I've used old school HF portable radios when I was a ranger and in a valley with no line of sight to our VHF repeaters in the park.
The fun part was finding a clearing big enough to string the antenna out. Usually involved ascending to the bushline or descending onto the river flats.
Being able to listen to Scottish life guard boats from the other side of the world, at dusk as the ionosphere layers changed, was cool. Zimbabwean cricket broadcasts could be listened to up until about 9:30am in the morning.
The fun part was finding a clearing big enough to string the antenna out. Usually involved ascending to the bushline or descending onto the river flats.
Being able to listen to Scottish life guard boats from the other side of the world, at dusk as the ionosphere layers changed, was cool. Zimbabwean cricket broadcasts could be listened to up until about 9:30am in the morning.