ARRL Field Day 2022. Ten Tec Scout 555 attempting to operate 1B QRP! MFJ Ham-tenna Whip.

[@hamradioonthego]

Did you operate Field Day this year? Tell us about your experiences. Also any tips to improve my HF QRP portable station will be appreciated! Dont forget to check the description for additional content! 73

[@Macrosill]

Wow. You brought out the Scout. Ham Radio is about experimentation. Nice job! 73

[@hamradioonthego]

Thanks, you live and you learn for next time! 73s

[@algross3338]

I wanted the TenTec Scout when it came out. With four young children at home I couldn’t justify the expense. Santa didn’t bring one. I enjoyed seeing the radio operating well. Bands were not cooperating. I was 1 bravo with an Icom IC-7300 and MFJ Hamstick dipoles. I made 28 contacts on 20 meters and 6 meters.

[@hamradioonthego]

It's a great radio and my 1st HF rig and I was able to attain DXCC award with it. I usually operate 10 Meter QRP and this was my first time trying to operate the other HF bands as a portable 1B. Thanks for the comments and watching, 73s

[@5beesgarage]

You will never know if something works or not unless you try. Good job and great work. Field Day is about emergency comms so if shtf you know that setup doesn't work.

[@hamradioonthego]

Very true. Its all about the emergency preparedness but it has also morphed to a social aspect as well as showcasing the hobby. Not often in life do you find a win win win like field day! 73s

[@DaveAndrus]

I ran 20 watts with a Xiegu G90 on battery in my backyard, just to see what a cheap radio would do. I used a Butternut HF-9V vertical antenna. I wasn't trying to break any QSO records for sure, so I only made about 25 contacts. I ran mostly SSB on 20 meters, and some CW on 20 and 40 in the evening. You can see several QSO's on my YT channel if you'd like to stop by. I'm in Utah, and the bands were pretty poor for the first few hours on Saturday--some of my buddies in Northern California also confirmed that. Things picked up for most of us by 3-4 PM local time. I didn't operate Sunday, but I heard that conditions were not great then either. I hope that might give you some encouragement! I've always heard it said that QRP + poor antenna = nothing but pain. Your vertical definitely was the weak link in my opinion. It needed either some resonant elevated counterpoise wires, or at the very least a few more radials laid out on the ground. Add to that the lower efficiency of a small-ish antenna, and you could end up with pretty poor transmit efficiency. But hey, this is why we experiment! Thanks for posting this video--it was a hoot to see my old Ten Tec Scout again!

[@hamradioonthego]

Thanks for commenting. I picked up this Ten Tec second hand from a ham in GA who used it for FD. I used it as my main HF rig for years and actually achieved DXCC award with it you can see it on my QRZ. It was replaced by my 857d. So now the 555 has returned to its roots as a portable rig. I will continue to try out diff configs. Thanks for the tips and catch you on HF. 73s

[@CMCSS-to3to]

You're really on the go this time

[@hamradioonthego]

Trying to live up to the name 😆 All kidding aside tried to get out of my comfort zone and operate HF QRP Portable.

[@cwguy8960]

I bet you still had fun! After all, it might have worked...! But yes, several counterpoise wires would probably have helped your QRP signal. That Scout sounds really good - seems you have a nice quiet location👍👍 . Perhaps you can try QRP portable - same setup - but with 1/4 wave radials on the Ham-tenna, and let us know how that works (hopefully better!). They are the other half of the antenna, after all (either that, or your coax is....). Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@hamradioonthego]

Thanks for the encouragement and feedback. I will try again. I have purchased an MFJ random length wire tuner so that's in the works. I still want to revisit these MFJ ham-tennas, maybe in the mobile at a POTA site. All part of the fun. Thanks again and 73s

[@bentrider1972]

you dont need 1/4 wave radials on those hamsticks..Just need something like i use on my buddistick setup i have..8 9 foot radials and a ground mount base i made out of pvc pipe or you can make on like the tarheel base mount..both ways will turn those hamsticks,a buddistick or any type of those antennas into a portable vertical antenna just like a true base vertical antenna...and will work every bit as good..i have used my buddistick a mfj big stick and mfj hamsticks on my base..just use radials like was talked about in the small antennas for small spaces book from the ARRL...it does work great and done right rocks on a qrp portable ops

[@w2aew]

I operated 1B-Battery QRP for a few hours this weekend. I worked exclusively 40m, mainly CW and some SSB. I used an end-fed tri-band wire antenna. I worked about 35 contacts over the course of about 3hrs on Sat afternoon and 2hrs on Sunday afternoon. See video #357 on my youtube channel. On your setup - I wonder if you had checked the SWR on your hamstick whips? They are notoriously narrow-banded and require a good ground plane. Also, on SSB, it is helpful to sign with - QRP at the end, especially during FD the phone ops will usually make a priority for QRP stations.

[@w2aew]

Here is the link to my 1B-Battery Field Day operation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2iagKysiLKdnNU

[@hamradioonthego]

Thanks for the tips. I checked the SWR with the internal meter on the Ten Tec. I will take your advice and sign with /QRP in the future. Thanks for the feedback! Glad you did well and I will check your video. 73

[@alvarogaitan2529]

fantastic ten tec radio 73 from kb2uew

[@hamradioonthego]

Thanks! That radio has served me well over the years. 73s Thanks for watching

[@jerseybob4471]

Phone QRP is really tough. CW or digital is much easier. You counterpoise radials are a must for your antenna. I operated QRP battery using an Elecraft KX2 5w. Made 108 QSOs in a part time effort. 104 Qs on CW and 4 Qs on PSK. Tried FT8 using a battery powered Raspberry Pi 400 computer but no luck. Found making contacts on Saturday to be difficult. Sunday morning 40 meter CW was really good.

[@hamradioonthego]

Thanks for the tips. I've been learning CW hovering around 7 wpm. I've made a few Qs, some in the videos, recently on the VHF Contest in June. I'll keep cracking at CW and QRP. Learning is part of the fun.. Thanks again and 73s.

[@eduardopower5254]

Hey sir how are you? What a neat setup. That TenTec sounds amazing. How much power are you running here? In my honest opinion, I think the hamstick antenna being a compromise in 40m isn't helping a lot. Did you know the foliage absorbs HF freq? I'm not trying to be the wiser guy here by any means but my experience has been as follow: If I'm running QRP I need to use the larger antenna possible for the lower .working freq. I live in west central FL so the beach is just 10 minutes away, the verticals are amazing ON the sand and even better in the salty water, its called the "natural amplifier" where the take off angle is lowered by the sea and the DX is easier and longer. My longest was from st petersburg beach to fukuoka Japan SSB 5 watts. Same setup you have there on antenna ground Rod but my vertical was the chameleon 17" telescopic whip.

[@hamradioonthego]

Thank you for the feedback I appreciate all the tips. As you can see from some of my videos I usually operate 10 meter QRP which is more manageable regarding antennas. I enjoy your videos and decided to try my luck at other HF bands. Hopefully we can work on HF, 73s

[@vladtepes481]

I worked Field Day 1B QRP in 2023. I made 200 QSOs. You need to dump the hamsticks they are not efficient especially with no radials. A vertical with a good set of Radials - 10-16 will do the trick. Full sized dipole would be OK too. I used a Rybakov antenna for FD. 80% CW, 20% phone in my case.

[@hamradioonthego]

Excellent suggestions. I have now a 10 meter end fed wire antenna and I plan to try again! Thanks for watching and 73.

[@w8lvradio]

Scout was my first radio. Still have it as a backup. Three kids at the time, so it was the affordable rig. Three more kids arrived, so it remained the sole rig all through those times! I think the Chinese radios are going to break the $tatus quo.We will see...73 DE W8LV BILL

[@hamradioonthego]

Couldn't agree more. I was also on a budget as a new ham and this was my first HF rig. Ended up earning DXCC with it. Just a couple of years ago upgraded to 857 as they discontinued so pick it up for a great price. Both excellent budget radios.

[@taekwondobro]

It's tough to get those contacts sometimes

[@hamradioonthego]

You must first fail a few times b4 you get the glory! 73s

[@wecontrolthevideo]

QRP with a Hamstick on SSB during FD is brutal. Your best chances would be on any digital mode or CW. Also that Hamstick needs at least four 17 foot radials to have any radiation efficiency at all.

[@hamradioonthego]

Thanks for the tips. I thought the copper pole in the ground would suffice for at least a couple of Qs. I picked up an MFJ random length wire tuner so that will be the next attempt. MFJ will be happy with the funds being dropped 🙂 Thanks again and 73s

[@wecontrolthevideo]

@@hamradioonthego I found this to help explain this better than I could …. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5DFn56fbdCfa5o.

[@brianfields4479]

Great sounding radio, like others I think more radials the better. I have video on qrz about this issue. Glad I found you, and you have a new subscriber in me. 73 zl3xdj

[@hamradioonthego]

That radio was my first HF transceiver and earned DXCC with it including ZL. 50 watts and a vertical here in NYC. Thanks for subscribing! Comment anytime and 73s.

[@hamradioonthego]

Just checked out your channel and will also be joining my friends in ZL land!

[@w8lvradio]

I think radials are everything. Book says 16 okay, for 32 you get one more dB. And yet? Another dB at QRP? Might be worth it. Well? That's twice the wire, twice the weight, and twice the cost, and twice the fooling around. OR, you can use 32 smaller ones. Easier to lay out, "almost good enough" the same gain. You don't need them in a perfect circle, when you can't do that like the illustrations show you. AND you can get some directivity by moving them in a particular general direction. No, it's not going to be a three element beam, but there's no rotor to go bad and climb to when it craps out, either! I'll take radials over an Amp, and I'm not climbing. It's MUCH easier to move wires around on the ground. An Amp and/or a tower is NEVER going to be in my budget, ever! What power supply did you use with the Scout, and how did that work out? Did you use the full 50 Watts? 73 DE W8LV BILL

[@hamradioonthego]

Radio Shack sealed lead acid 7ah. Went with QRP hoping to make some Qs and extend battery life. What u didnt see in the video is when I abandoned 1B, I tried at high power still no luck. 73s