Cruiser setup as a Ham repeater?

[solidfrontaxle]

So I've been getting into dangerous remote backcountry activities lately(ice climbing, backcountry skiing, alpine climbing), and I'm considering getting a license and ham radio setup for emergency use. Before I get too deep into it, I've got a bunch of questions:

-Can I set up a radio in the 80 series to act as a repeater at the trailhead so I have a better chance of getting comms with a handheld transeiver?

-What are the issues with doing this?

-Will it eat up the battery in the 80 if I'm out several days(I got a dual setup) and the radio is switched on working as a repeater?

-Thinking about stress in an emergency situation, is it complicated to try to route signals through a repeater (or several)?

-I'll be in mountainous areas like the Wind River or Absaroka ranges in Wyoming, where the trailhead will likely be in a deep valley and the destination several mountains away with absolutely no line of sight (but no more than 20 miles, often closer to 5 or 10). Will a handheld transmission reach the vehicle and can the vehicle reach another repeater that's also not line of sight?

-I'm thinking I'd do a 70cm/2m setup in the 80 since there are both kinds of repeaters in the areas I would go (Wyoming/Utah/Arizona/Nevada). What is the best way to set up my radio system up so I can reach far away repeaters that may or may not be blocked by a mountain?

Thanks in advance for any help, advice, or flaming you can give me.

 

[tgreening]

So I've been getting into dangerous remote backcountry activities lately(ice climbing, backcountry skiing, alpine climbing), and I'm considering getting a license and ham radio setup for emergency use. Before I get too deep into it, I've got a bunch of questions:

-Can I set up a radio in the 80 series to act as a repeater at the trailhead so I have a better chance of getting comms with a handheld transeiver?

-What are the issues with doing this?

-Will it eat up the battery in the 80 if I'm out several days(I got a dual setup) and the radio is switched on working as a repeater?

-Thinking about stress in an emergency situation, is it complicated to try to route signals through a repeater (or several)?

-I'll be in mountainous areas like the Wind River or Absaroka ranges in Wyoming, where the trailhead will likely be in a deep valley and the destination several mountains away with absolutely no line of sight (but no more than 20 miles, often closer to 5 or 10). Will a handheld transmission reach the vehicle and can the vehicle reach another repeater that's also not line of sight?

-I'm thinking I'd do a 70cm/2m setup in the 80 since there are both kinds of repeaters in the areas I would go (Wyoming/Utah/Arizona/Nevada). What is the best way to set up my radio system up so I can reach far away repeaters that may or may not be blocked by a mountain?

Thanks in advance for any help, advice, or flaming you can give me.

It can certainly be done. I had an Icom in my old truck set up for cross band repeat. It depends mostly on what radio you buy. I would suggest heading down to your local ham shack and tell them what you want to do, and they should be able to provide you with some radio options.

Doing it for days on end may be another matter, dual batteries or no. The radio is going to be drawing power while it's on, and even more power when actually receiving or transmitting. That's a more tricky calculation there.

 

[cody c]

What about a solar panel/separated battery setup? A couple good panels and you might make it work with a well charged reserve battery. Its an intersting idea.

 

[psfpilot]

Will a handheld transmission reach the vehicle and can the vehicle reach another repeater that's also not line of sight?

Generally speaking, no; certainly not reliably enough that I would wish to depend upon it for urgent/emergency communication. The higher powered mobile radio in the vehicle might be able to hit a repeater that is significantly out of LOS, but the handheld (usually 5W max output throught a less-than-stellar antenna) usually won't. The higher the freq, the more LOS becomes important.

Would a SPOT Satellite Messenger work for your needs? It looks handy for your stated purposes, but wouldn't have the hobby fun factor of ham.

 

[solidfrontaxle]

GWould a SPOT Satellite Messenger work for your needs? It looks handy for your stated purposes, but wouldn't have the hobby fun factor of ham.

Well that's kind of what I'm trying to avoid. I was thinking by going HAM I wouldn't need to do SPOT or PLD and the price could be comparable. Especially since I'd like to go HAM anyway, though I'm not extremely into the hobby aspect of it; I do not need another hobby with tons of crap to obsess over and buy. I still think by going with this method it's better than nothing, and I will just try to optimize my systems, especially my antennas. Maybe make a lightweight packable antenna replacement for the handheld's rubber duck.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I use the FT-8900 (the FT-8800 is a 2M/70cm version of the same radio) in my UZJ100 as a cross band repeater fairly often.

Rig to repeater is easy just pick where you park and make sure you can hit the repeater. HT to rig might be iffy. Asa general statement the higher you put your repeater the better the chances it will work. As far as stress, if you set it all up and test it before hand actual usage isn't much different than simplex operation. You can always set the HT up and lock it so the only setting that can be changed are volume and power. This would reduce the danger of accidentally knocking the HT off frequency or changing some other setting.

As suggested a solar panel might keep to batteries charged. I'd isolate your starting battery from the radio. It would suck to get back to the rig and not be able to start it. Radios don't draw much current in standby, mostly during transmission. You could probably do some stuff to reduce current draw as well ie force the back light to stay off, turn the volume way down.


All that said even with a HAM radio there are places we go where a SPOT would be better.

 

[1911]

... I will just try to optimize my systems, especially my antennas. Maybe make a lightweight packable antenna replacement for the handheld's rubber duck.

You can make a portable J-pole antenna from 300-ohm twin-lead coax that will significantly improve the 2 meter performance of an HT. Rolls up to very little space in a day pack or pocket; unroll it and hang it up in a tree when you need more range than the rubber ducky.

The Twinlead J-Pole Antenna

Pocket J - Pole

The 2-Meter Roll-up J-pole Antenna

DXZone / twin lead j pole

 

[AdventureToolCompany]

I've always had real good luck with a Sat Phone in that type of terrain. They can be costly to own/operate, but also can be rented (like the SPOT). It came in handy after swamping the MC in a creek crossing a couple of years ago...

Good luck