Does any one bring a ham radio with them on trips?

I was on a trip recently and my friend and they brought their dual band radio with. I really enjoyed the noaa weather and the ability to possibly radio for help if needed.

I am currently studying for the amateur radio technician test after seeing how useful the radio was.

I went on my first solo this summer and brought this weather radio: Weather Radio

It was a nice addition, that I will continue to bring on camping trips.

From time to time I will take a HT (either 2m, 440 or a dual bander) with me. I do this when I'm starting and ending at different entry points and having my wife pick me up when I finish my trip. She monitors the frequencies I will be transmitting on. Depending on where I'm at this might be simplex or on one of the are repeaters. Doing this means I don't have to shuttle cars and leave a vehicle at the take out point.

Many years ago I had a friend who would take youth groups in. He would take a 40 meter qrp rig and we had a sked every night where he'd let me know how the trip was going . At the time I was living in Kansas City, so we were communicating between the BW and Kansas City. Needless to say, we were using CW for this. These contacts were a lot of fun.

All of this said, generally I do not take a radio. I don't want the extra weight and bulk in my pack and usually prefer to take a break from modern electronics when I'm in the BW. This is just a personal decision and not meant as guidance on what others should do.

Finally, congratulations on studying for your ticket. It's a terrific hobby that has given me a lot of pleasure over the years.

My brother brought his radio up on Alton Lake a few years ago. He ran a wire antenna up in the branches to get better reception. He heard a few people as I remember.

I haven't yet, but just got my license in May, so will likely try it. From what I can find it looks like quite a large portion of the BWCA should have 2m repeater coverage. The most interesting part of that to me is that I could use APRS with SMSGTE to send a quick text message out if I want, which could be handy occasionally. It's not "wilderness", but I already verified that I could reach mom back home from my parents' cabin that has no cell service, so that was neat. I wouldn't necessarily want to rely on it as a means to "radio for help", since there's no guarantee anyone is even listening, but it's one tool to have available, especially for non-emergency convenience communication. The fact that weather radio reception is built into the same device helps justify carrying it.

This is a great thread as I was just starting to do some research on getting a radio that has AM/FM, NOAA, as well as shortwave. I wouldn't mind bringing something like that into the BWCA to pickup some international broadcasts in the evening.

I am leaning to the Crane, but are there any other recommendations?
Thanks.

Minnesotian: "
This is a great thread as I was just starting to do some research on getting a radio that has AM/FM, NOAA, as well as shortwave. I wouldn't mind bringing something like that into the BWCA to pickup some international broadcasts in the evening.


I am leaning to the Crane, but are there any other recommendations?
Thanks. "

It doesn't usually matter for actual broadcast stations (most of which are AM), but if you have any interest in trying to listen in on amateur or maritime operations you will definitely want to pick up a model with SSB capability. Somewhat confusingly, the Crane "Skywave" has multiple models, one of which does (the $170 one) and the others don't. While I don't have it, as far as I'm aware that's the best option on the market for a receive-only radio.

APRS worked well while on the BWCA during the last week of September 2020. Used a Baofeng device with TNC3 modem and my location was broadcasted with no issues and available in aprs.fi

Regards,