FARA has been having what we call Roving Club Stations. The idea is for experienced members to demonstrate their setup and techniques to less experienced or interested members. Andy, K1RA, created and has been spearheading this program.
This time Ric, KN4FTT, volunteered to show off his portable operating setup this time. The following text was written by Ric:
We were finally able to have our next installment of the FARA Roving Club Station! After some weather adjustments several folks came out to the park and we had a bit of radio fun. Members who attended were: Jeremiah, K4HCO; Mike, KQ4EUI; Chuck, KO4VNZ; Steven, AG4SR.
I demonstrated the setup and takedown of my portable station. After connecting the radio, tuner, and battery we went out to the tree that I chose for the main support of my doublet antenna. I demonstrated how I get a line into the tree that then pulls the paracord and subsequently the antenna up to its operating height!
Once the two ends were tied off in an east-west orientation we hooked up the coax feedline to the 4:1 matchbox at the end of the ladder line. I demonstrated getting on the air and making a few contacts, mostly POTA and one was in Venezuela!
The consensus in the group was that no one really wanted to run as W4VA so we mostly went to a show and tell mode and shared our experiences. We had another gentleman, Mike Nielson (KQ4EUI), set up his station also with an FT-891 but using an auto-tuner and a delta-loop antenna. Seemed like a great way to illustrate similarities and differences in deployments. At the end I finished up with a demo on how I set up my vertical antenna mast with guy lines by myself without the need for another pair of hands.
I want to thank everyone who came out…I had tons of fun! Also, thank you Andy for the help to get the initial email out the door as well as tips!
Thank you and 73, Ric, KN4FTT
Pictures from the event (click for larger image)
