Originally Posted By Dryer

I've got quite a bit of experience with the 817. If you go through the menu and shut down everything that requires power, and run the HF side at 1 watt, you can make the batteries last quite a while. It can be a power hog....but it's a heck of a little radio. Folks who buy them usually won't sell 'em. grin

Back country antennas I use:
1) 1/2 wave wire against a 1/4 wave counterpoise. I built a tuner from a poly-varicon cap and a hand wound coil with taps, all in an Altoids tin. 24 ga. wire, no coax except between radio and tuner. This is the lightest system I've come up with.
2) Pre-cut, tuned, inverted "V" with RG-174U coax. Light, but a one band antenna. Super easy setup, no tuner needed if you only work one band (which I usually do).
3) kite hoisted long wire. I use another homemade L-C network tuner with 200ft. of 28ga. wire, and a pocket parafoil kite. This one requires a 1 meg ohm bleed resistor to ground or you'll fry the radio from static discharg. It's the most fun of the three antennas I've hiked with.

Didn't mean to hijack this post....get two hams talking and things go downhill from there.LOL


Thanks for the advice on the antennas. I'll have to check that out. I plan on getting involved with SAR, ARRES and a few other agencies for emergencies, forest fires, events.... I also ride a dirt bike that I can use to get in to the back country for thing like that. I was looking at some wires that that cover 80 thru 10. Im still new to HF and learning more about antennas and all the lingo. That is one thing I hate about HAM operators of old. there is plenty of stuff out there for hams but information on what it all does and mean.... for example it took me a while to figure out what an ATU is or what DSP does....

I tried starting a new thread just for hams but either it needs approval or i don't have enough good standing to post a thread.