Category: K6ARK Portable Radio

Unfortunately Dragon Peak lacks the prominence to make it a SOTA summit, but it’s still a fantastic climb and I heard some interesting radio traffic from the top. Despite that, I did receive some cool 2m traffic from the summit. If you want to come along for a fun climb, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed even without any real ham radio activity. Enjoy!

Want to run FT-8 from an Android phone? How about using a tiny 5-band HF rig that costs less than $100 for the kit? Now you can.

On this SOTA activation, I show off a few new pieces of gear and a new bit of software:
– A (tr)uSDX transceiver | https://amzn.to/3nskT85 (Affiliate Link)
– Custom Audio Adapter | https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/LwO6AYPS
– The "FT8 Radio" app | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bunzee.ft8radio
– K6ARK SMA Antenna Matching Unit Kit | https://amzn.to/3nphvuK (Affiliate Link)

All of the K6ARK products currently available are linked from www.k6ark.com

All put together, it makes for a decently capable little piece of kit. The (tr)uSDX has been getting a lot of hype lately, and it’s an amazing little device for less than $100. But it’s simple hardware, and perhaps not a fully optimized design. Understand that it’s no high-performance radio. But it works. And in this activation, I demonstrate one cool way to put it to use.

I show off a new app developed by Dhiru Kholia. Although still a bit rough around the edges and quirky, it is fully capable of making FT8 contacts WITHOUT a separate linux or windows machine. For that, it’s pretty dang cool.

And finally, I extracted the CW contacts I made on the activation and will publish them as a separate video (link here… once posted)

Thanks for watching!

There are many strategies for setting up wire antennas for portable HF operation. Heres mine.

Find my antenna matching units at https://www.k6ark.com.

If you’re looking for those little S-clips: https://amzn.to/3JQfh0Y
(affiliate link)

Most areas I operate lack trees, so the easiest way to get a wire in the air is to use a telescopic pole. I’ve developed a solid strategy for setup that I share in this video. if you’ve got a method you like better, tell us about it in the comments below.

Thanks, and I’ll see you on the next adventure.

Easier to build, versatile, and effective, the K6ARK QRP matching unit kits are now available. Here’s how to build it as an End Fed Halfwave.

First things first, if you’re building one of these kits, be sure to carefully read and follow the instructions at www.K6ARK.com. Kits can be purchased through Amazon. Here are some affiliate links:
Male BNC Kit: https://amzn.to/3G28lfD
Female BNC kit: https://amzn.to/3zhepOq

Build the kit into a matching unit of your choice, add wire, and get on the air.

If you have any questions or issues during your build, please contact me directly and I’ll do my best to help you succeed in your build. Thanks for watching, and have fun with the build!

The Arizona Summit-to-Summit 10 Point Madness event provides a great opportunity to push the limits of 2m simplex and see what’s possible over long distances. Although I didn’t set any new personal records on this trip, some great contacts were made and plenty of fun was had.

The yagi is a homebrew design made from U-channel aluminum, steel hardware, and arrow shaft elements. The matching network is made from parallel 1/4 wavelength sections of 75 ohm coax to transform the 28 ohm yagi impedance up to 50 ohms. Those coax sections are wound a few times through a toroid as a common mode choke.

The boom is about 8 ft in length when extended and folds down to 32 inches. total weight of the antenna is about 2 lbs, and the pool cleaning pole mast adds another 2 lb or so.

MMANA GAL file: coming soon

Links to Parts:
– Mast: https://amzn.to/3lzIZOp
– Arrow Shafts: https://amzn.to/2YygPdT
– Threaded Arrow Inserts: https://amzn.to/303BpTA
– 3/8" U-channel aluminum: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-8-in-W-x-1-2-in-H-x-96-in-L-Aluminum-C-Channel-with-1-16-in-Thick-800547/204273936
– 1/2" U-channel aluminum: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-W-x-1-2-in-H-x-96-in-L-Aluminum-C-Channel-with-1-16-in-Thick-802657/204273938?MERCH=REC-_-searchViewed-_-NA-_-204273938-_-N&

HARDWARE:
– Nylon Threaded Rod: https://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?partnum=98831A330
– Aluminum Threaded Rod: https://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?partnum=93225A675
… more durable alternative
– Stainless Steel Threaded Rod: https://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?partnum=95412A882
– Aluminum Hex Nut: https://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?partnum=93181A009
– Nylon Washers: https://www.mcmaster.com/99872A200

n August, I set out with 3 friends from the SAR team to spend 4 days in the hills, building and refreshing our mountain skills and visiting some amazing summits. Afternoon thundershowers limited us to only two summits, but they were fantastic.
First on the list was Thunderbolt Peak at 14,003′. It has an incredible summit with a technical summit block. The next day, we summited Picture Puzzle Peak, a first for me, and a SOTA summit which had never seen an activation.
The team was great, the trip was awesome, and I can’t wait to be back in the mountains.

GEAR I USE:
Cooking and water:
Aquamira Water Treatement: https://amzn.to/3zMl7f0
Squeeze Water Filter: https://amzn.to/3kXgatq (for smaller volumes/on-the-go)
Stove: https://amzn.to/3thCWQp
Food:
Meat Shredz: https://amzn.to/3thD7v3
Canned Salmon: https://amzn.to/3BIFdaA
Couscous: https://amzn.to/3h1UVpp
Dried Oyster Mushrooms: https://amzn.to/3zKy3ln
Freeze Dried Broccoli: https://amzn.to/2WMUU1J
Soup Vegetables: https://amzn.to/3zP2Qxx (good for mixing with other meals for flavor)
Camp Gear:
Backpack: https://www.mammut.com/us/en/products/2520-03831/trion-nordwand-28
Outdoor Research Bivy: https://amzn.to/2YtGynh
Aricxi Tarp: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32965526071.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.4d956ca37vmoLN&algo_pvid=a2178fa8-0827-4432-9603-10c44a2a66f2&algo_exp_id=a2178fa8-0827-4432-9603-10c44a2a66f2-0
Bear Canister: https://amzn.to/3hm0CyH

Every year, the Mountain Rescue Team embarks on trips to the Sierra Nevada to train on technical terrain at high elevations. Each year, I organize a trip that I call Car-to-Car hell. It involves daily climbs up big mountains with overnight car-camping in between. This year, we climbed Laurel Mountain, 11,812′, via the NE gulley (aka Mendenhall Couloir). It’s a 3,000+ foot vertical "easy" 5th class climb. Most would want a rope for protection, but there aren’t many options to place gear, so most just free-solo the route, as we did.
It was a beautiful climb with a bonus SOTA activation at the top. So here’s the story. Hope you enjoy coming along for the climb.

On July 24, 2021, around 1830 UTC, some potentially incredible 2m simplex contacts were made between a station in New Hampshire and about 20 stations in Southern California. Those contacts may have been part of some kind of incredible propagation event. Or they may have been the result of happenstance, via a set of internet linked transceivers at each end of the continent. Check out the video and let me know what YOU think made these contacts possible.

Big thanks to the @SoCal Simplex Archive for allowing me to share his recording as part of my video. Please check out the links below for more of the audio.

First call from NE1B: https://youtu.be/hmuXBf0Himk?t=37670
First NE1B QSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmuXBf0Himk&t=37865s
W2CAZ/M CQ call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmuXBf0Himk&t=38060s
Beginning of about 30 minutes of QSOs with NE1B: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEIOhuhZyYU&t=4335s
Transmission with apparent packet loss: https://youtu.be/JEIOhuhZyYU?t=4419