Mobile Station

No pictures at the moment to show the set-up of my station.

My QSL card has a picture of the area next to where I operate. Look at the view, and there's a section of map showing the site.

I use 2 metres regularly, but mostly weekdays, daytime operating, so there are only a few of you on the band out there at this time of the day.

My set-up is FT290R or IC706 with Home-brew Linear 150+ watts out with pre-amp using low noise GaAs FET.

Antenna 2 X 2-element home-brew Yagi beams stacked; I use a phasing harness to keep the weight down as the antennae are attached to an 8 ft pole mounted on the van roof. See the antenna page for more information on the arrangement.

Look at a polar plot of the antennas.

On FM the same set-up, but antenna, either 5/8th whip or home-brew 3ele vertically polarized beam .

I also use the IC706 for 2/ 6/ and HF.

From the elevated location in the Peak District National Park in NE Derbyshire, just on the out-skirts of Sheffield. About 1400 ft ASL is the height I work from.

At this site I have a good take off to the south. I can work the south coast of England and the near continent most of the time.

The Locator is IO93EI and is WAB SK28.

Due to long-term health problems I have limited operating times, but I would be glad to give any contacts into this area.

I operate between 11:00-13:00 local whenever I can, health and weather permitting.

For HF I use the 706 with a variety of mobile whips. Hope to get a home-brew 'screwdriver' antenna made and working soon. And I hope that it will give me a little bit more efficiency, compared with the ones I use at the moment.

Portable

Same TX/RX equipment, 2 metre antenna 2 X 5 element home-brew Yagis stacked. I use a power splitter to impedance match and feed the antennae and they are mounted on a 30 ft telescopic mast, which attaches to the side of the van.

For longer operating sessions I have just made a petrol driven generator, more information on that here.

I also have home-brew equipment for 23 cm, and during the summer I sometimes make a few contacts. I can get about 30 watts out into home-brew antenna with 18dBd gain. Check out the 23 cm antenna designs.

The IF is 144 MHz and I use the old IC 202, much modified on receive, and a built in digital display. For contest work I have a home-brew antenna 23-24 dBd gain. 2 metre plane parabola with double quad feed, Mast head GaAs FET pre-amp, with separate feed for TX/RX and one good quality coaxial relay. Coax on TX LDF-450 Heliax, on receive URM 67 mil spec. Transverter based on LMW kit with about 500 mw out to home-brew linear using 2 X Mitsubishi modules which will give about 35-40 Watts.

During good conditions I have worked into Scandinavia, Poland, Czech Lands and may other European countries on 23.

I will have to repair my 70 cm equipment. At the moment the PA transistor needs replacing and I haven't as yet got round to sorting it. The rig is an old IC 402 SSB/CW portable, with only 3 watts out, but I do have an additional 50 watt linear amplifier when a little more power will help.

Back home