homebrew hams?

[slabfoot]

any hams out there that build and backpack with lightweight hf transceivers?

KZ3I

[MedicineMan]

I wish slabfoot, just getting into the scene, got liscensed, even past the morse test first time, so I am officially KG4TWB and carry a Kenwood TH-F6A on my hikes but honestly have never talked to anyone with it yet--sad I know,,,but as I understand it people would be able to hear me on it! It does have the normal FM radio band reception so it does double duty....I am also on the shy side of actually using it since I havent under any supervision and dont know the subtle nuances that hams are so proud/defensive of! but it would be nice to be able to carry something in the 1-2ounce range of radials that could really boost my signal out, again no knowledge and wouldnt want to fry an expensive radio!

[rfghost]

Simva;

First of all don't be bashful - get on the air and talk. Any Ham worth his salt will not give you a hard time for minor protocol errors, etc. They all were new hams once too.

Get yourself a good 1/4 wave flexible whip antenna for your HT. Then make yourself a rattail for it ( a 19.25" piece of wire with a lug connector on it), and screw it down under the antenna. it makes a nice counterpoise and extends your range tremendously.

I was talking to a guy hiking the AT just this morning via the Bluemont repeater in VA. He had an HT and was running 1.5 watts - dead quieting into the repeater..

I am hiking a section in VA on Thanksgiving week and will be bringing my HT along for entertainment and conversation.

Regards,
KB3JVI

[jec6613]

I thought about it. In fact, my pack's already wired with a water resistant PTT/speaker/mic combo onto the right shoulder strap and I know I have excess room and could easily wire the radio into the pack and attach a colapsable antenna onto the frame, but for now I just use my big, clunky HT if I take anything at all. My biggest issue is power, of course, as even 1.5 watts is alot of drain if I talk regularily, but I think I could do it if I used an old laptop battery and some power regulation circuitry (probably a simple SMBus) plus a custom circuit board all wrapped in silnylon and attached to the pack. Probably would cost under $100 too, since I already have a drawer full of resistors and capacitors.

N1VHV

[flyfisher]

Amateur radio is one of the hobbies I leave at home. It is hard, as an ultralighter, to consider the weights necessary for the battery packs, and finding ways to charge the batteries is hard.

To answer your specific question, I have built a 40/40 CW transceiver and used it for a bunch of business trips. I have done some hiking with my Yaesu FT 817 and some lightweight wire dipoles - but not on the AT.

If you bring your rig, I'd be glad to have a few QSOs before I move on. It would be a fun way to spend an evening some day.

Vry 73s es CUL, de WS8G

[beartrack1]

I've just completed construction on the ATS-3 (Appalachian Trail Sprint - 3) and will be taking it along on my hike this year. It runs about 2.5 watts from a 9 volt battery and operates 80, 40, 30 and 20 meters. It all fits into a small Altoids mint tin. I'm working now on an easy to deploy antenna design and possibly a tuner to go with it. Also, I'll be hiking with a little Yeasu VX-1 dual band hand held VHF/UHF. All of this will cost me about 2 pounds but it's my hike, they're things I enjoy and it's my llife on the trail for the next six months or so. For me it's worth it.

The next thing to do is establish an Appalachian Trail calling frequency and times of the day for likely contacts between hiking hams.

I have downloaded a nice repeater list of those along the trail. I wonder if anyone has put together a list of Echolink nodes that are in range from the AT?

By the way, I'm KC8UD.

[Sleepy the Arab]

Mmmmmm.....homebrew and hams...

[hoodoo40]

[quote=slabfoot]any hams out there that build and backpack with lightweight hf transceivers?

You can check out the Adventure Radio Society, some of them go backpacking with their radios. Just got my license last December so haven't backpacked with my radio yet (SWL SW-40+).

http://www.arsqrp.com/

Slabfoot, noticed the Sempar Paratus, are you a Coastie? I was.

-- Hoodoo40
KE7CNO

[slabfoot]

Hoodoo
thanks for the link.. yeah retired from uscg in 1989. enlisted telephon tech, then ocs and flew the herc for the last ten years out of e-city and kodiak.
73's
bill