Re: Ortegas report

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?On the first peak yesterday, I discovered there was no RF out of the KX2, not a good omen for a 3 peak day. I pulled the back off, battery dangling but connected, and found that the BNC had loosened slightly. Tightened it by hand but still no RF. Poking around inside the case near the BNC, RF out resumed. The KX2 case was open for the entire first activation since I had not conclusively identified the problem. After the activation, I took 5 minutes to make sure everything I could see was properly seated etc. The case was closed and there were no problems during the 2 additional activations.

This morning I hooked the KX2 to my Bird wattmeter and dummy load. No RF again! I noticed that the white connector closest to the BNC in the attached photo didn’t seem to be fully seated. Once seated, RF out resumed. I added a blob of silicone caulking so that the connector remains seated.

?Lesson learned - Years of trips off road & hiking stresses our gear, and the effects can be cumulative!

73,

John K1JD

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On Sep 26, 2024, at 10:13?AM, Fred Maas <just.one.hill@...> wrote:

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John and I enjoyed doing the Ortega Mtn three-some yesterday.? Road from El Rito is much better, but still subject to flashflood.? The roads into the peaks themselves were slightly better, as in, less rocks.? We aired down and that helped.
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The numbered peak, OT-020, had BIG and fresh bear sign pile, but we didn’t see the bear.? East Ortega had bugling elk all around it, fun.? The plethora of fallen trees in there are breaking down, rotting, closer to the ground, and somewhat easier to negotiate than in the past.
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Carol’s presentation Saturday got me thinking more about back-ups.? Generally, John and I are each other’s back-ups.? That is the lightest and most reliable back-up.? ?I have had relatively few failures, and they have taken many forms.? Most often a broken antenna wire usually at a trap, and I can tie it back together and still have the higher band(s).? John had a failure this time with a BNC connector coming loose. ?He was able to temporarily tighten it, good for the day at least.
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Equipment failure means loss of a SOTA point, frustrating, but not life and death, so I don’t worry much about back-ups.? Still, a trapped 26 gauge antenna wire, with each additional activation, the wire becomes more susceptible to fatigue.? So I made this #28 EFHW 20M only antenna which as you can see weighs less than an ounce with its heavy-duty carrying case (a sandwich bag).?
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This back-up I don’t mind carrying.
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73? fred kt5x
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