Category Archives: Problems
2026 ARRL June VHF Contest – Never As Planned!
Preparations for June’s ARRL VHF contest went well. The car’s annual paint maintenance looked great and the concurrent roof rack inspection revealed no apparent issues. Someone asked how long reinstalling the rack takes. So, I shot a video of me … Continue reading
R.I.P. ATAS-120A… What’s Next?
I bought my Yaesu ATAS-120A in 2007 after upgrading to a General Class Amateur Radio license. Being new to the HF bands at the time and operating while mobile, I wanted a multi-band antenna that was affordable and easy to … Continue reading
12V 100-Ah LiFePo4 Battery – Final Review
In 2021, I participated in a “Builder’s Group” session with my local ham radio club, Williamsburg Amateur Radio Club. We had made portable 12V 100Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4 or LFP) batteries from Fortune 3.2V 100Ah cells and a separate … Continue reading
Tower-Delete: Is THIS Still a “Micro-Tower?”
I discovered roof rack fatigue in July when I removed it for the car’s annual paint maintenance. I was able to find the misplaced parts from my old RhinoRack, shown here, a discontinued rack that I had not yet used … Continue reading
Roof Rack Functional Failure: AGAIN!
I had been collecting parts to make what I think will be a final change to my micro-tower setup. Yeah, right: Will it ever be “final?” 😀 I had delayed the change until after performing my car’s annual paint maintenance. … Continue reading
LiFePo4 Battery Shenanigans and Long-Term Review
I recently had recall work done to my car that required access to the fuel tank. Guess where the fuel tank is accessed? That’s right, it’s accessed by removing the rear seat! If you’re familiar with my car, then you … Continue reading
Roof Rack Functional Failure: An Analysis
Even before I had improved my micro tower, shared here, I recognized that something was not quite right about my roof rack. I couldn’t find any damage, but could see one tiny sign that the rear crossbar was not quite … Continue reading