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WK4DS Blog

Posts from David Saylors (WK4DS)

38 posts

Getting back to my roots with CW

Getting back to my roots with CW

The Ten Tec Argonaut 5 transceiver is a fun little radio if you love CW. It works well on the other modes it has as well, but I only use mine for CW. The Jones filter setup makes adjusting the filter bandwidth a snap and it works really well too.

Expectations and POTA

Expectations and POTA

I think everyone that activates a park or even sits in front of their base rig with a cup of coffee while dialing around for the hunt carry some expectations about what will happen.

Updated the sBitx to Version 4.4 and…

Updated the sBitx to Version 4.4 and…

The new software addressed every item I listed when they asked for input for things to improve the radio further. I had asked for some items specific to how I operate POTA and that would make my life a little easier. But on top of that, they added a whole slew of new features that I dont even fully

sBitx cooling woes solved!

sBitx cooling woes solved!

The HF Signals sBitx radio is designed to be a passive radio. That is, it is not cooled by fans at all…from the factory. I used it in this state when I first got the radio and to be quite honest about it, I thought it was going to fail due to heat alone. The rear heat sink would get so hot you could

Park US-6324 with KV9L was a blast!

Park US-6324 with KV9L was a blast!

We arrived just a little over 2 hours before dark and I immediately sprang into action with the antenna. I wanted to make sure we had the activation in before the end of the UTC day so I wanted to use 20 meters and CW. These have traditionally given me the best results in the past with getting the a

sBitx gets an upgrade…or 2!

sBitx gets an upgrade…or 2!

The sBitx V4 just keeps getting better and better. With the recent software version upgrade to version 4.3, the Sbitx has had a nagging problem with the CW keying circuit patched and now it works great!

Eccentric POTA rigs…

Eccentric POTA rigs…

When I choose a radio for POTA, what do I look for? This is something that I get occasionally asked, but I have never really put a lot of thought into sharing until now.

Activating a park in Florida in the Winter

Activating a park in Florida in the Winter

Today saw me travel out to Chito Branch Reserve for a POTA activation in the afternoon. I have been here before, but it is close to where we are staying so it is a convenient park for me to go to during the time we are here. It is just south east of the town of Brandon and makes for a simple setup a

sBitx V4 Ham Radio at a pseudo new POTA park.

sBitx V4 Ham Radio at a pseudo new POTA park.

So today I tried to go to a park I had not activated before, only to find it closed. Well, not to be deterred, I looked on the map and found a new park near me, but it looked like one I had been to before. I thought I would ride over to it and see if it was open…it was.

2 Operator Activation

2 Operator Activation

It all begins with an idea. Today…I went by and grabbed my buddy Roger (KG4WBI) and took him with me to activate US-2169 for a few hours. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time.