The warm weather is finally upon us , and we're going to begin enjoying the outdoor activities that the warm weather brings . Such as picnics , hiking , bicycling , fishing , and of course ... camping . Being outdoors means that we'll be away from our base radio , and a lot of the times ... we'll even be away from our mobile radios too . So how do we manage to still keep a good communication in such a case ? Well most people would quickly answer : "That's what cell phones are for" . But what if we find ourselves stuck in a cell phone "Dead Zone" ? ... and let's face it , being caught with no cell phone service happens more often than it should , even in this day and age ... when there's suppose to be better coverage .. and it almost always happens when you need it the most ... during an emergency .
So let's address the previous question : "how do we manage to still keep a good communication in such a case ?"
That's easy , you get yourself an "HT" and when you're out enjoying nature ... you take it with you where ever you go . You might ask why ?? Because 9 times out of 10 ... when you're in an area that has no cell phone service ... you can usually still hit a repeater with your HT , and get help if you need it . I've been in some heavily wooded areas , with absolutely no cell phone service at all ... and still made crystal clear contact on a repeater that was 28 miles away , with an HT that was using 5 watts of power . That was a good contact , and it wasn't the first (or last) time that I made contacts at a distance like that ... I've also made contacts at even 35 miles away .
So you're new to the hobby , or you haven't got your Amateur (Ham) License yet ... and you have no idea what an HT is ?
HT is an abbreviation that ham operators use for a hand held radio that is known as a "Handie Talkie" ... which is essentially what most people would simply say is a "Walkie Talkie" . Only an HT is more state of the art than any walkie talkie would be . They have a stronger signal ... with further range , better audio , and cover a lot more frequencies than a walkie talkie does .
So it's definitely a worthwhile investment if you have any plans on being in the great outdoors this season . I will compile a list of 10 good HT's to purchase , and share that list with you tomorrow .
