When starting something new, like Parks on the Air (POTA), one of the first hurdles to get over is assembling the right equipment. Let’s face it, it’s easy to fall into a rabbit hole when exploring a new aspect of the Ham radio hobby—and that becomes an excuse to buy more gear.
What can happen is you wind up with boxes of stuff that you put in the back of your Jeep and transport to your next adventure. But when you get to your operating destination and start setting up, you find 175% more stuff than you need and 30% of stuff you need but don’t have.
DX Engineering is committed to making sure you have all the equipment you need without buying all the items you don’t. We started with our DX Engineering Go Box Kits, featuring either Icom (IC-7300 and ID-5100A) or Yaesu (FT-7100 AESS and FTM-500DR) transceivers plus equipment case, rack shelving, antenna tuner, mobile mounts, DC power panel, and other accessories.
Now we are excited to bring you four different DX Engineering HF+50 MHz POTA Kits—a collection of gear perfect for POTA, SOTA, or whatever other portable OTA event or EMCOMM activity you have in mind.
By ordering these as complete DIY packages, you’ll be able to quickly assemble them according to your likes, charge the battery, and get on the air. You will have every component, jumper wire, and adapter you need to assemble it, even if you are brand spanking new to the hobby.
DX Engineering offers a POTA QRP kit featuring the Icom IC-705 for the minimalist who enjoys the challenge of making contacts on low power. Next, there’s a POTA kit centered around the Yaesu FT-891. It is still a lightweight minimalist approach but gives you a full 100W. Then we have our “full sized” POTA kits featuring the Icom IC-7300 or the Yaesu FT-710- FIELD transceivers. Click on the links below for details about each POTA package and to check if items are currently in stock:
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DXE-POTA-1 with Yaesu FT-891 Transceiver
In addition to the transceiver, the kit includes a Bioenno Power LiFePO4 12 VDC, 20 Ah, 480W battery; AC to DC battery charger; 40W foldable solar panel; and solar charge controller. Other contents include DX Engineering RG-8X PL-259 low-loss 50-ohm cable assemblies, lengths of 15 and 50 feet; mAT TUNER 1.8 to 54 MHz automatic antenna tuner; Chelegance JPC-12 portable HF vertical antenna, 40-6M; RigExpert STICK-230 antenna analyzer, 100 kHz-230 MHz; REZ Antenna Systems backpack; and West Mountain Radio DC power cables.
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DXE-POTA-2 with Icom IC-705 Transceiver
In addition to the transceiver, the kit includes a Bioenno Power LiFePO4 12 VDC, 4.5 Ah, 108W battery; 40W foldable solar panel; and solar charge controller. Other contents include Consolidated Wire RG174U cable assembly with BNC male connectors, 20 feet; Chameleon lightweight 4010 end-fed sloper, 40-10M; DX Engineering coaxial RF connector adapters; Icom AH-705 compact 1.8-50 MHz automatic antenna tuner; Icom IC-705 portable transceiver backpack; and West Mountain Radio DC power cables.
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DXE-POTA-3 with Icom IC-7300 Transceiver
In addition to the transceiver, the kit includes a Bioenno Power LiFePO4 12 VDC, 20 Ah, 480W battery; AC to DC battery charger; 60W foldable solar panel; and solar charge controller. Other contents include DX Engineering RG-8X PL-259 low-loss 50-ohm cable assembly, 25 feet; REZ Ranger 80 Antenna System with tripod mount; and West Mountain Radio DC power cables.
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DXE-POTA-4 with Yaesu FT-710-FIELD Transceiver
In addition to the transceiver, the kit includes a Bioenno Power LiFePO4 12 VDC, 20 Ah, 480W battery; AC to DC battery charger; 60W foldable solar panel; and solar charge controller. Other contents include DX Engineering RG-8X PL-259 low-loss 50-ohm cable assembly, 15 feet; mAT TUNER 1.8 to 54 MHz automatic antenna tuner; Chameleon MPAS Lite modular portable antenna system with backpack, 160-6M; Yaesu FH-2 remote control keypad; and West Mountain Radio DC power cables.
What if You Already Have Some of the Pieces You Need to Go Portable?
Just let your DX Engineering rep know which components from the POTA kits you need and we’ll customize your order—easy peasy. Or maybe your creative juices start flowing and you want to upgrade some items? We can make those changes for you as well. The concept behind DX Engineering Go Box and POTA kits is to provide hams with a framework from which to model your personalized kit.
