Monday 21/02/2011

This Monday we were looking at a couple of portable antennas and playing with an old Tentec rig.

I showed my Yaesu ATAS 25 manual antenna which is designed for QRP and back packing.

The ATAS-25 is a manually-tuned portable antenna system ideal for the FT-817, FT-897, and FT-857 transceivers. Capable of operating on the Amateur bands between 7 MHz and 450 MHz, the ATAS-25 is designed for mounting on a standard 1/4" camera tripod stud (tripod not supplied), and includes an innovative fine-tuning system allowing precise SWR adjustment in the field.

This is a well made antenna however it is not on sale in the UK due to its high retail price.

The other antenna shown was the Diamond version of the Icom antenna for an IC703. This has an interesting design however I have not had much luck with this one.

I did some operating on Dstar late in the evening with a contact to the States. Thanks to Chris (2E0CTH) who put a video on Youtube of the event

Others enjoyed the various conversations happening in the hall as well as the flowing Tea and Coffee.