"VHF, Summits and More: Having Fun With Ham Radio" by Bob Witte K0NR. Bob has had success with this extra-long antenna doing VHF SOTA activations. I bought the HYS BNC model on Amazon for $17.
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| The HYS BNC RH-770 telescoping whip antenna |
My handheld radios have SMA connectors. I was tipped off by Bradford K6LCS on work-sat.com about the Gulyas SMA to BNC adapters. I feel pretty good that I can manage such a long antenna with the Gulyas adapter on my HT. The RH-770 is about a yard long. It telescopes and is not that heavy. A check on two-meter simplex has confirmed much that the HY-770 outperforms my other HT antennas, even the longer ones.
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| The Gulyas SMA to BNC Adapter |
Given the enhanced performance of the RH-770 antenna, I wondered if I could use it to work one of the FM birds like AO-91 or AO-92. So I dashed out to the front yard for a pass of AO-91. I was using the RH-770 and my Yaesu FT-60 handheld. I use a speaker/mic to allow me to move the antenna around for the best reception and still talk.
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| The Yaesu FT-60 Handheld HT, speaker/mic and antenna. |
On this pass, Denny K5DCC was on. I enjoy listening to Denny's interviews on the Digicomm Cafe Radio On The Rocks Podcast. Denny promotes the sats on his shows and often interviews hams he meets on the birds. I gave Denny a shout, and he called me back just as AO-91 was going out of range. I held the FT-60 over my head and vertical at that point.
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| The RH-770 Whip collapsed |
Any time I make an FM sat contact, I consider it a stroke of luck due to the congestion on the passes. Thanks for the QSO, Denny. I'll see if I can repeat this feat again. It is much easier to grab the HT with a whip instead of my Elk log-periodic antenna.
73,
Greg N4KGL
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| Confirmation of my K5DCC contact on LOTW. |