EMergency Communications

My Ham Radio Go-Box Build For Portable POTA Operations

Since getting into the Parks On The Air program a few years ago, it prompted me to build my own version of what is known in the world of Amateur Radio, a Go-Box. That is a radio station that you are able to quickly grab and go at a moment’s notice. Since Amateur Radio’s justification for our frequencies is emergency communications, or EMCOMM, it makes sense that all hams have some sort of Go-box.

There are all kinds of go-boxes out there on the internet. They all have their advantages based on the operator’s needs and requirements. Being one who likes to learn from others, I spent a lot of time searching and looking at other people’s go-boxes. I then chose various features I like and incorporated them into my own go-box.

Here is what I came up with

Go Box Requirements

Plug and Play – That is plug in power, antenna and go.
Operate on HF, VHF and UHF frequencies
Compact and reasonably light
100 watts on HF frequencies
Operate on SSB, CW and Digital modes
Computer built-in
Antenna tuner

Go Box Equipment

Yaesu FT-857D
LDG YT-100 Autotuner
Raspberry Pi Computer
Signalink Sound interface
K1EL WinKeyer
Powered USB hub
Powerwerx USBbuddy 12V to 5V converter
USB GPS Dongle for grid square / time sync

Here is a photo of my completed Go-Box:

As you can see, its not actually a Go-Box, but rather what I call a Go-Frame.

The photo above shows the Yaesu FT-857D and below it the LDG YT-100 autotuner. On the right side you can see the two antenna connections that come from the rear of the FT-857D.

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How to DIY an NVIS Antenna AKA Cloud Burner Antenna Using a Mag Mount

Part of being a ham radio operator is to provide communications in times of emergencies. With the upcoming Ohio NVIS Antenna Day, I decided to look into NVIS antennas. NVIS antennas, also known as Near Incident Vertical Skywave antennas have a high angle of radiation. Something on the order of 60 degrees, to straight up to 90 degrees. Unlike UHF and VHF signals, which typically have a 50 mile range with a yagi antenna up high, a NVIS antenna is designed for communication in the 75 – 500 mile range. Sometimes an NVIS antenna is referred to as a “cloud burner” since is directs most of its radiation more upward than a typical antenna.

The idea with a NVIS antenna is to radiate as much power as possible at a high angle and have it be reflected off the ionosphere. From a practical standpoint, NVIS communications occurs at 10 mHz and below. Another part of the NVIS antenna is the fact that it is quite low to the ground. This helps radiate the signal at a high angle, as well as make it easy to deploy. There ar many opinions as to the best height of an NVIS antenna, but everyone seems to agree on aprox. 1/8 wavelength above ground and sometimes less.

I wanted a NVIS antenna that was portable, easy to set up, and cheap (of course). As it turns out, I had practically everything on hand. For my NVIS antenna, I started out with my 2 meter mag mount for my car. Then it was just a matter of attaching a quarter wave wire to the mag mount, then just string the wire horizontally from the mag mount to a tree, or a pole of some sort.

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