The FJ at DN83CJ N. Edgemont WY.
The date is 5-12-09. Grid count is #30
In the spring of 2009 the Toyota FJ was configured for 1296 MHz. It had been set up with +-24 volt power in the past and used during the 10 GHz contest. The first configuration used a 30 inch dish with a dipole/splash plate feed which was built for me by Dave, W6OAL. The power was minimal at 800 mw. I made several contacts with this system. I decided that this was too difficult as the contacts became longer. Bill, K0RZ gave me a 3 watt amplifier and 2, 10 foot loop yagis. I added a trailer hitch mount for the loopers and upgraded the transverter for more power.
There were some interesting problems with the yagis. I mounted them side-by-side. The phase sense was set up for one-above-the-other. I needed to add a small phase correction line to make the pattern correct. There was a logistics problem too. With the yagis on the mount, I could not open the back door. For travel, I mounted the yagis on a short mast which was just above the roof of the FJ and secured them to the roof rack.
For operation I added another 5′ of mast. When I set up, I needed to lower the array, add the mast section, hook up the splitter and feed line, and then raise the array for operation.
Still later, I acquired a 25 watt PA and added it to the system. I had successful contacts with Bill from Edgemont SD and Capulin volcano in New Mexico.
In mid summer 2009 I moved the 1296 operations to the Excursion using its 4′ dish. I then modified the FJ for 10 GHz and 24 GHz using the 30 inch dish. This is its current configuration.
