Portable Operating

WARNING: ELECTRICITY IS DANGEROUS. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. DC power is one of the first problems to solve when operating portable. Your portable operation might take place near established infrastructure where AC power is plentiful. Remote locations will require the use of a battery. Some radios have internal batteries, but if you’re running 100W, an external battery is a likely necessity. AC power? Some public spaces have AC outlets available in shelters or bathrooms that can be used. These are a relative luxury since they grant you unlimited operating time at your maximum power level (or at least up to 100W). If possible, research AC power availability ahead of time. If a picnic shelter has ceiling fans, you might get lucky (looking at you Clemmons Educational State Forest). Some parks have photos that might provide hints. ...

The RARS Portable Operating Group met on May 28, 2022 at Blue Jay Point County Park in northern Wake county to activate the Mountains to Sea Trail (K-8313), as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA) program. Attendees included over a dozen hams, some experienced and some new, who came to enjoy the mild May weather and HF propagation. Several hams generously brought their portable stations to share with participants. Icom was well-represented with an IC-718, IC-7300 and two 706’s present. Yaesu was also represented with the FT-857, FT-757, and FT-817 rigs. Vertical antennas were the most popular with a variety of Chameleon, Wolf River Coils, and TN07 antennas deployed. Deployment of an end fed half wave antenna was attempted, but ultimately unsuccessful when after several attempts with an arborist throw line, a zip tie failed resulting in a pile of wire on the ground. ...

I managed to sneak in a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation during a recent Cub Scout camping trip at Falls Lake, K-3841. As part of setting up camp, I threw up a SOTABeams Midi Bandspringer in a tree behind the tent, snaking both aerial and ground wire back in via the rear tent door for later use. After a long day of activities and eating, we settled down in the tent around 9:30pm and the youngest was out by 10pm. Sensing that opportunity was near, I waited a few minutes to ensure he was out-out, then starting wiring together the station. This was the first trip out for my new BioEnno 15Ah battery. After spending a few minutes tuning using my EMTech ZM-2, I checked my work with an analyzer and found that I had a 1.22 SWR on 7.070. Good enough. ...

The RARS Portable Operating Group met on April 23, 2022 at Umstead State Park near Big Lake for our second outing. Attendees included a dozen hams, some experienced and some new, who came to enjoy portable radio on a very pleasant spring day. The program was on public service events and was presented by the RARS Public Service Chair, Jeremy Lindsley K2HJX. Jeremy gave an overview of different types of public service events, explained how they normally operate, and demonstrated the portable VHF/UHF station that he regularly uses to run a public service net control station. His portable station consisting of two dual-band radios, vertical antenna with collapsible mast and tripod, combined with a versatile battery power source generated a lot of interest from participants. ...