Wifey and I spent four days in Idyllwild last weekend, as we do every year to get away. I set up a modest antenna farm consisting of a 102′ G5RV, Imax 2000 vertical and Arrow 2M/70cm J-pole. The rig, as usual, was my trusty FT-857d, LDG AT100 Pro tuner and Astron RS35M power supply.

I made many HF SSB contacts and also my 3rd CW contact. FM simplex on 146.520 was also very active in this area. I also found my 857d performed well on 3.870 AM, despite what I had heard other 857 owners say about this rigs AM qualities. 30 watts goes along way when you’re a mile high! It’s nice to be included in a roundtable with the big tube radios. I wish I had brought my FT-101E line…

Here is a picture of the setup and my little companion, Bandit: