@KB1HQS Thanks for the hint regarding the PD charger/power bank, I will have a look at that. For the hiking: We’ll stay in motels/hostels roughly once a week, depending on weather and availability. The rest of the time, we obviously will stay at shelters/tent sites. We’ve used the Guthook App on our last 1000 mile-hike in 2017 and it’s a really good source for recent information about water sources etc.
@G4TGJ & @MW0IDX my TH-D72 doesn’t have the mod (yet) - but anyway, like I said before, I’m not sure if I will bring that or something else. Did you have any trouble at customs with “non-US” radios?
Most of you have written to bring a HF radio. The problem with that is: I can only operate in SSB, because my CW knowledge is, well… more or less non existent. With only 5 months from now until starting the hike, I think I won’t be able to improve that much, unfortunately. Keeping in mind that I’ll also have to do at least the Technician class now. As a Technician I would also only be able to operate on 10m in SSB (correct me if I’m wrong!).
Like I said, we’re not that much into ultralight hiking, nevertheless: Weight is really an issue. So it’s more like a decision between VHF or HF
I’ve never had a problem with a non USA radio, e.g Kenwood HT/FT857 getting through customs in the past. Keep in a box marked HAM radio with your callsign (home licence) along with your carry on.
Before I got my general licence (K3IDX) I just signed W3/MW0IDX etc which gave me more privileges than my general licence does now. Although the rules might have changed since, best to check.
Plenty of time to learn CW before you go, even if rudimentary, you’ll still make plenty contacts.
In just 1 month after a one hour a day Monday to Friday training on 2m FM, I went from zero to making my 1st CW QSO with a German station on 10m back in 1985.
You have time to do it as long as your other duties and priorities let you some daily time to work on it. But you know priorities can always be changed…
You would be amazed what progress you can make doing say, 10-15 minutes every couple of days practicing Morse. Once you have learned to copy and send the basics (letters, numbers, and a few pro-signs like VA and KN) you won’t need to get very fast.
Most chasers will be more than happy to work you the activator at 5 - 12 wpm. For the few that won’t slow down to match your speed, simply ignore them or send PSE QRS.
I just wanted to pop in and say that long distance hikes is an entire subgerne on YouTube. I got sucked in real deep a few months ago. The only reason I bring this up is this - when long distance hiking the AT you have a couple of options for places to sleep.
Carry sleeping gear with you and where you end up is where you sleep. On a few sections of the AT I have hiked signs will tell you that you can’t camp after certain heights.
ALOT of hostels / towns along the way you can plan it out so that you don’t have to sleep outside all the time.
I bring these things up because you won’t always have to carry a lot of heavy stuff with you or worry about power to recharge your gear. Sure powerbanks will be helpful but you will also need to charge those.
I thru hiked the the AT 2 years ago. I was with a guy who videoed the entire trip. As far as power went, he had one power block which he would recharge when able. About every 4 or 5 days there was a chance to plug in. From Georgia to New York. A lot of the shops and cafes have charging strips out front since they know people will be looking to recharge device. Sometimes parks had plugs ins if you looked.
I’d suggest the Yeasu VX6R (waterproof and tough) a extra LiPo VX6R battery and the AA battery tray so you would have 3 power sources. AA batteries are easy to transport and find.
For antennas a Roll-Up Jpole (I have a N9TAX) and a Signal Stick or two. The signal sticks glow in the dark (very important trust me!) Both of these antennas are compact, Rollup and are lightweight.
If you can get your code skills up to speed the MTR or similar is, in addition to the HT the way to go!
Good luck! I plan to be on the AT a lot this summer activating summits and hope to run into you!
I learned enough CW in about three months to make SOTA QSOs. It doesn’t have to be fast or sexy, just enough to get the requisite SOTA exchange of info. I only spent about 30 min a day on my commute to get to that point. Yes, you can do it.
Also when you have Wi-Fi access at Hostels, take full advantage of the ‘Alert’ feature on the SOTA site to let people know when you plan to be on which summit. You can set up alerts several days in advance, with a freq and time in mind. That will increase your chances of getting QSOs when/where you can’t spot. In the comments, ask chasers to spot you.
I started studying CW in August 2020 and completed my first SOTA CW activation in Dec 2020. The only thing I could do was copy callsigns (usually with a repeat) and signal reports, but that’s the minimum of what you need to know how to do. I just used a script for my part of the CW exchange and since I was the activator that drove the chasers to send what I was expecting.
That’s a good point. SOTA CW QSOs are usually almost as brief as contest exchanges. If you don’t catch the other guy’s name or QTH it doesn’t really matter. Although you have to exchange reports you are not required to log them for your SOTA log upload. Don’t worry about all the fancy pro-signs, if you can copy the incoming callsign correctly, you have [along with time of day, band, mode] the minimum requirement for your log.
Here’s a typical exchange when I’m an activator: cq sota de g8cpz
do4sky do4sky ga ur 559 559 bk
ga tks ur 569 569 bk r r 73 tu e e
Many chasers know the summit ref as they already checked alerts or spots, but I send it every 5 minutes or so, or when someone asks me like this …
ur ref? my ref g/ld058 g/ld058 ok? bk
Well, okay, I must say that you’ve kind of convinced me to give CW a try and see if I make enough progress until we fly over. So I will postpone my decision regarding my gear a little bit. It’s always good to have a goal to achieve, I guess.
Anyway, I will keep you updated. I’m pretty stunned receiving so much feedback, didn’t expect that!
I can recommend joining the Long Island CW Club if you want to learn CW. They’re a thoroughly nice bunch of people and you’ll get a lot of support there.
They are a dedicated bunch and you can also jump in and out of lessons as you fancy. I decided to bite the bullet and become a lifetime member and haven’t regretted it.
That’s what I did as well. At the moment, I’m struggling to fit the classes I want to attend in between work and everything else, but that’s why their approach really suits me. I attended loads of classes during the autumn and as a result I’m down to less than $1/class now in terms of how much they have costed me. Can’t complain about that.
Have you considered (tr)uSDX by Manuel DL2MAN.de I would say this might be your answer to light low power consumption HF SSB TRX at 5W.
Antenna wise I would consider EFHW4010 either in short version (~12mtr wire with coil) covering 40/20/10 or long version (~20mtr wire no coil) covering 40/20/15/10. I am happy to assist with a build.
On longer trails I would consider solar power for your radio/mobile/GPS/powerbanks/tent light. 20-30W small panel should do.
If you pass through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or New York send me an email at dnaprstek@gmail.com and I’ll make sure someone if not myself is on 2m FM to spot you (and chase). My work schedule is a little crazy, if not me AJ2I could probably chase you, and N2YTF in New York will defenitely chase you. Posting Alerts, even if the timeframe is very vauge, helps alot. 2 meter FM simplex can be quiet in this area, but we do have some great chasers, they will go out of the way to listen for you, and Alerts will help them alot.
I can also bring supplies, radio or otherwise if you need anything hiking through the area. I’m pretty sure there are other “trail angels” in the area, but they wont know what a BNC to SMA adapter is lol.
73
Dave Naprstek K2CZH
(Located in W2/NJ)
PS:
Appalachian Trail Summits I’ve Done:
W3/PD-007 Snowy Mountain (Good propogation south into W4V)
W3/PH-001 Berk’s County HP (Renamed from Camp Blue Mtn South 2021)
W3/PH-005 Lehigh County HP (New Summit as of 2021)
W3/PO-029 Smiths Gap Benchmark (Renamed 2021)
W3/PO-025 Nazareth Reservoir Mtn (Slight detour off trail)
W2/NJ-003 Kittatinny Mtn (Slight detour off trail)
W2/NJ-001 High Point
W2/GC-076 Sterling Benchmark (Not sure where the AT enters) Expect Loud booms from nearby Army Base
W2/GC-054 West Mountain Mtn
W2/GC-077 Bear Mountain Mtn (The busiest summit ever)
W1/MB-001 Mount Greylock (Very bad 2 meter QRM bring a band pass filter)
Lukas, I believe you are permitted to use full US privileges since you have a CEPT license. I do not see any restrictions based on license class in the FCC part 97 Rules.
“or who holds a CEPT radio-amateur license”
Look up Part 97, section 97.301, paragraph (a) is V-U-SHF and (b) is HF.
And the first paragraph here from ARRL:
I would not consider a 5 month backpacking trip to be an “extended period”. It’s not like you’re getting a resident alien card, getting an apartment and finding a job. You’re on vacation.
You could always contact the ARRL for clarification.
Already 3 months have passed and we’re in the final phase of preparations for the trip. Just wanted to give you a quick update on my progress:
Last Tuesday, I finished my General Class. I will be operating as N2HAT.
I did some more research for a lightweight radio gear and found the (tr)uSDX. It arrived today, didn’t test it yet, but it’s really what I would call a ultralight TX Also, I built an ultralight 40-20m EFHW as antenna. Together, it weights ~250 grams which is acceptable for me. The (tr)uSDX will be powered by a PD Powerbank and a 12V-PD-Spoofer.
Not included yet is a CW paddle. With all the preparations in the past weeks which needed to be done, plus learning for the General class, there wasn’t time for making progress in CW. Now, with most things settled, I’ll try my best to get back to a learning routine for CW.
Just another few words about the route: We will start in the Whites, going northbound. In other words: It will be hard. We picked the toughest, but also one of the nicest, part of the AT right at the beginning of our hike. Realistically, I won’t have time for operating there (aside that all peaks are above treeline and I don’t carry a pole with me). The hike is - of course - our priority. Good thing about it: More time to learn CW
Hi Lukas,
It’s going to be a huge adventure, respect. Certainly it will often be difficult to send off a spot. It would therefore make sense for you to use a specific qrg on which the chasers can find you. Possibly also certain times, e.g. 0min, 15min, 30min, 45min after a full hour. You can use the reflector with this thread and … if possible … announce your modalities in advance.
