I am an avid user of the Lowepro Viewpoint CS 80 for my KX2. It fits in there wonderfully and I still have room for the powerbank, Bamatech III, Palmkey (as backup), microphone, all cables and writing utensils.
In winter, however, this may not be the optimum. Inspired by this thread, I’ve now ordered a GSI Outdoors Lexan Gear Box, size M.
I wanted a box that I could close and that had a transparent lid so I could see the settings. I haven’t found anything from B&W or Peli Case in the right size.
I’m going to cover it with foam on the inside and drill holes in the sides for the cables for the power, key, headphones and microphone…
If I find that it’s any good, I’ll report back here.
Will the holes be large enough for the cable connectors to pass through? And if so, have you thought about how to prevent rainwater running down the sides of the case from getting in through the holes?
BTW: when it’s raining I prefer to have the battery inside the waterproof case with the KX2.
The KX2 does have its battery built in… however, I like to use an external battery to maintain maximum performance. The internal battery is mainly backup for me.
The case should be big enough to fit it in.
How I design the holes I will see when I have the housing… I have no stomachache with it now.
Another vote for KX2 here. I have 94 winter activations with mine and no problems. I tried a G90 for 3 and had problems with it all 3 times. It became a brick at -25c until warmed up some.
For the record, a frozen G90 is really cold when it is near your skin.
Despite the stated operating temperature range for the G90 being 0-50°C - I have operated my G90 at -15°C without radio problems. It’s not the radio that breaks at those temperatures - it’s the operator!
Great that the KX-2 works at -25°C! Although this isn’t stated in the Elecraft specs.
According to the Yaesu FT 818 manual, it will work at temperatures between -10C° & +60C°
As I said above, I’m always keen to see [and adopt] better ways of protecting a KX2 when operating in rain and dense fog than my current solution [described above, as photo below].
So far, I’ve seen only solutions for transporting the rig.
I’m concerned about keeping the winter weather away from my precious KX2 whilst operating. I try to have the cables for paddles, headphones and antenna hanging down out of the bag’s zip opening so rainwater doesn’t run down them and into the bag.
If it’s merely drizzling, I’ll have the zip open somewhat to change bands, etc.
If it’s heavy rain, I’ll activate on just one band (usually 30m) and go QRT when out of chasers. I key the Palm paddles (with its magnetic base) attached to a small steel plate in my winter jacket (It doesn’t take long to perfect keying with your hand in your pocket!). The clip-over-ears earbuds stay dry under my Lowe Alpine cap and jacket hood (which also help keep out the wind noise).
It’s not perfect: if operating long enough in very-high humidity, moisture can appear under the KX2 display panel. That might be unavoidable unless the enclosure is airtight. So, if you have a better wet-weather operating solution that’s as practical, let us know.
All this supposes that I’ve misjudged the weather / forecast and didn’t take the tarp. Tarps stop the rain but not moisture in the air getting to the rig, The tarp’s wind noise can make copying weak signals harder and make me wish I had taken over-the-ears headphones.
Photos from a summit madness event on 9/28/19.
817 was protected as much as possible but the tunner was left to fend for its self… No damage to either unit. I am personally more worried about rain than snow.
My coldest activation was -34C with KX2. Some drift was happening then, operator and hiking partner not radio. I had 3 contacts and foolishly re-spot saying I needed 1 more, a pile-up ensued.
Taking any radio (except a fully waterproofed handheld or Russian HF one) out of a bag on a mountain top is a risk, even on a dry rocky summit. The risk increases with snow and yet again with precipitation.
It’s your decision. What’s your attitude to risk (to quote many a financial advisor)?
Hi Fraser, I’m going to assume that isn’t a rhetorical question, and that it’s specifically about radio equipment rather than life in general.
The KX2 is the most expensive bit of radio kit I’ve ever bought (or strictly speaking, my wife bought me as a birthday present). And as a retiree, I no longer have the discretionary spending power of my working years, so I might apply more TLC during equipment handling than some less financially constrained than me.
But, as an inanimate object it’s way down the well-being pecking order from the safety of me and my dog on the hills.
In practise that means I’m prepared to use [and have used] the KX2 in heavy rain and dense fog inside the bag described above [though not Wx conditions I knowingly plan to activate in] but on the first sign of malfunctioning or moisture inside the display panel, I’m looking to go QRT soon to avoid an expensive repair or replacement.
Hey KG7VLX!!!
That looks like what I call the “HOBBIT HOLE” up on More’s mountain!
Made a ton of contacts from that little spot, summer and winter.[quote=“KG7KKE, post:31, topic:30875, full:true”]
Hey KG7VLX!!!
That looks like what I call the “HOBBIT HOLE” up on More’s mountain!
Made a ton of contacts from that little spot, summer and winter.
This is a Winter Field Day camp I did about 2 years ago.
Weather was mosyly clear, but single-digit °F cold. The KX2 worked great. My windows tablet had a hard time in the cold, thankfully CW always works!
I just think if you are I go out in winter, or on a day with an iffy forecast, then to some extent we are accepting the risk. The risk can be mitigated by using a tarp, bothy bag, some kind of radio bag or whatever. However, there is still a risk. I just don’t see a way round it.
I think you have missed my original point. I wasn’t seeking a no-risk solution, but rather inquiring if anyone had a better method for minimizing the risk of moisture ingress than the one I described and am currently using in adverse weather.
I was also speaking to the original question (KX2 vs 817/8 in bad weather). As others have said, both rigs need protection in very wet weather so it’s good to see how others do it.
I have a small rig shelter, originally intended to keep the radio and logging tablet out of the sun. It also works as a rain shelter, albeit a flimsy one without anything stopping it from sailing away in the wind like a wrecked drunken kite. A few loops of twine and some tent pegs would sort that out.
It’s just a shopping bag with a frame made from dowels and joined with irrigation tube joiners. It was put together by Andrew VK1AD after a casual mention of the concept. I put the dowels into the shopping bag and roll it up, it goes with me on every activation.
No doubt the more creative members of the group would be able to come up with more elaborate and effective shelters for their radios and other gear.
Andrew, I think that’s the answer. My ft-857d was getting a bit of a soaking yesterday (partly due to my own stupidity). I grabbed the bag I’d carried it in and threw it over the top, tucking it under the radio at the rear. It did the job and I could still hear the audio, see the screen and work the controls.
Snap. Well my 817 was just very damp on the case from the water in the mist condensing out. I had the flap of the soft case over the display. Then the mist turned to rain and 5mins was enough of that and I aborted and packed up. The radio was dry inside the soft case still.
Head in the clouds?
I’m concluding there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution for the range of winter weather (e.g. snow, rain, fog, sub-zero temperatures) contributors to this thread have made. A number of rain protection methods have been described here from tarps, to ‘rig shelters’ to (my) see-thru toilet bag.
Condensing moisture is the tough one to deal with if it can get inside the rig.
Maybe we get more foggy summit days here in NW Britain than in other parts of the world. In winter especially, the cloud base often drops well below many of our northerly summits, Clouds are thick with heavy condensed water hanging in the air so - as well as making navigation harder with the poor visibility - that moisture pervades our lungs and rigs very quickly.
And while we have our heads (and rigs) in the clouds, we have a race to enjoy the activation and make it worth while before water ingress spoils the fun.
That’s when I post, “hurry, it’s raining”, on my spot comment. Then the chasers won’t be offended when I’m gone after half a dozen contacts!
Most of the solutions suggested aren’t infallible. If you read my recent report you’ll have seen that I had moisture condensing on my equipment in no time. It’s always going to head towards your radio via wires, cables etc and unless you have a fully glanded case, then water is going in there! I do find the bothy bag helps a lot, as long as I keep the radio in front of my body, as water will drip from my head or hat onto it as I look down.
Here’s hoping for some cold, crisp and dry winter days rather than this damp cloudy rubbish were experiencing at the moment, well in NE Scotland anyway.
