I’ve just stumbled on the following whilst doom-scrolling a feed. I’ve not digested it all yet, but looks like a really compact and lightweight means of carrying 2m VHF on a SOTA Activation;
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My initial reaction is, why bother?
It seems [from the video] you need to build (or buy?) a separate hardware module to which you attach a 2m whip antenna and attach both to your Android phone.
So, it’s not like your Android phone can become a 2m FM transceiver at any random time you wish you could go 2m QRV. You need to have remembered to take the hardware module and 2m antenna as well.
I rarely want to use my Yaesu 2m 5W FM HT for ad hoc QSOs outside of SOTA and vacations. But if I did, I’ve never considered carrying the HT a burden (either weight or volume).
And I suspect my Yaesu HT has better air-on performance, a lot of features and other advantages the ‘toy’ phone add-on doesn’t have.
As for SOTA activations, I would not want to compromise safety by using my phone (important for GPS navigation and possible emergency calls) for battery-draining QSOs.
IMO if anyone thinks the weight and volume savings (i.e. 2m HT vs this adapter module) is significant, I wonder if they should even be walking in the hills and mountains.
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Technically perhaps a reasonable idea. However, I personally prefer to use my phone’s battery for phoning, texting, 4G access, GPS cross-referencing and the odd photo. When I’m well off grid, then I take a backup power pack with me to provide more capacity for the phone. I wouldn’t want something like this to effectively reduce my phone’s operating time.
Like Andy says, if you’re concerned about the weight of a handheld, then you need to review whether you should be on the hills. IMHO not one for SOTA.
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