There is no way we can state an absolute answer like what it the best rig.
It depends on the characteristic you focus for…
If it’s for Sota, and you want a multiband, multipurpose and compact rig, the 817 is my choice.
Why? : low weight, rugged, and capable of running with low voltage.
I do own some other choices: qrp monobanders for CW only, mobile rigs…
The 817 is ideal for Sota as an starter. And I’m still using it after 3 years!
No need for high power when on SOTA, I work states with 10W out of a IC703+.
keep it light if you can.
The more CW you can do the lighter you can go.
I will start operating a HB-1B with internal batteries and an inverted Vee for 40, 30 and 20mtr, cut for the CW portion of those bands. No tuner needed, maybe only an extra 7Ah Gel battery.
Before I operated a ft857 with a 48Ah car battery, later that battery changed to 18Ah, then I started doing CW and battery went to 7Ah and a IC703+.
In reply to M1BUU:
To each his own I guess…I personally wouldn’t own an 817 again.
I had one with all the options, never again. ( It was a waste of money)
I also had an IC-703, put the 817 to shame, I sold the 817 and never looked back.
When I got the KX3 (s/n 45) the 703 went ! Nothing beats Elecraft for superior radio gear and customer support !
I only own Elecraft gear now, I also have the KX1, K1 and K2.
We’re talking SOTA activations, not beach activations here, sand and dirt will get into all radio’s if not properly protected.
In reply to VK2GAZ:
Suppose I am lucky, living where I do.
90% of my activations are completed with a FT-270 with a couple of different antennas. A 5/8 whip, a dipole and occasionally a co-linear. Depends where I am going which ones I take.
About 5% of the time I use an FT-857 with a 4 Ah SLAB or latterly a 7Ah LiFePO4. This is usually just to give me better 2M FM power, although I will use it with a linked dipole for 20m, 40m, or 60m SSB.
The other 5% is with an 817 again with the linked dipole.
I don’t (yet) use CW.
All of this suits my own activation style, which tends to be several summits in a day and/or longish walks if I can. I think that is the key, there isn’t a right answer to this. It is what suits you.
In reply to EA2BD:
Very good paper, Ignacio!
I have always used the FT-817 w/ 12v 7ah SLAB batt, and never have run out of power even on activations of 6 or more hours.
But… recently I’ve purchased a 2nd hand FT-857 (not tested yet) and a 8Ah LiFePo battery which I hope to test soon, perhaps next weekend -if our rainy weather finally allows it- I haven’t any clue about how many time would it be running at, let’s say, 20-30 watts. Have any of you?
I ran an 857 for about three hours off a 12V 7Ah SLAB one weekend at about 30 watts whilst camping and there was still power left in the SLAB when I switched off.
By the way, Mikel, the 857 has no reverse voltage protection so I recommend that you either put a protection diode in the power lead or make sure that the battery cannot be accidentally plugged into the wrong way around!
In reply to EA2CW:
Thanks Mikel, I’ll probably translate my paper to english as I see it’s of general interest.
Concerning current drain of an FT857, 2E0YYY was running it for hours with a 22 Ah batt, but you can check with EA2DCA who runs his with a 7Ah if I remember properly, or even with EA1IEH
In reply to VK2GAZ:
I don’t know what I’d buy for SOTA if I didn’t already have an FT817. I’ve had it for a while, but I’ve only been doing SOTA for a year or so. I originally chose the FT817 because it’s small and versatile, so that decision paid off.
I carry the FT817 with its internal rechargeable cells, and an Energizer XP18000 battery pack (the smaller XP8000 is probably be a better choice as it’s lighter and I don’t need the full capacity of the XP1800).
I carry two antennas. A 20m dipole (which is basically two pieces of wire held up with a fishing rod) for HF, and a KD5IVP lightweight backpacking Yagi for VHF. It all packs down small, and the fishing rod and Yagi beam clip onto my backpack in the place where hiking poles would go.
For a SOTA day hike I carry hiking gear, lunch, water, and radio equipment in a 30 litre backpack and it’s not too heavy or awkward.
In the USA, the Elecraft KX3 has become very popular amongst regular SOTA activators, and of course the FT-817 is still common. A number of people also use the Youkits HB1B and Elecraft KX1, but those two are limited to HF and CW.
The KX3 is the highest performing and most versatile and expensive of the group, especially with its optional built-in wide range antenna tuner and internal batteries, though until the 2 meter module is available it only goes up to the 6 meter band. Though operation in blowing sand and dust might be problematic, I haven’t heard of that being a problem on NA summits.
A fairly simple to make and easy to deploy 6-40m antenna is the EARCHI end fed, but you will need an antenna tuner to make the final match. If you have the funds for it, the AlexLoop is very effective and quick to deploy, especially useful for summits without visible means of support.
I go with the views expressed that whilst the Elecraft KX-3 is the bees knees it is not sturdy enough for activations on most summits. The IC-703 seems a more sturdy companion from comments made and the 10 watts is a nice power level to have above the standard 5 watts QRP. I think the IC-703 is no logner made - I haven’t used one.
I like the FT-857 which I have used on activations over the last 5 years at powers of between 20 and 100 watts using the Turnigy 3S1P 5 Amp LiPO batteries. Prior to that I used SLABs. I did break the shaft off the volume control in the Isle of Man 3 years ago whilst carrying the rig in a cloth bag in the rucksack. This was replaced by Yaesu at an economical price.
I have used the VX-170 and it’s updated stablemate the FT-270 on 2m FM with an external antenna. 1000s of QSOs made on SOTA and WOTA with those radios. I have a Yaesu FT-1500M. A small Yaesu mobile radio which runs 40 watts output. Used with a 5 A LiPO again to good effect when more humph is needed.
FT-817 - had one for a year or so and sold it when I started carrying the FT-857. Good little radio. The DC power in socket is the achilles heel. The connection to the PCB breaks at the scoket but is easily repaired by the owner. A good receiver on CW when used with a CW filter.
YouKits HB1B - a lot of fun, used on several activations over a 6 month period but if the little radio breaks no support is available from the chinese maker - e-mails are ignored. My volume control went U/S I would have replaced it myself but neither me or my supplier could remove the knobs from the shafts of the controls - they were glued on I believe with superglue, so the PCB could not be removed to enable a repair. I was given a full refund after owning and using the radio for 7 months (Thank you SOTABeams - outstanding service).
I have today taken delivery of the Chinese made X1M QRP transciever and am just about to remove it from it’s box. It’s nice to use something a little different so you will be hearing that radio in CW and SSB (I hope) from a summit sometime soon. G4YSS (GX0OOO/P) used one to good effect earlier this week on G/SP-002 so that encouraged me to splash out and spend the money I got back on the HB1B on the X1M.
In reply to M0KCB:
OK Darius - quite expensive then for a low power set, there is obviously a demand for the IC-703. The FT-90 is another one, long gone, an extremely small 2m high powered FM radio - sought after. They also fetch a good price when sold on.
Have not got many activations under my belt as some on here, but I have owned the ft817nd for two years, I have been interested in a change to an elecraft Kx3 for the past few months and I have decided to stay with 817 it is much cheaper and comes with 5 watts on 2m, simple to add a cw or ssb filter! I won’t cry to much if I drop or break it.
Found this info online about the elecraft 2m module I think for the price it is not really worth it http://www.elecraft.com/manual/KX3-2M%20FAQ.htm
Also the LNR FX4 has just been released with a ton of pre-orders being dealt with first and they may be ready in 5-7 weeks with direct purchase from ther site.
In reply to EA2CW:
Thanks Mikel, I’ll probably translate my paper to english as I see it’s of general interest.
Concerning current drain of an FT857, 2E0YYY was running it for hours with a 22 Ah batt, but you can check with EA2DCA who runs his with a 7Ah if I remember properly, or even with EA1IEH
In reply to VK2GAZ:
Garry,
Like “what is the best car” the answer always depends on what you want to do. With SOTA a lot depends on your likely activation types. Long bushwalking suggests lightest weight equipment because you need to carry water, food, even tent and sleeping bag etc, so the criteria include best bang for the kg, to coin a phrase. Shorter walks up easy hills can allow more weight on the back, more complex antennas.
I have used an ft817 for most of my activations. powered by a 2.1 AH SLAB it will run fine for several hours which is plenty of time to qualify a summit. Powered by a 3S lipo it deals with the lower voltage well. I also use it with a 4s LIFEPO battery.
I also have an IC703 which has an inbuilt ATU and a speech compressor which is very handy for SSB work with weaker signals/longer paths. Mine also has a cw filter which is great. But no vhf bands. Runs happily on 12v or less, but enforces a power reduction on lower voltage. Mr Icom knows best…
What I think would be ideal is a radio somewhere between the two, with the vhf bands included and a selectable 5w or 30w output option, with the final amplifier completely out of circuit when not needed. Inbuilt ATU and an rf speech processor for ssb. And it must be lightweight too. Just like the antenna, it would work well on all bands and be lightweight. Dreaming though!
When you set up your activation kit, consider using anderson powerpole DC connectors. They make it simple and quick to swap between batteries and between operators when on a multi-op activation. I find having multiple small batteries allows me to choose the batteries needed for specific activations. The ability of the 817 to produce full power all the way down to 9.6v is very handy, so you can readily run on 3S (3 cell) batteries. I think it would run for an hour on a 1500 mah battery I take as a backup, especially on lower power.
There is also plenty of help and advice available via the Yahoo sota_australia mailing group.
In reply to VK2GAZ:
Hi Garry,
My personal choice is FT-817 + 7m long GP antenna for HF. I have used FT-817 for VHF, 2m FM but I have recently purchased a 2nd hand Yaesu FT-23R handie for 2m FM.
I like the FT-817 because it’s reasonably small, light and allows me to work all HF bands, either SSB or CW, although I have never worked SSB so far from a SOTA.
As others advised you, I think you should take your decision according to your needs, what you like doing and what you don’t want to do or have.
Whatever it will be, I wish you a good decision.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
Garry, Firstly good to work you a few nights ago, your QSO qualified a 10 point summit for me.
I use an FT 857D for HF as I had one pre SOTA. I believe that the ability to run in the sweet spot of 20- 30 W with SSB and the ability to get to 100W when needed is essential to getting over the noise floor of the metropolitan chasers in cities such as Sydney, Melbounre etc. A few days ago I had VK3FQSO hear me but not make me out, I turned the power up to 100W and I was workable, I was then able to ask to be spotted (couldn’t get the SMS spot to work on site) and then got 5 QSO’s and avtivated the 10 point summit. I might have struggled if I couldnt get to 100W.
My FT 857D draws 700mA in Rx. I use LiFe 4S batttery and it easliy runs for 60 minutes. Most summits I am on air for no more than 30 minutes. So although thte 857 does need more power over the QRP rigs a 4S battery is more than adequate. My activations are not overnight walks where the weight becomes critical. I am starting to plan out a 23cm activation carrying an IC 910H plus batteries etc.
Important thing is however to get on air with what ever you can muster!
Compton
VK2HRX
In reply to G4OBK:
Hi Phil, all,
Having tried my new Xiegu Technology X1M 5-Band CW/ SSB HF QRP rig out from a SOTA on Wednesday, I thought I should place a link to the activation report here.
At its foot, the report has an appendix which records information gathered from the rig itself along with some activating experience on 40m CW/SSB from Black Hill G/SP-002. There are also some (rambling) thoughts on using (or not) this radio with an MX-P50A HF linear amp. These are my own findings and thinking aloud on the subject. It is not exhaustive testing and some of the info may turn out to be completely incorrect. I offer it here in case it may be of some use to somebody but caution should be exercised until more is known. Hiking in the mountains: tips for beginner hikers - Mountain Day
As for a preferred rig. I have been using a lightened ICOM IC706-2G, 100W rig since 1999 for portable operating including SOTA since 2002. I like it very much. It seems bomb proof considering the abuse it gets. It normally stays well inside the rucksack wrapped in foam with outputs up to and sometimes exclusively full power but has not blown up yet! (Always a first time). Weight inc. circuit breaker, power wiring, mic (with built-in CW keying) and 0.6m flying leads for both RF outlets is 2.47kg. (Before that a lightened FT77.)
I also use an FT817ND when the SOTA is remote or for activating multiple summits in the day than I can carry QRO around. That’s a great little rig too. I have an MX-P50A RF amp which is built with the FT817 in mind. This runs 50 Watts at 5W in (or less). It weighs 1.2kg but I am in the process of lightening it prior to trying it for SOTA.