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Sunday 18 June 2017.  I recently purchased a new 2.5 watt 23 cm transverter from SG-Lab in Sofia Bulgaria. The package includes a 2el HB9VC PCB which has turned out to be a great addition for portable work, particularly from a hilltop with a good uninterrupted view of the horizon.  Today from the summit of Mt Taylor VK1/AC-037 locator QF44MP, I worked Rod VK2TWR in Nimmitabel over 130 km, not bad for 2 watts in to a tiny PCB antenna.

While the PCB antenna is a great addition to the SOTA kit, be it for local summits or perhaps on a long hike 10 km or more, what I really need is an antenna with a fair amount of ‘oomph’ that’s non-techo speak for gain, whilst keeping weight and size or length within reasonable limits.

For SOTA purposes keeping antenna construction as simple as possible is a key attribute to…

How do you get on 23 cm 1296.2 MHz USB for SOTA activations without forking out loads of dough for an ICOM IC-910 or IC-9100?  Answer a lightweight all mode 2.5 watt 23 cm transverter from Hristiyan LZ5HP in Sofia Bulgaria.  The current unit on offer is version 2.3.

SG-Lab all mode 2.5 watt 23 cm Transverter version 2.3.  The parcel arrived after 13 calendar days between Bulgaria and Canberra Australia, pretty good considering the transition points along the way.

The 23cm transverter’s default configuration is simplex with the local oscillator (LO) set to 1152 MHz.  The unit has internal jumpers to change the LO frequency by +/- 2 MHz, this option permits simplex operation on 1294 MHz FM.  A separate jumper configures the unit for simplex or repeater operation while a fourth jumper configures the repeater offset which in VK is 20 MHz.  We don’t have a 23cm repeater…

For Yaesu FT-857D owners, I have published a Quick Reference Guide on the configuration of the radio using a standard MH-31 microphone or the MH-59 AJ8 remote DTM microphone.  I prefer to use the MH-59 DTMF microphone with programmable P1 and P2 buttons for quick access to selected menus.  Watch out for the nifty VFO wheel on the upper right edge of the microphone just where your right thumb sits.  Yes I too have been caught out shifting the VFO in the middle of a SOTA contact!    🙂

See my new page  FT-857D Menu Settings

FT-857D deployed for a SOTA activation of Mt Little Joe VK3/VC-027. The Mic pictured is the standard MH-31

Purchased accessory MH-59 A8J DTMF Microphone

MH-59 A8J DTMF Microphone. The VFO thumbwheel is pictured on the edge of the microphone.  P1 and P2 buttons are programmable to give you direct access to two selected menus.

In most cases, amateur radio operators record the time of a conversation (QSO) as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or also known as Universal Coordinated Time (UTC). Why? No matter where in the world the amateur radion station is located, GMT or UTC is the time refrence by which all amateur radio QSOs are logged, doing so eliminates potential errors or misunderstandings of individual station time zones. The same can be said for all emergency services radio communications and radio conversations between air traffic controllers and pilots of aircraft. The time reference for all essential service radio communications is Greenwich Meant Time (GMT). The prime meridian serves as the world’s standard time zone

Today my wife and I visited the Royal Greenwich Observatory the location of the Prime Meridian at Zero degrees Longtitude (0). Yep we are in London! The prime meridian divides the earth’s Eastern and Western Hemispheres. 15 degrees…