A waterfall can be useful to find a free frequency, specially on the lower bands. But this does not mean that after you asked several times “is this frequency in use?” and send a spot, a big gun starts calling CQ 1 kHz above…
I didn’t need an ATU yet and I’m happy with resonant antennas, but some people like to use random wire antennas, mostly because they can quickly switch the bands and just press [tune].
If you are looking for a current radio:
I think the 705 is a nice radio, but maybe a bit delicate for a harsh environment, but this depends on your personal preferences. The big plus is VHF/UHF and the price will probably go down next year.
The KX2 is lighter, even more fragile, and once you buy all the options, pretty pricey as well. The technical data looks very good, but to me some things are not well engineered (like charging the internal LiPo and heat dissipation).
Soon there is another interesting transceiver available that is very rugged, has a panadapter and consumes only 100mA when RX: check the page from Lab599.com. Russian engineering. I’m eagerly waiting for it…
There is no perfect radio. Define your requirements and weight them.
Besides SOTA, there are other reasons to go portable. (HUH?) But one might be out camping, etc. and not the subject of chasers, they may be just rag-chewers or DX chasers. The spectrum scope/waterfall would
be useful for that. But I am also of the opinion that an ATU would be more useful than the waterfall/scope.
73, John, K6YK
About the LAB599, nice rig but have you seen those specific plugs ? I don’t like that. A plus is for sure it is water resistant, and if there’s something I’m afraid of for my KX2 then it is water (rain), a water resistant after market cover would be welcomed by me.
They look like ITT/Cannon connectors but are apparently GX12 connectors. I couldn’t find any reputable dealers selling them, just lots on eBay, Amazon etc. from The Middle Kingdom. Go figure.
I’ve mentioned this exact same thing. Why does an activator need the bells and whistles like that? We generally camp on a frequency and run the pileup. I got 20+ QSOs with my $50 QCX 40m kit transceiver. Not sure I would have done any better with a 705. Plus, it’s more stuff to break and more $$$ to replace if I happen to take a tumble down a hill.
As for the S2S argument, yes you may see activity on the waterfall but it’s not that big of an issue for me personally. I just scan through the band. YMMV.
Of course, there are QRP aficionados who would use this as their base as well. That, I could see.
Nobody needs a car with more than about 40bhp. People buy cars with many 100’s of bhp because they want them. Same reason for the 705, because they want what is offered whether they need the features or not.
There some on here who would say that such action on an activation marks you out as someone partaking in a most uncommon practice. Tuning about looking for contacts, unheard of.
Not all /P operation is the classical SOTA HF activation:
The biggest advantage of the waterfall in my eyes is search & pounce in VHF/UHF contests. Last year I switched over from an FT-817 + PA to an IC-9700 mainly for the sake of the waterfall display. The IC-705 was not available mid of last year so I got the heavy IC-9700 with high RX current draw.
Looking at the complete band instead of tuning up and down while turning the antenna is so much more efficient. By the way: All this is happening on DM/BM-345 or DM/TH-012 (see picture below) for me.
For the typical SOTA activation I see two advantages of a waterfall:
On busy HF bands you more easily find a free spot to call CQ.
Even when not taking part in a VHF contest, the waterfall may be useful for VHF-only activations. In parts of DM you may call half an hour CQ on 145,500 MHz without any response. So you are glad to discover a local net on any frequency to get your QSOs.
A waterfall is not essential for a SOTA activation, but it makes it more convenient. Same is true for a voice recorder for automatically calling CQ (a IC705 feature) or an internal tuner for HF (unfortunately not an IC705 feature).
Lots of personal opinions expressed, some experience based, some emotive.
My preferred radio for drive to summits is the IC-7300 by a very long margin, for summits that are say 5km walk in, the FT857 and for long walk in summits it has been the FT-817.
When I have been using the IC-7300, I have found the spectrum scope very handy to have for the reasons a number have already expressed - easily finding a free frequency, seeing where other activity is if I need to hunt around for contacts or see when there is activity popping up on the usual SOTA activity frequencies for S2S contacts.
So far I have only done a single activation with my IC-705 and that was a quick 2m only activation where I was the only one active, so the benefits of the spectrum scope were not evident in this case, but in higher activity levels I fully expect to use these capabilities (as I have already with my IC-7300).
Nice review of the 705 on OH8STN’s YouTube channel:
Looks very strong for data modes, just plug in your smartphone and away you go (provided you have a data mode program that will run on your phone). So, I suppose some of the data mode activators will look at the rig and subtract the weight of their laptop and soundcard and consider how that effects their overall pack weight. However, a Raspberry Pi and KX2 are still probably lighter, provided you can get VNC working reliably. As I’ve said many times before, I think the rig is going to sell well to new hams that want a shack in a box and are only toying with the idea of some portable operating. Unfortunately, it has little to offer the CW & SSB SOTA crowd over the KX2, and what it does offer comes with a hefty weight/size/RX current penalty. Although, RX current draw was certainly better than I was expecting. It should be mentioned, that the KX2 can now be modified to provide an RX I/Q output, so a panadapter is possible.
73 de OE6FEG
Matt
As Andy said they are all GX12 connectors, each with a different number of pins. Like that, one can not mix them up.
I bought a couple of them for a few bucks and they already arrived from “The Middle Kingdom”
Today I completed two activations with an IC705
Very happy with it. One walk up and one drive to summit.
At home I am an avid FT8 operator so am used to using an waterfall to evaluate band occupancy.
I found it useful today to see what was happening on the band in a glance. You know where to tune for a possible pounce. In VK we have 3 countries within 3,000 km not 30 as in DL for example.
During the week days finding a clear spot isn’t too hard in VK. If the waterfall shows some activity it’s worth spotting and calling. The band is open.
My problem today was lack of mobile phone coverage on one summit. I was 10 m below the summit with big trees all around. Gerard VK2IO and Ian VK5CZ were kind enough to spot me.
The 705 showed me where the action was.
On the second summit the noise was so low I was worried there was a problem. Then John ZL1BYZ did a good job of testing the tearability of the speaker cone.
I am happy with my 705 which was slightly cheaper than a KX2 here and has more bands. The KX2 is much lighter and will fit in a coat pocket.
Love mine! Got me back out on the summits, even thou most of the roads have been burnt out then washed out. I also just picked up a tiny, tiny, tiny laptop to go out with me. One USB cable and I have a CAT port, a Comm port, and a sound card. To easy to run FT8 or SSTV to show off.
The IC-705 was not available mid of last year so I got the heavy IC-9700
Lucky you, Michael! The rx is miserable on 144 MHz. See the video of my last weekend’s activation. Same effects on the October’s/November’s first Tuesday. The FT-857 easily outperforms the IC-705 on 144 MHz.
Not that much activity on the band, except some CW signals below 144.150, some beacons above 144.400, and QRM on 144.174. Built my shack on a summit (365 m asl) in JO50sw, 5 ele DK7ZB (8 dBd) @ 4 m agl.
The rx is heavily overloaded with the internal preamp on. Note the OVF indicator showing constantly! Switching the external preamp on (at 0:26, ca. +12 dB) stops the blocking with its narrow band pass filter. When the strong station on 144.328 (S 9+10 dB) starts to call, the rx again overloads.
Hi Matt,
how readable is the display in bright summer daylight? I have trouble reading the spot data on my phone in summer.
And what model is this tiny tiny laptop thing? Autonomy of its tiny tiny tiny battery?
For the past several years of activating, I’ve spent more time tuning for S2S contacts than sitting on frequencies and working my regular piles of loyal chasers. I’ve often wondered if a spectrum display would be useful for the kind of S2S chasing I do.
I have a P3 with my K3 at home, and it’s certainly a useful accessory. It’s got a sharp display, but I certainly would not like it to be smaller.
The thing about chasing on a summit is that you not only need to search through many signals on several bands, but you need to do it while listening for relevent details that help to identify the other activators. This is true for both CW and SSB contacts. The waterfall display alone doesn’t tell you much to help with the details about each station. You still have to tune onto many of them, listen, and decide whether they are other SOTA activators, and then figure out who they are.
I have made a good many S2S contacts, and most of them have started with tuning around and listening. Sometimes I have a friend with me who helps with info from his smart phone, and sometimes this info leads to wanted contacts, but sometimes the spots are more of a distraction. You can get lots of S2S contacts either way!
I like my KX2 for a lot of good reasons. It has a few issues, but not enough to make much difference for what I do. It’s about the largest piece of gear I would want to bring on peaks above 4000 M out here, especially at my age. Two 3-cell LiIon batteries will run it at 10W for at least 6-8 hours of busy SOTA activating. Many of my logs are over 60 CW contacts lately, just because there is so much action on 40-30-20M, plus other bands. I usually run 10W, and it beats 5W when the piles get thick and I want to be heard through the din. It also makes a real difference when trying to work another activator who’s so weak I probably should not call at all…
Nevertheless, the IC-705 has many strong points and cool features, and it’s one more great tool to enhance our fantastic hobby!
