I’ll admit to being one of the renegade Baofeng owners for years. Never transmitted, just ran around with unlocked Radios in case of emergency.

That was until I had to go to Asheville to help look for a good friend’s parents and some other friends livestock. Once we got into the hot zones we had no signal, my inreach was spotty and slow, and we were spinning our wheels trying to get info.

As soon as I got home I signed up for the Hamradioprep course. Spent the last 3 days before and after work hammering out the course. Signed up to take tech and general tests next weekend.

Went ahead and ordered everything I need to build a HF man pack and a HT setup. I don’t want to ever be in a position like that again.


HF Setup
Xiegu G90
Armoloq Frame
Dakota Lithium 10ah LiPo Batteries x2
Chameleon 8010 LEFS antenna
Digirig Mobile
Instant Access PRC Radio Pouch
Maxpedition 6x6 Admin Pouch
20 watt folding solar panel with a solar controller

Looking for a tablet to run with the digirig

HT Setup
Yaesu FT5DR
Super Elastic Signal Stick
N9TAX Slim Jim
2 Spare Batteries

It’s a good starting point for one. Now learn how to operate. Figure out the HF band stuff since that isn’t plug and play like for VHF/UHF in an environment with working and pre-setup repeater memory banks in the radio. Preparation is everything. Especially in a situation like in NC, knowing what repeaters are even on the air and working is one thing, learning and knowing how to program the radio on the fly is another. Once on location, knowing if and when nets are running on what repeaters so you don’t mess with their traffic needs is another game. If you are not part of ARES/RACES/CERT it’s easy to get into trouble with traffic on the still working repeaters.
For the HF part find out what your capabilities are. It’s easier to reach HF stations 1000 miles away than one that is 50 miles out. Find out what antennas works for what distances, conditions at what time of day and band.
Having your license is one thing, training and application another like with shooting but you should know that already.

Good luck with your tests, Mister Button.  If you can get a 90% consistently on practice tests, you'll  be a winner.

More gear to consider as you learn:

Nano VNA  As you learn more about antennas, you'll want to see how a slope vs high vs low deployment effect SWR and gain.
Although you may want a Rig Expert antenna analyzer if you can afford all that other gear.

You'll want some SMA adapters to attach the coax to the NanoVNA.

Look into common mode chokes and ferrite beads. Things that help block and dissipate static charge and RF interference.

Solid choice on the radio. Check out coastal waves and wires on youtube, he is great for antenna ideas, and uses a G90 most of the time. The latest hotness for pedestrian mobile is the magnetic loop antenna. I would get some air time before I looked at one of those. You can save power on the radio with a short press of the power button. It turns off the screen if you don't need to see it.

I don't have any first hand experience with the radio or battery pack. But the radio does show the following in FAQ about voltage



Just something to keep an eye on when operating on battery.

I have no issues with mine until it gets to around 12.3v and it still works fine, just a little lower output. With two of those batteries, it shouldn't be an issue unless you want to hammer digital modes. I would get a fan if you are planning on a lot of digital.

The RADIODDITY G90-H1 HOLDER COOLING FAN BRACKET FOR XIEGU G90  is well worth the money if you plan on running FT8 or other digital modes. I have one and it keeps the G90 from getting too hot. My original G90 that I got at the beginning of this year is the old style without any vents. I won a brand new G90 when Radioddity had their 12 year anniversary raffle last month. The new ones have power pole connectors and vents on the bottom and back side to help with cooling.

The Xiegu G90 has an excellent built in tuner that can tune antennas with up to 10:1 SWR. Of course it is always best to get your antennas as resonant as possible. The worse the SWR is the less power you have getting out on transmit.

Coastal Waves and Wires has lots of good info on wire antennas.

An end fed have wave antenna with a 49:1 unun, a mono band dipole, or an off center fed dipole are all good choices for HF wire antennas.

I Agree with lorazapam, Walt has an entertaing channel and has lots of good antenna vids.  I personaly use a Chelegance 750 for HF portable 95% of the time. It deploys within minutes and works quite well for what it is

One of these gadgets (13.8V DC stabilizer) can be very useful for battery operation
as long as the SMPS harmonics don't fall on the freq you're using.

(Smaller, cheaper one that will probably work for a G90.)

I've used both of the above but not on HF (VHF/UHF packet.)

Glad you are taking this journey. Always remember that knowing how to listen is just as or more powerful than having the ability to transmit.

Backpack hf has come a long way since yeasu 817 but I kinda miss that radio

Looks like a good setup for you

I've run QRP for about 10 years. It isn't for the faint of heart. I've made some amazing contacts. Learn how to use your environment to your advantage. Things such as trees for hanging antennas and bodies of water that can act as an amplifier for your signal. a ground plane will change how you're signal is received.

Great job on getting prepared, it's actually good that it happened this way.

I have my mobile radio programmed for every repeater I can get to in an 8 hours drive. It saves on having to program on the fly.
If you do have to program repeaters on the fly, especially with chinese radios, have the instructions written down on paper so as long as you have the paper, you don't need internet or something with a battery to read them.

Welcome to the hobby, and as you have just discovered, while it is a hobby the vast majority of days, when you do need it for important communication, it is no longer a hobby but a life skill that can make a great difference.

I learned that after the hurricane took out everything in Puerto Rico. The SATERN ( volunteer emergency communication net run by Salvation Army volunteers ) net was passing Health and Welfare messages out of the devastated island by 3 local hams on the island that had battery power and a portable antenna they put up after the storm.  About 50 hams from the states volunteered and traveled with their own equipment to go there and also set up more communication capability. We have a member on this forum that did that and I also talked to him a few times while he was there. Anyway, I took a message from the SATERN net control that I had copied and called the recipient in Miami. He answered the phone, I explained who I was, where I was, and why I was calling.  I told him I had a message from his father, his fathers name and address and how the message got to me, I read him the message from his father stating that the family was uninjured, there was damage to the house but they had clean water and food and shelter and were healthy and taking care of each other and neighbors and not to worry. He said he had had no word from them in 3 weeks and was thinking the worst. He was crying on the phone with me, a total stranger relaying to him the message from his family.

It was sobering what ham radio can do. Having this capability in case I need it or to use to help others in a crisis is a super power.

Welcome. Ask questions, Learn. It will take time, but like everything else you get out what you put in.

I hope your friends and family in the affected area are ok.

I would look into a windows tablet like a Dell 7200 for the digirig but there may be phone apps you can interface with your cell phone, I think there's some if you run FLDigi.

Have a house full of daughters, so listening I have down pat.

It would have made a big difference in our search efforts to have the ability to listen to both local and hf traffic. Buddies parents had reported in to the county they were okay, but because they were shacked up with some kids down the road after the house got swept away and they climbed up the ridge to the house we found them at, they were recorded as +2 residents at that home.

Listened to an interesting podcast this morning by the guy who was net control for the Mt. Mitchell repeater during the initial days. The failures of ARES and the success of grass roots efforts by Ham operators and the general public in the initial response was eye opening.

Good on you and welcome. Got a link to that podcast?

When you test and pass ask to take the Extra test.

Much of it is a rehash of the Technician test and you might pass it.

If you don't then look at it as a practice test.

Solar panel protip.

Figure out what you need.

Double it and come to a figure. Then double the figure you just got.

what you need X2= twice of what you need X2 again=4x what you need. This is what to get.

You have to remember that solar panels are usually optimistically rated. The road to the graveyard is paved by optimism.

You have to remember that your weather may not be ideal.

Based on my career. I was a sailor of which there are four types, dead, retired, novice and pessimist. I was the most cynical, pessimistic bastard in the entire fleet. That's why I became a retired sailor.

Back in '12 I ran a special event on solar and was glad I had gotten a big set of panels.

Realistically, add in a ~10 Amp, 13.8 VDC power supply such as this one.
You'll want to set this radio up at home and become familiar with it under non-emergency conditions. Make contacts, lots of them, so that operation, along with operating procedures, become 2nd nature.
A small gas powered generator would be nice also. During a hurricane or snow/ice storm, you're not going to get much sunshine.

Joining a local ham club and participating in the annual Field Day and other operations will be helpful as well as a heck of a lot of fun.

ETA:
Another way to gain experience and enjoy doing it is to operate Parks On The Air
You take your gear to a local/state/national park, set up, and make some contacts. You can take your family along and make it a picnic outing.
If you're really into the outdoors, you can try Summits On The Air. Here, you have to hike the last mile in.
Pack goats, donkeys, llamas are allowed. LINK

That power supply will work fine with the G90. The G90 draws a maximum of 6 watts when transmitting on 20 watts. Getting familiar with the radio at home is important. You don't want to be fumbling through the settings during an actual emergency.

I will suggest trying some POTA (Parks on The Air) activations along with participating in field days. That will give you good practice when it comes to working portable in different locations.

I used a Harbor Freight Apache case for a go box for my G90. I have an end fed half wave antenna along with a Rez Antennas Recon 40 vertical for portable use.

Attached File

Regarding POTA: There are a lot of "chasers" who seek out POTA stations. You're likely to find yourself under a "pile-up" of chasers. It can get hectic at times, but handling a pile-up is one of the best training experiences you can have.

We have a POTA thread underway here: LINK

It’s the HamRadioNow podcast. It’s their latest episode. Available on Apple Podcasts so probably available on Android as well.

Was talking to some guys from the regional club that run the Shenandoah Valley Emergency Net and they were saying that once I get my license, doing POTA  and SOTA activations are the best way to train for an actual emergency. They recommended organization with storage and transport, deployment, operation, and teardown and storage to be the only real way to even remotely train for something like responding to what happened in NC. Can’t be rummaging around looking for stuff when minutes count.

Fantastic!

If you get in with a good club, Field Day can be a real blast. Besides the actual radio operations, ours threw a Saturday evening cookout, often with deep fried turkey and all sorts of side dishes and desserts. Of course, adult beverages were often involved. And 75 Meters in the wee small hours of Sunday morning can get really wild.

^This.

Do enough activations and packup+setup+teardown becomes second hand.  My POTA kit is a great emergency kit with a lot of different options for setting up in different locations.

See if you can find a good teacher in that club.

When I started, I reached out to some people in the two clubs near me. I've been referred to different people, and no one has been able to help me figure out the best way to get on air.

I rely on the good people here in this forum to be my Elmers, and try to pass on what little I know.

Getting all the stuff is great, knowing how to actually use it is priceless.

Having several different types of antennas is always a good idea. Some antennas will work better in different locations. A NanaVNA or a good antenna analyzer is good to have when making antennas and also when using any type of adjustable telescoping antenna. It makes it easier to get them tuned properly and resonant on the frequencies you want to use.

Like I mentioned earlier, I have the Rez Recon 40 quarter wave vertical antenna along with a couple of end fed half wave antennas. I can use my 40 foot telescoping Spiderbeam mast or a line into a tree to get my EFHW antennas up.

I am lucky that the local club has several Elmers that are knowledgable and willing to help new people.

Believe it or not, I've never been piled up on the whole time I've been a ham.

I got two Dell Venue 11 Pro tablets (8GB RAM). One was left on Win10 Pro (for now) and the other had its SSD swapped for another of the same capacity. Mint 21 went on it. Then flrig, fldigi, wsjtx, etc.

Both of them came with the optional keyboard/battery. I bought another one of those as a spare.

My QRP field radio is an Icom 703+. A Digicom4 interfaces rig and tablet. For higher power I use my IC-7200 and its internal sound card works just as well in this role.

May get a couple spare batteries for the tablets to carry with me.

As far as Radioddity...I REALLY wish they'd get the bugs worked out of the QR-20.

Take my tests tomorrow. Currently scoring between 93% and 100% on the test bank tests.

Should not have a problem passing tomorrow.

Have gotten this far setting up my rig. Waiting on parts and batteries and legitimate Anderson Powerpole connectors to show up.

The armorloq is expensive but now that I have it in hand it really is well made and using Mlok was pretty damn genius.

Attached File

You ain't fuckin' around!

Get squared away and I'll work ya!

I currently have a set of Portable Zero protectors on one of my 703+. Really tempted to get an Armoloq for my 7200 and another for the other 703+/706MkIIG/7000 I have on hand.

Good luck with the tests, OP.

You can stick a wire in the center of the coax connector, toss it out the window and into a tree to start listening around with.
There are several contests going on this weekend that'll add to the normal weekend activity.
80 and 40 Meters are best in the evening and night, 20 and upwards are daytime bands.
If the receiver is general coverage, the shortwave broadcast bands will provide some AM signals. Expect many foreign languages.

It's testing day.

Knock it dead!

And, ALWAYS take the next test up from what you studied for. You might just pass it! There is enough overlap that it is reasonable. Keep going as far as you can. The worst that can happen is you won't pass one.

Passed and on my way home. Missed one question on tech and 3 on general. Will start studying for Extra this week.

OUTSTANDING!!! Congrats!!!

Outstanding! Congratulations!



ETA: Holy crap K9-Bob, I wrote my response as you were writing yours. At first I thought I doubled, LOL.

You got to love it when great minds think alike.

I do love it when a man says he is going get licensed and then crushes it.

Zero to General is awesome.

Did you try the Extra test?

Go drop this factoid in the ongoing tardfest that is the GD discussion about simplifying or elimination of the exams altogether because reasons and muh entitlement.

Heads will not just explode...they'll become plasma.

Congratulations!

I didn’t only because I was on a time crunch with family activities.

The HamRadioPrep app made it idiot proof to pass.

Went through each lesson and made notes in the items they outline in blue. Then I went through each quiz and wrote down the questions I got wrong. Got to the practice tests and did the same thing until I was getting 93-100%.


Went from 0 to General in a weeks time. It’s really not that hard to get the license the challenge is being able to do something useful with it I’m sure.

Strong Work!

Congratuations! Now let's get you on the air!
How about we start with an HF antenna? Can you post a sketch or bird's eye view of your property showing boundaries, buildings and trees along with approximate dimensions? That'll give us an idea of what type of antennas are practical and where they can be fit.

It would be a good idea to reserve the antenna you have for emergency use and make one for permanent use. Put it up, try it out, adjust as necessary then use it for a short time and put it back in the box.
For a permanent antenna, there are several types and configurations, all of which are (relatively)easy to make and tune.
Dipoles
Inverted Vee
Fan Dipole
End-fed antennas
More on end feds
End fed antenna kit with instructions
Vertical antennas

ETA: DX Engineering stocks antennas and DIY antenna components: LINK
So does Ham Radio Outlet: LINK
There are several others, too.

I would agree that POTA is the best training activity for expedient field setup, managing lots of traffic, logging, operating outside of cell coverage and equipment testing.

Congrats!

and yes, studying for extra now and taking the test soon while all the general stuff is still fresh in your head is the easiest way to pass extra.  

If you take two years before trying it, you’ll have to relearn stuff that is in your brain now.

Honestly the cramming is for the test.   A lot of it starts making sense the more you operate.  (obviously)

Congrats!

Yeah, study for extra while it is fresh in your mind. You may not completely understand some of the subject matter and may need to just memorize. To be honest, I did, but later, as I got deeper into things, it began to click. I also do a lot of home brew stuffl, build most of my antennas, Legal limit amplifiers, and do EME stuff weak signal work up into the microwave bands.