Go-Kit Talk - My FT-857D and Ideas

I have been talking a lot about go-kits recently to several people and groups so I figured I would write an update to my earlier post last Fall on my go-kit for the FT-857D.

As I mentioned in my previous post the reason I went with the FT-857D is it is an all mode HF/VHF/UHF radio and is very compact. In fact, it is THE most compact full-featured HF/VHF/UHF radio you can buy.

Depending on your needs, the FT-897D is a better radio, however. It is identical electrically to the FT-857D but the case is bigger and the controls are more ergonomic. Comfort-wise the FT-897D is a much better radio.

The case I have is a Pelican model 1490. There are different versions you can get - a brief case with an organizer liner and shoulder strap, a laptop case, an empty case, and a foam-filled case. The foam filled one is what I have and they call the foam Pick-n'-Pluck because it is in a square grid pattern and easily torn to make the spaces you require.

I am very pleased with my case - as you can see in the picture it has been tossed around a bit. I have even tested it's ability to seal out water by tossing it in a pond. Even with the kit assembled you could probably use this thing as a Personal Flotation Device (PFD), although not approved by the Coast Guard.

I also melted my name and call sign in the case with a soldering iron. There are brass tags you can get but I had a couple hours to get this ready for the Pelotonia bike ride event I worked and had to tag it in such a way that couldn't be ripped off or scrubbed off (such as tape with my info on it).



Here you can see how I have everything packed in the case.





The antenna is my home made jumper dipole. As you see it in the pictures it covers all bands 40-6m (I have sections for 60m also but I don't use them much). The coax is 35 feet of LMR-200. The center insulator is nothing special - just a couple of large zip ties, some female spade connectors, a large snap swivel (used on high-capacity fishing line/steel leaders) and some Plasti-Dip to seal it all up. My support rope is 50' of 550 chord (parachute chord).

The antenna is most often set up as an inverted V. I tie a rock on to the chord and toss it up over a tall branch (usually takes a few tries) and then use the snap swivel at the center insulator to attach to a loop I have on the other side of the chord. After attaching the dipole arms I hoist it up and secure the dipole arms to the ground with about 3' of mason line to the tent stakes you see.

The charger is a small 1.5 amp unit by Chicago Electric. I got this one from Harbor Freight (which the link takes you direclty to). I bought a different design of this last year and it is a bit bigger and heavier. The new one seen here is half the weight and the size allows me to get it in the case. The old one would not have fit where I have this one, so I never bothered trying to squeeze it in the case. Another thing - online the charger is $20, mine was only $11 in the store.

The battery is a 12Ah SLA. Note - some kinds of padding foam are slightly conductive. I have some plastic insulators that slide over the terminals on my battery, I just didn't have them on. Be on the safe side and don't keep the battery in the case for long with the terminals touching the foam - you may find your battery dead. For my uses the 12Ah battery is fine. I use this exact set up, minus the battery charger and the case, for backpacking. Most of my trips are 3 days and 10-20 trail miles. I have never come home with a dead battery and the last trip we spent several hours on the radio talking all over the world sitting next to the camp fire - great times!

Now, the battery weighs about 8lbs by itself. SLA's are the cheapest route to go for "compact" power. However, if you can swing the cost of Lithium batteries the ones to get are the Lithium Nanophosphate packs using A123 cells that Buddipole sells. Don't be fooled by the low Ah ratings of the batteries. These are not like SLA's - you can draw a much higher current from them and the voltage remains nearly constant until depletion. The best benefit to the batteries is their weight - I could drop my radio equipment weight by 4-5lbs by switching to these Lithiums. I just don't feel like forking out the money for them at the moment.

I hope this has given you some ideas. However, if you have any questions I would be more than happy to discuss this topic further. Post a comment below. I should be able to comment back right on the page to keep the dialogue within the blog. Or, if you prefer, you can reach me directly at Steve@kc8qvo.com. Just put go-kit in the subject line and your call sign so I don't delete your message. Anything I don't recognize or think is spam gets deleted.