Re: [Philmont]: Ham Radio At Philmont

Good morning.

Stephen asks, "Has anyone had experience operating handheld or small
portable ham radios during a trek at Philmont?"

No, my handheld was one of the last items I decided to leave behind after
the ranger gear check. This was in July, 2003. I did not regret leaving it,
although I "dragged" it from Olympia to Cimmaron and back. It was primarily
a weight vs. use issue. I did not want that added weight for the little
opportunity to play. So, I restricted my "electronic" play to loading
waypoints into my GPS, such as landmarks and campsites.

One staffer at Harlan was an amateur radio operator, and he had a nightly
net with another staffer at headquarters.

If you take the radio, make sure you take enough battery power and antenna
length to reach somewhere. Last summer, I took my radio while hiking around
Mt. Adams in Washington State. Another group from our troop tried to radio
me from the top of Mt. Adams. I could hear them, but I did not have enough
battery power and antenna length for them to hear me.

David K. Palmer
AC7PT
Scoutmaster - Olympia (Wash.) Troop 266
Every Scout Absolutely Matters
www.olympiatroop266.com

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Received on Thu Jun 9 09:12:46 2005