NOVEMBER 3 VICTOR ECHO MIKE
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NOVEMBER 3 VICTOR ECHO MIKE

ham radio Projects and musings from a (Relatively) new operator

Is it Even Worthwhile

3/21/2016

2 Comments

 
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     So here is my dilemma - I have a work trip coming up, where I would have time to operate, and I'll be near a couple National Parks that would qualify for NPOTA.  The catch is, I'll be flying with no checked baggage, and at the moment I don't have much of a kit that I can take with me in the carry-on / personal item.  Because I do a decent amount of traveling for work, I have my system down, that I can go for up to a week out of just a backpack, so everything I take with me needs to fit in there, plus maybe a "personal item."
​     Part of my standard carry-on however, is a cheap Baofeng HT.  I don't usually take a "personal item" like you can have on a plane, but it would be possible for me to take my Buddipole in it's bag as my personal item. The only other thing I have that I could potentially take with me would be my, also cheap, Pofung (Baofeng) UHF only mobile radio that is about 50w out - I could get my hands on a pretty sizeable 12v battery to run it on once I get to my destination.  This means that if I would decide to try to activate a park on this particular trip I would have 2 potential methods of operating:
  1. 2 meter, FM Simplex.  Baofeng HT (4-5ish watts),  Buddiepole set up as a 2 meter, 3 element beam.
  2. 440, FM Simplex.  Pofung Mobile (50ish watts), Buddiepole set up as a 3 element beam if I can get it resonant, or if I can't, I can either set it up as J-pole or vertical dipole
So - here's my question;  is it worth doing the activation this way, and is there any chance for a cold thing in that hot place, that I would be able to bag 10 contacts using either of these methods, on normally "dead" sections of the bands? 2 meters has a better chance of getting out, and having folks come back to me, but I could put out more power on 440.  Two of the parks are fairly close to population centers, so they would have that going for them...

Should I go for it?  Comment and let me know...
Aw shucks - I might as well at least take some of the gear. Even if I don't get enough contacts for it to count for me, it would count for anyone I talk to. Even if I don't go to one of the parks, I'd still be playing with my radios, so there's fun in that either way! It's also a good lesson in the fact that I need to put together a little QRP setup for myself, like a TunaTin rig that I can just stick in the Buddiepole bag.

2 Comments
WR2E
3/22/2016 18:07:08

"like a TunaTin rig that I can just stick in the Buddiepole bag. "

Hmmmm... I wonder how this stuff is going to go over with the gestapo at the airport checkpoints?

Reply
Vance - N3VEM
3/22/2016 21:07:32

I don't think it should be a problem, but if it does, it'll make for a good story! I always travel with an HT in my carry on, and that has never raised an eyebrow, so I should be good there. I do a fair bit of flying, and I've seen people bring some crazy contraptions on planes - tripods for camera equipment, etc. so I don't think my stuff will set off flags any differently than those - BUT - maybe I'll do some browsing on the TSA website before I leave, and I'll give myself plenty of time when I go to the airport in case I have to abandon ship and drag stuff back out to the car....

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         Welcome to my Ham Radio Blog!  This blog was started primarily to share my two concurrent shack builds - my mobile station and my home station.  Over time, this has grown to include sharing about my operations, and general radio-related thoughts that I have as a newer operator.  
         
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