ROTA-Radio

Golf Cart Memories

I have big plans for my EZ-GO golf cart. I’ve used it in the past when we lived in a golf cart community. We had lots of fun riding around the golf course after the golfers left at 5pm. The grandkids, grandma, and grandpa (that’s me) would sail around the paths and had a great time. There were several small ponds nestled around the course, and our oldest and I would take a ride to where he could fish from the bank. I had a VHF Echolink node set up at the house then, and I would take rides by myself and work golf cart mobile using my dual-band mobile connected to a dual-band antenna on the roof. From anywhere in the neighborhood I could talk back to my node antenna at home and, from there, talk all over the world. It was loads of fun. Then, we moved.

Here, there’s no golf course. There is a small lake, though, and a few clumps of trees where I like to hide in the shade. Instead of an Echolink node on VHF, I have a Clearnode hotspot that, when connected to my roll-up J-Pole on a 35′ mast, I can reach from anywhere in the neighborhood—again—and talk all over the world on AllstarLink. Eventually, I’ll have my new fiber internet router set up with the proper port forwarding so I can also work DMR or Echolink again. I enjoy getting out of the house for a bit, riding around to wave at the neighbors, then parking somewhere while sipping on a beverage and either listening to or talking on the HT in one of my cup holders. I don’t get out much, but when I do, this is often where you’ll find me.

Ever since I started really working on my ROTA station — my recliners on the air — I’ve been spending most of my time on HF working digital modes. Now, I mostly listen on UHF to nets and ragchew QSOs on AllstarNet while I’m simultaneously in a QSO or sending/receiving messages via HF. Very recently, I dusted off my Morse keys and started hunting POTA stations for something new. CW is my favorite mode, and it’s been getting less love over the past several months. That’s where my golf cart comes in. Well, that and CERT. Our Community Emergency Response Team does regular practice doing light search and rescue drills in our neighborhood. We use our golf carts for that. If we have a hurricane yet this season, I’ll need my golf cart to participate. Either that, or walk. No thank you. I had to enter problem-solving mode kind of quickly when I realized my four 5-year-old lead acid batteries were at EOL, or end of life. That’s when I decided to upgrade my cart to a LifePO4 battery pack. Instead of heavy, bulky, “wet” batteries that required monthly maintenance and added water, it was time to swap them for a single, smaller, lighter, zero-maintenance lithium pack. The old set came with an analog meter that told me it’s time to recharge when the needle hits 50%. Now, I would have a digital meter and a battery pack that lets me use all the power until the BMS turns things off to prevent damage.

The Lithium Pivot

Of all the projects I’ve gotten myself into over the past several months, this one was the easiest. The research is the part I love, and while I don’t like spending a boatload of money all at once, I’m pretty good at that, too! I decided to get 3 prices. They all came in pretty close — within $300 — and the closest shop where we also bought the cart, later replaced the first set of lead-acid batteries, came in as the clear winner. So, I gave them the go-ahead and the next day they picked up my cart on a flatbed truck. Two days later, they returned with my newly-powered version. The lithium upgrade came in just slightly over double the cost of a new set of lead-acid batteries. The expected lifetime, however, is well over double what I’m used to. Lord-willing, this is the last set of batteries I’ll need in my lifetime.

What a difference! Turn on the key, press the accelerator, and she goes! Fast. 0-20 in thirty seconds! (I’m making this up because I thought it sounded cool!) Yes, it tops off at 20 mph on straightaways, but that’s 5 mph over the speed limit, so I only went that fast for maybe 10 seconds to see how fast I could go. That’s not the point, though. My little “first charge” test started Monday and today (Friday), it’s still at about 86% state of charge (SOC).

I didn’t even have that kind of data available to me on the old analog meter, much less a cart with batteries that would last all week. I charged those babies every time I drove the cart. I always had to remember that I should charge the batteries when the meter hits half-way. Now, I’m waiting to see how long I can go until I plug in the extension cord (no more outboard charger) to the port and run the lithium pack up from around 20% (where they recommended I start thinking about charging it) back up to 100% SOC. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be able to drive this thing for 2-3 weeks before I hit that point. I just love driving around and watching the digital data: SOC, temp, current draw in amps — all the stuff a nerdy ham loves to see. Then, yesterday, I remembered they make a bluetooth app for my iPhone, so while sitting at the neighborhood lake sipping on a beer, I downloaded it and got another treat filled with digital data delights.

Now, if we have a storm this season I can do my job as manager of our CERT Communications. My Starlink Mini can be bungee corded to the roof to give us mobile Internet, VoIP voice calls and/or texts, and 911 calling—the whole works, right from my golf cart. Before I gave Affordable Carts the go-ahead we had a big discussion about the DC-DC converter—they called it a “reducer”—that takes the 51-53v lithium pack’s voltage down to 12v for my lights and horn. I had them connect an always-on, fused, DC distribution box with 6 fused ports at the output of that DC-DC converter. The lights and horn go through the key switch as before, but my USB outlets, my 12v pigtail in the front glove compartment, and a new DC pigtail terminating in Anderson Powerpole connectors inside the under-seat battery compartment are all wired and hot, ready for whatever devices I choose to connect. This pack is a 100Ah lithium battery, so I’ve got plenty of power to last through any CERT activation and several golf cart joy rides when I’m not “on duty”.

COTA: Carts On The Air

What about the big plans I mentioned at the beginning? The next thing I’m going to play with is mobile CW on my golf cart. I’ll connect my IC-705 to that Anderson Powerpole pigtail under the seat (which will probably be outfitted with a 5-6 port Powerpole distribution box) so I can run a “full gallon” on the QRP rig (10w instead of the internal battery’s 5w max)! Then, for an antenna, I have a CB mount already in place where I plan to rig up a POTA Performer at just the right height above ground with a couple of raised radials spread out at 90 degree angles from the vertical base, just as KJ6ER recommends—all mounted on the vertical roof supports of my golf cart. If this works in stationary mobile (essentially, portable) mode, then I might just give actual CW mobile a try. I haven’t braved that yet driving down the highway at 65 mph, but I might just be able to pull it off going 5-10 mph in a 15 mph speed zone populated with snowbirds—all while trailing a random length counterpoise wire behind me. Who knows, it just might work. Would you respond to CQ COTA QRP? Give me a call if you hear me on! Oh, if you didn’t figure it out, I pivoted from ROTA (recliners OTA) to COTA (carts OTA) with no warning. Why? Because I can, therefore I must.

73, Paul

N4FTD