View Full Version : Access to Electricity?
Greetings All!
I'm in the very early stages of planning a thru-hike, probably not until 2013 though. Right now I'm just researching gear, starting on some conditioning, the basics. I'm not a total newbie to the trail, I did about 400 miles in PA and VA as a teenager, but a thru-hike is a whole new can of worms.
I'm sure this will get a few hackles but, particularly being my first post, but I'm going to ask it any way. I'm a ham radio operator, and I'm very interested in taking a small portable ham radio with me out on the trail. I'm curious how frequently (on average, of course) I could expect to find some sort of access to electricity for about 2 hours to charge my batteries, be it in an easy to access town, general store, hostel, etc. The parts of the trail I've done were the more populated bits, and in some areas, I'm pretty sure I could have found an outlet every 2 or 3 hours if I were so inclined.
How many of the hostels had outlets readily available? I know some of them aren't a whole lot fancier than the trail shelters.
Thanks!
Smalls
Smalls,
Lots of folks carry cell phones and find ways to charge them. Hostels, motels, restaurants and bars along the Trail are accustomed to hikers plugging-in.
For information specific to using Ham radio on the Trail, contact these two guys:
k1ypp (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/member.php?u=10668)
Slo-go'en (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/member.php?u=17852)
You can find outlets anywhere if you know what to look for. Obviously, hotels and hostels are going to have something available (unless hostel is full and you have to fight for a plug). If you go to Mcdonalds or other fast food place, just pick a seat with a receptacle near by. Most grocery stores have vending machines out front, and chances are they have a spare plug. I would usually leave my pack here with my phone and mp3 player plugged in while I did my shopping.
Torch09 is right. Gotta look for the good ones. When I bicycled cross country in '08 I charged my Asus Eee PC on an outside power outlet in front of a Post Office in Kentucky.
hikerboy57
12-30-2010, 09:55
I was channel surfing and saw a commercial on some Hunting channel offering a solar cell charger that straps to your pack, with a USB port for cell phones, ipods, etc. Dont remember what it was called, though.
ShakeyLeggs
12-30-2010, 11:11
When I take my Icom IC-T90A I carry a few spare batteries. Depends on what radio you cary you may be able to get and adapter that will allow you to use easily and common batteries like double a's.
Receptacles are easy to find if one just looks. So I wouldn't worry to much. But there will be times where you will not find a receptacle and have to just make do.
KB3SYZ is my call when you get to the Harrisburg area give me a shout on any of the repeaters if you are on 2m. I have them all programmed and scan all the time.
Jack Tarlin
12-30-2010, 14:29
While I agree with Roland that lots of places along the way are used to hikers "plugging in", I still think it's courteous to ASK before you do this, especially in a place like a restaurant, public building, etc. and especially if you're talking about several hours. (Obviously motels are fine, tho some hiker hostels have specific places where they want you to do this). Most places are pretty cool about this, but every now and again you'll find someone resenting hikers taking free use of their electricity as tho it were theirs, so it sure doesn't hurt to ask. Oh, and this seems silly to say, but watch out for your cords! I know of at least one trailside restaurant that doesn't like people charging up there anymore because another patron almost killed themselves tripping over a charger cord, for which the owner of the business would probably have been liable. So just be cool about where and how you re-charge and you shouldn't have a problem.
I plan on taking an FT-817 all-mode HF/VHF/UHF rig with me. Transmitting full power, it wants about 2.1A give or take. I expect I'll mostly be running half power except in rare circumstances.
I was just looking in to li-poly batteries last night, and it looks like I can carry nearly 10AH of batteries and stay under 1.5lbs. That should keep my entire radio setup under 3.5lbs. The only challenge there is the Li-poly batteries are finicky little buggers. They like to turn in to illumination flares if you abuse them. Assuming I don't have to use them to charge anything more important like my phone or camera, that should offer me about a week between charges.
I investigated a solar cell, but in 'the green tunnel' I doubt it is going to be really effective, particularly earlier in the season. I'll probably take a small roll-up solar cell anyway.
I've constructed a prototype peltier (thermo-electric) generator that could work with a camp fire, but it would need to run for most of the night to charge the battery pack. Constantly poking and maintaining a fire all night is not my idea of an ideal solution.
I think a combination of a solar cell and a crank generator (Freeplay has a 12v model that can put out nearly 600mA) will buy me some extra time between charges, and add very little weight.
ShakeyLeggs, the callsign is AB3I. I figured there had to be a few of us lurking around here!
-Smalls
ShakeyLeggs
12-30-2010, 14:56
Yea there are few of us. I always have an HT with me. I used to carry my VX-3r but I find that the low power it puts out does not work to well in some places. So i now carry my IC-T90A because it has a higher power output. I usually run it low power but if need be I can go to a full 5 watts.
I'm looking at taking my TH-D7A with me on my sections... Between something to do if I'm stuck in one spot for weather, general chit chat, Emergency Comms if needed, and possibly some APRS... Also it can pick up NOAA, so I can get Wx forecasts as needed...
Since I'm only doing a week or so at a time, I'm not really worried about charging...
73
de N9ZSY
Jason
Lone Wolf
12-30-2010, 17:27
Greetings All!
I'm in the very early stages of planning a thru-hike, probably not until 2013 though. Right now I'm just researching gear, starting on some conditioning, the basics. I'm not a total newbie to the trail, I did about 400 miles in PA and VA as a teenager, but a thru-hike is a whole new can of worms.
I'm sure this will get a few hackles but, particularly being my first post, but I'm going to ask it any way. I'm a ham radio operator, and I'm very interested in taking a small portable ham radio with me out on the trail. I'm curious how frequently (on average, of course) I could expect to find some sort of access to electricity for about 2 hours to charge my batteries, be it in an easy to access town, general store, hostel, etc. The parts of the trail I've done were the more populated bits, and in some areas, I'm pretty sure I could have found an outlet every 2 or 3 hours if I were so inclined.
How many of the hostels had outlets readily available? I know some of them aren't a whole lot fancier than the trail shelters.
Thanks!
Smalls
always ask before you plug in somewhere. it's rude not to
Slo-go'en
12-30-2010, 18:01
I plan on taking an FT-817 all-mode HF/VHF/UHF rig with me.
Thats a lot of radio to try and carry on a thru-hike! Throw in an antenna and tuner, you'll be up to 5 pounds and a lot of bulk. Trust me, it won't take long to get tired of lugging that extra load around.
Do you know Morse? Lots more effiecent and much smaller rigs available for CW. Too bad I'm out of stock on my ultra trail friendly ATS-4 rigs (google it). With one of those you get 5 bands and up to 5 watts out in a box 30% larger than an Altoids tin. A whole station with batteries, tuner and antenna can come in a just over a pound. Next best thing would be an Elecraft KX1.
Speaking of antennas, think End Feed Half Wave (EFHW) as the lightest, easiest HF antenna to errect in the woods.
Even with the lightest radio option, you will not want to carry it all the time. More often than not, you will be too tired, too cold and/or have too many distractions going on around you (like other hikers) to want to play radio very often. Using bump boxes to ship the rig ahead as you go and only carry it on "easy" sections of trail is a good option.
73, KD1JV
MediumRare
12-30-2010, 18:25
Do you know Morse? Lots more effiecent and much smaller rigs available for CW. Too bad I'm out of stock on my ultra trail friendly ATS-4 rigs (google it). With one of those you get 5 bands and up to 5 watts out in a box 30% larger than an Altoids tin. A whole station with batteries, tuner and antenna can come in a just over a pound. ...
73, KD1JV
Nice. Any estimate on restock timing?
Thanks,
White Jeep -- KF1S
kayak karl
12-30-2010, 19:12
always ask before you plug in somewhere. it's rude not to
scrolled to last post and LW said it. ASK and buy something there. i've plugged in everywhere, even cars with AC converters, soda machine outlets and private homes. all with their permission and graces.
HiKen2011
12-30-2010, 19:17
scrolled to last post and LW said it. ASK and buy something there. i've plugged in everywhere, even cars with AC converters, soda machine outlets and private homes. all with their permission and graces.
All shelters have electricity.;)
kayak karl
12-30-2010, 19:19
All shelters have electricity.;)
its wireless. you need the converter.
Funkmeister
12-31-2010, 11:25
Agreed with the posters above on several points:
Ask before charging. Purchase something, even if as simple as soda and candy.
Slo-go'en reflects my feelings exactly, and I've discovered this after carrying plenty of HF and VHF stuff into the woods. Batteries, tuner, rig, cables, slingshot, fishing reel, sinkers, and all the other stuff is well worth the weight IF the main point of the trip is to play with your radio. (The Advenutre Radio Society sponsors the Flight of the Bumblebee sprint, and this is a perfct example.) Going backpacking for days at a time doesn't often jive with ham radio.
I started going hiking/camping with my Ten Tec Argosy II, a 12 D-cell NiCad setup, tuner, a few antennas, and all the stuff. Turned down to low power (5w), I could play for several hours several days. Bottom line: not worth the effort. And this was back in the days when the solar activity actually allowed HF contacts. (I've not heard >20m open much in ages.) After that, I got an MFJ qrp rig for 30m, running tunerless to a j-pole made from 300-ohm twin lead powered by 12 AA NiMetalHydride. I ditched the slingshot/fishing reel setup. I love this rig. I love this setup. I also have a 2m HT that takes four AA cells. It also receives NOAA freqs. I've never used it for this circumstance, but I've opened the TX to cover 135-185mhz, so if there's an emergency, I can hit a Forest Service repeater and answer questions later.
Sidebar: my longest backpacking contact was to Fiji, running 5w on 30m with my jpole in the scrub of the high NM desert about 12' up. /Sidebar
I rarely take my IC-706II-G, but still break it out and the 12v 7AH brick battery if I'm lugging stuff to a basecamp and spending a few days there. I've learned that a modest (low) 20m dipole running 5w is a losing proposition on 20 (17m is better), and the BCI at night on 40m makes even qro power into a modest (low) resonant antenna a struggle. I've never tried 75/80 or 160 while basecamping.
But you asked about charging batteries. I have no answer for that, but wanted to offer another viewpoint about carrying a great setup like yours on a long trip.
Finally...consider the times you would hike and the time you would play radio. What bands are open? Can you get a decent antenna up a decent distance in a short amount of time and play radio long enough to make the weight and time investment worthwile? I've discovered not, at least a full-band rig like yours.
If you'd like to ask me any more questions, let me know. I see there's a few fellow ham ops on here; maybe there should be a thread for batting around ideas for outdoor operations.
de Mick, N1NFG
The radios aren't the only reason for going, but it is something I've long enjoyed doing. I've done extensive hiking with my FT-817, just not of this duration. So far, my best was Asiatic Russia (UA0VP I think it was, in Borsk) during solar minimum on 2.5w, SSB, with a 150' end fed, and 100' of copper wire chucked in the ocean for a ground plane.
I've managed to lighten my FT-817 by about 20%, without batteries getting it under 22oz. My CW key, tuner, 300' of wire (4 radials and 100' of antenna), and mic weigh in under 11oz. The battery will be 10AH 11.1v Li-poly, 23oz. I'm still working on the charger, but it will be as light as humanly possible. Looks like probably a buck converter capable of charging the pack in about 90 minutes.
Regardless, the entire package should be under 5lbs. During some of the more rugged parts of the trail like TN and NJ/NY I will likely ship it ahead and pick it back up later, but for most of the trip, I think I'll get enough enjoyment out of it to make it worth while.
Slo-go'en, I'm intrigued. What's the going price on one of those? Slo-go'en would be an apt description of my CW skills, but I've been on LCWO.net working on my skills (/shameless plug). By the time I start the trip, I'm sure I'll be back up toward 20wpm where I was years ago.
Just so you know, if I get one, the first thing I'm going to do is hack it to use my phone keyboard for that nifty PSK capability. I'm desperately hoping a PSK31 app shows up for my android before the trip.
-Smalls
NerdyJohn
01-01-2011, 01:18
I used to own an FT-817 and I went hiking with it for a few weekend trips. Overall I would say that it is a fine radio and an excellent choice if you just gotta take a full-featured radio with you. I only sold it because I am one of those people that never keeps equipment (hiking or otherwise) very long. I'm like a reviewer that never writes a review!:p But that said, I plan on buying another 817 as a "keeper". Coming from me, that's saying alot.
Unfortunally I think you will find that the novelty of ham radio wears off on strangers pretty quickly and that it just annoys the hell of them to hear you having a conversation that they don't fully understand. You would probably be more welcome smoking a cigar in a shelter than calling CQ or having a ragchew in the middle of the night. For this reason, I only transmit when I am alone on the trail. Very alone.
Speaking of "keepers", in the name of just listening instead of transmitting, I highly recommend the Icom IC-R20. The batteries last forever, there's tons of memories, and it's all mode, including SSB. The Uniden BC-396 is a good choice as well. Excellent battery life, lots of memories and it can handle digital modes which the R20 does not. I love listening to the GSMNP rangers (digital) while in the smokies with that thing. No SSB though.
My favorite antenna at the campsite for vhf/uhf is a roll-up J-Pole made out of 300 ohm twin lead. I take a take a piece of rope, toss it over a branch and then hoist the J-Pole a few feet in the air. Beats the daylights out of the stock antenna.
BTW... my 396 is for sale. ;) I want the new model, the BC-396XT. Not real sure why, but it's going to happen...
Enjoy your trip!
John
KD4EXS
4eyedbuzzard
01-01-2011, 01:24
Regardless, the entire package should be under 5lbs. During some of the more rugged parts of the trail like TN and NJ/NY I will likely ship it ahead and pick it back up later, but for most of the trip, I think I'll get enough enjoyment out of it to make it worth while.What's rugged about the NJ/NY section? :confused:
NerdyJohn, I'm not much for the shelters in general. I'll be hammock camping the whole way, and have every intention of avoiding the shelters except in the most severe weather.
At this point because of likely timing and money issues, I'm thinking the most reasonable scenario is splitting the hike in two, Maine to Harper's Ferry, WV the first year, and Harper's Ferry to Georgia the following summer. This shortened hike means I can leave much later in the season, taking advantage of the best possible weather conditions, and traveling as light as possible. That will help offset the weight of the radios, and let me take full advantage of the hammock.
-Smalls