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Amateur Radio In the Backcountry?
bartle writes "I spend a lot of time hiking in the Colorado Rockies. Cell phone reception is very unreliable and I'm curious if carrying a small amateur radio would make any sense at all. I don't want to add too much weight to my pack; from what I gather, a radio weighing a pound would give me at most 5 to 10 watts of transmitting power. I have no idea if this is enough to be effective in a mountainous region, and I'm hoping some experienced Slashdot hams could give me a clue. I'm only interested in acquiring a radio and license if it is a lot more effective and reliable than the cell phone I already carry. Otherwise I'll just wait for Globalstar to bring back their duplex service and buy a next-generation SPOT messaging device. (I know some Slashdotters will want to suggest a modern SPOT or Personal Locator Beacon; these are suitable for the worst kinds of emergencies, but I'll point out that reliable communication can help prevent small crises from becoming big ones.) Are small amateur radios effective in the field, or are vehicle rigs really the only way to go? Or am I better off just waiting for satellite?"
Most frequently you're going to be talking to a repeater, so it depends somewhat on where you are in relation to the repeater. Having said that 5-10 watts is a lot of power compared to a cell phone.
KA0ZRW - now in WA
and don't work well in the mountains unless you and the other guy are both within line of sight of each other. Repeaters can help work around the LoS problem but there probably aren't many in the area you are considering.
jacking up your power can only help so much. it's not like the higher power blasts through the mountains. Higher antennas can help, but if you're already in mountains, you are probably outgunned in the height department.
Some form of satellite is probably going to be your best bet. Or some lower frequency (LF/HF) that will cover variable ground terrain better.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
As noted it does depend on where the repeaters are/what local frequencies are in use.... that much said - some car units are designed as cross-band repeaters and could take the 1-5 watts of a handheld and retransmit on another frequency with a bit more output power....
Communicating in the mountains is tricky. The low conductivity of rock means ground wave (low frequencies) isn't very good. The mountains themselves block line of sight making high frequencies problematic. Amateur satellite communication is low bandwidth. Shortwave skip works but is unpredictable. Your best bet is to put a repeater on top of a mountain (expensive and difficult).
Amateur radio probably won't replace your cell phone. Talk to the local hams and find out what they're doing. Maybe they already have a repeater for instance. You should get to know them in any event because you may find that your life depends on them.
You might try to find a local ham radio club and ask what their experiences in the area are, and specifically where you're going to be hiking.
I would expect that outfitters in that area who providing hiking supplies and such may have some idea as to what your best options are. Surely you know a place or two local to your area with experienced hikers that you can consult? Just an idea, maybe you've tried that already.
By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth. -- George Carlin
Inmarsat. It works in the mountains of Afganistan.
Ham radio is a HOBBY for people interested in communicating by radio, and the technical development of same.
It is not a replacement for your cell phone. It is not a replacement for ship-to-shore-email services. It is not a replacement for wi-fi.
We are not the Police/Fire Reserve. We are not the DHS Auxiliary. We are not the NOAA Field Agents. We are not an emergency communications service.
(We -can- do this stuff as a matter of Last Resort, "When All Else Fails", but that is not our primary purpose! Many people forget this!)
If you are not interested in communication by radio or the technical development involved in doing so, DO NOT waste your time with ham radio.
You will only disappoint yourself.
So what he needs is a 27MHz Citizen's Band radio? Besides rednecks and freaks, who still uses CB?
Short answer is that it depends.
Are you going to learn morse code? It's not required for a license anymore, but a QRP (low power) rig on 40 meters can work hundreds or thousands of miles with a decent antenna if the atmosphere is right. QRP rigs can be extremely small and light, too.
Yaseu has the FT-817 all-mode all-band radio that comes in at about 1.2kg (just more than 2.5lbs) including the antenna and battery. It's about 5"x6"x2" as I recall, with about 5W max output. It definitely gives you options.
Sig??? I don't need no stinkin Sig!
I go into nature to get away from technology. This is the one place where I carry, at most, a flint and knife.
I understand why you'd like to be able to communicate but there's much more to listen to than to be said when out in the wild.
> ...experienced Slashdot hams
Homer: Mmm... experienced Slashdot hams.
Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
...no.
There's no amateur radio transceiver that weighs in at less than a pound that would give you the kind of power or reliability you're looking for. Also, unless you're willing to put in the effort to obtain at least a general class amateur radio license, you'd pretty much be limited to the VHF/UHF segments of the amateur bands, which are not good in mountainous terrain unless you are certain you'd be in range of one or more repeaters during your trips. If you were willing to learn Morse code, you would have access to a small portion of the 40 meter band with an entry-level (technician) ticket but then you'd have to carry some sort of long wire antenna and be able to get it up into a couple of trees if you want a realistic hope of making any sort contact.
I'd say that either use a vehicle mounted amateur radio rig that can put out 100W or so--there are several neat little units available, but they don't come cheap, around $1000--or just enjoy the outdoors without worrying about communication. Hell, I packed into the Sierra Nevada for years without a cell phone (they hadn't even been invented at the time) or any other sort of link to the outside world. I liked it that way.
73,
de KJ6BSO sk
This ain't rocket surgery.
Those big backpack radios they used in Vietnam were usually leftovers from WWII. They weren't big because they needed to be, they were big because the government wasn't funding new ones. And break downs were a serious problem. The ones my dad used were capable of sending a signal clear around the world, which could cause problems if he wasn't mindful of it.
Back in the late 90s, I was working in the back country, the radio we used was about the size of a late 80s cell phone and it had plenty of power to get in touch, even in the middle of a valley. No need to get anything more than that. Unfortunately, I can't recall the specifics, but they are the ones that were used by the forest service and various state agencies in the back country.
They're here now, although they are a little expensive.
9/11 Eyewitnesses to Explosive WTC Demolition 1 of 2
Bring an appropriate filter.
I'm involved in wilderness search and rescue in remote areas of Arizona. We have no cell coverage in most of the areas we work in, and only have sheriff's radio repeater coverage in about 50%. Amateur radio repeaters cover most of the rest. My commercial VHF radio is programmed with all the regional ham repeaters in addition to the sheriff's frequencies and every other wilderness public safety frequency used in the region. If I'm going into certain areas with especially bad coverage, I'll also carry a quad-band handheld (VX-7R) and an external 25W VHF amplifier. No matter what gear you have, location matters most. It is often necessary to climb the nearest ridge to make contact with a repeater, since valleys are usually completely dead spots. The only effective way to communicate from a deep, narrow valley is with HF, or at least 6M with over 100W of power. We use low-band VHF at 120W between vehicles and do fine in very rough terrain. So yes, carry radio gear. Know your area's repeaters well, though, and be prepared to seek higher ground in order to communicate. A SPOT locator is a very good idea in addition, though, and serves a completely different purpose from other communications gear.
I am a geek attorney, but not your geek attorney unless you've already retained me. This is not legal advice.
Check out the ATS-4. QRP rig in an Altoids tin.
http://kd1jv.qrpradio.com/
&
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AT_Sprint
So what he needs is a 27MHz Citizen's Band radio? Besides rednecks and freaks, who still uses CB?
Truck drivers. Oh, wait...
(Disclaimer: I am a truck driver, so I'm allowed to make that joke without being modded troll/flamebait.)
This ain't rocket surgery.
Yes, a ham radio can get you much better range and ability to contact the nearest town without much weight. Much better than a cellphone. Cellphones are line of sight around the 2ghz range, they stink without a repeater nearby. Don't bother with a handheld HF rig, unless you know morse code you're not going to get any skywave propogation via phone at 5w. Pick up a 2m monoband handheld transceiver and a portable 2m yagi to go with it. You'll be able to reach an easy 50 miles with FM voice modes and hit the repeater in the nearest big town. This assumes that there is not a mountain in the way, of course.. You're not going to be able to get radio THROUGH a mountain. Ideally you're up on the side of a mountain. I understand that you'll be worried about weight, but it seems to me that being able to contact civilization is pretty important if you run into real trouble. I can recommend this portable 2m yagi: http://www.arrowantennas.com/arrowii/146-3ii.html and really any 2m monoband HT will do you well, don't pay for the bells and whistles. The old HTX-202's work great (if you don't mind paying a pound or 2 for your radio). With regard to getting a technician class amateur radio license, the code requirement is long gone and it should be pretty trivial for most slashdotters to obtain a ham radio license nowadays. One last thought: AO-51. There are low-earth orbit amateur radio satellites that can be worked with handheld transceivers and a good dual-band yagi. The passes are short (15 minutes) and the process takes some practice, but you could definitely get out a distress call that way, no matter what the terrain is.
Each processor would proceed sequentially as if it had been better for them not to rise against Saul.
Although I subscribe to the "you are in the wilderness for a reason" school of thought, it would help to know why you are looking for some sort of radio link to the outside world. Do you need it for emergencies or checking the latest Slashdot articles? Understanding your intended use will help narrow the suggestions thrown at you.
If you only want it for emergencies, then nothing beats having the skills to do what you are doing and the buddy system. Enjoy the outdoors, not carrying an extra 3 pounds of gear. YMMV.
"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." - Carl Sagan
If you are looking for short range communication then you are probably SOL as they will behave very similar to your cell phone (putting aside repeaters [think cell tower] and the proximity of other people listening close range). You will have more transmission power with an amateur radio but as others have mentioned short range communication frequencies will be impacted by physical obstructions. Long range communication frequencies on the other hand "bounce" off the ionosphere and can travel much farther. I've been able to achieve 1400+ miles w/ 100 watts of power and a crappy dipole antenna inside a ground floor apartment.
However you're probably looking at ~10 pounds at least for a "portable" solution that could put out 100 watts (your in-vehicle setup essentially) and even then you are talking to people hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away.
I don't know your budget, but renting or buying an Iridium 9555 phone with a prepaid plan may be an option. The handset is quite small and works everywhere.
I'm not a coward by any name.
if lack of cell phone reception causes you to worry about your safety, you have no business hiking *anywhere* your cell phone reception is anything less than 4 bars...
stay in the city.
or bring a hiking buddy and register with the local Park Ranger.
If you move forward with this, one option is to setup your car as a repeater. You can park your car at the trailhead and turn on the repeater in your car. Then the idea is to hopefully hit your car from your handheld, then your car can hit a repeater. In addition to the additional radio in the car that supports Cross-Band repeating, you will need to add a battery or two to your car, and a fresh one in the trunk.
Like others have all pointed out, the handheld frequencies are all generally line of site. This could mean that in a real emergency, you may need to climb to the top of the nearest peak to actually have line of site to anyone. Then once on the top of the peak you may find that your cell phone works as well!
Amateur radios work great in the backcountry in communicating with your own party in a different campsite or at a base camp while you continue on up to a summit.
The SPOTs as you have already researched works pretty well. I especially like the non-911 "Help" button, which just sends a predefined message to someone. I think this is a great feature, as you may need someone you know to start hiking up to you to help you out, but may not need a full Search and Rescue.
You can rent satellite phones.
QRP is the art of using small, low-power equipment to talk to the world. But do it for the love of the game, It might get you out of trouble, but there are no guarantees.
Nullius in verba
If you get your ham license, a 2 meter handheld might fit the bill. Look at the ARRL (arrl.org) repeater handbook and see if there are 2 meter repeaters in the vicinity of where you hike. Hams like to place repeaters on the highest mountops when they can so you may find there are signals available. Amateur hand helds are very small and light. A technician class amateur license is easy to obain. There are also personal emergency locater beacons (PLB's) similar to the EPIRBS carried by ships and aircraft that are available for hikers. You can't communicate on these devices however, if you get lost or stranded you can activate it the satellite receivers relay the coordinates of your location to air force search and rescue teams.
A prior posting had a rather unfriendly tone to it and that is not properly representative of Ham Radio. While you would be welcome to study up and take the test and join us, I doubt that light-weight Ham band handi-talkies would serve your need any better than a cell phone. VHF radio transmission on the ham bands is pretty much like the cell phones...line of sight. Deep in canyons or behind ridges, you probably wouldn't reach another Ham and you can only communicate with or through other Hams or their repeaters. On the other hand, my 2 meter rig saved my bacon years ago when the rudder failed on my sailboat in rough water off California's Point Conception. I owe my longevity to Ham Radio and the dedicated Hams on the Santa Barbara emergency nets.Regards from WH7QQ
Modern VHF/UHF handi-talkies are, well, handy if you've got repeaters that you can reach. The other alternative is HF low power rigs that can also be quite small and portable. If you don't mind learning the code, it can be extremely effective. Here's a mountain rescue story that involves just that.. If you take this approach, you can arrange scheduled times and frequencies when someone will listen for you. The great thing about this is that the person can be half way across the country.
I'll second the opinion about the Yaesu FT-817 as a great portable "DC to Daylight" rig that can run SSB and FM voice modes as well as CW (code) on most of the commonly used bands from HF to UHF. It's a little larger, but is extremely capable. The Icom IC703 is another portable rig. See one in use hiking in Colorado here .
I've been a ham for 53 years now and have run the kilowatt rigs with big beam antennas over 100 feet in the air, but I have the most challenging fun with a 4 watt CW rig and a wire or mobile antenna.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
Like a couple of other folks have said, it depends on several factors.
If you're thinking of a handheld with a rubber duck antenna, their wattage is typically 5 or below, and range on the rubber ducks suck. You can carry an additional compact antenna, but it only helps so much.
Line of sight to the other station (or repeater) is more or less required, and antenna height really helps on 2m for that reason. If you're in good shape and can get to a summit with LOS, great. If you're crippled up and can't "see" the other station (or repeater), you're screwed.
So, for 2m, you MUST contact the local Hams and get some understanding of the footprints of the repeaters (if any) in the areas you plan to traverse.
HF is a little different. The Yaesu Ft-817ND that someone else mentioned is an all mode, VHF/UHF/HF man portable rig. It has two antenna connectors, one for UHF/VHF just like a handheld, and outputs 5W at best. HF will require you to hump sort of HF antenna and you're still limited to 5w at best.
The other BIG "it depends" is your license status and level. A Technician license is relatively easy to come by and will allow you to operate an HT (or the 817) on the 2m (and a few other freqs). To get significant use privs on HF, you will need to stand the General exam (having passed the Tech first).
You will probably be best served by contacting local hams and asking these questions. Having the proper license, buying the radio, humping it in and calling for assistance in an emergency does you no good if there's no coverage in your area, or if no one is listening. These same guys can also help you with obtaining your license.
Hope this helps
Red
(Amateur Extra)
You are wrong about the radios in Vietnam.
Radio Set AN/PRC-25 was the state-of the-art FM tactical radio for the Vietnam War. The mostly solid-state design brought weight down to less than 20 pounds with battery vs. 26 pounds for the AN/PRC-10.
The PRC-10 Story Ends in Vietnam
In July 1965, responding to General Westmoreland's complaints about the AN/PRC-10, the new, transistorized FM radios of the AN/VRC-12 and AN/PRC-25 families were shipped to Vietnam. Those radios, intended for deployment in Europe, soon became the mainstay of tactical communications in Southeast Asia. In three and a half years, 20,000 VRC-12 and 33,000 PRC-25 radios were delivered to Southeast Asia. The PRC-25, which fully replaced the PRC-10, was, according to General Creighton Abrams, "the single most important tactical item in Vietnam."
Your best bet would be a Satellite Phone for the trip. Since they just have to have LoS with the sky.
When building our local EmComm van I specked in a CB. The rest of the hams thought I was crazy. I said, "Who do you think will be delivering supplies, maybe a trucker?" They then thought it was a wonderful idea.
The goal isn't to insure that all communications are by ham radio, the goal is to communicate.
-- I have a private email server in my basement.
Most importantly though, don't rely on technology to get you out of a jam. Avy beacons fail, GPSs die, radios don't reach people on the other end. They are all wonderful, life saving tools but odds are you won't need any of that stuff. Read the Wilderness First Responder medical book, read Freedom of the Hills, etc. Go prepared. A vast majority of the time, you'll be able to get yourself and other people help without 'calling' anyone.
--Let's hack root on 127.0.0.1 --panZ
As I understand, you need the radio for a purely utilitarian purpose - to talk to specific people. You are not a ham yourself (not yet, at least) and likely the people you want to talk to are not hams either (otherwise you'd ask them, not Slashdot.) This means none of you can legally (or effectively) use ham radio. This can be corrected; ham license exams are not complicated, I took three on the same day, from no license to extra, but I have radio background and I'm not new to ham radio (I was first licensed around 1980, I think.) A man from the street will have lots of problems with higher level exams unless he understands things like the theory of linear circuits, complex impedance, and such.
You certainly can go ahead and get a ham radio license for yourself, if that is interesting to you in any way (there is more than one way to enjoy ham radio.) But you probably can't tell your friends, parents, or whoever is on the other end, to go and get a license - that's probably beyond most people's abilities, just like it is for me to learn classical dance :-) People are all different.
However if you only want communication then getting a ham radio and license doesn't make much sense. If I want to fly from SF to Paris I don't want to study for a pilot license; I buy a ticket, and a professional pilot will do all the flying for me. It is cheaper, simpler, safer, and lets me do things that I want to do - not what I have to do.
Technically, ham radio in emergency is the absolute best way to make a contact with another ham. Even satellites are not as reliable. Ham radio depends primarily on equipment that you (and the other guy) have. No need for expensive satellites that may or may not be in the sky or otherwise operational. There are many ham bands, and you can always find a band that works at the time of need. HF bands will work for short range communication pretty much at any time (using the ground wave.) In mountains NVIS makes sense. V/UHF is not likely to work there because distances are large, terrain - rough, and repeaters would be scarce. To be well prepared for an emergency you need to have an HF rig, and if you can do CW (at any speed) it's even better.
An experienced ham would probably take a small transceiver with him into mountains; either HF or HF+VHF. He wouldn't need much of an antenna - any long wire would do fine at his elevation. In good conditions he'd be able to communicate with the whole USA with mere 5W; in bad conditions he'd be able to contact a local ham to report an emergency (and he'd have his GPS coordinates.)
A new ham most likely won't be able to fully utilize the spectrum that he has access to (depends on his license.) He'd bring a UHF HT with him, and he wouldn't be able to hear anything. Also repeaters are tricky sometimes, they require PL tones and you need to know them in advance to elicit a response from a silent repeater. So you must come prepared.
In your situation it would be safer for you if you rely upon commercial methods of communication. They are better supported and they require hardly any experience. If you need the radio only to report an emergency then you can get a beacon for that. If you want to talk to your friends from the top of a mountain then you need a satellite phone (and lots of money to pay for it.)
They fail because of the lack of coverage, the charge in the battery or the fact that no one else will be able to figure it out (if you are the one hurt).
Some simple precautions go a long way: the buddy system, first aid kit, topo map and compass, planning your route, extra food and water, notify friends of your departure and return. These do not cost as much and will do a lot more.
I used to carry a 2 meter rig when I went backpacking with the scouts. I found there was no coverage - except near cities.
The back country is a great place. But, it is terribly unforgiving for any lack of preparedness.
Original poster indicated that his primary area of focus is coverage in the Colorado mountains. I do not have specific first-hand knowledge of the coverage area for amateur VHF/UHF in Colorado, but this repeater map could be a good reference, though it is dated 2006. It's authors indicate that a 2009 version is for sale in print.
A preliminary skimming indicates coverage in several mountain cities. I'm no radio engineer, but I would imagine that the Estes Park repeater would probably do him pretty good in Rocky Mountain National Park -- at least in the highlands...
Ham radio is a HOBBY for people interested in communicating by radio, and the technical development of same.
Actually, the amateur bands are set aside for almost non-commercial, non-music, non-broadcast use whatsoever -- that's kind of the beauty of it...
Well man, go ahead and get a cell phone. You see, amateur radios can only contact other amateur radios. That means you can't (easily) use one to call up your buddy in Boston, unless he's a ham too and the bands are in your favor, or you use Echolink (the internet) or whatever.
5 watts is more than enough power to go around the world on HF, I know a lot of people that operate with less than 1 watt and talk to Europe daily (nightly?). The bands open up later in the day, but during the day depending on how you set up your antenna you can get a minimum of 200 miles up to 400 miles range.
It's all in the antenna. At the house I run 5 watts in to my 6dB gain base antenna and can talk as far as the curve of the earth will let me, on VHF. My VHF/UHF mobile radio will let me get ahold of someone in every single place my cell phone doesn't work. My handheld probably will too, but to be honest I haven't tried. I don't head off to WV very often, which is the only place I'm at where coverage is questionable. I'm certain that if I had a good antenna for my cell that I'd be able to get it going in places it wouldn't otherwise. A little gain will go a very long way, every 3dB of gain that you have equates to twice as much radiated power.
If you are wanting to use amateur radio to talk to friends, give it up unless they are hams themselves. If you are wanting to use amateur radio for emergency situations only, feel free to. Hams love helping out in an emergency. A license is not required to use a radio in an emergency, but getting your license will make sure you at least know how to not fry your rig and be able to get some signal out in the first place and will allow you to legally test your setup (otherwise nobody will come back to you to let you know).
Now, HF is a huge pain in the ass. VHF/UHF on the other hand is very simple. 100 mile contacts are trivial to do, but that kind of stuff is line of sight only. If you can't see the antenna you want to transmit to, you just might not make it in. 5 watts in to a proper half-wave antenna can accomplish that with a bit of luck, but something more typical is 20 to 30 miles out of your stock rubber ducky. Don't spend more than you have to unless you gots it to burn, but you will need an appropriate handheld, a better antenna, and a spare battery. Those 'batteries' that hold 6 AA's (or what-have-you) are good for emergencies too and are worth getting. Expect to dump $250 for a very very good setup that will do what you need. Here in Kentucky, all of our state parks have excellent repeater coverage so using a simple handheld is a very good option. In fact I just use the stock antenna on my handheld. Where you live, that might not be the case. You should go check out http://k5ehx.net/repeaters/ to see what repeaters are around the area, and if it's covered at all. As others have suggested and will suggest, I'll suggest again: GO TO YOUR LOCAL HAM CLUB AND TALK WITH THEM. They will know more about operating in your area than the internet will. Besides you'll eventually have to deal with them to get your license.
In short, you probably don't want to become a ham. You probably want a cell phone that has an antenna connector and a really nice antenna to plug in to it. As us hams say, spend at least as much on the antenna as you do the rig, preferably more.
73 de KB3TXC
THAT'S THE JOKE
QRP classics published by the ARRL is probably the reference work.
The book "the electronics of radio" by Rutledge; Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-64645-6 makes understanding and building such a HF radio easy(r).
Other useful works would be the ARRL antenna handbook, and the ARRL radio amateur handbook. Of course packing a mirror, whistle and survival kit are also recommended. Hope this helps
This is progress?
FWIW I live in Colorado.
Most responders seem to assume some sort of VHF but, as a few people point out, that's not really a great idea because there are big gaps in repeater coverage in the mountains.
However, 5W (or less) on HF CW would be ample for emergency communications, and you wouldn't have to worry about whether there's a repeater nearby. There are lots of designs for lightweight QRP (i.e., low power) single-frequency (or limited-frequency) rigs that would be suitable. I'd probably go for one that transmitted on 40m, just because there's more CW activity there, so you're more likely to be heard quickly than on, say, 80m.
I don't hike in the mountains, but if I did I would definitely carry such a rig with me. It only needs to save your life once.
Do it. I can hit a repeater that's 40 miles away using a 5 watt handheld in my house. Mountain to mountain, I've done 150 miles (Cadillac to Washington). It's not fool-proof, and you'll have to know a lot more than you would with a cell phone. Map the local repeaters, know the tones...
That said, for the cost, a spectacular tool. I've used mine to start a search & rescue for friends of mine who were lost in a place with no phone service. I bring my VX-8r whenever I go backpacking.
KB1PNB
SIG: HUP
There have been incidents of murder, rape and robberies due to triangulation of hikers from radio signals. I can see carrying a SW radio for emergency use and that is as far as you should go. Any use of such a device in a remote area can easily cost you your life. Believe it or not our nation has enough sick people running loose that some see stalking as a sport, a way to find a rape victim or a way to supplement income.
If there is amateur radio repeater coverage in the area you intend to visit, a handheld may be all you need. You can boost the performance of your radio significantly by using an external antenna and placing it up a tree.
If there is no repeater coverage you will have to look into HF frequencies. I recommend you investigate the Yaesu FT-817. It is designed for the kind of service you are interested in and will run on 8 AA batteries. If you are willing to learn morse code you will be set right there. If not, you can get a netbook or OLPC computer and attach it to the radio and operate digital HF. (Whatever you type will show up on other people's computers using the same frequency). Or you can go one step further and send and receive email via the winlink2000 system. This sort of setup has been used by mountain climbers with great success.
Unfortunately, you will not be able to get all this functionality for less than 4-5 pounds but life is all about tradeoffs.
You may find the following page useful: http://members.shaw.ca/ve6bko/overview.html
- VE6BKO
Please kindly troll elsewhere.
So glad to see some people thinking about that. I hate how often the ham community shuns CB and the mere mention of it. Yes, it certainly has it's own problems, but nearly EVERY truck and a good amount of touring motorcycles are equipped with CB. Considering how many charity bike rides that ARS covers that make use of motorcycles, this also seems overlooked. I've never thought of it from the delivery, but I'll certainly keep that in mind in the future.
Amateur radio has the most available options and are only limited by your willingness to carry the gear. You can certainly make contacts with people at great distances only using a little power. Line of sight is not a very big issue(hike the Arizona back country regularly with just a HT in tow). Antennas, amps and careful band choice will make all of the difference in the world. There are satellites to contact through, repeaters to hit and people who scan for distress calls all the time. Look only to some of the amateur radio rescue stories to see that quite possibly amateur radio is the way to go. Once licensed the only ongoing fees for amateur radio are the ones you choose to pay(memberships and new gear). Consider that plenty of folks travel the Appalachian trail with only a small QRP rig in tow and manage to make plenty of contacts you may be barking up the right alley. Check out ARRL.org or 14er.org for more information on that subject.
Might work, but as other posters mentioned things like the mountains may be the reason for the signal loss rather than the amount of power.
I have them drop me off at the park BUCK NAKED. I make my own survival tech when I'm out there.
I go away for a couple of weeks every year where there is no cell coverage, and I just get an Iridium "pay as you go" card. Coverage anywhere you can see the sky, including low earth orbit.
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
The batteries were unnecessarily gigantic though; we have much better Li batteries today.
Ham radio will not be more reliable than your cell phone, unless you are exceptionally lucky.
A 5W dualband (2m/70cm) handheld will possibly get you to a local repeater, if you are high enough up out of the trees and you don't have a mountain blocking your signal from reaching the repeater. Unfortunately, the only way to really test this is to be out in the boonies with your radio-- but often the groups that maintain repeaters will post coverage maps on their websites that will give you some idea.
The real problem is who will answer your call. I live in a medium sized city with 15 repeaters; unless there's a scheduled net going on, those repeaters are usually very quiet. I imagine that in the backcountry where there are fewer people, it follows that there would be fewer hams listening. If you're really going to consider ham radio as a backup plan, try to get in touch with local hams ahead of time and see who monitors what. It won't help you to be able to reach a repeater if no one's going to answer and be able to help you.
A portable HF radio might be a better option because you'll be able to reach more stations, but it will take more than a pound of space in your pack. You will also probably reach people who are far away from you are, and won't know local conditions (terrain, roads, landmarks, agencies), so it will be difficult for them to send the right help to the right place.
That being said, check out HFPack at http://www.hfpack.com; those guys play outside and take radios along. Also, the Burning Hams Mailing list at https://lists.burningman.com/mailman/listinfo/burningham-list is interesting to monitor, especially in the months leading up to Burning Man each year.
Karma only matters to me now and zen.
Those big backpack radios they used in Vietnam were usually leftovers from WWII.
bzzzt. Thank you for playing.
http://www.tourofdutyinfo.com/ToDAdvisorwebpages/fieldradio2.html
Why not get your license and test it out for yourself? You may just find a new hobby that you enjoy, and if not it's not a big loss.
Fine, call me a troll, but when you see the truth of the matter, don't say I didn't warn you.
I am eighteen and know how to use an SWR meter and tuner to tune an antenna, and what the advantages and disadvantages of various HF antenna designs are. Your argument is invalid.
http://pinopsida.com
You aren't alone. There's a few kids here who are on the right track too. This guy is just trolling. Don't give him any attention.
Hi, dawson,
I'm a ham, and I'll say that the answer depends. Sorry. If you carry a small handheld transceiver with 5 watts and a rubber duck antenna, it's mostly line of sight. So if you're in sight of a repeater (not literally in sight - it could be many miles away from your mountain perch), you'll be able to hit it and probably find someone listening (but not necessarily). Handhelds work in VHF/UHF frequencies which are short range to begin with, your radio will not have a lot of power, and that rubber duck antenna is notoriously deficient.
I have two suggestions: a Yaesu FT-817, which is an HF 5-watt radio, and a good external antenna which will get you out on HF bands which are world-wide. See http://blog.makezine.com/archive/author/diana_eng/ for videos and instructions from a ham who does backcountry radio work with antennas and such.
Or second, a satellite phone. The last time I checked into satphones, Globalstar satellites were being wrecked by radiation, and their service was not useable. If I understood correctly, they needed to replace their entire galaxy of satellites, but they were moving the working ones around trying to maintain coverage. Be sure to check into that before you get a satphone. I've rented satphones for a week when I've camped in Death Valley, and that was a cheap and effective way to get local weather information on what roads were closed by snow before I headed out to a dead end. I've also arranged for tows for other campers.
If you want communications for an emergency, I'd go with satphones. I've taken my hundred watt TS-480 to Death Valley, but I'm car camping. I have to say that you get lots of answers when you call "CQ AF6WI portable from Death Valley" :->
How was it unnecessary? Should they have just waited around for 40 years for new battery technology?
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
That is a good point, but the antenna tends to be fairly cumbersome. The process and results of working amateur satellites would make it a somewhat dangerous communication method on which to rely with in trouble in the wilderness...
Yeah.... That's why I'm still using an HF tranciever with vacuum tube finals and pre-amp, and a tube based linear amplifier .... Because I Don't know how to use anything but an icebox radio. Yes, my license is current, and has been maintened current for the past 24 years.
By the way, a pretty obvious roll attempt. You need to work harder.
Because obviously the existence of good and affordable Li battery tech today implies the existence of good and affordable Li battery tech 40 years ago.
"linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
Iridium sat phone, expensive, but works anywhere
There are so many ways that a ham can make contact from anywhere on the planet that it's staggering.
;)
While VHF/UHF repeater coverage in Colorado is excellent because most of the repeaters are on top of mountains, you can also find a lot of places in the back-country where you can't hit a repeater because some @#$%^ mountain is in the way
You could also communicate via satellite. There are ~20 amateur radio satellites currently operating.
Then there are the "traditional" methods using HF frequencies.
The Amateur Radio Relay League (the national ham group) runs an exercise annually that focuses on various modes of operating in the field. Hence the name, Field Day. Unfortunately, it was last month.
But the ARRL or a local ham club will be a better resource than random ramblings here. Check them out (or find a local club) at arrl.org.
Hipster. "It used to be really cool, now its lame", i hear that about everything, its all BS.
Ask the forest service what they use.
Of course, it will likely depend on what you consider backcountry. If you're just up on Berthoud/Loveland Pass, I'm sure nothing too fancy is needed.
Personally, I'm still waiting for my phone/gps/internet/avy beacon device to show up. Now I have the Evo, I'm wondering if there is a way to make this thing function as an EFFECTIVE avy beacon. Bluetooth or wifi connection with others in my group maybe?
Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
Luckily, the 146.97 out of Colorado Springs seems to cover a very LARGE geographical area. Having monitored it for the last several years, I'm always impressed with it's range.
I spend my last vacation in Western Australia and had similar worries. I was on my own and had a rental car. Annoyingly enough I couldn't rent a sat phone, buy an EPIRB/PLB, or buy a shortwave radio. I cut all my trips into the outback short and didn't do anything crazy, it worked out ok.
I remember getting about 10km with my CB radio at 4W. This is not enough for Australia. Somebody here was talking about the 100W range for what you want to do, this sounds much better. Don't forget though that you have to carry batteries and a short wave radio with antenna. I also remember some HAM radio friends talking about their pricey equipment so I would say that even with a ~AU$3000 sat phone contract you may be better off than with 10kg of HAM gear at similar or at least half the price. If you can rent the thing you will also not have to deal with a 24 month contract.
With a car and a HAM license short wave radio may make sense, but I would probably still try to get one of the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distress_radiobeacon .
Je me souviens.
Try looking at the context. Read GGP and GGGP
I am WA0SUD an Extra Class in Colorado since 1967. Localized coverage is VHF mostly and is very spotty in remote and rural areas. Repeaters are needed for handhelds beyond "line of sight" and they are not as prevelant as they once were. I would sadly not recommend this for back-country use except for recreation.
So what he needs is a 27MHz Citizen's Band radio? Besides rednecks and freaks, who still uses CB?
Truck drivers. Oh, wait...
(Disclaimer: I am a truck driver, so I'm allowed to make that joke without being modded troll/flamebait.)
Hey! I resemble that remark! (2 million miles and counting.)
... there are several ultra-portable rigs that can broadcast huge distances (thanks to atmospheric effects) with just a loop of wire thrown over a tree.
The KX1 comes to mind: http://www.elecraft.com/KX1/KX1.htm
See www.w7zoi.net -- in addition to being one of the all-time great technical writers in the ham radio area, Wes is also a hardcore hiking enthusiast who's actually designed a lot of homebrew portable gear for that purpose.
His interests are oriented more towards HF rather than VHF but that just makes the problem more interesting. If you have an emergency in the woods, even somebody in Australia can get help to you...
If you need a cell phone you should stick to developed and marked trails.
That's a good way to get experience and test your equipment and methods.
Blistered feet can disable you for days.
Keep the weight down. Don't carry anything you don't need.
For wilderness areas you need survival training and experience. It's best to use the buddy system.
Check in with the ranger station where you will get any necessary permits and information on local conditions.
Tell them where you are going and when you'll return. It's like filing a flight plan.
The Rockies are great!
Good luck!
Forgive him... he thought the "whoosh" was the truck going by...
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
People today are not used to being away from their umbilical cord. They feel that they need a cell phone to be in touch with people 24/7. Part of the attraction of being in the wilderness is to get away from that stuff. Also, whatever happened to developing some outdoors skills.
If you are not right at the car to turn the radio off, then this would probably be a violation of the rules!
Look at the FT-817. It isn't a hand-held, but it is designed for backpacking. The advantage is it covers HF (long distance) and VHF (line of sight), so you can hit a local repeater if one is around OR you can go to the "HF" bands and yell for help there - of course, you may be speaking to someone 600 miles away!
The downside is it's not a hand-held ("HT"). Also, you'll need to string up an antenna for HF communications and if you're hurt that'll be tough - heck, it's a pain to put one up in ideal circumstances!
If you're primarily concerned about calling for help in an emergency then you could consider a personal Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). You can't communicate with anyone other than letting the world know you need rescuing though.
They are not cheap, but Iridium phones work anywhere you can see the sky. A basic "Emergency" plan costs $40/month, plus $1.39 per minute of airtime. An Iridium 9555 phone costs $1295. Weighs 266 grams, about twice the weight of an iPhone. There's a foldable, flexible solar charger available.
My wife gets upset when I make disparaging cracks about truck drivers, doesn't seem to get that it's an inside joke.
This ain't rocket surgery.
I've got a ham station, and it includes an AM/LSB/USB base CB radio (top center in that image) and associated dedicated antenna. If the goal is being able to communicate in an emergency (and that is one of my goals as a ham), ignoring one of the most widespread tools out there is not the best idea.
It's also not fair to just say "rednecks and freaks"; there are a lot of folks in this area, ranchers and so forth, not "rednecks" by any definition other than perhaps suntan, who use CB as a practical (and free) means to keep in touch. I know some that are a good deal more sophisticated in both outlook and education than some of the characters I've run into here on slashdot.
For that matter, ham radio is no exclusive preserve of reason, manners, and intelligence, either. So let's keep the "redneck" comments down to a dull roar, shall we?
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
The hobby is gone forever.
It'll be like disco. It will make a huge comeback. Just like abba
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
I have spent hundreds of hours alone in the deep woods. Yes, there is a minute chance that such a device would save you, but it would totally destroy the wonderful sense of self confidence you get when you get yourself out of a tight spot. I don't mean that you will use the radio to get out of the tight spot, but that you will always know that you could have. You were never really alone, relying on no one but yourself. Take a mirror, signal flare, and a whistle to direct a search party if you must. Remember, you are responsible for yourself in the woods, be carefull and thoughtfull. The satisfaction you will get bringing yourself home will more then reward the risk. And if you can't get yourself back, why should anyone go in and get you? Leave an itenerrary with a friend so they can come looking for you if you don't return; don't involve strangers.
The reason we subjugate ourselves to law is to better procure justice. If law does not accomplish this purpose then it m
I have them chop off three of my limbs, have a Bothrops asper bite me on the remaining one a couple of times, encase me in several feet of ice, and drop me in a deep, 33f mountain lake attached to a 40-ton anchor on a short chain.
You kids just don't know the meaning of challenge anymore. You probably still wear shoes in your own house. Weenies.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
I have been a ham for 15 years (since I was 17) and my primary application of the hobby has been back country communications in Arizona. I am active with a local 4x4 Ham radio club and the ham radio is our primary form of communications. When hiking / camping / and kayaking, I always bring my waterproof Yaesu VX-7R with me and can usually communicate with a local mountain top repeater if I have a clear view. It sometimes requires hiking to a higher elevation, but typically works. Sometimes, especially when I am on the Mogollon Rim, I even have access to a telephone autopatch and can telephone my wife from my handheld ham radio to check in with her.
My mobile radio is capable of functioning as a make-shift repeater (crossband repeat) and on most excursions, I am rarely more than 5 miles from my truck. As such, I can actually use my truck to significantly extend the range of my HT (handie-talkie). However, I typically only do this in more remote areas where I know that I will have a difficult time communicating with a repeater.
Additionally, I use APRS in my 4x4 to beacon my GPS position. Some handheld and mobile radios have this feature built in. The end result is that friends, family, and other hams can see my exact position on a Google map overlay.
Finally, one of the most important reasons for bring my radio on every trip is that I also know that should I ever overstay a planned trip in the back country, my wife would inform the local search and rescue teams that I am a Ham and that I would be trying to communicate on 146.520 at the top of every hour. This would significantly increase the probably of a successful rescue, should I become lost or injured.
IANAHRO, but the topic is interesting. I was snooping around and I found this link which discusses equipment and antennas and has some relevant videos. This site has some info on the various ham bands that might be relevant. It mentions that the sun spot cycle is a problem right now for long distance communications that bounce of the ionosphere. From that site it looks to me like the 20 meter (14mhz) and 40 meter (7 mhz) bands are your best bet. I wouldn't want to have to rely on repeaters on mountain tops. I'd get myself a Yaesu FT-817 and plan to rely on the busy 20 meter band to bounce the call for help off the ionosphere. I'd also look into using an amateur radio satellite. Even though you only get one 15 minute window every 24 hours it's better than nothing. It seems most of those satelites work in the 2 meter band. So an FT-817 would also cover it. But it seems that a small dish antenna might be your best bet to transmit to the satellite. A yagi would probably be easier to pack though. You might also look into a helium balloon or kite aerial antenna. A very cool/geeky way to maybe get above the mountains. I wouldn't want to rely on having to summit a mountain when you have an emergency. I would assume we are talking about something like a broken leg or worse. Despite all these budget communication options if you really value your life and have some money I would go with renting a satphone.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
The last time I went backpacking in Yellowstone I threw my car GPS in my bag in case I got lost. I turned it on a few times and was always able to connect to the GPS satellite. It won't let you call for help if you break your leg (then again, neither would a radio that needs LoS or an antenna in a tree), but a GPS and a paper topographic map should make it impossible to get stranded at least. Something to think about anyway, might or might not be relevant to the subby.
"I'm curious if carrying a small amateur radio would make any sense at all." Yes. http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_14440362 The person rescued is a friend. He had been carrying a small, 5 watt handheld 2-meter radio for 20 years whenever he went skiing or hiking. This time it saved his bacon, but he was experienced, well prepared and had done some research and some tests. The radio without the preparation would just have been weight. He was lucky, too. The repeaters serving Colorado's Front Range (I live in Boulder) are on pretty high peaks and reach into the mountain areas some, but as has already been said you will probably have to be on a ridge to communicate with anybody. There are fewer repeaters in less populated areas but more than you might imagine. A more-or-less accurate list is here: http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Amateur_Radio_Repeaters_in_Colorado.
Steve Clason Boulder, Colorado USA
1) Talk to someone in a local ham club. They will let you know what kind of VHF/UHF repeater coverage there is in the areas you're interested in hiking. They can also help you with test study material and direct you towards the Volunteer Examiners near you. Go ahead and get at least a Technician class license. The test is relatively easy and the exam is less that 20 bucks.
2) Get yourself a basic hand-held VHF/UHF radio. You can find them used for cheap money or you can spend the bucks on a new one. There's a Chinese dual-bander that very popular, FCC approved for commercial use (if that's of any use to you) and can be had for under $125.00 delivered to your door with battery, desk charger, antenna, etc. The quality is actually pretty good.. in fact I own more two of them (in addition to several other brands)
3) Go ahead and get yourself a SPOT satellite locator and pack that along as well
Now... if you find yourself in trouble and you're within range of an amateur radio repeater, then you can call for help that way.
If you're not able to reach a repeater, then send for help using your SPOT device with a pre-programmed message that includes a simplex (non-repeater) frequency on which you will be listening. Now when the SAR teams, which quite often include hams, get near you (or fly over you) you can communicate directly with the folks that are coming to help.
If nothing else, getting a ham radio license will introduce you to a wonderful hobby that can involve anything from casual conversations with other hams in your area (or around the world) to participation in emergency communications with a local ARES team. There are on-air contests if you're interested in things like that, or you can just use it when you're hiking. What you do with it is up to you.
I've been a ham for 30 years, I'm the Emergency Coordinator for my counties ARES / RACES / CERT team working directly with county & state EMA, I'm a volunteer examiner and have had the pleasure of helping hundreds of new hams get started. I've spoken with hams in more than 150 countries from my SUV just while commuting to and from the office. I've met some of my dearest friends through ham radio and I wouldn't trade it for anything.... so don't pay any attention to those who would tell you it's a waste of time, because they apparently just don't get it.
Cheers and best of luck to you.
chown -R us
"Don't do it." FUCK you, chief. Who are you to discourage a potential future Ham based on what YOU say the Amateur service is "for?" People become Hams for all sorts of reasons. The FCC specifies what we may NOT do on amateur bands, and gives reasons for establishing them in the first place, but EVERY use permissible is entirely valid and should be encouraged to further the hobby.
So this guy starts out with a backpack HF rig to make sure he has a way to get messages out of the wild, and then what? You should know how this goes if you've been in the hobby as long as you say you have. You start out with a specific purpose, and then one thing or another starts interesting you, and before you know it you're watching the waterfall for PSK31 on HF and trying to DX with Zimbabwe a couple months later.
I became a Ham BECAUSE of the service's emergency provisions. I watched a plane fly into the North Tower of the WTC and kill my cousin and her coworkers in Cantor-Fitzgerald, and then heard about ARES and RACES volunteers stitching Manhattan's emergency services together so they could communicate in the wake of having their repeaters turned to ash. I heard those stories and said "I want to be on that team. THAT'S how I'm going to contribute." So I got a license, and got elmered by some of the guys who volunteered on Wall Street, and eventually started learning about how huge the hobby is and how much you can do with it. I found out about MARS and Skywarn and EchoLink and IRLP, and all the incredible things you can do with just a little dual-band HT, and I was hooked. Now my friends and I talk on a number of the local repeaters in town (I've since moved) on a regular basis.
But according to you, I never should have started, because emergency services are not the "primary purpose" of the Amateur Service. Kill yourself. I can't stand curmudgeonly old fucks like you who think if you didn't start on CW on 10m you're somehow illegitimate. Get over yourself.
+++ATH0
I find it distressing that so many posters here have talked about VHF/UHF only, and in relation to repeaters. There's more to ham radio than that, there's more to portable ham radio than that. The satellite option was at least interesting. The antennas don't have to be large (look up arrow antenna), the problem is calculating where the satellite will be and when, and then getting through the massive amounts of traffic on said satellite.
Repeaters are great, but they only work when you're in range. If you're going to be in the rockies, there will be a lot of times when mountains will block reception. When on hilltops, you may get TOO MUCH reception, from far away, that makes it difficult to use the one repeater you're trying to.
If you buy a more expensive HF rig, you can get communication even from down in a ditch. Usually, HF communication uses large antennas and the curvature of the earth makes the signal bounce off a layer of the ionosphere far away, and because of the angle, land even farther than that, sometimes bouncing off the earth back to the atmosphere, etc. But the problem with this is it tends to be unpredictable. There are predictions that can be made, but they're only general. A bigger problem, for the backpacker, is that these signals are almost always far away. the NVIS method, "Near Vertical Incidence Skyway", involved signals that go nearly straight up to the ionosphere, and then almost straight back down again. The result is hopping over mountains and fairly predictable communication with low interference. An advantage is that the antenna doesn't have to be high off the ground, in fact it's REQUIRED to be close to the ground...but stretch out horizontablly, not vertical like a walkie-talkie antenna. As the antennas tend to be larger for the HF band, you'd have to make camp and set up your hunk of wire a few feet above the ground before getting on the air. There are other issues with NVIS, the only one of importance being that the frequency which you tune to, in order to facilitate communications, varies throughout that day. But it does so in a predicatable manner.
If you get the Yaesu FT-817, you get a small radio that's just a little bigger than a walkie-talkie, that covers both HF bands, VHF, and UHF...so you can use repeaters or NVIS as available. The battery and charger than come with the FT-817 are crappy, go for the aftermarket W4RT produced models. There's an aftermarket antenna called "Miracle Whip", that is much better than the antenna included with the unit, is small and easy to use. You might also want to buy a portable solar panel. The ones made by Brunton are nice. Get the 12 Watt version, the six watt one isn't enough to charge your radio quickly.
Last piece of advice: don't just wait until you're out in the field to get familiar with the equipment. Get practice using it, with all its accessories in various configurations, BEFORE you go camping. It will be well worth the practice.
FT-817, W4RT battery, charger, Miracle Whip, solar panel -- package can be acquired for under $1000 (much less, in my case).
well if you dont want to loose connection you might use an utp cabel, you probaply hang allready in cables, so its just an extra line.
then you can put a small netbook with you, and have internet access, to call for help.
Check out the Wouxun KG-UVD1P.
Got mine on ebay and it covers both FRS/GMRS UHF frequencies but also 144MHz and works well for HAM use also. Got mine for a little over $100.
Pretty tough little radio. Has already survived two drops on hard floor from belt height.
Speaking of repeaters, a really good option is to have a good mobile dual band rig in your car, capable of what's called crossband repeating. Basically the idea is you transmit from your HT (handheld) on one band (like 70cm), which is received by the rig in your car and retransmitted on another band (like 2m) preset to the input frequency of a local repeater. If the local repeater has autopatch (most do) then you can make phone calls, or in an emergency just call for help to any of the people listening to that repeater. Also many repeaters are networked, so you can communicate across many hundreds or thousands of miles if you wanted to get in touch with a specific person (like a buddy that listens in for you while you're on hikes).
Both the wattage and antenna gain of a mobile (car-mounted) rig are orders of magnitude better than any HT rig (due to FCC regulation of wattage allowed for handheld transcievers, antenna size, and even vehicle groundplane), so you could reliably work repeaters dozens of miles away in that scenario.
Oh, on another note, many HTs are now multiple band (my Yaesu handheld transmits on 4 bands!), and thus the OEM will include an antenna that is only mediocre across all the bands the HT supports. For best performance you should use an antenna specifically tuned for the band you are going to use. I used 70cm for your HT in my example above, because antennas for that band are nice and short which is good for portability. Then you can have a high gain 2m on your car that can really reach out and touch repeaters far away.
Better known as 318230.
Wes is a boonies hiker on the west coast, and an RF design engineer for the better part of 40 years. and a frequent contributor to QST. check some of his backpack designs out.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
They work in some areas and not in others. If you're on a mountain top, you'll probably be able to hit a repeater. You can use the repeater on the space station with 5W and a handheld YAGI.
Check out these links:
Colorado repeater association: http://www.w0cra.org/
Colorado connection repeaters: http://www.colcon.org/
Here's a coverage map. http://www.colcon.org/fig/colcon_coverage.gif
With an FT-817 and an HF dipole thrown into a tree you can talk all over the country depending on conditions.
So the answer is that coverage depends mostly on where you are for VHF (hills are good, valleys are bad). I carry my HT when I backpack and try to get a repeater contact every once in a while. I've built up a mental map of what areas that I hike in have good repeater coverage and what areas don't. Nothing is going to be a 100% solution. Sometimes I backpack with the FT-817 and I can usually get somebody with a little luck and patience. Sometimes, when conditions are good you can make amazing contacts.
Get a Technician license and an 2m HT and give it a try. Carrying some thin coax, a roll-up J-pole antenna, and something to get it into a tree will help tremendously. There are also folks that make very lightweight backpacking Yagi antennas. Antenna gain is amazing.
N8YY
what about CB radio?
For a small radio, something like the Small Wonders Labs SW-40 is perfect. You can talk on 1 to 2 watts 1,000 miles plus with a modest dipole antenna. The downside is you need to learn Morse code (CW) but that is not too difficult. With the Koch method you can be at 10 wpm in a month. Just takes practice.
The weight is such a rig will be under 1 pound total and will give you many hours of communication.
73,
KD5TGN
For the sake of Peace, the Sword.
An iridium Phone weighs about a pound and would be much more reliable, but the service would be more expensive.
sorry for my comments, I'm drunk
A hydrogen balloon and enough rope to let it get as high as you need.
Take a repeater guide and a small dual band HT. Roll up J-poles are cheap to buy or make. We use amateur radio frequently with search and rescue in Colorado. Elevation will help you get to the many repeaters around the state and give you a way to talk to Search & Rescue, Civil Air Patrol, ARES, and National Guard helos if necessary. A SPOT beacon is also an excellent device for the terrain here as it gives us your coordinates. I volunteer in Teller County with SAR and our hams use amateur radio as much as our dedicated frequencies due to better coverage. Cheap insurance. IMHO. I don't go backcountry without an HT.
Good luck,
N3TCQ
I am a long-time search and rescue technician in Colorado. I got my ham license expressly for SAR work. The short answer is that amateur radio works great in some locations; not at all in others. We use a combination of emergency services radios, amateur radio, and cell phones. We have satellite phones available but I don't recall ever using them.
Personally, I would recommend a SPOT beacon. The newer ones allow you to signal a 911-level emergency, a non-emergent help signal, or an OK signal, along with GPS coordinates. They are lighter than ham HTs and will work in more locations.
Lets not start this debate on slashdot.
"FCC regulation of wattage allowed for handheld transcievers, antenna size, and even vehicle groundplane),"
Uhh. if you could build a 1 kW handheld, you're free to use it. Not that it would be smart, but the beauty of Amateur Radio is that there are very, very few FCC rules on hardware.
Amateur Radio is a Communications "Hobby". An Avocation. Not a service you can subscribe to.
You have to learn how things work, set up your rig(s), antennas and accessories, learn their strengths and weaknesses, learn what modes and bands do what and why, develop your own skills and equipment, practice then - learn more, explore and understand what and how to accomplish your goals and then, "When all else fails", you can be a real asset to user agencies and even yourself. An trained, experienced RF communicator.
But, to just go get a license and expect to be able to meet emergency needs - and worse, set yourself up as such - that's a huge stretch. Yes, there are anecdotes where a few 'n00bs' have helped - but those are the exceptions and even then, they'd have been able to offer more if their foundation was deeper and broader.
That's possibly an insight into why some (of us) hams are so "anti-emergency" appearing in their perspective. If you want an "emergency" radio - go buy one. If you want to equip your emergency service with a 'back up' system. Don't use Amateur Radio - get a backup system.
It's because hams have learned the radio art, when an emergency presents, they can meet the needs "when all else fails". But you can't be proficient in the art just because you have a license. That's just the beginning. But what a journey it is!!
Senior NCO in the fight against entropy. I've seen things, man. Things no one should have to see.....
My recommendation would be to contact the local Ham clubs in the areas you plan to frequent. You may find that there are a number of repeaters in the area you are going to be in.
http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
I would encourage you to become a Ham, I have enjoyed the hobby for the last 8 years. Most Hams worth their radios would gladly sit down and have a conversation with you about whether or not becoming a Ham and getting a radio up in those mountains is worth your time.
You can still do a lot with 5 Watts of power on VHF.
KD7PUA
I'm sure someone basically mentioned this, but under normal circumstances, legally hams only talk to other hams on the radio. If you are wanting it to REPLACE a cell phone, don't do it. If you want it for emergency communication in the event you get hurt, or you want it to just spend time BS'ing to someone else, then it would be perfect.
I have been licensed for roughly 18 years now and I fell out of the hobby about 10 years ago... but I bought a 2m HT about 2 years ago when I started hiking again. I bought an extended life battery and a 5/8 wave antenna that collapses to a 1/4 wave for some added flexibility. I can't say that I carry it with me everywhere I hike, as most places are well travelled paths and most are within cell coverage areas. But when I go to remote places like in Montana or west Texas, I take my radio. I print out a list of repeater frequencies for the area and long/lat cords for each on a piece of paper, then coat it with map seal to waterproof it. This way if I am in trouble, I'm not hunting down repeaters in the area.
I think it's a good investment for my purposes... I don't mind a few extra pounds if I'm heading off into the middle of nowhere.
I tried to wade through a lot of the comments to this, but gave up half way. Sorry if this's been asked.
YOU'RE CAMPING! WTF do you want to be connected for?!? Camping is supposed to be synonymous with "getting away from it all." You're doing it wrong! I don't care if it's the 21st Century; that's no excuse.
As for the other three thousand of of you helping him to make this happen, fsck! Geeky's one thing. Pathological behaviour in any realm is inherently dangerous. You need help!
"Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit
I'd like to score the parent article up as being sensible.
HF is a good bet for longer range communication, but it takes some skill to do it effectively. The 817 is a lovely little radio but to get anywhere on HF you need an antenna. You can make an antenna by throwing a bit of wire into a tree (any trees out there?) or use other means. Really the antenna is the big decider.
If you're going to be making antennas ad-hoc you'll need an antenna matching unit to make up for your innacurate calculations, or will have to have a way of making a matched antenna. Maybe pre-cutting your wire will help or used a ready made one.
There are portable HF antennas. I've not tried them - finding that experimenting with wire is more fun. I imagine that as you get smaller and lighter you will lose efficiency simply because of the large wavelengths at HF and antennas having to be large to resonate. There's a group online called HFPACK (hfpack.com) that's worth looking at. The photo on their page will give you an idea about the antenna situation.
Satellite is going to be easier to use. If you're not interested in radio for radio's sake it's probably the better bet. Radio is a good hobby, but I don't think it's worth learning just for this side use.
Why don't "they" develop a texting system for long-range use? I know the mobile companies would hate it, but a protocol using CW-digital burst on HF channels allocated for this purpose would allow sending a text message along with sender-id, receiver-id, error-correcting, and authentication. The receiver would monitor a set of these channels and filter out the desired messages. One could construct a transceiver that stored received messages with a built-in WLAN and webserver so that a PDA could serve as the GUI so the whole FAMILY could send and receive messages during the whole trip!
Its interesting when you hear about countries and their uprisings the news talks about how they Twitter to get the word out and lately countries like Iran try to seize their internet so as not to allow these protesters to get the word out. With countries trying to control what is getting out to the real world the fall back position just might be old school Ham Radio.
"You can't stop the signal"
Okay, let's start the one about the mobile unit set to cross-band repeat being in violation of FCC regs for not IDing itself every 10 minutes instead.
This ain't rocket surgery.
You are right in considering ham radio.
There are a wide variety of handhelds which can contribute to your enjoyment, safety, and act as a critical link for immediate help if you are lost, hurt, or need additional assistance.
While a ham radio installed in a car will be convenient and more powerful, a handheld seems called for by your comments.
If I were in your spot, I would strongly consider a radio with an included GPS function along with APRS which is a free service which will allow your friends and family (and you) to follow your progress on an accurate topo map.
That's what I would recommend. I'd also consider adding a backup set of batteries or a small solar panel that can fit in a backpack, and of course some detailed maps.
It is possible to make direct person to person contacts with other hikers or drivers, as well as repeater-augmented contacts. A repeater is an automated radio receiver/re-transmitter that is usually owned by a local private club or group, and provided as a courtesy for those passing thru.
The repeater's re-transmitter is usually quite sstrong, 50 or 100 watts, while the typical handheld is 2-5 watts, so having a repeater on your side is almost like having a powerful satellite overhead. Repeaters are most often located on ridge or mountain peaks, and often add a tall antenna mast to increase coverage.
It is possible to talk into your handheld, have it rebroadcast by a repeater, and then get phone-patched to a landline or cell phone. Your contact may also traverse the internet.
The GPS/APRS feature causes a stream of radio packets to indicate and move to track your position on a map, and is the fastest way of being found. The 2 meter ham band is one of the better band for your challenge; it's frequencies range from approx 144Mhz to 148mhz.
Another radio option open to you is the Family Radio service, where radios have 1-3watts of power; useful in coordinating the activities of a small group.
Don't forget CB radios still exist and offer decent coverage in some areas. They are typically mounted in vehicles or at home stations.
Finally, there are GPS devices designed to help you from getting lost, and sounding an alarm. One such appears in the latest issue of Wired magazine.
For all around functionality, I'd go with a strong ham radio handheld with a GPS feature, and ask about upgrading to APRS. Buy an extra set of batteries or two, and depending on how you will recharge them, you may consider a car recharger, or a solar backpack recharger.
You'll find that ham's are naturally handy and helpful, and enjoy "rag chewing" just yakking about any topic, so you won't feel so isolated and alone if you have coverage; it may require you occasionally trek up to a hill top for best coverage, but it is a skill which could easily save or augment someone else's life, and works in a private plane, on a boat, on a horse, on a river, and nearly everywhere on earth.
It's a skill worth having. Then after your trip, you may decide to get an inexpensive home unit, and expand the borders of your life a bit, while learning a useful skill which comes in handy any time there is a flood or storm or someone else is in need.
Have fun!
To be honest who do you want to talk to? Emergency personnel? get a SPOT or PLB to call for help. They really don't want to have a "conversation" with you. They want to know your exact location so they can get there ASAP. If you fall or are injured setting up and operating a ham radio may not be possible. You need something push button simple.
OTOH, if it is for blabbing to your friends, having the wife or work call you, updating facebook, etc then DON'T go hiking! IMHO the real beauty of hiking in the back country is enjoying the natural beauty, solitude or company of a good friend. Schlepping every bit of technology with you really detracts from that.
My only reason for having a ham license is to communicate with my club members as outlined above. I don't involve myself with the greater 'ham' community other than to pay my membership dues in the local repeater society to help support the ongoing maintenance of the repeater network. In listening to some of these guys talk while on my way to work, I envision a rescue call going something like so:
- K2BRK Mayday Mayday Mayday. Anyone listening
+ K2BRK K2HLP what is the nature of your emergency
- I've injured my back and I'm trapped under a log in the Shwitzer valley. I need help.
+ Wow. The Shwitzer valley is a long way away. What rig are you using?
- A yaesu vx-3r and a yoyodyne G8 SMC antenna. Please send help.
+ Oh, I have one of those antennas. It's a good unit. I paid $38 from YingCo on eBay. Thank you for the contact K2BRK. K2HLP clear.
Just kidding. I suspect most basement Ham radio geeks are literally waiting for the day where they can assist in some sort of emergency situation.
http://boatantenna.com/cellular/cellphone_signal_boosters.htm
I'm unsure if it's legal or if it even works.
I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
I used to work for St. John's School of Alberta, and their sister school in Manitoba. We did major trips in the lake country and in the mountains. (3 week canoe trips, 10 day hikes)
Before sat comm, we used SBX 11 radios. They weighed about 12 lbs, and used 9 D cells. The antenna was another 3-4 lbs. Both were bulky enough that the radio + antenna was one person's total share of the group gear. At that point the phone company had mobile operators. The Alberta school had it's own base station and frequency.
My recollection is that the two frequencies we used most were 7 and 5 MHz -- made for long antennas. Getting them high enough was a chore, as well as finding a clear patch.
Typically we would try to communicate each evening, on the hour starting from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. If we didn't get through we'd try one more time before breaking camp.
It was a crap shoot. We'd get through every 3-4 days and let people know we were all right.
Once satellite communication became available, we dropped the SSB radios. A sat phone rented for about $300 per month -- cheap when you are taking other people's kids into the bush. Probably cheaper now.
For individuals, I'd recommend the SPOT system. Your local mountain equipment stores may rent them.
If you are clever you can communicate a lot more than "I'm ok" "I need help" by using the intervals between communications to send info.
Third Career: Tree Farmer Second Career: Computer Geek First Career: Teacher, Outdoor Instructor, Photographer.
Portable Ham radios often don't have enough power to get outside of valleys and low-lying areas in otherwise mountainous country. Even with access to repeaters, you still need good line-of-sight to get to them. Our Quad Unit, Dog Teams, and Backcountry ground-pounders all carry 5-watt hand held radios and we usually have to set up a 4x4 unit with a hard mount radio as a relay although more of the Quad guys are getting 50-watt hard mounts for their vehicles. In some areas of the county where we have lousy radio reception even with repeaters, we have a portable repeater made from two 50-watt hard mount radios and that gets taken out in the field to provide signal to the really remote areas. In addition to hard mount and handheld radios, I personally have a cellphone booster. This gadget works pretty darn well but you need to be able to plug it into 12 volts. SPOT beacons are excellent. We've had several rescues in the county with subjects that had these. Basically, the signal gets picked up by the nearest military base who then contacts the county Sheriff's office with the coordinates. And satellite phones solve lots of problems other than cost. Be damn sure you have a GPS and lots of batteries. And be REALLY DAMN sure that you tell people where you are going and when you expect to return. If there is a backcountry log at the trailhead, fill it out. And finally, BE VERY VERY VERY suspicious of magazine articles that tell you to get off the trail. That's total bullshit and incredibly irresponsible on the part of the magazine.
If someone's looking for a small, low-power CW-only unit, I humbly suggest the Elecraft KX1. Pluses: about the size of a paperback, runs on 6 AA batteries, claimed battery life at 1-2W is 20 to 30 hours of "casual operation", base model operates 20M and 40M, has an optional internal antenna tuner so a random-wire antenna will provide good results, and by all reports is a very reliable unit. Minuses: it's a kit, so if you're not comfortable with a soldering iron it's probably not for you, and doesn't have its own key unless you buy the optional plug-in paddles.
Were it me, I'd plop down the bucks on the kit, add the tuner option and maybe the 30M and 80M modules as well, spend a few evenings putting it together, and stash it and a couple of fifty-foot rolls of hookup wire in my pack, along with some extra batteries "just in case". I may not need it, but added to whatever other personal-safety equipment I have along, it's one more possible avenue of communication.
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Elecraft.
All the world's an analog stage, and digital circuits play only bit parts.
Much of this post has to do with making the connection under *any* conditions. If you can reach the top of one of our 14ers, make a simple J-pole antenna using it instead of the built in rubber duck, and ground a 5W HT with a screwdriver jammed in the ground, you can hit pretty much anything you want. Your mileage will of course vary, and I pack 2 different rigs depending on what I am doing.
The issue isn't reception, it's transmission. You will need more than a 5W HT to reliably hit anything from anywhere unless you do your homework and keep to the range of your radio... but if you had to do that, you'd probably stick to a cell phone, right? ...Which brings me to the second point. Ham radio isn't like what folks see in the movies. We can't make a radio out of coconut hulls and a hairpin and reach a voice 200 miles away, but you already knew that. you have to select a band in which to operate, know what resources are available in that band and area, and pack something in with enough punch to hit it.
First of all, band. Low frequency is better in our mountains. I work 2M (144MHz, VHF), but 6M (50MHz) would be better, 70cm (440MHz, UHF) is worse. A rule of thumb here is that sound is a lower frequency than light, right? While light is line of sight, sound can get around corners. Oversimplified, but the principle remains the same. The reason that lower frequencies are better in our mountains, is that line of sight is often very limited by the landscape. Running WiFi out here can be a real nightmare.
Next up is resources. Unfortunately, there are more user friendly resources available for UHF than at 2M, and 6M operators are pretty much on their own. That isn't as bad as it sounds though. 6M can really reach out and touch someone, especially if the atmospheric conditions are right for a skip. 2M may not have that many repeaters (particularly here in Southern Colorado) but it has descent range. UHF has all the toys it seems, but outside the metro area and in the mountains, it is of limited use. If you are down in a canyon with a good bit of iron and can't climb, you won't reach emergency services 15 miles away with 35W on UHF, but 2M will.
Power. Yeah, it is all about that. If I am running by myself, I carry a cheap 5W 2M HT. I have a home made J-pole antenna built into my pack and it works just fine. I have modified my radio with a jack connected to the chassis (RF ground). I simply connect a wire from this jack to a screwdriver jammed in the dirt. My record is 47miles with good line of sight, altitude and grounding. If I am doing SAR, I can't rely on the fact that I can make the conditions ideal. My rig for this is a Yaesu FT-897 radio with an LDG AT-897 autotuner. The Buddipole antenna does everything I need and at 20W on multiple bands I can hit what I need on VHF. Better still, I can rig a bypass on the limiter (which limits you to 20 watts while running on batteries) and transmit at 100W briefly if conditions are really in the toilet. Unfortunately, this rig is both heavy and expensive. The whole shebang ran me about a grand and tips the scales at 20 pounds.
If you can work CW (morse code) rather than voice, you can work the planet on bands as low as 160M with only a few watts and an improvised antenna. Radios for these bands weigh ounces and fit in altoids tins. The antennas are the real weight there, as they tend to either be huge or have a lot of tuning components to really work well.
Hope this post clarified more than it confused. If you happen down this way for a hike, look me up!
Best regards and 73,
KD0CXH
I'm supprised that no one has mentioned it, but there is a national calling frequency (146.25MHz FM, Simplex) which can be used in the absence of local repeaters etc.
Not only could this be a life saver for you and your party, by monitoring this whilst in the wild you may be able to help others in difficulty.
Under limited battery/power situation, the recommendation is to TX/Monitor 'on the hour'.
I just got a new Icom 703+ and purchased a 18aH 12V SLA battery for it. I use a Par EndFedz 10/20/40m dipole thrown up into a tree and can talk to anyone worldwide. Now, this doesn't cover local 2m/70cm frequencies, but it's a great setup to take backpacking which doesn't weigh too much. I use the bigger battery because I want as much operating power at that 10W I can get. You can downsize to a smaller 7-10aH battery to cut weight. But keep in mind you may also cut your transmit power too. The Yaesu FT-817 is also a fine choice and in my opinion smaller and lighter than the 703, but you can only do around 5w out max. It comes with a battery back built in though.
Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day.
I had the same question, but sometimes I'm in a forest canopy area. Therefore, I would assume higher frequency ranges, especially in the Ghz range, would not work there. So in a forest setting, what comms would work best? 40m? 60m? Would PLBs work in a forest?
N.B. short wave is not a phone service. It is illegal to use it as such with some interesting exceptions.
Amateur radio is alive and well and a one watt 40meter CW transceiver in a tin of mints with a spool of antenna wire is very packable.
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain.
send email using APRS to one of many available satellites, although you may only get a few good passes each day-
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/information/faqs/aprs.php
including the international space station-
http://www.ariss.net/
many APRS handheld radios are available-
yaesu vx-8r:
http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=111&encProdID=64C913CDBC183621AAA39980149EA8C6
kenwood th-d72:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/3072.html
I only saw one poster mention NVIS...
NVIS is a form of propagation where the RF is sent vertical, and reflects off the ionosphere. The result of this is that your coverage ranges about 200 miles from your location. You will need to use 80m day or night, or 40m during the day. 5 to 10w should work if you're using CW. Since you are sending the RF vertical, being in a valley won't be an issue. Since NVIS works best with antennas low to the ground, your antenna setup is simplified even though you'll need a bigger antenna.
I have used NVIS to check into qrp nets so I know it can work, though I'd expect the SPOT solution to be more size efficient and more reliable.
Check out Elecraft K1 or KX-1if you are interested in some decent kit-built backpacking radios.
I have a CB in the jeep too, right next to the 2M/HF rigs. Very handy knowing what the road conditions are, especially in winter, here in Montana -- mother nature can be quite the temperamental lady. And while there may not always be a ham on the road, there are always truckers.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Rent one when you're going out. Return it to the vendor when you get back. ;reception is appropriate ; available for rental without too much difficulty.
Weight is appropriate (I met an RAF mountain rescue team trialling an early one about 15 years ago ; eminently packable, though hardly light weight) ; dimensions are appropriate
Cost is the biggest reason for not owning one. Which is why there is a reasonable market for them for rent. Do roadworks in the middle of nowhere (cellphone-reception-wise, that can be almost anywhere) and it very quickly gets to be a justifiable business expense.
But frankly, I'd look at the human factors first. If you're on your own, what are you doing that you can't face the thought of crawling on a broken knee for a few days to get back to "civilisation" ? ; if you're in a group, why don't you have confidence in the ability of your group to get assistance and get you off? ; if you're leading a party, why don't you have confidence in yourself to get your party to safety while managing casualties. If you've not addressed those human factors, then you can be guaranteed that your technological fix will short a circuit (or have a flat battery) at precisely the wrong moment.
Murphy's Law : if it can go wrong, it will.
Extended Murphy's Law : if it can go wrong, it will go wrong, in the most inconvenient possible way, at the most inconvenient possible time.
Murphy was an optimist.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Just make yourself one of these
www.norcalqrp.org/files/Epiphyte3Mnl.pdf
Art is the mathematics of emotion
Just like iPhone, the antenna is the key. Antennas that come on must fm hand-helds are not very good, you can however improve this but fm 2m transmission is going to get you 20 mile radius at best without ancillary gear. Now if that gets you to a repeater...like a cel tower...you mare good to go. Other radios, which require a higher class of licence, with a decent antenna, can just be a properly cut length of wire, will give you cross country and better performance but most small unit are low in wattage again raising challenges. Best option on that front is to go with digital mode like psk31 combined with small radio like icon ic-706 with nue-psk and a small keyboard....quite a bit more than carrying cell phone
Summary answer - it depends. There will be situations where a ham rig is the only thing that works, and situations where nothing works. Regardless, the up-thread comments about being prepared for a back country trek apply first, last, and always. A few suggestions re: radios for back country:
All: Especially at VHF & UHF frequencies, altitude is your friend. Several thousand feet of elevation and a clear shot at the horizon can compensate for limited power & antenna.
All: Look for something that will do more than one thing for you - a radio that receives NOAA Weather Radio frequencies, AM & FM broadcast, and can monitor local ranger & S&R channels (assuming you have that info) may be more useful than a radio that is FRS-only or 2 meter amateur only.
All: With antennas, bigger is usually better.
All: battery life vs weight - lithium rechargeable provide the most oomph but you need to recharge eventually. AA batteries are ubiquitous (at least at stores near trail heads) but have a weight penalty.
By service:
- FRS: +higher user density, cheap, no license. - limited power, limited antenna = limited coverage.
- 2M amateur: + reasonable probability of local assistance **if** a repeater is in range. Strong benefit from altitude. Reasonable weight for a 5W radio. Some have GPS & APRS built-in.
- limited range, battery/power consumption, the stock "rubber duck" antennas usually suck.
- HF amateur: + reasonable chance someone someplace will hear you, followed by lengthy set of phone calls while they locate the appropriate authorities and convince them they are not a nut (followed by high probability you'll get written up in a future issue of QST). There are a huge number of trail-friendly radios/kits available; almost all are CW (Morse code) only. Several radios are about size of an Altoids tin, antenna can be 2 pieces of wire about 33-66 ft in length (7MHz band).
- limited performance if voice (SSB) is required, antennas can become bulky/tedious to deploy.
If I were doing it: I'd look at 3 radios, depending upon my specific needs & interests:
- VHF/UHF + all-band reception: Yaesu VX8 (I have one) with built-in or add-on (2 models) GPS and 2 aftermarket antennas - a long flexi whip, and a roll-up jpole with feedline (can make or buy). Will give you good performance, Weather band, broadcast band, and public service reception, GPS location/elevation, limited APRS. Weather-resistant packaging. If I wanted smaller/no GPS, I'd look at the other Yaesu radios with weather-resistant enclosures. Limitation - no or very degraded operation with AA batteries; either carry spare pack or make up an external battery pack that uses AAs.
- HF "all mode". Only 1 choice - Yaesu FT817. Get 2M & 70cm as a bonus, but no public service or weather radio reception (I think - mine is a much older model). long whip and roll-up jpole for VHF, wire for HF. Wire antenna will have to be cut to operating frequency or you need an external tuner as the radio lacks one. Can use internal AA batteries or 3rd party NiMH or lithium packs, or external power. Downsides are size, weight, and power consumption - better than many factory radios, but not up to trail-friendly standards.
- HF CW. One of the Altoids-size single band CW rigs. I'd opt for 40M if I could have only one band. For factory/better-kit built, look at the (Chinese) HB1 (I think that's the model), TenTec sells same as a 2-band radio, the Elecraft KX1, or the PFR or ATS series. HB1, TenTec, and KX1 are multi band, reasonably wide frequency coverage, designed for low power consumption, have built-in tuner. The company that sells the HB1 (check ebay) has recently a
That'd be a good place to start. If you can't find one, www.arrl.org and www.qrz.com are other good places to start.
Yes, Amateur Radio is often more reliable than cell phones. No, it is not just a hobby, it is listed as a service which is growing in numbers with a high percentage of newcomers being young people. It served as one of the primary means of communication after Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti. Field day is listed as training exercise for operating under emergency conditions. Also each year exercises (simulated emergencies) are run working with local, state, and national agencies. BUT to the original question: In the rugged back country it is quite easy to reach a point where no radio communications is possible, be it satellite, SPOT, or Ham Radio, particularly if you have fallen. Probably SPOT would be the most reliable, but he indicated he wants more than that. At least messaging capability and not complete isolation from civilization. There are many areas in the Rockies and particularly in and near the National Park where 2-meter repeaters work well, but they do not give complete coverage, or didn't when I was there. BTW for 2-meter coverage 5 watts is plenty for all but very rare instances. A repeater directory will give all the frequencies including tone access. Any HTs should be programmed well ahead of any trip, but carrying a directory which is about the same size as a king size pack of cigarettes is good insurance. Wandering the back country alone is a peaceful and enjoyable experience, but none of us are immortal and accidents do happen. Hence the buddy system and a planned area left with those you know back in civilization. So it gets down to how much risk is a person willing to take and just how far will he be getting "off the beaten path". IMO Ham Radio does offer some more reliability, but so does each additional piece of equipment over the basic SPOT. OTOH it takes time and money to earn the license. A good multi-band HT is relatively inexpensive at $300 to $400. Were it me (and it's not) and my only use for Ham Radio would be to carry it into the wilderness, I'd probably pass. As I'm already licensed, I'd certainly carry at least a 5W HT such as the VX7R (I have 2 of them) along with a couple of extra batteries in *addition* to SPOT. As peaceful as it can be, I'd not walk far in the back country without company and preferably another knowledgeable hiker. Knowledge of the area would certainly be a plus.
You're quite right. I've got an FT-817, and I take it camping. I've got a slingshot and some twine, plus 120 feet of thin wire hooked up to make an inverted-L antenna. A year or so ago I was camping up moderate-high in the Sierra Nevada, in a valley where cell-phone or 2m/440 reception would be out of the question. I used my slingshot to hoist the high end of the antenna up about 35 feet and made contact with a guy in Texas on my 2.5 watts, no problem. I was working him CW, but I'm sure he would have heard me on SSB, too.
You can also buy a little solar panel for the FT-817, amusingly enough. But it's probably a better idea just to pack along some extra AAs.
For my money if you really want to guarantee emergency communication, I would get one of those tiny QRP rigs that Elecraft sells, with built-in paddles, then pack along a slingshot, twine, and a few hundred feet of wire to make a 40m inverted-L. That gives you solid regional day and night coverage at a cost of less than a pound or so. Of course, in this case you do need to learn code, but it's not like that's actually hard.
I routinely carry a Yaesu FT-817 and a full load-out of accessories, including solar panel to keep the batteries charged, when I go camping / backpacking. With all the stuff necessary to operate it over the HF / VHF / UHF bands it comes to around 8 - 10 pounds in the volume of a standard camera bag. I carry it for ham radio's sake, not as an emergency tool, though I do not discount the possible utility. Most of the points I would make are already stated above. If all you want is emergency rescue, get the SPOT beacon. If ham radio still sounds interesting, try arrl.org to find a club in your area and licensing info. Ham radio has a long tradition of helping out newcomers.
I think it's worth noting that this is kind of exactly the reason there was a surge of folks, as I recall, getting their ticket in the mid-80s, when 2m repeaters really took off. Quite a lot of guys used the thing as more or less a cell phone, or really car phone, since HTs were still pretty bulky. Not only to set up meetings and stuff with other hams, but also to put a call through the patch to say he'd be home late or what else was he supposed to get at the store?
I think there's room for people who at least start off thinking they'd like a "cell phone" that works even when the power and phones lines are all out from a hurricane. After all, they're doing no harm, they're paying their dues to keep the bands ours, and -- who knows? -- it's entirely possible at some point they might drift into something more technical. This is to even leave out the possibility they might get involved in some RACES or ARES work and put their skills to use for the community.
I don't think the guy should be discouraged for social reasons. Sure, he should know about the technical limitations, but otherwise, go for it and welcome.
I'm a member of a search and rescue team in Colorado. We use amateur radio (2 meter) for backup. So when our team VHF, county 800, and cellphones don't work, ham does. Realize that you'll need some elevation in most backcountry locations to hit a repeater or someone on simplex. Consider getting a second antenna, like a telescoping whip or at least a quarter wave wire. Of course, satellite is getting relatively inexpensive and should be considered.
But the reality is that I carry 4 radios/devices to ensure I can talk to someone. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone.
If you go the PLB route, please register the device. It would be nice to just be able to call the owner once for a false alarm instead of trying to track one down. SPOT is a nice idea but we had trouble accessing their dispatch center on the one SPOT search that I've done.
I feel your pain. I have forwarded the question to a friend of mine who backpacks in the PNW frequently. He will tell you that the way to go is to learn Morse code and travel with a lightweight low-power QRP rig and use a wire antenna in the trees.
You can make long-distance contacts with VHF SSB, from high points with decent antennas, but only if someone is listening, i.e. during a contest. You can't count on it at any old time, and you may not be high enough with a clear view in the right direction.
Personally, having frequently failed to get out with low power FM and SSB VHF HTs from the boonies (including APRS), I am looking at a digital (PSK) solution. That will depend on a netbook/laptop with a very good battery and something like a Flex 1500 or Softrock Ensemble transceiver. Or a Signallink USB with an SSB HT. And a good antenna like a Buddipole. Wire is fine if the trees are in the right places.
I carry a Spot as well these days. There is a new version with a Magellan GPS that does two-way comms now. Not cheap though.
Good luck and 73
Barry, VE7VIE/WV2J