I think there was a real risk of damage to equipment from the intense heat on today’s activation. My 817 soon became very hot to touch, and I created a shade for it under the arch of my rucksack.
My iPhone partially shut down and displayed a message that it could not be used until it had cooled down. I tucked it in the pouch in my rucksack alongside the hydration pack, which seemed to do the trick.
I operated as I often do these days with FT-817 & Alexloop for HF, and FT70D & rubber duck for VHF.
17 S2S:
M0VCM/P on G/NP-017
M7BIA/P on G/SP-004 (2m, 17m, 15m)
SV2RUJ/P on SV/ST-064
SV4SWQ/P on SV/ST-064
GW4BML/P on GW/NW-072
F6HBV/P on F/AM-172
M0WML/P on G/LD-029
MW0PJE/P on GW/NW-042
M1BUU/P on G/SP-006
M0WML/P on G/LD-029
LB1DH/P on LA/HL-072
EA2WX/P on EA2/BI-030
DL20SOTA/P on DM/NS-153
SV2RUJ/P on SV/ST-065
SV4SWQ/P on SV/ST-065
I frequently find the FT818 too hot to touch in ZL summer temps - often high 30s here in central - when in direct sunlight. Shade or just a notebook on top seems to be enough to keep it cool. Never had issues from heat … but can’t be good for it! Consideted painting it white …
Opposite issue this week with galaxy phone refusing to power on the display when out in the cold in neck pouch… until warmed under bush-shirt. Frustrating as I needed it for logging.
I would go for a friendly and bright sky-grey. In fact, I painted the 857’s housing back in 2018, when the summer was really hot and dry and lasted for almost half a year. I could have made scrumbled eggs on the radio and the ventilators ran almost all of the operation time.
It’s really working, from then on the ventilators haven’t started just after some minutes of receiving. So it’s good for the finals and batteries.
And it gives the radio a quite professional finish. Just think of the grey painted R&S equipment.
Ahoi
Pom
PS: I’m wondering how Icom can launch a dedicated outdoor radio with a black case. The IC-705 is such a wonderful rig, but why don’t they think of such issues?
My wife use to work for a company that made foils for packaging. The product is very much like the aluminiumised polyester sheet that survival blankets are made from but not as durable, the aluminium layer is designed to detach from the foil and transfer to the product unlike survival blankets. However, it is very shiny and folds to nothing and weighs a few grammes.
She got me some foil that failed quality control and would have ended up as landfill. I have used it to make a survival blanket and also a sunshade for the radio. Works brilliantly to reflect the sun.
I was so tired of running after the sunshade when the wind blew it away.
And you might want to have a look at the 857 where the ventilation holes are. It’s so easy to cover them with a foil.
Yes, been there. Now the sunshade is big enough to go around 817 and tuck under 817 so the weight holds it in place. There’s a gap of a few cms between the radio and foil so there is room for air to circulate.
Aluminium paint might be better than white or grey for its infra red performance - or remove the paint from the top! I’ve never worried about it before, the specs say its OK up to 60C (same for the FT857) but in view of global warming…
Speaking of which, I see the Met Office have issued their first ever red warning for heat for next Monday and Tuesday, probably not a good idea to sweat your way up hills on those days!
The heat wave in the UK was mentioned on the Australian tv news with the prediction of temperatures of over 40c. That’s weather to stay at home in. No outdoor physical exertion because it can kill.
Here in Berwick upon Tweed on the specular Scottish Borders, we’ll be lucky to get past the mid 70s early next week. Heat wave, what UK heat wave??
While 95F further south is certainly toasty and not for the feint of heart, in true British style (you know, mad dogs and Englishmen) I/we ventured into almost 100F for 4 days to operate a radio contest from a gold fish bowl…,
In fairness, while the idiot press may talk about a UK heat wave the Met Office are much more specific in the area of their red alert. Meanwhile the amber alert for extreme heat extends across most of the Southern Uplands almost as far as Edinburgh. This may change as they refine their prediction as we get nearer the date, but I’m sure that you will be able to top up your tan in beautiful Berwick!
It’s overcast and cool now but will get warmer here after lunch. The predictions for Monday/Tuesday are for around 29C here (west of Edinburgh and 175m ASL) which is unusually hot. You should be OK on that North Sea coast, only 22C which will be nice with a sea breeze. Temperatures in The Borders are predicted to hit 31 with the hottest areas around Nottingham/Leicester part of the UK being 36/37C which is “damned hot”.
Well it’s hot for the UK where we have boring weather: never very cold, never very hot, often grey and damp.
I’ve experienced three heatwaves in Scotland - admittedly that’s in sixty years of holidays there, and I had far more wet weeks! I was told that you can tell when it is summer in Scotland - the rain is warmer!
“Dry” often, “sunny” sometimes [especially in June and early July with long daylight hours at that latitude], but “hot”? - don’t plan on it. You need to go south to my native Essex before that’s common.
Most East-coasters (from Aberdeenshire down to Norfolk) complain of that cold east wind off the North Sea.
