Project

New year, new project!

My main goal with amateur radio (at this time) is to push standard VHF and UHF (non-SSB) comms to their limits, but there is only so much you can do with a handheld yagi antenna attached to a 5W handie-talkie. I had experimented with long range stuff during my voyage to Main Duck Island in August 2022 and had some good results. The thing is, this was over mostly open water and shoreline, likely bolstered by some tropospheric ducting over such terrain. This was handy, but I normally don’t operate in that type of environment. According to K0NR’s website and book (VHF, Summits and More: Having Fun with Ham Radio), more range is usually possible with a better antenna (which I already have) and with applying more power.

There is also a chap on the Tube of You that goes by the handle “The Tech Prepper” who has come up with a modern take on manpack field radios used by the military. A concept that I had been thinking about for some time, but without any decent idea of how to make it work properly. He has a series of mobile and HF radios fitted with custom rail kits that allow mobile-style radios (those you would normally mount inside a vehicle) to be taken anywhere and used similarly to how an HT would be used. This gives the ability to use more power than you normally would be able to for a VHF/UHF field deployment.

I purchased a Yaesu FTM-200D in September 2022 in preparation for this project. I snipped the power connector off a week after I received it and fitted it with some powerpole connectors (there’s no going back now!)

Yaesu FTM-200D Powerpole-Equipped — Powerpole-equipped

It took me a few months to get around to it, but I finally ordered a set of rails from Armoloq and fitted them to the radio. The basic rail kit consists of an aluminum rail for each side of the radio and an antenna relocation mount. I chose this radio as I wanted to use it in the field, as well as my vehicle, and wanted to have APRS capability built-in to reduce the amount of extra stuff I’d need to carry. I do use APRS on the reg. If I need to do any other fancy-crazy digital modes, there is a data port on the rear of the radio. The radio so far has only been powered by the solar box I built and I plan on upgrading to a LiFEPO battery setup sometime in the near future to reduce the size and weight. The radio is capable of transmitting with 50W of power, but will only be used in manpack configuration at either the 5W or 25W settings (I’d like to not die from RF exposure anytime soon).

Yaesu FTM-200D Armoloq TPA-300 — Rail kit attached with antenna relocation mount up top (cable not included)

A new antenna will need to be procured to make this setup more compact. I’m looking at picking up a Slim Jim antenna and running it up a collapsible carbon fishing rod. This will be way lighter and more compact than the Arrow II mounted to a tripod. The goal is to be as efficient as possible, while not dying after sliding down a slope and being buried by my gear.

Yaesu FTM-200D Maxpedition Colossus — Fits in my Maxpedition Colossus with some space on the sides. Just need to remove the antenna to zip up

The antenna relocation mount can be attached anywhere on the frame kit and is currently setup with a coiled up 3 foot section of RG58 until a shorter length arrives at a later date.

More to come as the parts come in.

During the summer, I started purchasing components for a solar box (solar generator). I am hoping to achieve 2 goals with it:

Firstly, I wanted to have a solar charger that I can charge all of my devices with while camping. There are commercially available chargers available, but they cost a good amount, and don’t usually have a power source built in. There is also the question of durability of some of the charge solutions. They are fairly light, thin and compact too which is handy for hiking, but I envision this as staying put once I get where I’m going.

Secondly, I also want to set up an off-grid simplex repeater at some point in the future and this is the first step towards making that happen. The main point of it being off-grid being that it can power itself, of course.

Solar Box Testing A — Initial Testing. Able to charge a power bank via USB with no issues.

This kit consists of a battery, a solar charge controller, a 12V socket, and the box.

I used a 7 amp, 12 volt sealed lead acid battery. I could’ve went either larger or smaller in capacity, but the most cost efficient was the 7A. The charge controller is rated to 20A, which leaves me some space to add another battery to increase the total amperage of the kit. The 12V socket is a dual socket and should come in handy for powering whatever radio I eventually end up using in the repeater and anything else that needs to be powered up alongside that. Lastly, everything is housed in a plastic .30 cal. ammo box. The battery and 12V socket are fused to prevent bad things from happening. Dead equipment is not good.

A 25W solar panel is used to charge everything up. I went with this size because I want this to be running year round and there is usually less sun in the colder months and snow could also cause charging issues.

Solar Box Inside — A look at the guts. The charge controller readout will spike a bit higher than the panels max. output for a few seconds. Should only be reading ~1.4A max, not 1.6A.

The solar panel has a quick disconnect plug on it so I can pull everything apart for transport quickly. This ammo box is a temporary solution. This kit will eventually be built into a metal ammo can which will be necessary not only for durability in long-duration field conditions, but will also act as a ground plane for any antenna I decide to use for the repeater setup.

I was able to put some of my long-dormant electrical skills to use (if only some minor tinning and multimeter usage) with this project. The only thing I need to do now is to rig a switch to kill the power from the battery to the charge controller. As the panel has an LCD display, it does drain the battery if not in use.

Solar Box Under Sun — Doing it’s job under the sun.

Category: Project

Manpack Radio Project

Solar Box Project