Ham radio in the backcountry?

Posted by: kd6hul

Ham radio in the backcountry? - 11/06/15 05:35 AM

Any hams taking a rig into the backcountry? Anyone doing QRP HF in the field?

I'm thinking of making a Raspberry Pi into a software defined radio transceiver using a TV tuner dongle and a longwire antenna but not sure about what to use for a power supply. It would need a screen and a little keyboard/mouse combo, as I'd like to do PSK as well as voice and CW.

Has anyone done something like this? Or anything else small and fun for backcountry HF?

Jeff KD6HUL
Posted by: Dryer

Re: Ham radio in the backcountry? - 11/07/15 08:39 AM

Yup, for years. I tend to go minimalist. MFJ QRP Cub on 20 meters, CW only. Now days there's probably an iPhone app for PSK if you are into that. I generally use 8 AA cells, a homebrew tiny CW paddle, and a 1/2 wave wire against a 1/4 wave counterpoise (sometimes the counterpoise isn't needed), tuned by a simple LC network that weighs under an ounce. Sometimes I bring a lightweight, tuned, dipole. The weight is the same, dipole vs. 1/2 wave wire/tuner.
What you want to do is more than I like to carry but I'd like to hear what you come up with. If you have an unlimited budget, Elecraft makes a dandy trail radio.