Calibrating the Drok Buck Converter, SKU 180077

How to Calibrate the Drok SKU 180077 (listed on Amazon as “9V Voltage Regulator, DROK DC Buck Converter 5V-23V 12V to 0.01-18V 5V Power Supply Step Down Transformer Module, 3A LCD Volt Stabilizer Circuit Board”)

This is for the Drok buck converter (voltage reducer) with input from 5-23V and output from 0.01-18V, which drops voltage by at LEAST 1 volt (so if you need 12V out you must have at least 13V in).

It comes with an information sheet which is marked SKU: 180077. Amazon ASIN is B07LC4LNTD.

The pidgin English calibration instructions say, “First, in the case of power off, press and hold the left button and access to power, then the display starts flashing, release the button. Next, measure the output voltage with a multimeter and press the left and right button to adjust the value until the multimeter displays close to 5V, such as .98V, 5.02V. Finally, access to power, then the calibration is complete.”

This is gibberish, and is incorrect as of March 2021, even if you get past the poor English. Here is how to REALLY calibrate the device.

  1. Apply power while holding the left button.
  2. Release the left button. The display will begin flickering.
  3. Using a multimeter, measure the output voltage.
  4. Use the left or right button on the device to adjust the voltage displayed by the converter to match the voltage measured by your meter. (You are adjusting the DISPLAY to match the ACTUAL output voltage.)
  5. Power off.
  6. Power on and check to confirm that the displayed voltage matches the measured voltage.

When I did this at 5.00 volts, it powered on at a measured 5.00 volts. When I set the output voltage to about 12V, the display read 12.0V and the measured output was 12.1V. You need to calibrate it at or near the voltage where you intend to use it. If you calibrate it at one voltage and use it at a distant voltage, the calibration gets dodgy.

What COAX Should I Use for SOTA?

I like LMR-200 (a.k.a. LMR200). It is lightweight. It is much lower loss than RG-174 or LMR-100A. I’ve had zero durability problems with it, after a couple hundred SOTA activations.

The only down-side is that it is stiff, but I can coil it into a big circle and slide it into my backpack first, and it fits.

If I ever set up a home station, I’ll probably use LMR-400 because it is sligtly lower loss and the extra weight isn’t a problem at home. (It is stiff as the devil though.)

Tallest SOTA Summits in Georgia

Sometimes it is fun to say something like, “I want to activate the tallest summits in Georgia.”

This site lists tallest summits in Georgia, per the AT club. But not all of them are SOTA summits, because they lack the necessary prominence of 150 meters (492 feet).

Note that different sources identify different elevations and prominence. Lists of John is the standard used when the Georgia association was created. We sometimes wind up with a foot or so of difference because SOTA uses meters, and rounding out and back sometimes creates some fuzz.

To the best of my ability, these are the SOTA summits in Georgia at or above 4000’.

  1. Brasstown Bald - 4783, trail
  2. Rabun Bald - 4696, trail
  3. Hightower Bald - 4588, tough bushwhack
  4. Blood Mountain - 4460, trail
  5. Tray Mountain - 4430, trail, drive sometimes requires 4WD
  6. Double Spring Knob - 4300, bushwhack
  7. Coosa Bald - 4300, trail
  8. Eagle Mountain - 4260, trail
  9. Cowpen Mountain - 4151, bushwhack, road gated in winter
  10. Big Bald Mountain - 4076, bushwhack
  11. Horsetrough Mountain - 4060, bushwhack
  12. Rocky Mountain - 4020, trail
  13. Blue Mountain - 4020, trail
  14. Bald Mountain - 4005, trail

NOT a SOTA summit:

  • Dicks Knob - 4620, a bump on the Little Bald Knob (5060’) in NC. Prominence 200’.
  • Wolfpen Ridge - 4561, a bump on Brasstown Bald. Prominence 221’.
  • Flint Knob - 4240, a bump on Rabun Bald. Prominence 120’.
  • Brier Creek Bald - 4163, a bump on Tray Mountain. Prominence 343’.
  • Rich Knob - 4152, a bump on Courthouse Bald, NC. Prominence 292’. Courthouse is a bump on Hightower Bald.
  • Sassafras Knob - 4121, a bump on Hightower Bald. Prominence 341’.
  • Flat Top (the one near Rabun Bald) - 4114, a bump on Rabun Bald. Prominence 374’.
  • Locust Log Ridge - 4108, a bump on Brasstown Bald. Prominence 168’.
  • Alex Mountain - 4080, a bump on Rabun Bald. Prominence 400’.
  • Mayapple Knob - 4054, a bump on Sassafras Knob. Prominence 194’.
  • Double Knob - 4040, a bump on Brasstown Bald. Prominence 120’.
  • Rich Mountain - 4040, a bump on Big Bald Mountain. Prominence 351’.
  • Rattlesnake Knob - 4000, a bump on Sassafras Knob. Prominence 200’.
  • Spaniards Knob - 4000, a bump on Horsetrough, Prominence 440’.
  • Tickanetley - 4000, a bump on Rich Mountain. Prominence 160’.

How to find a summit on Lists of John:

  • https://listsofjohn.com/search?State=GA
  • Put the summit name (or a fragment) in Search (where field contains):
  • Set In field = Name
  • Press Search

Georgia W4G/HC summits above 4000, and the official SOTA elevation:

  • W4G/HC-001 Cowpen Mountain 4151’
  • W4G/HC-002 Big Bald Mountain 4075’
  • W4G/HC-003 Bald Mountain 4005’

Georgia W4G/NG summits above 4000, and the official SOTA elevation:

  • W4G/NG-001 Brasstown Bald 4783’
  • W4G/NG-002 Rabun Bald 4696’
  • W4G/NG-003 Hightower Bald 4588’
  • W4G/NG-004 Blood Mountain 4460’
  • W4G/NG-005 Tray Mountain 4430’
  • W4G/NG-006 Coosa Bald 4300’
  • W4G/NG-007 Double Spring Knob 4300’
  • W4G/NG-008 Eagle Mountain 4260’
  • W4G/NG-009 Horsetrough Mountain 4060’
  • W4G/NG-010 Blue Mountain 4020’
  • W4G/NG-011 Rocky Knob 4020’

N0SA Mini-paddle

I’m a fan of the N0SA mini-paddle, for SOTA CW use. It is lightweight, has a good feel… and it is supported by N0SA. He calls them “SSP Mini Paddles” and they are aluminum and steel.

Like all paddles with steel-posts and aluminum arms, I have trouble with developing a high-resistance connection between the pin and the arm/paddle, particularly after a period of non-use. So I decided to pull the arm off. To do so meant removing a c-clip.

I carefully wrapped my left hand around the paddle and pulled the clip off with a sharp, pointy tool. The clip bounced off my hand and was gone forever in the clutter of my shack.

I wrote to N0SA and asked him if I could buy a replacement – or several, since I’ll have to clean it again someday. He was kind enough to mail me 3 at no charge!

… and if anyone needs to buy replacements, they are:

  • McMaster Carr Part number 98408A114
  • Side-Mount External Retaining Rings, 3/32” O.D., for an 0.074” groove, made from 15-7 PH stainless steel

CW Trainers / Morse Trainers I've Looked At

A quick overview of some Morse/CW training programs. There are others. These are just the ones I’ve looked into.

I’m at a peculiar skill level – I can copy random, perfectly-spaced characters at about 20 WPM. I’m only good for 15 WPM if the text has meaning. Moderate noise doesn’t bother me too much. A sloppy fist will slow me to about 10 WPM. If I’m expecting a call sign and RST and you send me chatter, I’ll get completely lost.

I think these are interesting, for ordinary CW training:

  • Lcwo.net - characters, random sentences, call signs. Good place to start. Learn characters and move on to another option.
  • AA9PW.com/morsecode - characters, news headlines, simulated QSO.
  • http://seiuchy.macache.com - short lines from a QSO. Optional bad fist. No noise. Works on Safari, Firefox; not Chrome.
  • G4FON trains random letters with noise and bad fist. It does do some QSOs. It does not do news headlines. Wine works.
  • http://morsecode.ninja Many hours of audio files from 15-50wpm+ in 2-3wpm increments. Has a SOTA Activators/Chasers audio file.
  • MorseRunner - I’ve decided this one is great practices for SOTA. It is written as a contest trainer, with QRM, QRN, and pileups, but the exchange is close enough to a SOTA exchange to be good practice for on-the-air.

Maybe useful for specialty CW:

  • RufzXP - just call signs, very fast.
  • http://www.dxatlas.com/MorseRunner/ - contest simulation, with noise.

I found nothing to interest me:

  • Morse Mania - similar to AA9PW web site’s simulated QSO. (I’d rather use the AA9PW web site. You could find this one useful if you need to run offline.)
  • G4ILO Morse Machine - just characters.
  • AD5RX doesn’t run on current-generation Mac OS X. (Maybe it was on PowerPC chip set?)

KX3 in Terminal Mode

I started tinkering with talking to my KX3 via the ACC1 port, a KXUSB cable, and a serial terminal pr`ogram. I was perplexed because the Elecraft KX3 Utility and the KX3 Companion program for Android could both display CW and PSK31 text decoded by the KX3, but plain old terminal programs on either my Macbook or my Android phone saw nothing from the KX3. Everything was using 38400 baud, 1 stop bit, and no parity, so it wasn’t a settings problem.

It turns out that you have to send the KX3 a command to cause it to start sending decoded text to the serial port. “TT1;” enables decoded text output and “TT0;” disables it. But it isn’t that easy!

If you turn on your KX3 and you send “TT1;” then text will start sending. If you send “TT0;” it will stop sending. So far so good.

Note that there is no terminating CR after those commands. If you’re used to something like the “Hayes Command Set” for modems, this is NOT quite the same. Here’s where I got in trouble. If you send “TT1;" and then you send "TT0;" you will not like the results. It will ignore your TT0 because it does not consume the trailing CR from the TT1. It treats CR as an invalid command.

So if you’re in the habit (from your modem days) of sending before you send a command, just to be sure the command buffer is empty, you will confuse your KX3 by filling the command buffer with CR. You might consider wrapping commands with semicolons. e.g. Send ";TT1;" or ";TT2;".

I Always Activate Mount Stupid

Mt Everest

Practice makes perfect… but operating from a summit makes me stupid. I thought I’d made every possible error on an activation by now, but I nearly ruined yesterday’s activation with a new one. Let’s take a look at why mistakes are so common on an activation, and how to avoid them or recover when they occur.

Whence Foul-ups?

Activations are complex undertakings. There are hundreds of micro-activities in an activation. Human beings cope with complex activities by developing systems. (Habits are a special kind of system.) You can’t possibly think of every detail for an activation, so you rely on habits, checklists, and rules of thumb.

…but there’s a high degree of randomness and fatigue when you operate outdoors, from a pack, at the end of an uphill hike. Depending on schedule/weather/daylight, you may be in a hurry. It’s as if you were cleaning house, on deadline, while your dog chases the cat, after you stayed up all night. You’re tired and distracted, so you need systems to help you cope. Every activation is different, so you need to be flexible.

Smart Me and Stupid Me

When I’m packing/planning, I like to think of the “hill-me” who is on the summit as if he were a separate person. I think of him as well-intentioned, but forgetful and not too bright. It helps to externalize it in this way, so I can consider, “What clever thing can I do now to make him successful then?”

Of course, getting up at oh dark thirty, driving three hours, hiking up the side of a hill, getting dehydrated, and sensory overload from operating in the cold/heat/wind/bugs/passers-by pretty well ensures that hill-me will be forgetful and not too bright!

Checklists and Habits

The first step in error prevention is the humble checklist. Every time you find yourself skipping/forgetting an item, add it to your checklist. The checklist is your brain supplement.

  • I use a printed checklist for planning a trip, another checklist for packing, and yet another for operating.
  • I pack some of my gear in three one-gallon baggies. Each baggie has a list of its contents written on it.

Some checklists are tangible - such as my printed lists; other checklists are more like habits. After an activation, as I’m packing up, I always count, “1, 2, 3,” as I stuff my three baggies into the pack, to ensure I don’t leave one behind.

Another habit is tracing connections. Once I think I’m set up, I trace the signal path from my mic/paddle through the radio and out to the far end of my antenna. Then I trace the imaginary signal from the far tip of the antenna all the way back to my earbuds. This ensures that I don’t do something stupid like trying to operate without an antenna.

Labels

Label everything, unambiguously.

My latest foul-up came from operating a radio with a switch marked “Band 1 2 3.” This radio operates on 20, 30, and 40 meters. Except it really operates on 40, 30, and 20. Band 1 is 40, not 20. It announces the band when you power it on, but if you’re distracted at that moment, or you aren’t wearing earbuds yet, it is awfully easy to operate on the wrong band. It is operator error, but I’m going to get out my label maker this afternoon, and print a label which says, “40, 30, 20.”

My wire-winder for my 20 meter EFHW antenna is marked “20m EFHW”; the winder for the 30 foot wire I use with an EARCHI 6-40 UNUN is marked “EARCHI 6-40”. Those wires are awfully easy to mix up otherwise. (I’ve also started using different colored wire for different antennas, to make them easier to recognize.)

Systems

The underlying principle behind checklists, habits, and labels is similar to Six Sigma. Put systems in place that make it impossible to repeat a mistake or, where that’s not possible, to detect mistakes early.

Activating always requires about 20 IQ points more than what’s available. When you do something bone-headed, ask yourself, “How can I prevent this next time?” It may be as simple as, “Add ‘power cable’ to my packing list.” (Been there. Done that.) It may be a rule such as, “Never put anything down unless you put it on your ground cloth.” (Lost lots of stuff before I started doing that.)

Quck tip: Brightly colored earbuds are harder to lose on the forest floor than black ones and Amazon often sells pink colored products at a discount.

Wrap-up

Be prepared to improvise when necessary. (There’s an activator who used the twist tie from his sandwich bag, when he needed a jumper!) Don’t give up on an activation until you’ve sat and considered your options for a good 30 minutes. Then, figure out how to make sure it isn’t a problem on your next summit. Remember, it isn’t an adventure if you succeed every time.

SOTA Favorites Lists

Home-runs (4 summits in one day)

  • Cohutta Wilderness: Dyer Mountain, Flat Top Mountain (4WD required), Cowpen Mountain, Bald Mountain - 36 points
  • Richland, Steestachee, Barnett-or-Bunches, Waterrock. I’m convinced you could make this a 5-way with Bunches Bald, but you’d need to be a superman and move fast. I have to admit that I don’t much like Steestachee, so the “favorite” here is just that a 4 or 5 summit day is amazing.

Favorite Triple-headers

  • Black Balsam Knob, Green Knob (W4C/CM-023), Mt Pisgah
    • Blue Ridge Parkway SW of Asheville. The Blue Ridge Parkway is always beautiful. Best to do Black Balsam early in the morning, before parking gets awful. 28 points.
  • Dyer, Cowpen, Bald
  • Brasstown Bald, Bell Knob, Ravencliff Knob
    • Brief enough for all but mid-winter; back at the car by 5:45 PM. 26 points.
  • Glassy, Brasstown, Ravencliff
    • Brief enough for all but mid-winter; back at the car by 5:45 PM. 26 points.
  • Clingman’s Dome, Nettle Creek Bald, Barnett Knob
  • Clingman’s Dome, Nettle Creek Bald, Cowee
  • Hemlock, Huckleberry, Cowee or Winespring
  • Rabun Bald, Blackrock Mtn, Bell Knob
  • Richland, Waterrock, Bunches or Barnett
  • Max Patch, Walnut Mtn, Round Mtn or Snowbird Mtn
  • Siler Bald, Winespring Bald, Wesser Bald
  • Rocky Mountain (W4G/NG-011), Blue Mountain, Wildcat
  • Shortoff Mtn, Yellow Mtn, Whiteside Mtn
  • Springer Mountain, Sassafras, Gooch
  • Huckleberry, Stratton, Hemlock
  • Brasstown, Ravencliff, Bell Knob or Glassy Mtn

Favorite Double-headers

  • Max Patch, Walnut Mtn
  • Siler Bald, Wesser Bald
  • Grassy Ridge Bald, Roan High Knob (W4C_EM-001, W4T_SU-005)
  • Mt Mitchell, Green Knob (W4C/CM-020)
    • I used to do Craggy Dome with this, but I decided Craggy Dome was too miserable.
  • Rabun Bald, Blackrock Mtn
  • Standing Indian, Yellow Mtn (W4C_WM-014, W4C_WM-034)
  • Standing Indian, Ravencliff
  • Rich, Mt Hardy
  • Rocky Mtn (W4G_HC-008), Springer Mtn
  • Levelland Mountain, Blood Mtn
    • Tough, but they share the same trailhead.
  • Sassafras Knob, Grassy Mountain (W4T_SU-061, W4G_HC-007)
  • Bald Mountain (HC-003), Grassy Mountain (HC-007) (Bald is part of a triple and a quad)
  • Big Cedar (NG-023), Black Mountain (NG-022)
  • Clingman’s Dome, Nettle Creek Bald. Nettle isn’t great, but it combines nicely with Clingman’s.
  • Gooch, Sassafras

Favorite Summits

  • Big Bald Mountain (W4G_HC-002) - Beautiful walk; long walk; carry waders.
  • Black Balsam - Beautiful summit. Scatter my ashes here when I die.
  • Coosa Bald - short, steep trail. Always cold.
  • Huckleberry Knob (W4C_WM-011) - beautiful alpine field, with a relatively short hike.
  • Max Patch (W4C_CM-036) - beautiful alpine field, with a short hike.
  • Mount Mitchell (W4C_CM-001) - observation deck on Blue Ridge Parkway; highest point in NC; almost drive-up.
  • Mt Hardy (W4C_WM-006) - a bit long hike, with a beautiful summit on Blue Ridge Parkway
  • Mt Pisgah (W4C_CM-011) - observation deck on Blue Ridge Parkway (with TV tower)
  • Rabun Bald (W4G_NG-002) - observation deck
  • Richland Balsam Mountain (W4C_WM-003) - Blue Ridge Parkway; no view, but pretty balsam summit
  • Roan High Knob - trailhead feels like the top of the world; beautiful sunsets from trailhead.
  • Siler Bald (W4C_WM-024) - beautiful views from summit just off AT
  • Standing Indian (W4C_WM-014) - beautiful view
  • Waterrock Knob (W4C_WM-004) - Blue Ridge Parkway
  • Wesser Bald (W4C_WM-058) - beautiful views from 30’ fire tower
  • Yellow Mountain (W4C_WM-028) - tidy little fire tower on top

On or Near the Blue Ridge Parkway

  • Clingmans Dome
  • Barnett Knob
  • Waterrock Knob
  • Richland Balsam
  • Black Balsam Knob
  • Mount Pisgah
  • Mount Mitchell
  • I avoid Greentop due to QRM. I don’t often go to Bunches Bald because it belongs to the Cherokee and one really ought to seek permission from the campground operator.

Special Events

For some chasers and activators, ordinary SOTA isn’t enough. (I know… Tough to believe!) There are many special events which are related to or impact SOTA. Here are some of them.

Annual North America SOTA Events

  • January: NA SOTA Winter Activity Weekend + ARRL Jan VHF Contest
    • Each winter, NA SOTA holds a Winter Activity Weekend. This is a weekend when we try to get as many activators out as possible. It is sometimes combined with the ARRL VHF contest. This can be a great opportunity for Technician chasers to chase and for Technician activators to score some summit-to-summit (S2S) points.
  • April: NA SOTA Spring Activity Weekend
    • Each spring, NA SOTA holds a Spring Activity Weekend. This is a weekend when we try to get as many activators out as possible. It is a great opportunity to collect many chaser points and a great chance for activators to score summit-to-summit (S2S) points.
  • April: QRPTTF
    • “QRPTTF is an annual operating event to encourage QRPers and SOTA stations to get out of the house and operate portable “from the field,” and of course, have fun.” Chasers can operate picnic-portable. http://www.zianet.com/qrp/
  • June: NA SOTA Summer Activity Weekend
    • Each summer, NA SOTA holds a Summer Activity Weekend. This is a weekend when we try to get as many activators out as possible. It is sometimes combined with the ARRL VHF contest. This can be a great opportunity for Technician chasers to chase and for Technician activators to score some summit-to-summit (S2S) points.
  • June: Atlanta SOTA Seminar
    • Each summer, I (K4KPK) host an online, interactive seminar one evening for new activators and chasers. The activators head out for a joint activation of a north Georgia summit on a following weekend.
  • August (first weekend): Colorado 14er Event and Rocky Mountain Rendezvous
    • Announced in May via www.ham14er.org. This event focuses on the 54 summits above 14,000 feet in Colorado. (Not all of the 14ers qualify as SOTA summits.) Beginning in 2012, SOTA Goats began joint activations on this weekend. Since that time, way too many activators have achieved Goat status to get them all in one place at one time. Each year since, the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous has been an unplanned, unscheduled meet-up of SOTA activators concurrent with the 14er event.
  • September: NA SOTA Fall Activity Weekend + ARRL Sept VHF Contest
    • Each fall, NA SOTA holds a Fall Activity Weekend. This is a weekend when we try to get as many activators out as possible. It is sometimes combined with the ARRL VHF contest. This can be a great opportunity for Technician chasers to chase and for Technician activators to score some summit-to-summit (S2S) points.

Notes:

  • “NA” means “North America.”
  • All of these events are announced on the NASOTA mailing list.
  • The timeline for some of these events can vary by several weeks from one year to the next

Other Special Events

  • NPOTA
    • In 2016, the ARRL is sponsoring National Parks On the Air. “Hams from across the country will activate NPS units, promote the National Park Service and showcase Amateur Radio to the public.” Many SOTA summits lie within NPOTA sites. You can score a NPOTA activation and a SOTA activation at the same time. For more information, see http://www.arrl.org/NPOTA.
  • ARRL Field Day
    • ARRL Field Day is a natural opportunity to combine an event with SOTA. The goal of Field Day is, “To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands… and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions.” Just set up a qualifying Field Day station on a SOTA summit and go to town as an activator. For more information, see http://www.arrl.org/field-day.
  • Winter Bonus Shoulder Days
    • This is not an ‘event’ per se, but a special opportunity. SOTA offers 3 winter bonus points for many summits. Dates vary by geography. Many areas set their bonus period from sometime in December through sometime in March. The winter bonus is intended to encourage activity when the weather is discouraging. For some summits, getting there in mid-winter can be almost impossible. However, the first and last couple of weeks of the winter bonus offer an opportunity to score extra points, so some activators/chasers make an extra effort in these weeks.

Wrap-up

  • Be sure to subscribe to the NA SOTA mailing list at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/nasota/info, in order to get the dates each year.
  • If you have a topic you’d like to see addressed in a future column, please send me an email. I’m running out of ideas for columns.

See you on the summits!

73 DE K4KPK / Kevin

Where can I find out more?

Bio

K4KPK, Kevin Kleinfelter is Georgia’s first SOTA Mountain Goat. He has completed more than 175 activations.

This story is Copyright 2016 Kevin P. Kleinfelter. A non-exclusive right to redistribute in electronic or printed form is granted to amateur radio clubs operating in the metro Atlanta area. All other rights reserved.