Many thanks to Philip (KA4KOE) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. Philip writes:
FX-4CR Field Kit Load-Out
by Philip (KA4KOE)
I transitioned from a full power station, consisting of a 100W radio and 40 AH of batteries. These items fit into two (2) Apache 4800 boxes. Solar panels 400W and sundries (including a field computer – Pansonic CF-53 Toughbook) went into 4 duffle bags. The antenna pole is not included, either a 10 or 12M fiberglass telescoping type. After 29 activations, I decided to trim down the setup. Fully laden, the pack weights in at 26 lbs.
Inside the pack
- FX-4CR SDR transceiver in a protective Velcro wrap.
- 6 AH Bioenno and a Genasun GV-5 controller.
- 40-10M EFHW with the unun provided by N9SAB with approximately 65’ silicon jacket 22 AWG wire.
- 100W coaxial line choke by N9SAB.
- Plastic Jubliee Clips (hose clamps) to secure sections of the pole.
- Headset, Morse Key, and PTT switch. The key is a field CWMorse unit.
- RigExpert Stick 230 in an electric toothbrush case.
- AT-100M automatic QRP antenna tuner.
- Tent spikes to support antenna mast.
- Percussive tool.
- Global Solar 62W surplus military solar panel and cables. Cables not shown.
- 25’ Coaxial Cable
- Kelty Raven 2500 tactical radio pack.
- Short 7’ coax section installs between unun and EFHW (Item 3).
- Winder with mini-paracord.
Outside the pack:
16. 12M Spiderbeam pole.
17. Windows Tablet, Getac F110-G3, carried in a separate PC shoulder bag.
I can set up my station in about ½ hour. Putting stuff back in the pack takes about 5 minutes longer; mainly getting the pack re-stuffed correctly. With the solar panel I can essentially run all day if I have good sun.
Philip Neidlinger, KA4KOE
Thank you, Philip! This is a very comprehensive kit. I had never even heard of the Getac F110-G3. Looks like a very rugged field tablet! Thank you for sharing your kit with us!
Cheers,
Thomas
K4SWL
I have the radio, but have done very little with yet.
It looks like an extraordinarily capable little radio, with a very receptive developer, a bit of a rocky start, but the firmware updates sound like they have made some significant improvements in the overall performance. Looking forward to getting out and working with it in the field after some shack time getting familiar with it.
David W7CDT
You are using a solar charge controller designed for lead acid batteries, to charge a LiFePo battery.
It can be dangerous to use the wrong kind of charger.
In this case I think it will merely not fully charge, but I might be wrong. It is possible the trickle charge current for a charged lead acid battery—versus the constant voltage a charged LiFePo should get—is dangerous. I’m not sure. Are you?
You find that regular tent stakes at about 3′ on a 12m mast enough to hold it well? If so, I have seriously over-engineered my 10m mast solution…