best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500miles?
 

im an EE, but have never gotten into ham radio. Now, I have a reason!
Im going off roading in the california desert, and I'd like to be able
to communicate back home in San Diego. What band and equipment would
be the best (for both base and mobile) in order to communicate
reliably during the day? Or is this unreasonable?

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500miles?
 

On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:38:57 -0700, wrote:

im an EE, but have never gotten into ham radio. Now, I have a reason! Im
going off roading in the california desert, and I'd like to be able to
communicate back home in San Diego. What band and equipment would be the
best (for both base and mobile) in order to communicate reliably during
the day? Or is this unreasonable?

Someone will disagree, and we'll both learn something...

For getting through with just your equipment probably HF; on a truck it's
probably best to count on 20m, although at that distance 80m is
inherently 'better' for ground-wave daytime local-ish communication.

For getting through all the time, and assuming there's coverage, a
repeater. It won't get you all the way home unless there's a phone patch
available or an intertie. Since repeater clubs have widely varying
policies regarding furreners using their equipment, and the most common
arrangement is that anyone can use the repeater but only club members get
the magic finger ring combination to open the patch or the intertie you
may want to do some research.

For getting through all the time, with cost and effort rivaled by buying
a second rig to tow behind your main rig just so you can drive home, you
could set up for satellite operation. I'm not recommending this unless
you just plain want to have fun with it, but there you are.

Note that _all_ of these options except for the phone patch require that
you have someone with an amateur license and a matching radio on the
other end.

--
www.wescottdesign.com

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

In message , Tim Wescott
writes
On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:38:57 -0700, wrote:

im an EE, but have never gotten into ham radio. Now, I have a reason! Im
going off roading in the california desert, and I'd like to be able to
communicate back home in San Diego. What band and equipment would be the
best (for both base and mobile) in order to communicate reliably during
the day? Or is this unreasonable?

Someone will disagree, and we'll both learn something...

For getting through with just your equipment probably HF; on a truck it's
probably best to count on 20m, although at that distance 80m is
inherently 'better' for ground-wave daytime local-ish communication.

For getting through all the time, and assuming there's coverage, a
repeater. It won't get you all the way home unless there's a phone patch
available or an intertie. Since repeater clubs have widely varying
policies regarding furreners using their equipment, and the most common
arrangement is that anyone can use the repeater but only club members get
the magic finger ring combination to open the patch or the intertie you
may want to do some research.

For getting through all the time, with cost and effort rivaled by buying
a second rig to tow behind your main rig just so you can drive home, you
could set up for satellite operation. I'm not recommending this unless
you just plain want to have fun with it, but there you are.

Note that _all_ of these options except for the phone patch require that
you have someone with an amateur license and a matching radio on the
other end.

In the height of summer, in daytime, a maximum of around 300 miles would
be normal for 80m, but I think you'll be lucky reliably to get 500
miles. In fact, apart from very local stations, you could find 80m
totally dead between 11am and 2pm. Depending on ground conductivity,
groundwave goes out to around 20 miles before skywave really takes over.

If the sunspots on the sun had been a bit more active, and conditions on
40m had been 'normal', this band would have been a the definite
'general-purpose' choice. Groundwave is noticeably less than on 80m.
Typical communication range is 50 to 500+ miles.

On 20m, 100 miles is a bit close. You're unlikely to get reliable
communication at less than 250 or 300 miles. Groundwave is even less
than 40 - maybe only 5 miles.
--
Ian

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

Ian Jackson wrote:
On 20m, 100 miles is a bit close. You're unlikely to get reliable
communication at less than 250 or 300 miles. Groundwave is even less
than 40 - maybe only 5 miles.

I think you might be better off getting a CB. If only because when you need
help, you are much more likely to find someone nearby with the ability to
reach you or summon help.

If you want reliable communication over that terrain and distance, you
need a satellite phone. Every else ranges from "will never work" to
"probably will work most of the time", but not "will always work".

Of course the big question is why? Are you looking for help if you need it?
Are you just looking for a way "phone home"? Do you expect to have your
employer/customers call you for support?

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

In message , Geoffrey S.
Mendelson writes
Ian Jackson wrote:
On 20m, 100 miles is a bit close. You're unlikely to get reliable
communication at less than 250 or 300 miles. Groundwave is even less
than 40 - maybe only 5 miles.

I think you might be better off getting a CB. If only because when you need
help, you are much more likely to find someone nearby with the ability to
reach you or summon help.

If you want reliable communication over that terrain and distance, you
need a satellite phone. Every else ranges from "will never work" to
"probably will work most of the time", but not "will always work".

Of course the big question is why? Are you looking for help if you need it?
Are you just looking for a way "phone home"? Do you expect to have your
employer/customers call you for support?

Agreed. Unless there are any hills in the way, legal 27MHz CB should get
you a reliable 5 to 10 miles and, in the USA, I believe is a lot more
popular than elsewhere, and you could well be within range of other CB
users. And you don't need to pass an exam to get a licence (or even have
a licence). However, especially for real emergencies, it would be unwise
to rely on any ad hoc forms of radio communication. A satellite phone
would seem to be the way to go.
--
Ian

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to500 miles?
 

Thank you for all your excellent and useful responses!

To clarify my purpose:

1- I've been waiting for an excuse to get into Ham radio. I'm very
interested in learning RF circuitry (Experimental Methods in RF Design
is enroute as we speak), and this is a perfect opportunity, because I
actually need it! So Im up for getting a license.

2- The purpose of the radio is for emergency and for the cool factor
of being able to talk to home from 100+ miles away in the desert and
tell them about all the sand and rocks i see. Exciting for them!

3- The CB does sound better for emergency. So now, lets change the
purpose of the ham radio to just "cool of taking to home 100+ miles
away". And I will get a CB for emergency.

I had been leaning toward 20 meters since it has been described
everywhere as the DX band of choice. Now I see that it may not work
well so "close" as 100 miles. But wouldnt 80 meters have even more of
a problem? I am still not clear on which band to use...maybe some more
help please?

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

Ian Jackson wrote:
Agreed. Unless there are any hills in the way, legal 27MHz CB should get
you a reliable 5 to 10 miles and, in the USA, I believe is a lot more
popular than elsewhere, and you could well be within range of other CB
users.

From what I have read it is very popular in the EU which has far less
limitations on what you can do with it. There seems to be no practical
limitation on equipment and power, I often see articles about people
using 100 watt ham rigs, transmitting FM and packet data.

However, that's almost irrelevant, a 5 watt rig, even a 1970' handheld
with channels 9,14 and 19 will do, a 40 channel ssb rig would almost be
too much.

To keep it almost on topic, if you were to buy a long whip antenna, fold it
over, (run it horizontaly), and connect it to an autotuner, you could use it
for CB and NVIS ham communication.

NVIS is an interesting mode of communication, it uses vertical skywaves to
get wider range local communication from HF radio.

It may all be a moot point anyway. If you join a club they will probably tell
you what equipment you need. They probably standardized on something readily
available without a license such as CB's, FRS or GMRS, or possibly if they
thought no one would notice VHF marine radios (which are illegal to use
on land, but required for almost anything that floats).

Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

In message , Geoffrey S.
Mendelson writes
Ian Jackson wrote:
Agreed. Unless there are any hills in the way, legal 27MHz CB should get
you a reliable 5 to 10 miles and, in the USA, I believe is a lot more
popular than elsewhere, and you could well be within range of other CB
users.

From what I have read it is very popular in the EU which has far less
limitations on what you can do with it. There seems to be no practical
limitation on equipment and power, I often see articles about people
using 100 watt ham rigs, transmitting FM and packet data.

Not legally! In the UK, CB is limited to 4W of FM. Most other European
countries are very similar, although some do also allow SSB (and maybe
even AM?).

However, that's almost irrelevant, a 5 watt rig, even a 1970' handheld
with channels 9,14 and 19 will do, a 40 channel ssb rig would almost be
too much.

A handheld on a whip antenna might get you 20 miles but, more likely, 2.

To keep it almost on topic, if you were to buy a long whip antenna, fold it
over, (run it horizontaly), and connect it to an autotuner, you could use it
for CB and NVIS ham communication.

NVIS is an interesting mode of communication, it uses vertical skywaves to
get wider range local communication from HF radio.

I don't think that you get much NVIS on the higher HF amateur bands.
However, you certainly do on 80m, where (at least in the UK) most
horizontal antennas are rarely much higher than 30' or 40'. The RF goes
straight up, and (if there's anything up there to reflect it back)
straight down again. In summer daytime, the RF tends to get absorbed by
the low-level D-layer (rather than reflected), so ranges are short, and
signal levels poor. This disperses at night, and the much-higher F-layer
allows a longer-range 'bounce' - even for signals with high-angle
radiation. Most really long distance stuff is via vertical antennas,
which are notoriously poor for relatively short-distance working (beyond
groundwave range). However, above around 5 or 6MHz, high-angle signals
tend to go straight through the ionosphere, and are lost for ever.

It may all be a moot point anyway. If you join a club they will probably tell
you what equipment you need. They probably standardized on something readily
available without a license such as CB's, FRS or GMRS, or possibly if they
thought no one would notice VHF marine radios (which are illegal to use
on land, but required for almost anything that floats).

I don't want to be a 'misery-guts', but I would be a bit circumspect
about the idea of 'getting into amateur radio' because you want to be
able talk to the folks back home when you are on holiday. If you have no
previous experience of the characteristics of the amateur bands,
equipment, antennas etc, it's highly unlikely that you will be very
successful. To avoid disappointment, it might be best to stick to
tried-and-tested technology. On the other hand, why not simply forget
about the folks at home, enjoy your holiday, and take up amateur radio
when you get back!
--
Ian

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to500 miles?
 

On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:16:56 -0700, wrote:

Thank you for all your excellent and useful responses!

To clarify my purpose:

1- I've been waiting for an excuse to get into Ham radio. I'm very
interested in learning RF circuitry (Experimental Methods in RF Design
is enroute as we speak), and this is a perfect opportunity, because I
actually need it! So Im up for getting a license.

Go for it, then! You'll find that building stuff is definitely something
that's only worth it if you have fun -- the days of building stuff on the
cheap from dead TVs are long gone.

2- The purpose of the radio is for emergency and for the cool factor of
being able to talk to home from 100+ miles away in the desert and tell
them about all the sand and rocks i see. Exciting for them!

Hey! What about the rest of the world! You can talk to them, too.

3- The CB does sound better for emergency. So now, lets change the
purpose of the ham radio to just "cool of taking to home 100+ miles
away". And I will get a CB for emergency.

I had been leaning toward 20 meters since it has been described
everywhere as the DX band of choice. Now I see that it may not work well
so "close" as 100 miles. But wouldnt 80 meters have even more of a
problem? I am still not clear on which band to use...maybe some more
help please?

Nearly all modern HF rigs cover 160 to 10 meters, so what you operate on
out there is pretty much limited by your antenna. What band is good is
mostly determined by the state of the ionosphere, which changes with the
day, time of day, day of the year, and the state of the sun. So I'd
recommend that you get or make an antenna that's good on a lot of bands,
and find what works best for you.

The only real caveat to that is that longer wavelengths and small
antennas don't go well together, so the system tends to be much lossier
for 40m and longer with your average car-mount antenna. That doesn't
mean it can't work, it just means that you have to take more care with
the antenna, or plan on packing a BIG antenna that you can put up when
you stop.

--
www.wescottdesign.com

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to500 miles?
 

On Jul 28, 3:54*pm, Ian Jackson
wrote:
In message , Geoffrey S.
Mendelson writesIan Jackson wrote:
Agreed. Unless there are any hills in the way, legal 27MHz CB should get
you a reliable 5 to 10 miles and, in the USA, I believe is a lot more
popular than elsewhere, and you could well be within range of other CB
users.

From what I have read it is very popular in the EU which has far less
limitations on what you can do with it. There seems to be no practical
limitation on equipment and power, I often see articles about people
using 100 watt ham rigs, transmitting FM and packet data.

Not legally! In the UK, CB is limited to 4W of FM. Most other European
countries are very similar, although some do also allow SSB (and maybe
even AM?).

However, that's almost irrelevant, a 5 watt rig, even a 1970' handheld
with channels 9,14 and 19 will do, a 40 channel ssb rig would almost be
too much.

A handheld on a whip antenna might get you 20 miles but, more likely, 2.

To keep it almost on topic, if you were to buy a long whip antenna, fold it
over, (run it horizontaly), and connect it to an autotuner, you could use it
for CB and NVIS ham communication.

NVIS is an interesting mode of communication, it uses vertical skywaves to
get wider range local communication from HF radio.

I don't think that you get much NVIS on the higher HF amateur bands.
However, you certainly do on 80m, where (at least in the UK) most
horizontal antennas are rarely much higher than 30' or 40'. The RF goes
straight up, and (if there's anything up there to reflect it back)
straight down again. In summer daytime, the RF tends to get absorbed by
the low-level D-layer (rather than reflected), so ranges are short, and
signal levels poor. This disperses at night, and the much-higher F-layer
allows a longer-range 'bounce' - even for signals with high-angle
radiation. Most really long distance stuff is via vertical antennas,
which are notoriously poor for relatively short-distance working (beyond
groundwave range). However, above around 5 or 6MHz, high-angle signals
tend to go straight through the ionosphere, and are lost for ever.

It may all be a moot point anyway. If you join a club they will probably tell
you what equipment you need. They probably standardized on something readily
available without a license such as CB's, FRS or GMRS, or possibly if they
thought no one would notice VHF marine radios (which are illegal to use
on land, but required for almost anything that floats).

I don't want to be a 'misery-guts', but I would be a bit circumspect
about the idea of 'getting into amateur radio' because you want to be
able talk to the folks back home when you are on holiday. If you have no
previous experience of the characteristics of the amateur bands,
equipment, antennas etc, it's highly unlikely that you will be very
successful. To avoid disappointment, it might be best to stick to
tried-and-tested technology. On the other hand, why not simply forget
about the folks at home, enjoy your holiday, and take up amateur radio
when you get back!
--
Ian

Is it just me or is there ALWAYS someone on this group explaining why
somebody else should not try something or do something? How on earth
is anyone supposed to learn anything if they only do what they have
knowledge and experience in? This is what college does to people,
makes them extremely wary of learning things on their own or seeing
other people attempt to do so.

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to500 miles?
 

On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:48:40 -0700, wrote:

On Jul 28, 3:54Â*pm, Ian Jackson
wrote:
In message , Geoffrey S.
Mendelson writesIan Jackson wrote:
Agreed. Unless there are any hills in the way, legal 27MHz CB should
get you a reliable 5 to 10 miles and, in the USA, I believe is a lot
more popular than elsewhere, and you could well be within range of
other CB users.

From what I have read it is very popular in the EU which has far less
limitations on what you can do with it. There seems to be no practical
limitation on equipment and power, I often see articles about people
using 100 watt ham rigs, transmitting FM and packet data.

Not legally! In the UK, CB is limited to 4W of FM. Most other European
countries are very similar, although some do also allow SSB (and maybe
even AM?).

However, that's almost irrelevant, a 5 watt rig, even a 1970' handheld
with channels 9,14 and 19 will do, a 40 channel ssb rig would almost
be too much.

A handheld on a whip antenna might get you 20 miles but, more likely,
2.

To keep it almost on topic, if you were to buy a long whip antenna,
fold it over, (run it horizontaly), and connect it to an autotuner,
you could use it for CB and NVIS ham communication.

NVIS is an interesting mode of communication, it uses vertical
skywaves to get wider range local communication from HF radio.

I don't think that you get much NVIS on the higher HF amateur bands.
However, you certainly do on 80m, where (at least in the UK) most
horizontal antennas are rarely much higher than 30' or 40'. The RF goes
straight up, and (if there's anything up there to reflect it back)
straight down again. In summer daytime, the RF tends to get absorbed by
the low-level D-layer (rather than reflected), so ranges are short, and
signal levels poor. This disperses at night, and the much-higher
F-layer allows a longer-range 'bounce' - even for signals with
high-angle radiation. Most really long distance stuff is via vertical
antennas, which are notoriously poor for relatively short-distance
working (beyond groundwave range). However, above around 5 or 6MHz,
high-angle signals tend to go straight through the ionosphere, and are
lost for ever.

It may all be a moot point anyway. If you join a club they will
probably tell you what equipment you need. They probably standardized
on something readily available without a license such as CB's, FRS or
GMRS, or possibly if they thought no one would notice VHF marine
radios (which are illegal to use on land, but required for almost
anything that floats).

I don't want to be a 'misery-guts', but I would be a bit circumspect
about the idea of 'getting into amateur radio' because you want to be
able talk to the folks back home when you are on holiday. If you have
no previous experience of the characteristics of the amateur bands,
equipment, antennas etc, it's highly unlikely that you will be very
successful. To avoid disappointment, it might be best to stick to
tried-and-tested technology. On the other hand, why not simply forget
about the folks at home, enjoy your holiday, and take up amateur radio
when you get back!
--
Ian

Is it just me or is there ALWAYS someone on this group explaining why
somebody else should not try something or do something? How on earth is
anyone supposed to learn anything if they only do what they have
knowledge and experience in? This is what college does to people, makes
them extremely wary of learning things on their own or seeing other
people attempt to do so.

So you're explaining why I shouldn't go to college?

Hey, thanks!

:-)

--
www.wescottdesign.com

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

In message , Tim Wescott
writes
On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:48:40 -0700, wrote:

On Jul 28, 3:54*pm, Ian Jackson
wrote:
In message , Geoffrey S.
Mendelson writesIan Jackson wrote:
Agreed. Unless there are any hills in the way, legal 27MHz CB should
get you a reliable 5 to 10 miles and, in the USA, I believe is a lot
more popular than elsewhere, and you could well be within range of
other CB users.

From what I have read it is very popular in the EU which has far less
limitations on what you can do with it. There seems to be no practical
limitation on equipment and power, I often see articles about people
using 100 watt ham rigs, transmitting FM and packet data.

Not legally! In the UK, CB is limited to 4W of FM. Most other European
countries are very similar, although some do also allow SSB (and maybe
even AM?).

However, that's almost irrelevant, a 5 watt rig, even a 1970' handheld
with channels 9,14 and 19 will do, a 40 channel ssb rig would almost
be too much.

A handheld on a whip antenna might get you 20 miles but, more likely,
2.

To keep it almost on topic, if you were to buy a long whip antenna,
fold it over, (run it horizontaly), and connect it to an autotuner,
you could use it for CB and NVIS ham communication.

NVIS is an interesting mode of communication, it uses vertical
skywaves to get wider range local communication from HF radio.

I don't think that you get much NVIS on the higher HF amateur bands.
However, you certainly do on 80m, where (at least in the UK) most
horizontal antennas are rarely much higher than 30' or 40'. The RF goes
straight up, and (if there's anything up there to reflect it back)
straight down again. In summer daytime, the RF tends to get absorbed by
the low-level D-layer (rather than reflected), so ranges are short, and
signal levels poor. This disperses at night, and the much-higher
F-layer allows a longer-range 'bounce' - even for signals with
high-angle radiation. Most really long distance stuff is via vertical
antennas, which are notoriously poor for relatively short-distance
working (beyond groundwave range). However, above around 5 or 6MHz,
high-angle signals tend to go straight through the ionosphere, and are
lost for ever.

It may all be a moot point anyway. If you join a club they will
probably tell you what equipment you need. They probably standardized
on something readily available without a license such as CB's, FRS or
GMRS, or possibly if they thought no one would notice VHF marine
radios (which are illegal to use on land, but required for almost
anything that floats).

I don't want to be a 'misery-guts', but I would be a bit circumspect
about the idea of 'getting into amateur radio' because you want to be
able talk to the folks back home when you are on holiday. If you have
no previous experience of the characteristics of the amateur bands,
equipment, antennas etc, it's highly unlikely that you will be very
successful. To avoid disappointment, it might be best to stick to
tried-and-tested technology. On the other hand, why not simply forget
about the folks at home, enjoy your holiday, and take up amateur radio
when you get back!
--
Ian

Is it just me or is there ALWAYS someone on this group explaining why
somebody else should not try something or do something? How on earth is
anyone supposed to learn anything if they only do what they have
knowledge and experience in? This is what college does to people, makes
them extremely wary of learning things on their own or seeing other
people attempt to do so.

So you're explaining why I shouldn't go to college?

Hey, thanks!

I think that the OP is misinterpreting my comments! Trying to keep
regular communication via HF radio - and especially HF amateur radio -
can be very disappointing, especially at times like now, when there are
virtually no sunspots to help propagation go with 'a bit of a zing'
(sorry if I'm being too technical!).

It is indeed great fun to try and keep regular communication schedules,
but I wouldn't take up amateur radio just to be able to talk to family
and friends while on holiday - especially if you are going to set out on
your holiday before you have had time to gain some experience about
which bands (and which frequencies in the bands) to use, which times of
day are best, which type of antenna you need to use etc.

There's a bit more to amateur radio than buying an off-the-shelf 100W
multiband transceiver and an antenna (or antennas), connecting
everything together, powering up and pressing the mic PTT button. But
I'm sure the OP is already fully aware of this. I'm just a bit concerned
that his planned debut into amateur radio might prove a little
disappointing, and deter him from progressing further in the noble art.
I'm certainly not trying to dissuade him.
--
Ian

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to500 miles?
 

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:24:54 +0100, Ian Jackson wrote:

In message , Tim Wescott
writes
On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:48:40 -0700, wrote:

On Jul 28, 3:54Â*pm, Ian Jackson
wrote:
In message , Geoffrey S.
Mendelson writesIan Jackson wrote:
Agreed. Unless there are any hills in the way, legal 27MHz CB
should get you a reliable 5 to 10 miles and, in the USA, I believe
is a lot more popular than elsewhere, and you could well be within
range of other CB users.

From what I have read it is very popular in the EU which has far
less limitations on what you can do with it. There seems to be no
practical limitation on equipment and power, I often see articles
about people using 100 watt ham rigs, transmitting FM and packet
data.

Not legally! In the UK, CB is limited to 4W of FM. Most other
European countries are very similar, although some do also allow SSB
(and maybe even AM?).

However, that's almost irrelevant, a 5 watt rig, even a 1970'
handheld with channels 9,14 and 19 will do, a 40 channel ssb rig
would almost be too much.

A handheld on a whip antenna might get you 20 miles but, more likely,
2.

To keep it almost on topic, if you were to buy a long whip antenna,
fold it over, (run it horizontaly), and connect it to an autotuner,
you could use it for CB and NVIS ham communication.

NVIS is an interesting mode of communication, it uses vertical
skywaves to get wider range local communication from HF radio.

I don't think that you get much NVIS on the higher HF amateur bands.
However, you certainly do on 80m, where (at least in the UK) most
horizontal antennas are rarely much higher than 30' or 40'. The RF
goes straight up, and (if there's anything up there to reflect it
back) straight down again. In summer daytime, the RF tends to get
absorbed by the low-level D-layer (rather than reflected), so ranges
are short, and signal levels poor. This disperses at night, and the
much-higher F-layer allows a longer-range 'bounce' - even for signals
with high-angle radiation. Most really long distance stuff is via
vertical antennas, which are notoriously poor for relatively
short-distance working (beyond groundwave range). However, above
around 5 or 6MHz, high-angle signals tend to go straight through the
ionosphere, and are lost for ever.

It may all be a moot point anyway. If you join a club they will
probably tell you what equipment you need. They probably
standardized on something readily available without a license such
as CB's, FRS or GMRS, or possibly if they thought no one would
notice VHF marine radios (which are illegal to use on land, but
required for almost anything that floats).

I don't want to be a 'misery-guts', but I would be a bit circumspect
about the idea of 'getting into amateur radio' because you want to be
able talk to the folks back home when you are on holiday. If you have
no previous experience of the characteristics of the amateur bands,
equipment, antennas etc, it's highly unlikely that you will be very
successful. To avoid disappointment, it might be best to stick to
tried-and-tested technology. On the other hand, why not simply forget
about the folks at home, enjoy your holiday, and take up amateur
radio when you get back!
--
Ian

Is it just me or is there ALWAYS someone on this group explaining why
somebody else should not try something or do something? How on earth
is anyone supposed to learn anything if they only do what they have
knowledge and experience in? This is what college does to people,
makes them extremely wary of learning things on their own or seeing
other people attempt to do so.

So you're explaining why I shouldn't go to college?

Hey, thanks!

I think that the OP is misinterpreting my comments! Trying to keep
regular communication via HF radio - and especially HF amateur radio -
can be very disappointing, especially at times like now, when there are
virtually no sunspots to help propagation go with 'a bit of a zing'
(sorry if I'm being too technical!).

It is indeed great fun to try and keep regular communication schedules,
but I wouldn't take up amateur radio just to be able to talk to family
and friends while on holiday - especially if you are going to set out on
your holiday before you have had time to gain some experience about
which bands (and which frequencies in the bands) to use, which times of
day are best, which type of antenna you need to use etc.

There's a bit more to amateur radio than buying an off-the-shelf 100W
multiband transceiver and an antenna (or antennas), connecting
everything together, powering up and pressing the mic PTT button. But
I'm sure the OP is already fully aware of this. I'm just a bit concerned
that his planned debut into amateur radio might prove a little
disappointing, and deter him from progressing further in the noble art.
I'm certainly not trying to dissuade him.

Nah, he already said he's just using the "talk to home" thing as an
excuse to get him going, and he's already agreed to jettison it and get
into ham radio anyway (Good for you 'acannell'!).

And while there's more to it than connecting the bits together and
pushing the PTT, that's a good start.

(OP: Getting into a club is best; if you can't do that then at least get
a copy of the ARRL Operations Manual and read it before you go stomping
all over the airwaves. You'll have "newbie" written all over you no
matter what -- you want to aim for it to be "polite newbie" so people
will be nice.)

(And expect it to be a bit like newsgroups -- there are some read losers
out there and a few of them have call signs and HF rigs. Like any other
human activity there will be some hazing to politely ignore.)

--
www.wescottdesign.com

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to500 miles?
 

On Jul 29, 12:24*am, Ian Jackson
wrote:
In message , Tim Wescott
writes



On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:48:40 -0700, wrote:

On Jul 28, 3:54*pm, Ian Jackson
wrote:
In message , Geoffrey S.
Mendelson writesIan Jackson wrote:
Agreed. Unless there are any hills in the way, legal 27MHz CB should
get you a reliable 5 to 10 miles and, in the USA, I believe is a lot
more popular than elsewhere, and you could well be within range of
other CB users.

From what I have read it is very popular in the EU which has far less
limitations on what you can do with it. There seems to be no practical
limitation on equipment and power, I often see articles about people
using 100 watt ham rigs, transmitting FM and packet data.

Not legally! In the UK, CB is limited to 4W of FM. Most other European
countries are very similar, although some do also allow SSB (and maybe
even AM?).

However, that's almost irrelevant, a 5 watt rig, even a 1970' handheld
with channels 9,14 and 19 will do, a 40 channel ssb rig would almost
be too much.

A handheld on a whip antenna might get you 20 miles but, more likely,
2.

To keep it almost on topic, if you were to buy a long whip antenna,
fold it over, (run it horizontaly), and connect it to an autotuner,
you could use it for CB and NVIS ham communication.

NVIS is an interesting mode of communication, it uses vertical
skywaves to get wider range local communication from HF radio.

I don't think that you get much NVIS on the higher HF amateur bands.
However, you certainly do on 80m, where (at least in the UK) most
horizontal antennas are rarely much higher than 30' or 40'. The RF goes
straight up, and (if there's anything up there to reflect it back)
straight down again. In summer daytime, the RF tends to get absorbed by
the low-level D-layer (rather than reflected), so ranges are short, and
signal levels poor. This disperses at night, and the much-higher
F-layer allows a longer-range 'bounce' - even for signals with
high-angle radiation. Most really long distance stuff is via vertical
antennas, which are notoriously poor for relatively short-distance
working (beyond groundwave range). However, above around 5 or 6MHz,
high-angle signals tend to go straight through the ionosphere, and are
lost for ever.

It may all be a moot point anyway. If you join a club they will
probably tell you what equipment you need. They probably standardized
on something readily available without a license such as CB's, FRS or
GMRS, or possibly if they thought no one would notice VHF marine
radios (which are illegal to use on land, but required for almost
anything that floats).

I don't want to be a 'misery-guts', but I would be a bit circumspect
about the idea of 'getting into amateur radio' because you want to be
able talk to the folks back home when you are on holiday. If you have
no previous experience of the characteristics of the amateur bands,
equipment, antennas etc, it's highly unlikely that you will be very
successful. To avoid disappointment, it might be best to stick to
tried-and-tested technology. On the other hand, why not simply forget
about the folks at home, enjoy your holiday, and take up amateur radio
when you get back!
--
Ian

Is it just me or is there ALWAYS someone on this group explaining why
somebody else should not try something or do something? How on earth is
anyone supposed to learn anything if they only do what they have
knowledge and experience in? This is what college does to people, makes
them extremely wary of learning things on their own or seeing other
people attempt to do so.

So you're explaining why I shouldn't go to college?

Hey, thanks!

I think that the OP is misinterpreting my comments! Trying to keep
regular communication via HF radio - and especially HF amateur radio -
can be very disappointing, especially at times like now, when there are
virtually no sunspots to help propagation go with 'a bit of a zing'
(sorry if I'm being too technical!).

It is indeed great fun to try and keep regular communication schedules,
but I wouldn't take up amateur radio just to be able to talk to family
and friends while on holiday - especially if you are going to set out on
your holiday before you have had time to gain some experience about
which bands (and which frequencies in the bands) to use, which times of
day are best, which type of antenna you need to use etc.

There's a bit more to amateur radio than buying an off-the-shelf 100W
multiband transceiver and an antenna (or antennas), connecting
everything together, powering up and pressing the mic PTT button. But
I'm sure the OP is already fully aware of this. I'm just a bit concerned
that his planned debut into amateur radio might prove a little
disappointing, and deter him from progressing further in the noble art.
I'm certainly not trying to dissuade him.
--
Ian- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ahhh...I see now. Understood! ;)

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

wrote in message news:784e660a-1708-4bc1-bc3c-
Is it just me or is there ALWAYS someone on this group explaining why
somebody else should not try something or do something? How on earth
is anyone supposed to learn anything if they only do what they have
knowledge and experience in? This is what college does to people,
makes them extremely wary of learning things on their own or seeing
other people attempt to do so.

It may have been the way you asked the question. If you had just asked what
would be a good way of getting into ham radio and what would it take to talk
around 100 to 200 miles for fun the response may have been differant. Your
first statements made it seem like you wanted reliable communications for
emergencies.

Anyway get a license and have fun. That seems to be your main objective.

If you have not checked into it, the license should be easy for someone that
has an electronic background and any RF experiance at all. Just memorize
the exect questions and answers. You can find them many places on the
internet. You can go to arrl.org for one. Then go to qrz.com and take the
practice test to see how well you are doing. You may even want to go there
first and see how well you do without any perperation. Having been a ham
for over 35 years and into electrical and electronic work, I can run through
a test in less than 15 minuits and get around a 85% or higher. That is not
even looking at the study questions in many years. I think a 70% is
passing.

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

Ralph Mowery wrote:
If you have not checked into it, the license should be easy for someone that
has an electronic background and any RF experiance at all. Just memorize
the exect questions and answers. You can find them many places on the
internet. You can go to arrl.org for one. Then go to qrz.com and take the
practice test to see how well you are doing. You may even want to go there
first and see how well you do without any perperation. Having been a ham
for over 35 years and into electrical and electronic work, I can run through
a test in less than 15 minuits and get around a 85% or higher. That is not
even looking at the study questions in many years. I think a 70% is
passing.

Ralph, a lot has changed in the last 35 years. The tests are not designed
to make sure that everyone who passes could build a transceiver from
an old AM radio, or recognize the design of one.

They are now based on the concept that many hams will start out with a
store bought rig and work up from that. In order to pass, you have to
show enough understanding of electricity, electronics and RF that you
don't endanger yourself, anyone else or cause any damage to the equipment.

You also have to show enough knowledge of ham bands and operating procedure
that you don't endanger anyone else, though you possibly could get some
people upset.

BTW, have you taken the test recently, over the years it has included new
things that hams did not have to know or care about. When I studied for
the extra exam (1996)*, it included tv stuff such as fields and frames.
Now that NTSC is dead, I wonder if it is still there and if it is, how
long it will be.

Geoff.

* just to be compelete, I never had time to take the 20wpm test before I
moved here, so I have an advanced class license. I live in one of the few
countries in the world that the VEC's were asked NOT to give tests in.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in message
...
Having been a ham
for over 35 years and into electrical and electronic work, I can run
through
a test in less than 15 minuits and get around a 85% or higher. That is
not
even looking at the study questions in many years. I think a 70% is
passing.


Ralph, a lot has changed in the last 35 years. The tests are not designed
to make sure that everyone who passes could build a transceiver from
an old AM radio, or recognize the design of one.

They are now based on the concept that many hams will start out with a
store bought rig and work up from that. In order to pass, you have to
show enough understanding of electricity, electronics and RF that you
don't endanger yourself, anyone else or cause any damage to the equipment.

You also have to show enough knowledge of ham bands and operating
procedure
that you don't endanger anyone else, though you possibly could get some
people upset.

BTW, have you taken the test recently, over the years it has included new
things that hams did not have to know or care about. When I studied for
the extra exam (1996)*, it included tv stuff such as fields and frames.
Now that NTSC is dead, I wonder if it is still there and if it is, how
long it will be.

Geoff.

* just to be compelete, I never had time to take the 20wpm test before I
moved here, so I have an advanced class license. I live in one of the few
countries in the world that the VEC's were asked NOT to give tests in.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

I have taken the practice tests on qrz.com several times just to see how
well I can do. That is without doing any studying for them. Took it on
qrz.com a few weeks ago after our club had a hamfest and gave some tests.
Just wanted to refresh my memory of the questions.

I am a VEC with the local club. Have been from the time I passed the Extra.
Forgot the exect year, but it was about a year before the FCC totally
eliminated the 20 wpm code. Have to admitt that if it was not a choice
question test that I could not have done the 20 wpm.

The test as it is now is made to get more hams on the air. I think it is
good.
Should probably be more on the rules and operating proceduers, sort of like
a drivers license test. There are very few new hams that can work on the
modern rigs. I can handle the older tube and transisitor rigs, but do not
even try to look at the latest rigs.

HOwever the test is a joke. Years ago my wife passed the the Technician
test and I doubt she could plug in a rig and hook up the antenna.. Around
1972 I passed the first class phone test. Only 22 years old and had never
seen a TV or comercial radio station transmitter, but that licened me to
work on them. Never did get into the radio or tv field like I thought I
would like to. Did not pay as much as the other jobs I had over the years.

NTSC is dead for comercial use in the usa, but probably will be used in the
ham bands for a long time. Just as RTTY is. I have an old modle 19 set for
rtty and it is still working. Must be around 50 years old or more by now.
You can probably count the number of comercial rtty stations still on the
air with one hand now.
Packet was hot for a few years, but I think it is almost gone except for a
few DX clusters and the aprs system.
I think there will be some hams on almost all modes that have been used.

73 de KU4PT

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

wrote in message
...
im an EE, but have never gotten into ham radio. Now, I have a reason!
Im going off roading in the california desert, and I'd like to be able
to communicate back home in San Diego. What band and equipment would
be the best (for both base and mobile) in order to communicate
reliably during the day? Or is this unreasonable?

www.winsystem.org

Click on the link on the right that shows Site info/plots and see if your
area is covered. Requires Tech class license or above. May help in areas
not covered by cell phone.

HF mobile (requires General class or above) will work in areas not covered
by any other infrastructure depending on time of day and frequency
selection, which can be a problem because of the limitation of a
pre-determined contact schedule. In any case, you should be able to talk to
somebody, somewhere who can get to a phone or e-mail. The last resort would
be Sat Phone for use anytime, anywhere you can see the sky.

CB has mostly limited range. You might get lucky if you are close enough to
a highway or town, but forget about 100-500 miles.

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

40 meters might be better. 20m if conditions permit. 80m at night but is
more difficult for mobile ops. Your choice of frequencies depends on time
of day, seasonal and subject to the ever changing ionosphere. Typically
what frequency works at a given time of day will work the same time the next
day but maybe not. Some study and experience is required.


wrote in message
...
Thank you for all your excellent and useful responses!

To clarify my purpose:

1- I've been waiting for an excuse to get into Ham radio. I'm very
interested in learning RF circuitry (Experimental Methods in RF Design
is enroute as we speak), and this is a perfect opportunity, because I
actually need it! So Im up for getting a license.

2- The purpose of the radio is for emergency and for the cool factor
of being able to talk to home from 100+ miles away in the desert and
tell them about all the sand and rocks i see. Exciting for them!

3- The CB does sound better for emergency. So now, lets change the
purpose of the ham radio to just "cool of taking to home 100+ miles
away". And I will get a CB for emergency.

I had been leaning toward 20 meters since it has been described
everywhere as the DX band of choice. Now I see that it may not work
well so "close" as 100 miles. But wouldnt 80 meters have even more of
a problem? I am still not clear on which band to use...maybe some more
help please?

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

JB wrote:


CB has mostly limited range. You might get lucky if you are close enough to
a highway or town, but forget about 100-500 miles.

Unless you buy one of those illegal amps on eBay ;)

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

Scott wrote:


Unless you buy one of those illegal amps on eBay ;)

I was the one who suggested he get a CB in the first place. It was not to
give him range, it was because it is more likely if he needs assistance
someone nearby will be listening on one.

That's also why I suggested he join an off-roader's club and use whatever
radios they do.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
Scott wrote:


Unless you buy one of those illegal amps on eBay ;)

I was the one who suggested he get a CB in the first place. It was not to
give him range, it was because it is more likely if he needs assistance
someone nearby will be listening on one.

That's also why I suggested he join an off-roader's club and use whatever
radios they do.

Geoff.


I understand. Yes, sadly, that is probably true nowadays. Calls on
most any 2M repeater in the USA go mostly unanswered, so if you need
some sort of assitance, CB may be the way to go. However, I applaud the
original poster on wanting to get a ham license regardless of whether it
would be the most practical route for him to take in his quest...for
times when he is not biking or whatever, he can chat with folks in any
of the four corners of the world (and actually, he CAN do it, even while
biking!) :)

Scott
N0EDV

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to500 miles?
 

On Jul 28, 7:16*pm, " wrote:
Thank you for all your excellent and useful responses!

To clarify my purpose:

1- I've been waiting for an excuse to get into Ham radio. I'm very
interested in learning RF circuitry (Experimental Methods in RF Design
is enroute as we speak), and this is a perfect opportunity, because I
actually need it! So Im up for getting a license.

2- The purpose of the radio is for emergency and for the cool factor
of being able to talk to home from 100+ miles away in the desert and
tell them about all the sand and rocks i see. Exciting for them!

3- The CB does sound better for emergency. So now, lets change the
purpose of the ham radio to just "cool of taking to home 100+ miles
away". And I will get a CB for emergency.

I had been leaning toward 20 meters since it has been described
everywhere as the DX band of choice. Now I see that it may not work
well so "close" as 100 miles. But wouldn't 80 meters have even more of
a problem? I am still not clear on which band to use...maybe some more
help please?

Just to give some idea of the variability of 'Amateur Bands' due to
solar radiation, time of day etc.
Back some 50+ years ago had a war surplus receiver and on 20 metres
(14 megahertz) band could listen to the Australian amateurs rolling in
and chatting with the UK and Stateside hams early morning while f
getting ready for work. And this was with AM (Amplitude modulation)
and often with self built rigs. A few years later 20 m was dead.
(Sunspot cycle!).
Also operating at 5 megahertz military reserve frequency we sometimes
could transmit/receive hundreds of miles but not 40 miles to another
unit. It's radio!
Have fun.

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

Unless you buy one of those illegal amps on eBay ;)

I was the one who suggested he get a CB in the first place. It was not
to
give him range, it was because it is more likely if he needs assistance
someone nearby will be listening on one.

That's also why I suggested he join an off-roader's club and use
whatever
radios they do.

Geoff.


I understand. Yes, sadly, that is probably true nowadays. Calls on
most any 2M repeater in the USA go mostly unanswered, so if you need
some sort of assitance, CB may be the way to go. However, I applaud the
original poster on wanting to get a ham license regardless of whether it
would be the most practical route for him to take in his quest...for
times when he is not biking or whatever, he can chat with folks in any
of the four corners of the world (and actually, he CAN do it, even while
biking!) :)

Scott
N0EDV

Even with one of those illegal amps, you are still limited to the whim of
the ionosphere and absorption of the groundwave. Especially if you are
stuck on 27 Mc.

True about 2m. You never know where the repeaters are, what the frequency
and PL are, or if everybody is at work. At least on $0 and 80 you can
always find retired old codgers. The 440 or 1.2 guy might have his radio
right there in the shop or in the office and you can get a stern warning if
you disturb his private remote.

But CB might at least allow you to scope out where the hookers and drugs can
be found.

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:20:55 +0000, Scott wrote:

wrote:
Thank you for all your excellent and useful responses!

To clarify my purpose:

1- I've been waiting for an excuse to get into Ham radio. I'm very
interested in learning RF circuitry (Experimental Methods in RF Design
is enroute as we speak), and this is a perfect opportunity, because I
actually need it! So Im up for getting a license.

2- The purpose of the radio is for emergency and for the cool factor of
being able to talk to home from 100+ miles away in the desert and tell
them about all the sand and rocks i see. Exciting for them!

3- The CB does sound better for emergency. So now, lets change the
purpose of the ham radio to just "cool of taking to home 100+ miles
away". And I will get a CB for emergency.

I had been leaning toward 20 meters since it has been described
everywhere as the DX band of choice. Now I see that it may not work
well so "close" as 100 miles. But wouldnt 80 meters have even more of a
problem? I am still not clear on which band to use...maybe some more
help please?


Get a modern solid state radio that covers all HF ham bands and an
antenna such as the "Outbacker" or "Screwdriver" so that you have one
mobile antenna capable of being tuned to any HF band. I would say that
40 meters would be one of the better choices during the day but with the
multiband antenna, you try the different bands until you find the one
that works at the time you try calling.

Scott
N0EDV

Yea verily. What I was trying to say, only better stated.

--
http://www.wescottdesign.com

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to500 miles?
 

Hey OM:

I seen a van on youtube this guy had two dual 4-1000a PA's, and a gas
powered generator in the back. On 20 meters he'd be rocking the world.
Do you think he was running class A? I don't think he was using it to
break pileups.

73 OM
de n8zu



On Jul 30, 6:44*am, Scott wrote:
Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
Scott wrote:

Unless you buy one of those illegal amps on eBay ;)

I was the one who suggested he get a CB in the first place. It was not to
give him range, it was because it is more likely if he needs assistance
someone nearby will be listening on one.

Geoff.

I understand. *Yes, sadly, that is probably true nowadays. *Calls on
most any 2M repeater in the USA go mostly unanswered, so if you need
some sort of assitance, CB may be the way to go. *

Scott
N0EDV

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

JB wrote:


But CB might at least allow you to scope out where the hookers and drugs can
be found.



Oops, forgot about that aspect! It looks like you get more bang for the
buck with CB (no pun intended) ;)

All kidding aside, I still encourage the op to get a license and get on
the bands. It can be relaxing to yack on the radio when you're NOT out
biking or doing other things...

Scott
N0EDV

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100to 500 miles?
 

raypsi wrote:
Hey OM:

I seen a van on youtube this guy had two dual 4-1000a PA's, and a gas
powered generator in the back. On 20 meters he'd be rocking the world.
Do you think he was running class A? I don't think he was using it to
break pileups.

73 OM
de n8zu



A PAIR of 4-1000A's? HOLY CRAP, BATMAN!! I'd be surprised if he didn't
melt the sides and roof off on the van :) Do you have a link to the
video on youtube? I'd like to see that ;)

Scott
N0EDV

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to500 miles?
 

Hey OM

I am still tryin to cobble together a 4-1000a PA I first did my
research googled the heck out of 4-1000a. By golly there is a tonne of
stuff out there. I'm sure I found it while googling google video.

My base station would have frequency hopping beacons on all HF bands,
so I could tell what the best frequency is to use. I would always get
an update of the MUF off the internet. Along with any solar activity,
the solar flux, A and K indices, sun spots are down so you won't have
to worry about those for about 5 more years.

You just can't do that with a single band that's only a few Khz wide

Maybe he should go VLF like the bubble heads do and use D star digital
on VLF band. With a big bug catcher basket wound coil on VLF would
look like a cooling tower on a van.

73 OM
de n8zu

On Jul 31, 7:17*am, Scott wrote:
raypsi wrote:
Hey OM:

I seen a van on youtube this guy had two dual 4-1000a PA's, and a gas
powered generator in the back. On 20 meters he'd be rocking the world.
Do you think he was running class A? I don't think he was using it to
break pileups.

73 OM
de n8zu

A PAIR of 4-1000A's? *HOLY CRAP, BATMAN!! *I'd be surprised if he didn't
* melt the sides and roof off on the van :) *Do you have a link to the
video on youtube? *I'd like to see that ;)

Scott
N0EDV

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

I find a set of 811As to be quite efficient and useful on occasion. I have
no need of hundreds of people calling me in frustration who are 3 s-units
below the noise floor.

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to 500 miles?
 

Carrier pidgeon is about the only reliable communication
method under those criteria.

wrote in message
...
im an EE, but have never gotten into ham radio. Now, I have a reason!
Im going off roading in the california desert, and I'd like to be able
to communicate back home in San Diego. What band and equipment would
be the best (for both base and mobile) in order to communicate
reliably during the day? Or is this unreasonable?

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to500 miles?
 

Hey OM:

From one of my fav sources wiki pedia:
"Carrier pigeons historically carried messages only one way, to their
home."

So if you're mobile you can forget two way communication.
The pigeon sent from your base would never find you in your mobile.

73 OM
de n8zu




On Aug 8, 8:39 am, "Eddy Grant" wrote:
Carrier pidgeon is about the only reliable communication
method under those criteria.

wrote in message

...

im an EE, but have never gotten into ham radio. Now, I have a reason!
Im going off roading in the california desert, and I'd like to be able
to communicate back home in San Diego. What band and equipment would
be the best (for both base and mobile) in order to communicate
reliably during the day? Or is this unreasonable?

best setup for vehicle to base communication seperated by 100 to500 miles?
 

Hey OM:

From one of my fav sources wiki pedia:
"Carrier pigeons historically carried messages only one way, to their
home."

So if you're mobile you can forget two way communication.
The pigeon sent from your base would never find you in your mobile.

73 OM
de n8zu




On Aug 8, 8:39 am, "Eddy Grant" wrote:
Carrier pidgeon is about the only reliable communication
method under those criteria.

wrote in message

...

im an EE, but have never gotten into ham radio. Now, I have a reason!
Im going off roading in the california desert, and I'd like to be able
to communicate back home in San Diego. What band and equipment would
be the best (for both base and mobile) in order to communicate
reliably during the day? Or is this unreasonable?