The nice thing about the trailer ball hitch mount is that you can get the fiber glass pole straight up even when the car is on unlevelled terrain.

I still need to clean up and paint it but I wanted to try the 'proof of concept' prototype a few times before that.

So far, after 3 #pota activations, it has done what I wanted it to do.

Made from leftovers and the remains of my old garage. Amateur welder but all I make holds up. Never a failing weld.

#hamradio #diyhamradio #ParksOnTheAir

UBA Headquarter Station (1 of 12)

Main antenna here. It sits 21m agl.
I added a sloping vertical dipole (top at 16m) and an elevated GP with feedpoint 6m high and two tuned elevated radials slightly sloping down (a/k/a my #pota antenna).
Three antennas fed with homebrew Stackmatch for all permutations (A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, ABC) with Arduino controller.
If you work OPØHQ in this weekend's #hamradiocontest on 20m CW, this is how we exchange RF. Gimme a call!
#hamradio #diyhamradio #iaruhf

#hamradio #diyhamradio

For my new portable setup I was looking for a way to connect the beefy LiFePo4 battery to the radio. Something detachable that does not involve screwing all the time and that can handle 20A.

Enter the Neutrik PowerCon. A sales rep gave me a few samples in my previous life as a broadcast engineer. After more than 20y in the parts bin, it was time to put them to use.

More in comment.

#hamradio #amateurradio #diyhamradio #parksontheair #hamharder

#diyhamradio
For my new 'take it to the field' rig I need an interface to hook up ptt (when vox is disabled) and microphone to that dreaded rj-45 plug.
So I took a dive in my huge warehouse (i.e. unsorted heap of all things) and came up with the needed parts. I just bought the metal handheld switch for PTT.
Some drilling, some ohmic beeping to find the right wires, some soldering et voilà: it works. I haven't lost my interfacing mojo!

#parksontheair here I come! One day...
#hamradio

One step closer to my 1st #ParksOnTheAir activation...
30°C and a welding outfit = sauna/P

#pota #hamradio #diyhamradio

#hamradio #diyhamradio

#diyhamradio #hamradio

#hamradio #amateurradio
#diyhamradio

LINEAR LOADING
A picture says more than 1k words.
I'm not an expert but I have used this successfully on dipoles, verticals and elevated radials.
I use this today to fit the horizontal wire of my 160m inverted L in my garden.
Least loss? Smallest weight? Easiest to construct? Me 💖

@dj3ei @EI3JAB @kf4hzu

#hamradio #amateurradio #diyhamradio
#hamradioantenna #elmersofmastodon

Any of the Yaesu fans here know how long the bolts/screws are for a mounting bracket or carry handle on an FT-710 (or similar)?

Asking because I want to secure the radio into a flight case but don't want to go too deep. The threaded holes in the radio go all the way through and the manual specifically warns for damage with too long screws.

Yes I could measure but maybe someone knows?
Heck I didn't even check yet if it's metric sized (Mx) thread...

#yaesu #ft710 #diyhamradio #hamradio