Took my truSDX up to nearby Bald Peak (W7O/NC-051) for a shakedown. Antenna was a 20m EFHW on a diy 49:1 toroid with 1’ coax to sma on the radio. I started with usb power pack but didn’t get any replies or reports of being heard with the lower power so I switched to an 11.1V (3S) LiPo rc battery pack via a kludge of test leads and cable chunks. 20m was busy, with no possibility of finding a quiet frequency between 14.058 and 14.064. Wasn’t brave enough to try too hard to bust those pileups, but hopped to 40m and made two contacts even with the SWR at 9 since the antenna is way too short there. Came back to 20m, got a s2s with @N0DNF and another chase from Utah. Not bad for this little kit.
For next time: longer antenna (cut for 80/40/20 and maybe links to shorten to 60/30) and actual battery connectors etc.
Also, give myself longer time on summit… I had a meeting to get to at noon, and ending a trip at 11am (peak sota hour) is really hard!
Impressed by the capabilities of this little radio. I didn’t get anything on SSB, but also didn’t try super hard since my main motivation was to get my first cw activation. First of many I hope!
