KR4BAD’s Operating Saga
Problem
While I’m building my own Freedom7 HF Transceiver at the bench or in the shack, I’m also a HAM operator. I love both HF and 2 meter. I renewed my old HAM license KJ4GIZ with KR4BAD. I’m not the bad guy but I do find that my new call is memorable. People talk about it, make mention of the BAD part.
My operator problem is the huge expense all over again and based on my interests. I like 2 meter and HF. So I needed new radios. The VHF/UHF one I had was terrible and has something wrong with it. It was 25 watts but I don’t think it was pushing anything near that. What would I get? And, when?
I wanted to do POTA hunting as soon as possible because I could sit on the front porch, weather permitting, and log QSOs with people at US parks.
I bought a couple Baofeng HTs and gave one to my oldest son. He likes to listen while he doesn’t study for his ticket. That’s a problem for another day.
The HF problem was CW vs. SSB. I had a couple of CW-only radios by TenTec but nothing to do single side band (SSB). And, I could only remember CQ on the key. That’s it. I now needed to find an economical solution for an HF radio, preferably something I could take on a POTA activation.
That would be my problem(s). I needed a solid 2-meter radio to talk with my repeater friends and a decent HF radio for phone work.
Early Success
The glimmer of success came for me by building my own 2-meter ground plane with 5 heavy copper wires and a SO-239 cabinet mount connector. I was able to mount it on a microphone stand that I’ll discuss later. A short coax and I could sit in a chair using my Baofengs in the living room or my shack.
My HF radio was then just a discussion with a friend that got a Xiegu G90 from AliExpress or Alibaba. The G90 was 20W but would do HF with CW, Data, and SSB (Phone). And, at 20W I could do LiFePO4 batteries and not need a power supply. Now I save my money.
I later went to the RARSFest at the NC state fairgrounds and got an iCom IC-208H VHF/UHF dual-band mobile radio. That would get me on the air with my friends. And, my 12AH LiFePO4 battery would run this rig for several days when I was checking in on evening nets. I also used that microphone stand, I spoke about earlier, to install a new J-Pole I purchased from KB9VBR.
I finally had the cash to purchase a Xiegu G90 and also put a 10-40 meter long wire (EFHW) in the pine trees in my front yard. I was a technician class then and did 10 meter a bunch. I’m now general and do more but usually it’s 10-40 SSB and 10-40 FT4/FT8 (Data).
Setback
I offered to be net control for the Sunday night JARS net on 147.270, My iCom IC-208H was going to go dead on me mid-net at some point if I didn’t order a power supply or find another solution for my hosting the net. My Freedom7 radio is my monthly budget and I’ve been pushing hard to get the receive side working. No ready cash and an obligation to do this presented a problem.
My second setback was the purchase of a Yaesu FT-990 100 watt HF rig from a friend in my radio club. He was selling it for the wife of a deceased friend (silent key). I can’t test it really on my good antenna but I’ve tried it and made contacts using a portable vertical, the JPC-12. I didn’t realize at this time that the VFOs had drifted and were inaccurate.
Crisis
I’ve actually had two crisis situations this month. First, the FT-990 should be repairable and I attempted the repair with no luck at all. I found someone semi-local to work on it but he said he didn’t know how to work on radios in that time boxing … around 1994. It was like my having a 100 watt HF rig wasn’t going to happen.
I thought I had a charged up battery and had been using my iCom mobile successfully as a base station when one of the HAM legends pitched in the net with “comment” and proceeded to tell me my audio sucked and here’s how to fix it. Bummer, because my radio didn’t have these tweaks. I basically didn’t sound like a radio announcer or the other loud mouths in the group. I’m generally somewhat quiet but now I need a real voice in the shack.
Recovery
Time to kill two birds with one stone. My friend John, KM4JB has a Yaesu FT-991a and guess what it does? It’s a shack in the box so to speak. It does UHF/VHF and HF. I’m broke now but I solved both problems. Last night I did 100 FT-8 contacts from around the world on 40 meters. And, after John sent me settings for the microphone equalizers, I’m sounding like your local country music announcer on FM radio while sitting in my humble shack. I have peaked the summit.
Better Place
Am I in a better place all around as a HAM radio operator? You bet I am! I now have a radio that does it all and I can say that I have proper tools. I had to purchase a power supply for the radio and also increase the rating on my EFHW. I replaced the unun and increased the wire gauge (14 AWG). I am also finding my voice within the JARS club and on the radio.
My About page provides the background of the Freedom7 HF Transceiver project.
If this story resonates, comments are welcome. You can also reach me at david [at] kr4bad-dot-communications. no com.
And if you believe understanding our radios matters more than sealed boxes, you can subscribe here:
https://kr4bad.com/?subscribe=1
73
KR4BAD
David
Why This Article Uses the “No Easy Way” Story Model
This post follows the No Easy Way structure from Steve Rawling’s Pipdeck Storyteller Tactics:
- Problem — New license, no radios
- Early Success — Baofengs, some coat-hanger wire antenna, and a Xiegu G90
- Setback — Weak operations and no real shack environment
- Crisis — Purchased 100W radio is not working and my 2-meter broadcasting is weak at best
- Recovery — New Yaesu FT-991a
- Better Place — Finding my place within the JARS club and my voice on the radio
The climb isn’t finished — but HAM life moves higher up the mountain.
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