WELCOME

Welcome to my amateur radio BLOG. Here at N1CLC.com (aka HamNinja.com), I hope to cover my exploration of ham radio, summits on the air (SOTA) and general RF geek stuff.  My other BLOGS focus on technology (cloudrant.com), photography (cameraninja.com/blog), and life (thethroboflife.com). QSL via QRZ, LOTW, cards.

* Reference Links Page    * SOTA Specific Links  
* My Equipment Loadout    * DMR Tips    * My Youtube Channel

I monitor 146.520 and DMR SOTA (973), track me on the trail HERE.  Donate HERE, Mastodon

Check out the latest videos by the Ham Ninja

<<<Latest SAFETY TIPS can be found HERE.>>>

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RAK Wireless and Atlavox MeshCore Repeater Build

I wanted to play around with the RAK Wireless 1w booster board for LoRa so I bought a couple of kits. Looking around at enclosures, I couldn't help myself when I saw the Atlavox enclosure and mounting bracket. He did some cool stuff so I went for it. It's a bit bulky for a mobile unit so my next one will optimize for space.

One of the things that others have said is that the booster board (amp) has additional filtering, improving the receive, which appeals more to me than running more power. If I set the repeater to 14db output, it should translate to actual 22db out, which is plenty around here.

I've been doing a bunch of testing with W6TED with the unit just sitting in the window. What is odd is that a DM to ted works better through the RAK unit in the house in a window than the one on the roof.

It was a fun simple build. You'll find the bill of materials below. I'll update this with testing as I play with it more but it's working way better than expected just sitting on the second story window.

BOM

• Atlavox DIY Beacon Outdoor Radio Enclosure Kit ($70)
  Contains, switch USB Bulkhead  connector, Vent, Cable gland, SMA to iPEX waterproof cable for LoRa and BT, mounting for board.  Expensive but purpose built combat ready.
  
  
• 

  
  Atlavox Beacon Frame Kit ($49)
  Way overpriced but very cool Frame for enclosure for mounting antenna
  
  
• Solar Panel ($15)
  5W, 6Volt, ETFE, with JST ZHR-2 Connector
  
  
• RAK Wireless WisMesh High Power Booster Starter Kit (Battery Powered variant) ($50)
  WisBlock Base Board - RAK3401 WisBlock Core module with the Nordic nRF52840 MCU and a RAK13302 High Power LoRa transceiver module, mounted on a RAK19007 Base Board.
  This is the VD series, 001, which is all powered by the battery or USBC.
  I purchased separately since neither Rockland or Atlavox ships with the 1w board.
  
  
• 

  
  MakerFocus Flat 3.7V 4000 Rechargeable Lithium Polymer 11.1Wh Battery ($16)
  With JST Type PH 2.0 Plug
  Battery is just small enough to fit under the pcb mounting bracket.  The double sided tape that came with the enclosure was replaced with Gorilla mounting tape because it was thinner and made for a perfect fit.
  
  
• Antenna for Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, SMA, Outdoor, 3", 2.8dBi ($6)
  
  
• ALFA AOA-915-5ACM 5 dbi Omni Outdoor 915MHz ($15)
  For LoRa antenna.
  
  
• 

  
  BINGFU SMA Female Bulkhead Mount to SMA Male RG316 Antenna Extension Cable 6 inch ($7)
  This is for the BlueTooth antenna from enclosure to bracket mount.  Anything more than 6 inch gives you way too much cable.  Comes in a pack of 2
  
  
• SMA Male to N Female Bulkhead 6 in. ($10)
  With Waterproof O-Ring RG316 Cable 7.8Inch N to SMA Male Coaxial Adapter Cable
  Comes in a pack of 2

As-built above: $239

If you by the low power version from Atlavox with same config, it's $270

Config

• Currently set to 14db of output which should produce clean 22db of final output.
• Dresses out at 2.63 lbs, combat ready

Note About Power Supply Variants

The RAK13302 version VD module has two hardware variants. One hardware variant only works with an external 5 V power supply, while the other only works with an internal battery supply. The different hardware versions are identified by different codes on the label.

The version for power supplied through the battery connected to the WisBlock Base Board has the code 001 on the label, and it has no connector for the external 5 V supply on the bottom of the PCB.

2026 MeshCore Config & Experience

NOTE: This will be updated as I learn more.

(Updated 10/27/2026) I’ve started playing with MeshCore in SoCal.  There is one heck of a repeater network and enthusiastic deployment here.  I’m in San Diego, and I should be able to reliably communicate with anyone in SoCal (from the Mexican boarder to the mountains NW of LA) that is on “the mesh” (assume I’m always taking about “MeshCore”).

Below is my configuration, testing, experience / issues today.  I’ll be updating this as I go along.

(Click on images for larger)

My SOTA Expedition Loadout

My SOTA Loadout options: (UPDATED)

Updated: 8/31/2026

 

A lot of people ask me what I am using for SOTA (Summits On The Air), so I thought I would describe my setup here.  Take a look and comment on your SOTA setup.

What follows is a rewrite in-place to take into account how my skills, knowledge, and equipment have evolving from 2017 when this was first published.  When it comes to radio gear for SOTA,  there are a zillion combinations that I and others have used from hauling an IC-7300 to a summit by N3XUL, to the heavy FT-891 by myself, a K3, or a postage stamp sized radio by K6ARK.  When it comes to antennas, choices are endless, something that I will barely scratch the surface.  Oh, and don't forget the possible paddle choices for CW.

One aspect SOTA is that it presents is a number of challenges associated with man portability.  Many times, it requires hiking up a mountain, sometimes a long ways, so weight and size really matter.  This is why so many SOTA operators learn CW so early in their radio adventure, it allows them to have great success with smaller and lighter equipment.  Sure, there are drive-ups, and I can tell you, it's a blast running 100w from a summit.  Given all of this, it's a never ending quest to try different setups to achieve your goals.  What follows is a non-exhaustive list of what I mostly use for SOTA.

30Ah Battery Box FS

 I'm selling one of my battery boxes that I've used the least.

Margaret - A New SOTA Machine

I recently purchased a new vehicle, a SOTA vehicle, a 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness.  This is the first new car I've purchased after I started doing SOTA (Summits On The Air) hobby (hiking to summits with a radio). My previous 2017 Highlander AWD (let’s call her Brenda in retrospect) did a nice job at getting me to a trailhead or the top of a mountain but she was limited by her clearance and AWD system meant for a little less adventure.  Her personality was more soccer mom goes to the ski run with the kids than an adventure car.  Brenda didn’t have that vibe of “take me out and have fun off-road”. So the new vehicle is more capable. And she has a name and some mods, and she definately has the vibe of "lets go play).  Let’s go!

(click on any image for larger)

A Look Back At 2025

 2025 Was a busy year for me

The stats from my Summits on The Air activities, although not record breaking, were edging closer to my personal best.

Year	Summits	Total Points	Hiked Miles	MTB Miles	Elevation Gain *	Uniques	First Activations
2017	13	17	42	4	10,375	9	1
2018	59	303	244	0	57,859	47	2
2019	62	367	207	0	50,273	21	2
2020	104	543	338	4	83,390	33	3
2021	85	537	294	32	74,394	23	3
2022	108	552	317	16	80,102	16	2
2023	161	792	489	25	119,586	34	0
2024	153	720	422	14	108,992	24	1
2025	161	747	431	0	108,053	20	1
Grand Total	906	4578	2784.25	95.03	693,024	227	15
* Elevation gained is only counted when hiking or MTB

<Click on photos for larger>