɐɔıɹǝɯɐ - spuǝıɹɟ ǝɯos ǝʌɐɥ ı puɐ ɯnɹoɟ ǝɥʇ oʇ ǝɯoɔןǝʍ ˙,ɹǝpun uʍop , ǝɹǝɥdsıɯǝɥ uɹǝɥʇnos ǝɥʇ uı pɐǝɹ ʎןısɐǝ ǝɹoɯ 'ɹǝuuɐɯ ɐ uı ǝʇıɹʍ p,ı ʇɥbnoɥʇ ı 'ןןɐ puɐ uɐıןɐɹʇs, buıǝq noʎ 'ʎʞuıןq ʎɐp,b

[KK0G]

That's our lovable, psychotic dork RadioRay. Why am I not surprised. :-) [emoji12]

‾˙  ‾˙˙˙ ʎɐɹoıpɐɹ>

- pɹɐoqɐ ǝɯoɔןǝʍ˙˙ɯǝɥʇ ǝʌǝıןǝq oʇ puǝʇ ı puɐ 'ǝɯ ןןǝʇ ʎǝɥʇ ǝןdoǝd ʎןǝʌoן ˙sʇıɐɹʇs ʇɹɐqoɥ ǝɥʇ ɟo ʇsǝʍ 'ʇɐoq ɹıǝɥʇ pɹɐoqɐ ǝʌıן oɥʍ -uɐɔıɹǝɯɐ - spuǝıɹɟ ǝɯos ǝʌɐɥ ı puɐ ɯnɹoɟ ǝɥʇ oʇ ǝɯoɔןǝʍ ˙,ɹǝpun uʍop , ǝɹǝɥdsıɯǝɥ uɹǝɥʇnos ǝɥʇ uı pɐǝɹ ʎןısɐǝ ǝɹoɯ 'ɹǝuuɐɯ ɐ uı ǝʇıɹʍ p,ı ʇɥbnoɥʇ ı 'ןןɐ puɐ uɐıןɐɹʇs, buıǝq noʎ 'ʎʞuıןq ʎɐp,b

[BlinkyBill]

Cockpitbob, I didn't need morse for my license, but am in the process of learning at the moment.  I plan that to be in a position to make CW contacts when I get my HF rig.

re the FT-857D, I'm looking at it for the reasons you state.  Keen to get into SOTA too, and while not the perfect rig its versatility win me over.  My only reluctance comes from paying for 15 year old technology.  If only they would update with IF filtering.

RadioRay...  :o

[gil]

Welcome Bill!

The FT-857D is a great radio, no doubt. I would always suggest however to have a QRP CW radio on hand, for the low current draw.. My K1 uses avout 50mA on receive, and my MTR sips 35mA... You can't beat that when charging batteries is a problem. Their low price make that option a viable one for anyone who is willing to learn Morse code, for which I congratulate you!

Gil.

[cockpitbob]

Ditto what Gil said.  I've got more than one QRP (CW only) rigs and I can put together a package that will operate on 2-4 bands, including batteries antenna and string for well under 2 pounds.  I think with a 2 band antenna and 10hrs of batteries I can assemble a station with my Weber MTR for about 1 pound.  Now that's a SOTA rig.