{"id":44960,"date":"2020-08-21T10:27:46","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T14:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=44960"},"modified":"2020-08-21T10:27:46","modified_gmt":"2020-08-21T14:27:46","slug":"lab599-discovery-tx-500-hiking-into-pisgah-national-forest-for-a-little-field-radio-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/lab599-discovery-tx-500-hiking-into-pisgah-national-forest-for-a-little-field-radio-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"lab599 Discovery TX-500: Hiking into Pisgah National Forest for a little field radio fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Yesterday, I hit the field again with the lab599 TX-500 Discovery<\/strong>. This time, I wanted to give the radio a proper shake-out by hiking to my location with the entire station in my pack.<\/p>\n

This TX-500 transceiver is on loan, so I haven’t built a custom field kit for it like I have with my other radios. To be on the safe side, I packed the rig and all of its accessories in my Red Oxx<\/a> C-Ruck<\/strong> pack.<\/p>\n

The C-Ruck is loaded with three antennas, two LiFePo batteries, DC distribution panels, extra adapters\/connectors, and essentially everything I need to handle pretty much any field situation. I take it on every field activation when I can afford the space in my car\/truck because it’s so complete and stocked, it’s like a mini shack in a bag complete with tools I might need in the field.<\/p>\n

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This radio bag was total<\/em> overkill for a quick day hike into Pisgah National Forest and I did remove a few heavy items like a larger battery, my Wolf River Coils TIA vertical<\/a>, and other extra accessories. But at the end of the day, my four-legged hiking partner (Hazel) and I both agreed that I would kick myself if I arrived on-site and realized I was short, say, one PL-259 to BNC connector.<\/p>\n

Turns out, the C-Ruck was just what the doctor ordered. The TX-500 is so compact, it fit in the C-Ruck’s top flap pocket that holds my logging notepad. I used that top flap to strap down my folding three legged stool for the hike.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The best part was the C-Ruck made for a perfect field table! The front pocket of the pack (which contains supplies like a first aid kit, emergency tarp\/sleeping back, protein bars, etc.) propped the TX-500 in place.<\/p>\n

After finding a nice spot off-trail, I set up my EFT Trail-Friendly end fed antenna in short order, plugged it into the TX-500, plugged in my 6 aH Bioenno LiFePo battery<\/a>, the TX-500 Speaker\/Mic (which conveniently clipped o the C-Ruck top flap), and finally my homebrew CW key cable.<\/p>\n

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Since I had no mobile Internet service at this site–no surprise–I started the activation in CW which gave me the best opportunity to be auto-spotted by the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) and for CW hunters to find me on the announced frequency via the POTA site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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I started calling CQ and was instantly rewarded with a string of contacts on 40 meters.<\/p>\n

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After working that small pile of hunters, I moved up to the 20 meter band, started calling CQ, and made this short video:<\/p>\n