Put them back.

My pleasure! Depending on the local topography and your level of motivation, you may consider using a GMRS repeater, if it makes sense. You might keep it at the lodge, or in your vehicle. But it’s value is only realized if your repeater is between you and your friends.

Sounds very much like a hold my beer solution.

Drunk: bet you couldn’t fix blindness with mah tooth!

Drunk eye surgeon: hold my beer

This is a great question. There is generally a null point which extends from the top of the antenna such that if you were to point the tip of the antenna at some distant receiver, the signal would be greatly attenuated. It’s not eliminated completely for the same reason if someone is yelling but not facing you; signals can bounce or bleed around and still be intelligible.

When I think about antennas, I like to imagine a donut: 🍩, the antenna extends through the center and the actual donut is the radiation pattern. This is good for mental modeling, but in application there are more things which influence radiation patterns. It’s still a good start.

When an antenna is placed on its side, the closer it is to the ground, the more of its energy is directed into the ground (or it may reflect back and nullify signal coming from the antenna), but for handheld radios (which are most likely VHF or UHF), having sufficient line of sight is what’s needed to have the system work properly, and where one needs to occasionally go through walls or other simple obstructions, a little more power can be helpful.

When skiing as you mentioned, have you been having any difficulty communicating with others in your current setup?

I had a fairly “traditional” vision of sitting at the radio in the evening and spinning the dial to make contacts, maybe a net or two, and maybe a ragchew—what about, I haven’t the foggiest. Medical procedures, I think is what it’s supposed to be.

As I started evaluating the gear I wanted vs the gear I needed, including the gear I hauled up a couple of hilltops in the mountains, I quickly discovered it’s a huge pain to carry the IC-7300 in addition to the telescoping mast, coax, 20aH LiFePo4, and guy wires for the additional 90W.

I do enjoy making SSB contacts, but what I’ve found is that I really enjoy making the distance, and what I need is a suitable mode on a lightweight, low-power radio and a modest antenna setup. Honestly though I’ll probably still haul up the telescoping mast, as I really like my twinlead j-poles.

Digital modes are a delight, but doesn’t give me enough of the human touch, and SSB on 10W is tough to cut through pileups. So now I need to add CW.

I went from desktop rig with permanent antenna to expedient low-power ops in about a year.

Everything old is new again.

You should give them their erasers back mate

I am.

He hasn’t.

You’re the first Internet stranger to notice! Here’s a celebration emoji: 🎉

I call ahead now.

Everything old is new again.

I would care! I find non-terrestrial radio emissions interesting and would instantly recognize a waterfall display and be eager to explain to my companions.

For a monoband, they’re quite versatile. I feel one of their best qualities is that they can be rolled up, and still get excellent performance. Another quality is that they are balanced; it almost seems like magic.

E: to be clear, they’re useless when rolled up, I mean they can either be rolled up, and when unfurled and held aloft they work wonderfully.

It’s a great time to be on 10m. My first QSOs went ~1200mi and I was only using a 1/4-wave CB mag mount whip on my car; imo the real fun is on 20m; from New Mexico I was making QSOs with Indonesia on SSB.

Follow your interests, you’re going to have a great time.

This is such a fun time!

Lots of good advice here. Bear in mind that multi-band antennae often have tradeoffs in terms of SWR.

Depending on how industrious you’re feeling, I’ve found tremendous success with a homebuilt vertical monoband ladder line j-pole. KB9VBR has an excellent build video. Downside is that on 20m, you’ll want a mast at least as long as the length of the antenna, but if it’s impractical, you can keep the radiating element vertical and the matching section horizontal, and even then if that’s not possible, the entire antenna can be horizontal.

Welcome to amateur radio!

You were programmed to say that because I’m the only one that’s real.

I wish I could find it now, but there was a quote attributed to someone suffering under an oppressive regime which would blatantly lie, and yet it remained accepted: “The lie is the insult.”

I find comfort in knowing there are more planes in the sea than there are submarines in the sky.

Thank you! Can’t believe it’s been a year already. Wow

All planes land, some more controlled than others.

Take-offs are optional; landings are mandatory.

Two of them, one on each side.