I’ve had a lot of fun with my Elecraft AX1 antenna since I bought it six or seven years ago. I’ve activated several parks with it, and it has yet to let me down. Running five watts into a 45-inch whip shouldn’t really work, but somehow it does. While I don’t always use it as my primary antenna, I always take it along on outings as a backup.
I have used my AX1 in a variety of settings, e.g., picnic table portable, with a car window mount, clamped to the handlebars of my bike, etc. While perusing the Temu website, I stumbled upon a tactical-style MOLLE pouch capable of holding the AX1 and all the accessories I typically use for those configurations. The cost was a mere $8.00 (USD) for a pair of them. (The original offering is no longer available, but a search for “molle pouch” on Temu or AliExpress should find this pouch or something similar.)
AX1 Kit (front). I have two of these pouches, so I used a nylon zip tie label to tell them apart. AX1 Kit (Rear). The pouch is MOLLE-compatible.
It measures 6.3 in. (16cm) x 4.33 in. (11cm) x 2.1 in. (5.5cm). For as inexpensive as they are, the quality is pretty good. The material is durable, and the zipper works smoothly. Each pouch came with an American flag velcro patch. At these low prices, you often get what you pay for. This time, though, I think it was a pretty good deal.
Everything fits comfortably in the little pouch, but there isn’t much room to spare.
This is what I carry in my AX1 kit. Not shown is a 3-foot RG-316 coax cable. (See text for list)
I normally carry my AX1 pouch in my backpack. When I have too much other stuff in my pack, I can use the MOLLE straps to attach the pouch to the outside of the pack.
It’s nice having all of this stuff in one place. Now my little AX1 is always ready to go, however I plan to use it.
I recently spent some time in Central Pennsylvania at my daughter’s house. Since I was going to be there a while, I brought along my Raspberry Pi hotspot. While I’m not really active in digital voice modes (or any voice modes, for that matter), there are a couple of DMR nets I like to check into each week.
One issue I ran into in the past, is that my hotspot refuses to connect to their Wi-Fi network. Their Wi-Fi SSID has both an apostrophe and a space in it, so I’m guessing that’s the issue. I could have connected the hotspot directly to their router via an ethernet cable. Because of their router’s location, I would have had to move some furniture and put the hotspot in an awkward location. So, this time around I brought a little travel router to try another approach.
Back when I was working, I had a TP-Link Nano router that I took on business trips. Typically, I would connect it to an Ethernet port in my hotel room to create a personal Wi-Fi network for my laptop and phone. A while back, I upgraded to the newer (and faster) TP-Link TL-WR802N travel router. I don’t travel nearly as much these days, so the new router hasn’t seen much use.
My little TP-Link travel router (right) and my beat up old MMDVM hotspot. The paper taped onto the hotspot is to tone down its excessively bright LEDs.
I brought the travel router along on this trip to create a wireless bridge from the house’s Wi-Fi to my personal Wi-Fi. The router’s Wi-Fi network has an SSID that my hotspot likes. I haven’t used that mode much, so I had to resort to the user manual to refresh my memory on how to set this thing up.
Actually, it was pretty easy to set up. It was simply a matter of connecting my laptop to travel travel router’s Wi-Fi to access the admin functions. From there, I set it up in the “Hotspot Router” mode. Then, I scanned to find the house’s Wi-Fi network and logged into it.
Testing the internet connectivity with my laptop, the speed looked good. I had previously added my travel router’s SSID and password to the hotspot, so soon after powering up I was hearing the sounds of DMR coming from my HT. This configuration worked great, and I successfully checked into a few nets during the week.
The next time I go out there to visit, I’ll just need to power up the router and the hotspot, and everything should work. (Knock on wood)
No ground-breaking technological advances here. I just love when a plan comes together.
73, Craig WB3GCK
[Disclaimer: I have no monetary interest in this product, and there are no affiliate links in this post.I’m just a satisfied owner.]
I was first bitten by the parks bug, taking part in ARRL’s National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. When NPOTA ended, I started activating parks under the World Wide Flora & Fauna (WWFF) program. When Parks on the Air (POTA) came along, I started submitting my logs to both programs—and still do.
Since POTA and WWFF are separately administered, there are some significant differences between the two programs. One notable difference involves the park designators. In some cases the park numbers are the same, but often they’re different. For example, the designator for PA 246 State Game Land is KFF-5862 in WWFF and US-8941 in POTA. Sometimes a park will be in one program but not the other.
Fortunately, Al Zelna N3KAE has provided an online tool that makes it easy for “dual activators” to cross-reference the WWFF and POTA park designators in the U.S. and Canada. Visit the CQ Parks.net website to check it out.
If you aren’t familiar with WWFF, it’s the original Amateur Radio parks program. In its current form, WWFF dates back to 2012, but it has roots going back to about 2008. While POTA has seen tremendous growth since its inception, WWFF is still very popular in Europe and other parts of the world. When band conditions are good, a spot on the WWFF site or a DX cluster will often generate a European pile-up. It sure is fun having a bunch of DX stations chasing my little QRP station.
Back in 2020, I started fooling around with digital voice modes. I don’t really use them a lot, but there are a couple of DMR nets I like to check into each week. I recently started using the WPSD software instead of the Pi-Star software I had been using on my two hotspots. Just for the heck of it, I wanted to try upgrading the old Raspberry Pi Zero board on one of them to something more capable.
According to the documentation, WPSD was never written for single core processors, like the old Pi Zero W board in my hotspot. The developer recommends a Pi Zero 2 W or better. While it will work on a single core Pi, it runs slower—I can attest to that. I also noticed that CPU utilization was well over 100% at times. With its quad core processor, the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is supposed to be five times faster than its single core predecessor. So, I was hoping to see some general performance improvements and faster boot-ups after this upgrade.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m no Raspberry Pi expert—far from it. I had to do some online research before launching into this. It looked simple enough; the Pi Zero 2 W board is a drop-in replacement for the original Pi Zero board, so it seemed simple enough.
I bought a Pi Zero 2 W board on Amazon for about $28 (US). The board didn’t have the header pins installed, so I bought some. I bought a box of 40-pin headers for less than $10 (US). I now have more of them than I’ll use in my lifetime.
I took advantage of a rainy Sunday to do the upgrade. First, I needed to install headers on each end of the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO area. The two headers had two rows of five pins each. With the help of an Xacto knife, I snapped the pieces I needed from one of the (many) 40-pin headers I now own. With my aging eyes, I needed to use a lighted magnifying glass to do the soldering. To avoid melting the plastic, I allowed some cooling time after I soldered each pin.
The new Pi Zero 2 W board installed in the hotspot case. The two headers I soldered in are towards the front.
The MMDVM board installed on top of the Raspberry Pi board.
The is the fully-assembled hotspot. This pink section to the right is a piece of paper I used to cover some overly-bright LEDs.
From there, it was a simple task to disassemble the hotspot, swap boards, and put it back together. I estimate that the hardware part of the upgrade took all of about 20 minutes.
I had previously burned the WPSD image on a new Micro SD card, so it was ready to go. When I inserted the card and powered up, the hotspot booted up in a minute or two. After importing a backup WPSD configuration file and doing a couple of tweaks, the hotspot came to life. Success!
The performance improvements were immediately obvious. The dashboard and configuration web pages were much more responsive, and the CPU load typically stays under 20%. It’s been running for a week now, and it’s been rock-solid. Since this upgrade went so smoothly, I went ahead and upgraded my other hotspot. That one was just as easy and is also working great.
For you Raspberry Pi power users out there, this is pretty trivial stuff. Yeah, I guess it is. But it was an easy and fun little project, and I learned a bit about Raspberry Pi boards in the process.
Sometimes I get excited over some of the most trivial things. This is one of those times.
I wrote about my Junk Box Loading Coil in a recent post. I normally keep the loading coil and my 12-foot telescopic whip antenna stashed away under the backseat of my pickup truck, so it’s handy for spur-of-the-moment activations. I also keep a couple of Jackite poles and some other gear under there. While the coil is pretty rugged, I just didn’t feel right about cramming it in there unprotected. By pure dumb luck, however, I stumbled on the perfect storage solution.
While mindlessly browsing the Internet a while back, I stumbled across something on a Chinese seller’s website (Temu.com) that caught my eye. It was a storage case that was probably made for something no longer sold. I’d provide a link, but products quickly come and go on this website. The website listed it as “Simple Portable Storage Zipper Bag, Travel Electronic Tools Organizer, Zipper Container.” Wow. That’s a mouthful.
I had seen similar cases on eBay, but not in this particular size. Given the listed dimensions, I thought it might be a good fit for my homebrew loading coil. At the time I placed my order, it was selling for $7.98 USD.
This is the case I bought to use with my Junk Box Loading Coil.
The container, along with a few other things I ordered, arrived on my front porch eight days after I placed my order. Voila! The case was a perfect fit for my loading coil. In fact, it looks like it was custom made for it. It’s semi-rigid, so it affords some degree of protection. It’s definitely not elephant-proof, though. There’s an elastic strap inside that helps hold everything in place.
My Junk Box Loading Coil tucked away in its new storage container
I’m not exactly sure what this case was intended to house, but it’s perfect for my application. So now, my coil will stay clean and protected, while waiting under the backseat of my truck for my next POTA activation.
I bought the Evolve III Maestro E-Book about nine months ago. Having used it for various ham radio applications during that time, I thought I’d offer some updated thoughts on this inexpensive laptop.
Spoiler alert! There really isn’t anything I dislike about the Evolve III laptop. Sure, it’s not the speediest machine ever built, but it has stood up to every task I’ve thrown at. I regularly use it at home for Winlink, NBEMS, and VarAC. I’ve also used it for these modes in the field for ARES-RACES exercises.
The Evolve e-book in use during this year’s Field Day
Power Considerations
Besides its small size and low cost, the thing I like best about the Evolve III is its battery life. Depending on what I’m doing, I can get eight to ten hours of run time. That’s way more than I need for my typical portable outings.
Since the “wall wart” charger it came with outputs 12VDC, I can charge the laptop from a 12V battery. For charging in the field, I bought a 6-foot cable on Amazon that has a 3.5mm x 1.35mm coaxial power connector on one end. On the other end, I added a 12V accessory plug (cigarette lighter type). I also built a second cable with an Anderson Powerpole connector.
A charging cable I built with a 12V cigarette lighter type plug
A 12V charging cable I built with a Powerpole connector
For Field Day, I operated all day without having to charge the laptop. I couldn’t have done that with other laptops I have used in the past. Before turning in for the night, I connected the Evolve to a 17 A-H gel cell battery to charge it overnight. (I had a fused 12V socket installed on the battery.) When I woke up during the night, it was fully charged, so I disconnected it. The Evolve lasted the rest of Field Day without further charging.
Field Day Configuration
My Field Day configuration made full use of the Evolve’s capabilities. I used it for logging, connecting to our shared log file via Wi-Fi. I also used one of the two USB connectors to drive my WKmini Morse interface to send CW with my KX3.
Since I only had one more USB connector available, I used a 3-way USB splitter to accommodate the other devices I needed to attach. I had the receiver for my wireless mouse attached to one port on the splitter and the KX3’s rig control cable connector to another port. I used the third port to connect a thumb drive, which I used for exchanging files with another Field Day participant.
This is a USB splitter I bought at Staples years ago. The extra USB ports came in handy during Field Day.
For backups, I had my N3FJP Field Day logger configured to save backup files to an SD card. Since my backup files included the entire networked log, I had everything I needed to submit our group’s entry on my laptop when I got home.
With all that going on, the Evolve performed flawlessly.
Some Additional Thoughts
I recently heard from a couple of hams who received Evolve laptops with a USB-C charging port. This is a recent design change, I suppose. I don’t have any hands-on experience here, but I think this might actually simplify things in the field. A 12V socket connected to the battery and a commercial 12V cell phone car charger should be all you need to charge the Evolve. Most cell phones and devices seem to favor the USB-C connectors these days, so suitable 12V car chargers are easy to come by.
So, if you couldn’t tell, I’m a big fan of the Evolve III Maestro E-Book. So far, I feel the $89 I paid for it was money well spent. I’m hoping I can get several more years of good service from it.
Since I purchased the Raddy RF750 Portable Multimedia Player a year ago, it has become my favorite portable receiver. So, when the folks at Radioddity asked me if I’d like to have a look at a new upgraded version, I jumped on it. The new radio is the Radioddity RF75A Shortwave Radio, and it includes some interesting new features.
[Disclaimer: In the interest of full disclosure, Radioddity sent this radio to me free of charge to evaluate and review. However, the opinions expressed here are entirely my own and were not influenced by the vendor.]
What It’s All About?
Like its predecessor, the RF75A is a multimedia device. It covers the AM, FM, Shortwave, Weather, and VHF bands. In addition, you can play audio files from a micro SD card. In Bluetooth mode, it’ll play audio from an external source. You can also connect a computer to the USB connector and use the RF75A as a speaker.
FM: 64-108MHZ (Step Value: US: 10KHZ, EU: 9KHZ) AM: 520 -1710 KHz SW: 4.75 – 21.85 MHz WB: 162.400 – 162.550 MHz VHF: 30 – 199.975 MHz TF Card Max Capacity: Max 256GB Audio Format: MP3, WAV, WMA Size/Weight: 3.6’’ x 2’’ x 1” / 3.7 oz Components & Accessories: 1 x RF75A, 1 x Storage bag, 1 x Lanyard, 1 x Wire antenna, 1 x Type-C cable, 1 x Earphone
The internal 1000mAh battery is charged via a USB-C connector, which is handy for a portable radio. The RF75A also has a built-in flashlight and an “SOS” mode. In the SOS mode, the flashlight flashes and the radio emits an ear-piercing siren.
At the time this post was written, the RF75A was selling on the Radioddity website for $52.99 (USD).
The Raddy RF75A from Radioddity
Major Improvements in the RF75A
While the basic functions of the RF75A and RF750 are similar, there are some big changes in the RF75A. The first thing you’ll notice is the digital display and digital tuning. I found the analog tuning on the RF750 a little touchy and the frequencies hard to read. The RF75A’s digital tuning makes tuning much easier.
One interesting improvement in the RF75A is an app that lets you control the radio from your smartphone over a Bluetooth connection. While the RF75A is pretty simple to operate as it is, the app makes it even easier.
Screenshot of the RF75A Android app, which allows you to control the radio from your smartphone.
My Impressions
The first thing that struck me is the RF75A’s small size. It’s smaller than an Altoids tin and thinner than the RF750, so it’ll easily fit in your pocket.
The Raddy RF75A (left) compared to the RF750. Besides the digital display and controls, the RF75A has a slimmer profile making it more “pocket friendly.”
Like the earlier radio, the sound quality is impressive. Listening to the FM band, the sound through the speaker has a rich sound you wouldn’t expect from such a small radio. The supplied earbuds are comfortable and also sound great to these old ears. The RF75A seems to have a little less bass than the RF750, but the sound is still very good.
I found the reception on the AM broadcast band to be very good, easily pulling in local stations. Because of high noise levels, my home location isn’t the best place for testing the shortwave bands. However, using the scan function, I was able to find several shortwave stations. I should note that the RF75A only receives in AM on the shortwave bands. So, if you want to listen to SSB or CW signals, you’ll have to look elsewhere. It comes with an antenna wire (approximately 10 feet long) that you can clip onto the built-in antenna to improve reception.
On the VHF band, I programmed in some local 2M repeaters and a few public service frequencies to test it out. Using the buttons on the radio, I found the tuning steps too coarse to zero in on some frequencies. Using the app, however, it was a simple task to enter the frequencies and save them as presets. Reception was good, but there’s no squelch setting. So, you’ll hear some background noise between transmissions.
The memory card function works great and gives you a choice of four different play modes. I set it to play my MP3 files in random order. You can also choose from six different EQ settings. Using the RF75A’s Bluetooth mode, I was able to pair it to my cell phone and play audio files that way.
I also tested the alarm function. I like having the option to have the radio turn on instead of sounding an alarm. The alarm sound is a loud series of beeps, so I’d rather wake up to music.
The smartphone app is easy to install and makes it easy to operate the radio (especially for my old eyes). The Android version of the app, however, requires the manual download and installation of a .apk file. I would feel safer getting the app through the Google Play store, instead of downloading it from an unfamiliar website. Apple iPhone users, however, can get the app from the Apple app store.
Once installed, the app requires access to your phone’s location in order to pair with the RF75A. I’m not sure why the Bluetooth pairing depends on location. In any event, I only allow access to the phone’s location when I’m actually using the app, and I close the app when I’m not using it.
While the Operational Guidelines booklet provided with the radio is sufficient to get you up and running, it’s not without some issues. The wording is confusing in some places, and I came across a few errors and formatting issues. Despite these editorial shortcomings, I had no problems figuring out how to use the radio.
The Radioddity website claims 7-8 hours of use from the 1000mAh battery. I haven’t actually measured it, but that seems about right. The USB-C charging port is handy, too. I can charge it using my cellphone charger or a portable power bank when I’m camping.
The last function I evaluated was one of the more important features for me: the weather alert function. To test it out, I set up the RF75A in the “Alert” mode in time for the weekly NOAA Weather Radio test. The alarm went off as expected, and boy, did it ever go off! Like the RF750, the weather alert triggers an extremely loud siren. Along with the siren, the light on top of the RF75A flashes, just like the SOS mode. I really wish there was the option to just activate the weather radio in response to an alert. Or, at the very least, be able to adjust the volume of the siren. As it is, I can’t imagine using it in a campground at night.
The Bottom Line (for me, at least)
All in all, I really like this little radio. It’s small in size, weighs next to nothing, and sounds great. I like that it’s simple to operate without having to navigate through a bunch of menu options. The smartphone app is a terrific improvement that further simplifies things.
Since I received it, the RF75A has seen a lot of use around the house, and I plan to take it along on camping trips and travel. Now, if there was only a way to tone down that weather alert, I’d be a very happy camper.
Over the past couple of years, some knee issues have slowed me down. My new knee joint resolved those issues, and life is getting back to normal—as normal as my life gets, I suppose. Anyway, I’m planning to get back to doing some light hiking this year as the weather improves. With that in mind, I bought a new backpack to use on day hikes.
For the past four years, I have been using the Rambler sling pack from Red Rock. It has been—and still is—a great backpack. It has plenty of storage for hauling a radio and accessories out to the field, and it is one sturdy, well-built pack. My only issue with it is that it is a sling pack. For short trips, it’s fine. But, for longer trips, having all the weight on one shoulder feels a bit “lopsided” to me. If I could have the same pack with two shoulder straps, I would be a happy camper (hiker).
A while back, I came across the Wakizashi backpack from Samurai Tactical and saved it to my Amazon wishlist. The Wakizashi is similar in size to my Rambler sling pack. While it has fewer storage pockets than my sling pack, it has more than enough storage for my needs. (I tend to carry too much stuff with me anyway.)
When I purchased it, the Wakizashi backpack in black was selling for a mere $24 (USD). (Other colors are available at slightly higher prices.) For that price, if I didn’t like it, I could always give it to one of the grand-kids. The average ratings were 4.6 out of 5, so I took a chance and placed an order.
I should also note that I have no financial interest here; I paid for the backpack with my own funds. Also, the Amazon link above is not an affiliate link.
Amazon delivered the pack to a neighbor’s porch a few days later. I had to wander the neighborhood in the rain to find it. Not cool, Amazon.
I wasn’t expecting much for a $24 backpack, but I was pleasantly surprised. For a cheap backpack, it seems well built. A few of the many reviews complained of poor stitching and general issues with quality. I saw none of that in the item I received. Mine was well-built, and the material appears to be durable enough.
Samurai Tactical Wakizashi backpack. The patches and HT pouch were added by me.
The pack measures 17.1 x 11.1 x 6.1 inches with a capacity of 24 liters. There’s a large main compartment and a smaller admin compartment. There are also two smaller compartments near the top of the pack. A side pouch is large enough for a water bottle, and there is plenty of MOLLE webbing on the sides and back. If you’re so inclined, it accommodates a hydration bladder and has a hydration port at the top of the bag.
Samurai Wakizashi backpack shoulder and sternum straps.
Although the Wakizashi backpack has fewer compartments than my sling pack, there is enough storage to accommodate everything I normally carry in the field. Besides the radio gear, I always carry a small first aid kit, emergency poncho, headlamp, and a few other emergency items. The main compartment is a bit larger, so things that present a tight squeeze in the sling pack fit easily in the Wakizashi.
I’ve been using this pack for the past couple of months now with no issues. How well it holds up in the long term remains to be seen. For now, anyway, I’m happy with this budget backpack.
Among the Christmas gifts my XYL gave me was one that sums me up perfectly. She understands my love of coffee, and she is very supportive of my ham radio hobby. With this sweatshirt, I can proudly display both of my addictions.
One of the Christmas gifts I received from my XYL. It suits me perfectly!
I don’t have a link to the source, but my XYL says she found it on Amazon.
You’ve most likely heard hams talking about the Evolve III laptop over the past few months. I had been hearing about these little laptops being snapped up at prices as low as $60. Several ARES-RACES colleagues have been happy with them, and there’s even one running 24 x 7 as a VARA FM digipeater in our Emergency Operations Center. So, I had to buy one and judge for myself.
So, what is attracting hams to this laptop? Of course the low price is attractive to frugal hams. It’s also small (11.6-inch display) and light, making it useful for portable operation. Speaking of portable operations, you can charge the Evolve III from a 12-volt DC source. Out in the field, you can charge this laptop from the same type of 12-volt battery used to power your rig.
Evolve III Maestro E-Book
Despite its low cost and small size, it’s a capable little machine. It runs the Windows 10 Pro Education operating system, and has two USB ports and a micro SD memory card slot. A 1.1 GHz Celeron processor runs the laptop, and it has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of data storage.
Micro Center stores have been selling them for $59.99 with a limit of five per customer. When I checked my local store, they were out of stock, so I bought one on Amazon for about $89. (Still a bargain, I think.) These laptops are obviously clearance items, since the Evolve website shows newer models running Window 11.
My plan for this little laptop is to use it for logging during QRP-portable operations, especially Field Day and Winter Field Day. I also want to use it for digital communications during ARES-RACES exercises and deployments.
Getting started with the Evolve III was the same as any other Windows 10 device I’ve owned. The initial Windows setup didn’t take long, and I was ready to install some software. I started by installing the software I use for logging, e.g., N3FJP ACLog, SKCC logger, HamRS, N3FJP Field Day Logger, etc. Everything ran without issues.
Next I installed the software I need for ARES-RACES. First up was Winlink Express, along with VaraFM and SoundModem. Then, I installed the Narrowband Emergency Messaging System (NBEMS) software, i.e., fldigi, flmsg, and flamp. Over the past two weeks, I’ve been making solid connections to a local Winlink node on 2M using VARA FM. The NBEMS software has also been working great during our local ARES-RACES digital nets.
After using the Evolve III daily for the past few weeks, I really like it. The keyboard has a good feel to it, and the display looks good. I used it outdoors in the shade and the display was still readable. You might need to crank up the brightness, though.
Is it the fastest laptop? No way. Is it fast enough? Absolutely. I’ve heard of hams running FT8 on these things with no issues. You would think the 64GB of storage would be a limitation. However, after installing the ham radio applications I use, I still had about 24GB left. Just in case, I took advantage of the Micro SD card slot and added an extra 128 GB of storage.
I’m really impressed with the battery life. Depending on what I’m doing, I get more than eight hours of operation on a charge.
Lately, it seems like my house is where computers go to die. I’ve had a laptop and a desktop go belly-up in recent months. Given what I paid for the Evolve III, if it dies, I won’t feel a tremendous loss.
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 