F.Y.B.O 2016

So I figured the weather was looking good and I would set up for F.Y.B.O. in my back yard at the picnic bench. I cleared the snow from on and around the table and started setting up just after 1500z.

I was using the YouKits HB1B MKIII QRP CW(www.youkits.com) transceiver with built in battery. I set up the Chameleon F-Loop (http://chameleonantenna.com/) antenna on a tripod and hooked that to the radio. My key of choice was my Czech military key.

                                                    

Temperature was 19F in the back yard, and some light snow was starting to fall. The bands were alive with the MN QSO party among others QSO Parties and some huge pile ups as well on 20 meters.

 

I was able to work WA5BDU in AR and exchange information with him. On 15 meters I heard NQ7RP/5 as well but signals were way down in the mud. My goal was not to break any QSO records or any record at all, but to just get outside and set up, I had participated in Winter Field Day the weekend before and hauled my sleigh and gear into the bush and played in that. My goal was just to set up and make a QSO and have some fun. It was a pleasure to not freeze off any extremities and still send cw without gloves.

Stations were indeed hearing  my 5 watt CQ using the F-Loop which can be seen via R.B.N. or Reverse Beacon Network (http://www.reversebeacon.net/)

 

Winter Field Day 2016

What is winter field day? 

WFD is based on the same idea as Field Day. 

Its main purpose though is “To encourage emergency operating preparedness in the winter”. Of course taking into mind all safety concerns that go along with WFD should be priority, for us in the North it is hypothermia, for those in the South sunburn and UV is still a concern.

There are bonus points and multipliers and the scoring scheme is the same with callsign, category and section being logged and at the end a Cabrillo log submitted to the score keeper. Bonus points for this event are as follow:

1000 pts for if not using commercial power

1000 pts if outdoors

1000 pts if outdoors away from home

500 pts for working WFDA bonus station W8D.

My plan was to hike into my winter shelter that I have down Walker Road in Neebing Ontario. It is a 3km hike pulling my sleigh, radio gear and survival gear in. Well we had some heavy wet snow the Friday night and it made pulling my sleigh a challenge considering I would have expected some of the locals to be out with snow machines and the trail would have been packed. Well that was not the case, so after 30 minutes and only getting 1 km from the main road I hauled off into the bush and found a open area to call camp, get the fire going, set up the gear and get ready for the 1700 UTC start bell.

My gear consisted of the Xiegu X108G transceiver, Chameleon Hy-Brid Micro with 60’ wire and counterpoise, Emtech ZM2 tuner and P-Box battery box. Strung the wire in the tree, set the rig to CW and tuned up the antenna and was ready to go on CW operating QRP 5 watts. Issue was it was now +4c and had lots of snow and drops falling from the trees and onto my gear, so my wool blanket protected the gear.

   My Gear Set Up in Operation mode

Gear packed for travel in sleigh

Bands were not the greatest this afternoon, and I spent time calling CQ instead of the Hunt and Pounce method as there were other contests going on as well. I was able to hear Europe and South America on 20 meters as the day progressed. I kept the fire going and made homemade soup on the fire while watching rabbits frolicking in the great weather. I was able to make 6 contacts that afternoon during 3 hours of operation and achieve the main principal of WFD. My final score with bonus points was 3006.

I worked into KY(x2),NLI,NTX,GA and QC . The one station in KY was 1M or 1 operator mobile. The station in Quebec is the Nord DX Club and that contact can be seen and heard here on my YouTube Channel:  https://youtu.be/M2FkxvAXWR8

Here is a picture of me at the operating position of VE3FAL 1O ONN:

Was a super day outdoors as always, no mosquitoes, no ticks, warmth and of course radio. I hope next year brings good weather and good conditions as well, and maybe look to stay overnight in the bush and operate and keep up on my outdoor survival skills.

Take care everyone

Fred

VE3FAL

Thunder Bay, Ontario

YouKits HB1B MKIII Transceiver

First off I want to wish all who read my blog page a very Happy New Year and all the best in 2016.
I have been a bit behind on blog writing as I have been busy with family, holidays, our business, enjoying the great outdoors, the vast playground that mother nature has given us, and making the best I can with what we have before us.

Many of my outdoor outings can be seen on my YouTube Channels which incorporate, radio, outdoor survival and more.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC74xnqwQpvBjHGWoxqsko5A
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHUb38-M7mysKSKGjJ5IgSA

I have had the great opportunity to test and review the latest of great radios from Yimin at YouKits Canada. His webpage can be found here:
YouKits Canada

As many of you know I am a huge fan of the HB1B MKII and that it travels with me to many of the remote, fly-in communities in Northern Ontario that I travel too, the radios have fantastic receivers, great filters, and last forever on the battery pack in these radios. I usually compliment the system with a Elecraft T-1 tuner, micro switch key and small amplified speaker along with a zip cord antenna that all fit in a small tupperware container, is light weight and ready to go either from a outside area where I am staying or even in my room.

So to continue with the first part of my review. 
The radio arrived in only a few short days after Yimin sent me the
tracking number, and was sent via TNT and delivered to me. The radio was nicely packaged and no signs of damage were seen on the package.

It was well wrapped both outside and inside, once the box was opened it included the radio, charger for battery, extra battery holder.

I opened the radio up and installed the rechargeable battery and then charged the battery up getting it ready for action. The charging process for first time around took just over an hour to get the LED to GREEN and in run state.





  

Some of the specs from the YouKits webpage:

• 2015 New version with SWR indicator,
• QSK - full break- in,
• New IC and hardware upgraded,
• Assembed unit, tested and ready to use. 
• 5 amateur band in one rig, no module needed. (17m band also workable, but may lower sensitive, sharing filter with 15m),
• TX covering: 40m/30m/20m/17m/15m,
• RX covering:5.9-22MHz,
• Step: 10Hz,100Hz,1KHz,100KHz,
• Output: 12V 4-5W,
• Sidetone: 700Hz,
• Display: Frequency,mode,voltage,S meter,RIT,forward and reserve power. 
• IF filter 400Hz - 3KHz

The manual for the radio can be found here:
HB1B MKIII Manual

I will continue my review with the radio in action via video and of course through the blog page.

Xiegu X108 Firmware Update

http://www.cqxiegu.com

 Xiegu has come through once again with their latest firmware update to take care of a few small problems that were on the latest version of the X108G OLED outdoor version.

The first fix about a month ago was to address the issue with the Iambic keyer adding extra characters in while trying to send code. That was fixed and all is good now when using a paddle.

This newest firmware update takes care of a few things:
1) Fixed the A=B issue
2) Split mode-You can now work cw on on one VFO and voice on another for working nets when no microphone is available.
3) Split band is also working now so you can operate cross band if required
4) SQL adjustable levels also added to menu

One can now send code using the microphone PTT button while in CW mode in the event a key is not present, there is however no sidetone heard when doing this.
From what I read or what I think I read it looks like maybe one could send code while in USB mode, the rig does key up but there is very little RF going out, you can hear a carrier on another radio but no power deflection is visible.

This is a direct copy from the Xiegu Firmware Folder:

I. Update description

[A=B]

A=B functions are available

[Split screen] mode

Update the transceiver switching logic, both two VFO in any mode, split screen mode are effective.

1.     The PTT switch is no longer disabled in CW mode. Ignoring automatically key settings when PTT is pressed (by pressing the manual key logic), enter the sending State and CW tone generated (microphone effective at this time), release the PTT to produce a state of setting CW the delay time of switching and quit sending.

2.     When not in CW mode, no longer disable keying. Keying action and the VFO key were setup consistent (hand keys left / right automatic key). At this point, the carrier is related to the current VFO mode( Into the launch logic will open the carrier switch).

Key behavior in CW mode is not affected.

PTT behavior is not affected when there is not in CW mode.

3.     [SQL]

Updated SQL code

1.     SQL=0, invalid squelch;

2.     SQL=1~10, the squelch invalid when S signal is greater than the SQL value, otherwise, squelch effectively.

4.     [SQL]

When the user upset the X108G data, you can press the RST key, so that the X108G to restore the calibration data.

II. Firmware update tutorial:

1.     Press the frequency knob (keep the action), turn on, connect the USB cable to the computer.

2.     Open “ My computer”, there is a Update X108 (*:) mobile storage device.

3.     Open Update X108 (*), delete the file, this time on the radio will show delete progress (waiting for progress to complete 100%).

4.     Copy the latest firmware to the Update X108 (*:) to wait for replication to complete, and then disconnect the USB and the computer.

5.     Restart X108G, firmware update is completed!

                                  Xiegu Tech

Updated YouKits Webpage

Yimin has been hard at work with some updates at the YouKits webpage and some new and updated projects coming.

The HB1B MKIII 2015 is almost ready to roll out onto the market. The HB1B MKII is my favorite rig that I take portable with me all the time when I fly up North.

YouKits can be found at : http://www.youkits.com

We look forward to some of the new toys that YouKits has to offer the ham who likes to operate portable and low power, as well as accessories to help with those antenna projects like antenna analyzers and tuners.



The TJ2B handheld is also being re-worked, Yimin says this on his webpage:

 TJ2B in upgrade some new functions!
November 14, 2015 • new products
TJ2B is in upgrade!
High-performance audio AMP IC SA58631 raising audio output level
High-performance IF AGC
Power level indicator
Battery level indicator.
They are scheduled to release at middle of Dec 2015.

So keep an eye on the YouKits webpage for future new products and upgrades.

Portable Zero Accessories

In the past few months I purchased a few radio accessories from Mike W0MSN at Portable Zero
http://www.portablezero.com/icom706.html

My first purchase was the IC706 Escort for my Icom IC703. I ordered the Escort directly from Mike and had it in my hand in only a few days. The product was as described, easy to install and attach to the radio. Service and shipping from Mike was fantastic.

So I was looking for and in the market for a good bag for my Xiegu X108G, tuner and accessories. Well the X108G is not much larger then my FT817 so figured this would work just about right for the radio allowing me to take it out in the field. So looking at Mikes Portable Zero sight I was thrilled to see The Sherpa Bag.
Mike's description for the bag is as follows:
"The 817 Sherpa Pack is the perfect way to transport your Yaesu FT-817 transceiver, tuner and accessories. Order item 817-SP"



I sent an email to Mike about my order, he replied asking what my address would be to ship the radio and then I was sent a PayPal Invoice in very short time. I replied to Mike and within a very short time I had confirmation that the bag was being shipped out Friday morning, it was just after 2:00PM on Thursday that I placed the order..

I look forward to the Sherpa Bag arriving and allowing me to take the X108G outdoors in a  nice all in one ready to go kit.

I thank Mike at Portable Zero LLC for his efforts and his quick and speedy service and top quality gear.

Fred
VE3FAL


 

Xiegu X108G Outdoor Version at JOTA 2015

Took the X108G Outdoor Version out to JOTA this weekend outdoors near Neys Provincial Park near Marathon, Ontario, temps during the day were 3c and at night was -4c first night and second night was -7c. We operated from a dining tent outside and was running battery power and a windom at about 15′.
We had light snow and rain during our outing and Saturday morning we did a hike to The Crack which is a large path through the rugged rock in the area.
http://superiorhiking.com/the-crack-in-the-rock/
Here are a few pictures of the weekend and a few links to YouTube videos of the X108G in action:

 https://youtu.be/FeWeqWDvSMU

 https://youtu.be/JoA17p761bE





Was a great weekend out in the bush and having the 1st Thunder Scout Troop again take part in JOTA