Ham Radio Backcountry Operators?

by **BadBrian** » Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:22 am

Any of you out there operate QRP while out in the sticks? I'm a new Technician working on my General and would love to hear about some of your rigs.
At this point I'm leaning towards a Yaesu FT817ND and a Mini Buddistick which would put me right about 5lbs for the antenna and radio. I guess any number of the wire dipoles might even be a better option for weight constraints but I like the idea of the simplicity of the Buddistick. (maybe i'm thinking about that all wrong since there are certainly more parts in the buddistick)
What sort of power options are you using? Solar panels? Batteries? What about LiFePO batteries, their weight is attractive but I'm not sure if their power generation properties work well for a ham radio setup.

Anyways would love to hear some advice or experiences operating QRP is the backcountry.

Thanks,
73's