AI5CU Portable Radio System
My Experience: The weekend of March 27, 2021 (I passed my Amateur Extra Exam on March 20) I stopped researching and actually began purchasing equipment for my portable radio system. The sections below will describe each Sub-System in more detail, where I purchased my equipment, the experience I had in purchasing the equipment, how I set up and use the equipment, tools needed for the set up and use as well as how it was working with different vendors. The Miscellaneous Items section will include a list of all the tools you will need to do the set up as well as what I use to store and transport my equipment.
Some of you may be asking the question - what is my definition of a “portable radio system”. Well, thanks for asking - here is my answer. And only my answer. Others may have a very different and very legitimate definition for themselves. And, as I gain experience, I will likely change my definition - as we all know, websites aren’t written in stone:
A Portable Radio System is a self-contained system used to transmit and receive (transceive - I made this word up) radio signals and to have the necessary dimensions and weight to be able to be carried by 1 or 2 people to any point they want to be able to transmit and receive from. It contains all the necessary components (power, transceiver, antenna, charging system and other parts) to be able to transceive without needing any other equipment.
AI5CU Charging Sub-System
My Experience: As I mentioned above, the weekend of March 27, 2021 I stopped researching and actually began purchasing equipment for my portable radio system. I purchased all the parts for the Charging Sub-System from the Ham Radio Outlet. At least I thought I had. I went to the store in Plano Texas. I purchased the Controller, Solar Panel and Battery. The last two items were not in stock but they shipped them with no shipping charge from their Phoenix store. The Team there worked well with me and took their time. However, they made an assumption I knew exactly what I needed. I had done my research and new some good things as a beginner and from working with my nephew (KD2FHB). However, there were some things I did not know. Like, I should have also purchased the two adapters shown in the part list below. Nowhere in any of the documentation I had found on these products did it say I needed these adapters. I contacted Bioenno Power through their support email (you can call 888.336.7864 but the message will tell you it is easier to email them) support@bioennopower.com. We had a quick, short exchange and bottom line they offered (without me asking) to send the two adapters to me at no charge.
Ham Radio Outlet: I highly recommend this store. They were helpful. More than happy to take time with a newbie. Actually told me to go with a different item they didn’t sell for my antenna (more on that below) even though they had antennas they could of sold me. And, they have decent prices. I did compare them to Amazon and DX Engineering and they were very comparable and I was able to get face to face help which has a value for me. And, they provided free shipping on the items they did not have in stock at this store.
Bioenno Power: Another company I would recommend. Though I haven’t used the equipment, yet, their products come pretty highly recommended from several sources I looked at as well as from the Ham Radio Outlet Team (I take some of these recommendations with a grain of salt because they sell the stuff so they kinda have to recommend it). Even though some of their documentation on the site is above the level of beginner, Kevin, who handled my support through email, did a great job. Additionally, they make all the components for this sub-system which, as a beginner, I always like because if there are issues there is only one place I need to go for support and they can’t point their finger at anyone else.
How To Set Up And Use: Still to come - working on this while I am putting together this section of the page. I will be giving instructions on how to connect everything and how to “program” the controller. The “programming” of the controller for my particular set up is one thing I have started to look at and I think this is going to take some time because of more assumptions in the documentation and the documentation being written for any situation not just my particular configuration.
AI5CU Transmitting Sub-System
My Experience: Will let you know after I receive my final parts and figure out how to set it up and use it.