[Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Wayne Burdick]

My first attempt to operate from a campsite was in 1972, when I was 14. My dad chuckled as I hefted my box of gear into the camper. At the time I had no battery powered radios. The receiver was a Heathkit HR-10B. The transmitter was a 3-tube, 10-watt, WW2 CW monstrosity I borrowed from someone in the El Cajon ARC. I also didn't have an antenna tuner, so I brought a full-size 40-m dipole with #18 wire and 100' of RG58. Keyer was a Heath HD-10. 

Our campsite in Utah didn't have an electrical outlet. Fortunately I had a very long extension cord that I routed through the window of the  men's room, two campsites down. I had to apologize to hostile strangers as I wove the cord through bushes and around cars. 

Getting the heavy dipole up into the ponderosas required rope, rocks, and a few swear words I hadn't used in front of my parents prior to that time. 

Finally, I was on the air. Unfortunately the band wasn't particularly open that day, and I think I ended up making three contacts. Still, I got The Bug.

These days, I use a KX2, two lengths of #26 wire, an earbud/mic, and a KXPD2 paddle. Total station weight: 2 lbs, counting the CS40 bag. Setup time: 2 or 3 minutes, depending on how many times it takes to hit just the right branch with a 1 ounce stainless steel weight. Or 1 minute if I'm using a whip. 

It's been a wild journey that I suppose could be graphed in terms of miles per watt per pound over 40 years.

I bet there a few other variations on this theme....

73,
Wayne
N6KR



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