Portable OPS at the terrain

QRV At the "Terrain" In Centurion

So today I decided to do some portable radio work with my Ham Radio Gear, something I have never really done before. My inspiration for doing something like this coming from my good friend Dick (ZS6RSH) and guys like Eddie Leighton (ZS6BNE) and his RADAR setup.

Myself and the Family went to the Terrain in Centurion only about 2 km away from where we stay.

We arrived at 11:30am and setup a picnic spot under a shady tree.

The picnic area has plenty of sky hooks to hold antennas up.

Top right of the image is the bottom of the tree we were under , you can just see the thin wire going up into the tree and then up towards the tree in the center of the image. The length of the wire(Normal Rip Cord) was 21 meters.

List of Gear taken for portable station as Follows:

1.) Yaesu FT-857D Radio

2.) SWR Meter 

3.) MFJ 16010 Match box (Antenna Tuner)

4.) 40 meters of rip cord , cut down to 21 meters.

5.) A set of RG58 cables 2off , for connecting from radio to SWR meter and then to MFJ Antenna tunner.

6.) 10 meters of nylon rope

7.) Short 10cm PVC pipe used as insulator from antenna wire and nylon rope.

8.)Side cutters and set od jewelers screwdrivers

9.) 12volt 12ah SLA Battery

10.) Straight CW key

11.) A pen and paper 

A picture of the actual station setup. 

A fallow dear popped in to see what was going on.

Actual Experience of the Day and Observations

Well the day was a success I think, lots of fresh air and fun picnicking with the family , who enjoyed the day immensely.

Actual deployment of the station was less than 5 minutes, which we can trim a bit since i don't have to make up an antenna again, i have kept the antenna as is a labeled for outdoor usage from now on wards.

I was able to make 3 contacts , ZS5LP (Louis) from the bluff in Durban, gave me a solid 59 signal report, and even commented on the great audio.Mode worked SSB, 15 watts, Louis was running 80 watts. Next was ZS6MO (Lloyed) in Hoedspruit.Gave me a 59 signal report aswell.

Got my Straight CW key out and tried calling CQ on 7015 khz and then 7020 khz, didn't get any response went back up the band to 7070 khz to see if i could get a response there, no luck there , went back down to 7020 khz and heard OM ZS6RSH (Dick) calling CQ, responded to the call and we had a short QSO , Dick was booming through 599 and dick reported a solid copy 599, from me. Initially I was running 10 watts but I turned the power down to 5 watts as I was running low on juice on my SLA Battery. Note to self , take a small Solar panel along next time to keep power levels up when not transmitting.

Actual tuning up of the antenna was easy, I was able to get a 1:1 SWR no problem on the 21 meter length of wire. Listening to the CW bands on 15 meters and 10 meters was amazing, lots of strong signals coming through. I also observed a very low noise floor which I don't have the luxury of at my shack , I suspect to much electronics going on at the QTH causing EMI.

Anyway a great day , look forward to another portable station setup.

Thanks to all those who responded to my CQ calls.