Tag: IC-706

CQ Field Day CQ Field Day & ARSIB

Although I’ve been a ham since 2001, I’ll consider this my first Field Day. Instead of participating in the local RACES field site or one of the local clubs, I decided I’d operate from home using emergency power. I spent the majority of the day completing my amateur-radio-station-in-a-box (ARSIB) project. The ARSIB is centered around an FT-817ND and is housed in a large dry box, the type normally used by outdoors folks and hunters. I built a shelf unit that slides into the box. Components are stacked vertically and secured to their own shelf. At the bottom I have an Alinco powers supply, very compact. Above the power supply is the FT-817ND. Above that is a 100W Tokyo HyPower amplifier for the FT-817ND (normally a 5W rig). Above the amp is an LDG Z-11PRO, great tuner. The tuner is also connected to the FT-817 ACC outlet for seamless tuning during band changes. Above the tuner is an SWR/power meter. The power cables run up the side of the box and feed into a small RigRunner that is mounted on the inside lid of the box. I spent just about all day putting everything together, to include two trips to ACE Hardware.



Once the ARSIB was complete, I set the box up in my ham shack a powered it with my portable generator running outside. I was now a “1E” station for field day (running from home on emergency power). I worked on the air tonight for about three hours and probably had about a dozen or so contacts. Mainly SSB, but I also tried out PSK-31. I need to mount my Rig Blaster NOMIC to the inside lid as well to help with the PSK-31 option. I also got to work some bands I rarely work like 15M. Lots of folks out there working field day…. good stuff!


The ARSIB is now my radio for portable operations. No more ripping my IC-706 out of the ham shack every time I want to activate a lighthouse. I can now use the ARSIB<.

Using AT-180 and IC-706 on 17M

A response to a question I asked about using my AT-180 along with my IC-706MKIIG on 17M….

The biggest problem I found with the AT-180 is it has to have a good, very good ground. If it doesn’t you will find that some of the bands can’t be tuned and it will also narrow the usable band width on each band. I’ve experienced this first hand and to solve it just get an eight foot piece of 1/2 copper pipe the ridged type and hammer it into the ground as close as you can to your radios, like right outside a window near the radios. Run a good # 8 wire down to it and get a bronze ground anchor that will go over the 1/2 pipe. Tin the end of wire and clamp it to the pipe. One other thing clean the pipe with some emery cloth or sand paper before you put the clamp on. And you will have to go outside and clean this thing several times a during the year. I had a similar problem with one of my full wave loops. It would tune flat match but when I went to talk during a QSO it would kick out the tuner into by-pass. Turned out I had to make a better grounding system and I had to move the hook up point on the loop. It was too close to a corner and the ground wasn’t very good at all. Also make sure you run your grounds run separately one from each radio, tuner and even antenna switches. I purchased a ground buss bar out of an old electric service panel and bolted it onto a larger piece of 1/4 inch steel plate which I then sent a #8 wire out to my 1/2 inch copper pipe. It made the radio a lot quieter and my swr cam right now to flat. I don’t know for sure this will fix our problem, but a bad ground will drive you crazy and it will make your radio/tuner do stupid things as well.

I hope this will help you, let me know then I might be able to give you a little more of an idea where or what to look for.

Oh ya one other thing hook up a dummy load to the back of the tuner and see if it will tune it. If it will ten it’s ikely your antenna or feed line. If it won’t then you have a problem with the tuner it’s self.

73..de ve7agw
Al Winney

Weekend wrap up

Got to see a bit of the air show today from a nearby park that has a good view of Langley Air Force Base. Had my Bearcat Scanner (BC245XLT) with the Radio Shack antenna and was able to monitor the Air Boss as well as the air/ground communications for the Golden Knights parachute team.

Tired to contact the special events station at Fort Knox (W2P), but the propagation just wasn’t there. I was able to make two other SSB contacts while trying as well as a PSK31 contact with a Swedish amateur radio operator on St. Martin.

Worked on cleaning the radio room.

Started looking at using my TH-D7A for accessing a DX packet cluster… but I’m not sure if we have any packet clusters in the area. We’ll see.

I’m looking at getting an amp for my FT-817 so I can use it for portable operations without having to pull the IC-706 out of the shack.

Finished about 30 QSL cards to be sent out tomorrow.

Weather Display works on Ubuntu!! I need to transition my weather station from the radio room to the linux box out in the garage. I need to figure out how to do do the FTP upload and webcam.

Started working on a webpage for Old Point Comfort Lighthouse activations: http://www.ni0l.com/monroe/monroe.html