[Milsurplus] Milsurplus Digest, Vol 60, Issue 27 (ATF Use of HF)

[Mike Morrow]

John wrote:

>I have a PRC-104 with a PRC-74 tunable antenna,etc. for the real world/QRP
>pedestrian operations.

I'd put my money on something more modern, like a commercial Yaesu FT-817, but
even that small set is a battery power hog.

If you go to YouTube and search for "goathiker" you'll find some very interesting
trips taken by NOTU and his goats, Rooster and Peanut, for some QRP ops out in
the mountains.  Example:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHgVYVkW25w
He uses an FT-817 power hog, but he's got the goats to do the hauling.  Even they
would balk at a long trip with an AN/PRC-104 and batteries, I think.

>I think it is a great radio system to use for HF backbacking if I ever get
>around to that great adventure.

Using a AN/PRC-104 sounds more like day hiking rather than backpacking.  When
packing for a few days out on the trail, every ounce of extra weight quickly
begins to hurt.  My backpacking HF rigs for tha past decade have been modern
purpose-designed QRP rigs, my favorite being the Elecraft K1 four-band CW-only
battery friendly rig.  Another candidate is the Elecraft KX1.  You can back pack
these and their power source without breaking your back.  A dipole weighs much less
than the PRC-74 whip, and is on the order of at least **30 dB** better in performance
on both transmit and receive.

I like all the military sets (especially the Transworld PRC1099), but usually military
technology lags commercial state of the art until you get into the really specialized
stuff.

Mike / KK5F