QRP works

QRP Works

I'm getting my gear ready for a trip up to NC. I need to revamp my radio mounting system in the KIA Sorento since I sold the TM-V71A and the ID-880H head is about half the size.

I decided to see if I could catch any QSOs on the KX1. Since I was too lazy to go out to the car and get the 12v 2.3aH battery I ran off the internal 6AA cells. These batteries have been in there ever since I bought the rig and I would suppose they been there much longer before. They still have some juice left though. I hooked the KX1 up to my Z-100 Autotuner that was tunned for the loop in the attic. It was tunned for 7.114 so I had to make no changes. Just to be sure though I had the KX1 use its internal tuner. 1.1:1. On trasmit I got about 2 bars on the LCD. I'm guessing that is between 1 - 1.5watts. For 45 minutes I called CQ on 7.114-.117 and 7.032. On the lower frequencies I head VE2PID (I hope) and called him back. By this time it had been 45 minutes and the KX1 was complaining about every minute that the batteries were low. I turned off the LED to save some power. He came back and we exchanged reports. I stopped the QSO quick as I was not sure how much longer I could go. Pierre was a tad fast and maybe I copied 50%.

It is nice to cast 45 minutes and finally catch a fish.

KI4SBA

Well, after about 3 days with the ID-880H I've given up on KI4SBA. From now on I'll use WX4GPB or WD4STR. My car can reach them both.

Now if I was talking to a local this would not be a problem but KI4SBA has some network issues. I think primarily it has to do with distance from the CO and bandwidth used by both EchoLink and D-Star. This is unfortunate because KI4SBA is at a location that has some great coverage. It would be a good asset during emergency use but can one count on it to be reliable to provide outside connections to places outside its RF foot print?

Much of this reminds me of SIP. I have an Asterisk server at home. We use one at work and I've grown to love it. Asterisk provides me the features of a commercial VoIP PBX without the cost. To really get the benefit though you have to drop your TDM connections and go with SIP trunks and SIP phones. You learn all about these nice features and after about a week you have to deal with reliabilty issues. SIP trunks not registering. Running out of $$$ at your SIP provider. Phones not registering, etc. It is like you have the great system but it is all based on the unreliabilty that is the Interent. It is obvious that those that work TDM did not write this stuff. It is what it is and SIP is here to stay but IMO it is just an example how we can have some great technlogy using the technology of the Internet and it can be horribly unreliable.

It is so unfortunate that such a great system has such a shoddy connection to the outside world. We'll call it a handicap.

D-Star

Well, it was bound to happen. Eventually I was going to get sucked into this thing called D-Star. The full indoctrination happened over the last week. Started at the Stone Mountain Hamfest and was guaranteed when I sold my Kenwood TM-V71A and and bought an ID-880.

At Dayton 2009 I did purchase a 91AD. It is a good rig and I still have it but I was not very active on D-Star. I still did 99.9999% analog FM. Even on FM I was not very active. Living in Buford means I'm too far from W4DOC to use it, W4GR seems quiet to me most of the time, and there is not much traffic on 146.520. Since I work from home my drive time is short. Maybe 20 minutes at the most. I take the youngest daughter to school which is 5 miles down the street, pick up a soda at the store and then I'm back home for a day filled with work activites. Not much time to operate but I have snuck a few CW contacts on 40m in the morning before work and in the afternoon when the band seems to be active.

I think now that I have an ID-880H I'll be using D-Star more often. Most C ports around Atlanta are connected to reflector #2 so it does not mater which repeater I connect to I'll still be able to converse with firends. That is a deal closer on this technolgy right there.



Here are my thougths on the 880 after having it for two days. I'm not too crazy about it.... I love the technology but the radio seems feature lacking to me.




1. Dual VFO

I really do enjoy a dual vfo setup. On the Kenwood I would typically be configured for a V/V setup unless I was using 70cm on W4DOC. Having dual V/V I have been able to monitor multiple repeaters in memory channels and store temp ones in the VFO settings for each side. I have a 146.520 sticker on my car so I am actively looking for folks to talk to on 520. On the 880 I can not monitor 520 unless I do a "priorty watch". This was such a pain on the FT-2800M and was annoying as it would go back and forth betweent he priorty channel and the current selected channel. I think the solution is to monitor 520 when I travel outside of the ATL area. I can switch to D-Star as needed there. Haveing the D-Star network available all throughout the metro area makes D-Star more valuable than 520 in this area for me.

2. Configuration

What can I say here. Everyone knows how much of a pain it is to program the repeaters in this radio. I had a problem with the 880 I bought on Friday (now replaced a day later) and Icom reccommended that I restore to factory then program by hand on the front panel. Who are they kidding? Were they joking. Software is a requirement!!!!

3. Ease of use

Learning a new radio is difficult. I had a TM-V7A so programming the V71A was almost the same. Dual-band repeat, etc were all great features.

I had almost decided on a 2820 instead but many places on the net said the 880 was better. Maybe better D-Star technology and it has more memories but I gues those folk don't love the dual VFO.

In conclusion I suspect that if I do miss the Keenwood that I'll be a dork and buy another one and have dual VHF/UHF antennas on the "mobile command center (mcc)".

KJ4IXI and I have been conversing with him in Tampa and I in Buford and he has started to sell me on that DV Dongle. I know a few folks that have bought them but not used them so maybe I can borrow one for a few weeks and test it out. I would be nice to have this technolgy on my computer so my 880H can stay in my car.

73,
k3dc