Tool kit

Were those Bosun’s Call/pipe used in the Spanish Navy as well as ours??

David

Swiss Army Penknife and a roll of PVC tape here - There’s not a lot that can’t be fixed with that - mind you, I always have a second antenna along with me for “testing” which serves as a backup as well!

73 Ed.

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Always useful if you need to tie up someone’s wrists and ankles. Can be used to silence them as well.

Just saying.

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I can’t say. The one I showed in that picture and lives in my rucksack now as a safety measure, belonged to my ex-wife’s father who was an official in the Spanish Navy. But I don’t know if he had it as a gift or a souvenir or it was used in the daily life on board. He passed away in 1999 so I can’t ask him.
But his son may know and I may ask him. He is my ex-wife’s step-brother and he also spent his whole life at the sea onboard as cargo ships captain, as well as chief pilot later at Ferrol’s harbor.
I’ll let you know if I finally find that out.
73,

Guru

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Thanks Guru. You’re a gentlemen!

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Probably too much…


Leatherman Skeletool plus set if screwdriver bits. Short length of wire, Cableties, Water filter and Bag (just in my standby bag) , Phone Charger and leads for lightning and USB. I have had to use the skeletool and cable tie to repair a broken antenna on more than one occasion! Distressingly I have never needed the bottle opener attachment - that might have to wait until I have completed the NP region! 73 Paul

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I carry a Victorinox Climber Swiss army knife on SOTA activations, it lives in my first aid kit. I can honestly say that I’ve never needed to use my knife! My mother in law bought me the knife for my birthday, I’m guessing around 2005 ish.

I’ve had two occasions when I needed tools on a SOTA activation, the first was when my MTR-5B had a wobbly and the microprocessor locked up. The MTR-5B has a coin cell battery to keep the RTC ticking over and stuff like keyer speed and last used frequency. Unfortunately I’d chosen to use hex key countersunk screws on the case, so I couldn’t remove the battery in the field. The first thing I did after the activation was visit a hardware shop and buy a hex key to leave in the radio (soft) case! The second field failure was when the power lead of my FT817 broke right at the fuse holder. Luckily I had every tool imaginable available on Whernside G/NP-004 and I was able to make a good and lasting repair with my soldering iron! I haven’t touched my FT817 power cable since :slight_smile:

73, Colin

I guess it was one of those activations where you assembled kits, wasn’t it?

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Yes, you’re right Guru!

I suppose I cover for failures by taking spares usually, for example a spare radio, spare earphones etc. On the day my MTR-5B locked up I had my MTR-2B with me so I was able to continue with my activation.

73, Colin

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I got a Leatherman Squirt ES4 with wire strippers/cutters after listening to a HRCC show. I don’t think they’re made any longer but if you can find one, it’s a neat piece of kit.

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Off topic…

What a good idea Paul. Mind if I pinch it for 6/11 - Trans Atlantic S2S party and final NP for me :blush:

I found my ‘do everything’ swiss army knife to be overkill and it throws the logic of all my weight calculations out. I bought one of their credit-card sized toolkits and use that now. Not had a situation where I was cursing not to have the heavier cousin.

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I carry a USB soldering iron since I was once in a situation where both my cable and spare cable for my palm mini keyer broke on a summit…

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I always carry a Swiss army knife but have never used it. I’ve been lucky that none of my HF antennas has broken and needed repairing ‘in the field’. It takes up little space & weight and s’pose it makes me feel more manly (sad I know).

It is the exception to my general rule for non-safety items. My rare failed activations were never due to something a SA knife, pliers or PVC tape could have fixed. So, I won’t carry ‘spares’ or repair kit. At my (old) age, a lighter rucksack makes every activation more enjoyable. If, one day it happens, so be it, I would have enjoyed the walk anyway.

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The cables are very sensitive, especially at the 3-pin special connector directly at the Palm key.

But since my Bamatech key I have not only a spare cable… but even a replacement key (Palm) :upside_down_face:

73 Armin

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I also carry a Swiss army knife, but in my case it saved an activation when my W3EDP tuner failed. The point of the small blade was perfect for removing the screws of the project box and I was able to make a temporary repair and get on the air. At work it was called the “magic penknife” as on several occasions I was able to use it to repair equipment whilst other people were searching for toolkits - as an aside, isn’t it amazing how tools and toolkits can wander away from where they are supposed to be? :grinning:

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My Palm Pico has a sub mini 2.5mm jack socket so I use a 2.5mm plug to 3.5mm plug lead back to the rig. I think this is a reliable solution. Does the Palm Mini use a different type of socket?

Yes:
palm

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I assume the Palm Pico was a later product than the Palm Mini so I wonder if they changed to the 2.5mm jack socket because the mating connector to the one in your photo was too big for the Pico enclosure or for better reliability.