Timeline
Down the Rabbit Hole We Go!
Since passing my test I’ve bought a couple more radios and antennas. I got my feet wet in analog with simplex and repeaters and then I moved on to digital and DMR. Wow there’s a steep learning curve compared to analog! I live in a hole between 3 repeaters, I can hear all of them with my antennas but it’s hard to reach them on 5 watts. Since purchasing a 30 watt I can reach them much easier.
2024 August
- Passed my Tech
- Two days later woke up at 8AM to my callsign in my email (KJ5HTH)
- Bought an AnyTone 878UVII Plus (BM# 3210021)
- Installed a Nagoya mobile antenna on my truck
- Installed a Diamond Base Station antenna on my house
- Ordered an Allstar Node from KitsForHams.net
- Built a DMR Hotpost (RaspPi 3B+ with Simplex hat) BM# 321002101
2024 September
- Built a DMR Hotspot (RaspPi 3B+ with Duplex hat) BM# 321002102
- Bought an AnyTone 778UV
- Built a Allstar Node (ASL3, RaspPi 3B+) #626011
- Vanity callsign Arrived! N3MIL (stands for milradians)
- My KitsForHams Allstar Node arrived in the mail! (ASL3, RaspPi 5B) #626010
2024 October
- Bought a Yaesu FT-991A at Belton Ham Fest
- Bought a uSDX+ 5 watt QRP 8 band all mode radio
- Built a home dipole in an Inverted V configuarion according to Charlie (WA5AIR) and Randy (AB5V)
Into HF We Go!
As a technician I’m limited to a small part of the 10M band and that’s it. After a chat with Charlie (WA5AIR) and Randy (AB5V) I knew I needed to build a dipole and put it in an Inverted V configuration. So I mounted up 21ft of galvanized pole with a pully on top, 3D printed a holder for a SO-239, soldered on the 20gauge silicone antenna wire, and put the antenna up. It started with a 1.5:1 SWR and I slowly cut it down to get a 1.1:1 SWR.
With 100 watts on phone I could reach all over the US, Canada, Australia, and Brazil. I started hunting POTA sites on the weekend and I made dozens of contacts.