KF2MR/R THE NEVER ENDING JOURNEY OF BUILDING A ROVER 9/23/2017

Transcription

1 KF2MR/R THE NEVER ENDING JOURNEY OF BUILDING A ROVER 9/23/2017

2 Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.

3 HISTORY WHERE I HAVE BEEN ROVER 1.1 (2015) IC-7000 for 6m (100W), 2m (50W), 70cm (30W) Elecraft driven by IC-7000 TYT 4-band FM used on 6m, 2m, 70cm FM TYT FM IC-1271A for 1296 MHz All Mode TK-981 for MHz FM Powered from 12V deep cycle battery with DC-DC trickle charger plugged into lighter outlet Several manual coax switches No external amplifiers

4 LOTS OF EARLY LESSONS LEARNED January 2015

5 ROVER BANDS SORT OF 902 and 1296 end mount yagis pointed in opposite directions. Tripod for 2304 antenna (not mounted) Coax management a big problem. Telescoping mast means different lengths for different antennas and a rats nest of coax soon forms. January 2016

6 ROVER BANDS MODULAR DESIGN - GETTING VERY COMPLICATED SETUP TIME ~10 HOURS

7 ROVER /903 MODULAR SHELF DEMI XVTR AND 40W AMP

8 ROVER BANDS FIBERGLASS MAST WAY OVERLOADED. GETTING HEAVY AND DANGEROUS!

9 FIRST 5G SETUP January 2017 Rover Bands

10 PATH PROFILE FROM WB2BYP TO KF2MR/R This path uses scatter over Baker hill Very repeatable up to 10GHz (24GHz not yet attempted) Same small 5GHz setup on both sides WiFi antenna and ~200mW

11 MY WISH LIST FOR THE SUMMER 2017 ROVER 3 REBUILD: Rotor for (minimum) Reduce setup time to 4 hours or less Reduce weight of push up mast (or eliminate altogether) Add more power to 1296, 2304, 3456, and 5760 MHz Stabilize DC voltage Improve human factors and operating comfort

12 ROOF RACK DESIGN AND BUILD

13 ROOF RACK Aluminum from Online Metals.com 6061-T6 Aluminum used for good strength to weight ratio without the cost of aircraft grades. Stainless steel hardware. Yaesu thrust bearing used to transfer most of the stress to the structure minimizing wear on the rotor. Yaesu G-1000 DXA rotor selected. (Lots of margin left to use in other applications Like Field Day).

14 PORTABLE 12U RACK TRYING DIFFERENT LAYOUTS SKB-12U Roto Rack

15 902 AND 1296 SHELF CONSTRUCTION DEMI Amps MHz MINI-CIRCUITS FILTER W6PQL Sequencers SG Labs Transverters

16 BUILDING OPERATING CONSOLE CHECKING FIT & LAYOUT

17 available from operating console. Single switch for PTT/IF switching. Everything for these bands within easy reach. IC-7000 allows liaison on 2m or 70cm while trying for microwave contacts. 5G and 10G still operated external to rover system. In this setup, 5G is operated from FT- 290R by standing outside passengers window. Not convenient, but necessary for antenna aiming.

18 ROVER 2.1 ROVER 3.0 This so called wireless hobby is not so wireless. While nothing has really changed, the packaging is much neater now and the mess is out of sight.

19 2304 AND 3456 SHELF CONSTRUCTION Re-Learned how to tap metal for threads Microwave shelves use DEMI LED Indicator Kits. These help with At a glance verification Spectrian 30W driver board (ebay - Pyrojoseph) with heat sink and mounting angle added Amp is a 20W Stealth Microwave WiMax 3.5G amp also from ebay

20 Club member recommending addition of control power indication to 2304/3456 shelf (Red LED) after undersized control power fuse blew in 902/1296 shelf. Plan is to retrofit 902/1296 rack someday Green LED shows relay is energized. Easy at a glance checkouts during setup Amp has forward and reverse power detectors.

21 Struggled to finish before the 222+ contest. Certainly doesn t look pretty, but works great!

22 CURRENT ROVER RADIOS IC W into a Mirage Amplifier 150W out 30W into a 100W RF Concepts Amp FT-290R (Unmounted) 5GHz Kuhne Xvtr into 4W Kuhne Amp 10Ghz Kuhne Xvtr into 2W Kuhne Amp FT Elecraft Xvtr into TE Systems 125W amplifier 902/3 SG Labs Xvtr into 40W DEMI Amplifier 1296 SG Labs Xvtr into 25W Kuhne Amplifier 2304 SG Labs Xvtr into 30W Spectrian Driver amp 3456 Kuhne Xvtr into 20W Stealth Microwave Amp

23 CURRENT ROVER ANTENNAS Frequency Model Rated Gain (dbi) 50 PAR Moxon M2 7-Element Yagi M2 5-Element Yagi Cushcraft 11-Element Yagi Directive Systems 19-Element Loop Yagi Directive Systems 25 Element Loop Yagi Directive Systems - 45 Element Loop Yagi Laird WiMAX Grid 20 5G 10G L-Com Wifi Grid L-Com Wifi 24 Dish ARR Horn Procom 18 Dish

24 SINGLE SWITCH OPERATION One 2P6T rotary switch addresses PTT and IF relay switching Current build requires manual switching of FT-817 to address various IF frequencies 28, 29, 144, 145, 434 MHz for various transverters Arduino controller design has been tested to send CAT commands to adjust frequency based on switch position (more on this later )

25 IC-7000 Body Elecraft XV222 Transverter 1.25m - TE Systems (125W) 2m - Mirage 2210G (150W) 70cm - RF Concepts (100W) Power Switch & Aux. IF connections For Future Use

26 DC POWER SYSTEM 2 x 6V 216Ah Golf Cart Batteries #8 Cable to vehicle battery System Fuse Blue Sea 6 position Fuse Block #10 Cable For op. console & inverter Shunt for measuring current TG Electronics 40A Battery Booster

27 ROVER 3.0 (JUNE 2017) NOT QUITE FINISHED YET Worked long into the night and early morning to put a station on the air for June Working on MHz. Moxon used on 2m Could not find mounting hardware for 7- element yagi!

28 ROVER UHF/222+ DISTANCE CONTEST Roof rack now contains 222 through Very little difference (if any) noted between longer yagis on 222/432 and shorter yagis. I anticipate keeping this setup for the roof rack for the foreseeable future. New 5G setup with 24 WiFi dish (left) 10G setup with 18 dish (right)

29 CURRENT TESTING PROCESS AFTER LEARNING All bands from tested for SWR and Power Out Daiwa W meter Daiwa G 20W meter with 3dB 50W attenuator One band at a time tested and then antenna reconnected Local beacons on 50,144,222, and 432 heard from driveway beacon heard from rover locations. Lesson learned Connect EVERYTHING needed while still home (Power cords, PTT lines, Key, antennas, whatever...)

30 STORED READY FOR USE

31 STATUS - MY WISH LIST FOR THE SUMMER 2017 ROVER 3 REBUILD: Rotor for (minimum) COMPLETE Reduce setup time to 4 hours or less NOT YET 4.5 Hours Should be able to complete by pre-sorting and labeling coax and pre-mounting 6m/2m antenna to mast Reduce weight of push up mast (or eliminate altogether) - COMPLETE Add more power to 1296, 2304, 3456, and 5760 MHz COMPLETE Stabilize DC voltage - COMPLETE Improve human factors and operating comfort - COMPLETE

32 OK, BUT HOW WELL DOES IT PERFORM? Band QSOs Grids G G G G 3 3 Grids Activated 4 Total Score 61,256 September 2017 VHF Contest Best total grid count ever

33 OPERATING PRACTICES Magnetic signs help to eliminate most attention and questions. Use known rover locations. Word of mouth, old N2MH roversites, web research Learn and use CW (30% of my grids) Use good headphones 500Hz CW filter Have Fun Rover Lunch, Multi-Op Visits Voice/CW keyer for calling CQ

34 ASSISTANCE I USE Internet Based / ON4KST Despite great elevations, cell coverage for data is NOT guaranteed Requests can easily become overwhelming Only used after calling CQ, several minutes of S&P, and local activity dried up Logout when busy so that others don t get frustrated when I don t respond All locations I use can send and receive text messages Excellent for known serious contesters who are in the seat 14 hours a day. Not always immediate, but skeds setup within 15 minutes. Also good for club members or locals who want to help but don t want to spend much time Setup time and liaison frequency Phone is not monitored normally and random text messages not heard/seen for many minutes APRS and APRS-IS attempted for > 1 year Discontinued. No evidence it was helping. Phone calls do not work well in a rover Not recommended for liaison unless no other choice

35 STRATEGIES I USE Establish a route that ensures paths to other microwave capable rovers in grids that I do not visit Analyze past logs, contest results database and line scores to see who has microwave capable stations, who the big guns are, and who is consistently active Personally ask club members and friends to get on the air Setup Target list of stations, bands available, grids, calling frequency, bearings for the big stations Use VHFContesting list to help add to this. Be able to move quickly 10 minute setup, 5 minute teardown. Use FM Dedicated FM rigs and vertical omnis for MHz Call CQ on MHz Site conflicts happen Communicate to local rovers in advance and have a contingency plan Leverage contacts after Rover Lunch MHz FM for quick contacts Loaner HTs

36 VHF/UHF/Microwave contesting is all about experimenting, building, learning, and growing in a competitive environment. WINNING should be the consequence and not the goal. Compete against yourself and use others as motivation to do better Make it a goal to recruit just one new person per year to try it out, then support that person with all of your effort in at least one contest, even at the expense of your score. Even if just half stick with it, they will pay you back x10 those points you may have lost. Stay positive when talking about the contest, highlight things that went well. Remember that someone listening to the net or reading your posts, s, and soapbox will be influenced (for better or worse) by what you say publicly.

37 THANK YOU