Shown below is a reasonably transportable set of gear to support the Appalachian Trail Golden Packet APRS radio event or similar events along other North American trail systems.
Kenwood D710, Diamond X50 and 10AH lithium battery
I have used 7 amp-hour lead acid gel cells batteries with great success in past golden packet and SOTA outings. You don’t need a whole lot of energy. The Tenergy lithium battery is remarkably light; Once you try one, it’s hard to go back to lead.
It’s true we have a lot of ground to cover to pass the packet from Georgia to Maine and back…
Overview of ATGP
…but each hop is about 100 miles from peak to peak. High power isn’t necessary and a good collinear style omni antenna is much simpler and more than adequate for most mountain tops during the ATGP.
