As part of
The Tech Prepper Anti Field Day 2023, I packed up my gear for a simulated backcountry trek and headed to neighborhood park. Since this was the first time I had this loadout, I didn't want to get too far from home in case I needed support. My manpack was a surplus
3 day assault pack. I had my Yaesu FT-817 in the outer pouch. It fit nicely with a Panasonic Toughpad,
Digirig, a bunch of cables and a 6Ah battery. My antenna was a newly crafted WARC band linked dipole (12, 17 and 30 meters). To raise the antenna, I had a carbon fiber fishing pole with the appropriate guy lines.
The comms plan was for JS8Call on 30m.
VOACAP predication was for good propagation for most of the other group in the evening. I started operating a bit earlier but was able to contact 6 of the group. I seemed to have a skip zone for a few hundred miles since I couldn't get the NV and AZ stations but was able to reach all the way to ME.
It was a very successful field day. My gear performed well and I feel confident having to take it into the backcountry.
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| Testing in the shack |
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| Linked dipole deployed |
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| Field station |
