I've seen many contests define mobile as something like being able to legally move and broadcast. Well, using an HT while walking I can legally move. Does this count as mobile contacts for a contest?
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3Wouldn't that depend on the contest? – Phil Frost - W8II Dec 15 '14 at 13:16
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1Probably, but the rules I've seen don't cover this point in general, it seems implied. – PearsonArtPhoto Dec 15 '14 at 13:38
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1Walking around at your QTH would still be considered 'base station' rather than mobile. – captcha Dec 15 '14 at 21:41
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What if out in a park? – PearsonArtPhoto Dec 15 '14 at 21:53
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I'm sure the distinction doesn't matter so much these days but I'd say if you're in the park moving with the transmitter you're mobile. If you've set up in the park on a bench not intending to move around you're portable. However if you were transmitting from a friend's house using a HT and walking around on their premisis I would somehow call you portable.. ;-) – captcha Dec 16 '14 at 21:16
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1Sounds in need of a flow chart... – PearsonArtPhoto Dec 16 '14 at 21:40
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Insofar as there is an agreed-upon definition of the term “mobile” (and “portable”, which is closely related/confusable and so I'm covering it here), this is how I have most frequently seen the terms used when people are being precise about it:
Portable: A station set up in a temporary location.
If you've parked a radio on a picnic table and strung a wire antenna to a tree, you're operating portable.
In some contexts there may be the additional implication of being a significant distance from your home location.
Mobile: A station which is capable of being operated while in motion.
The most common type of “mobile” is a station installed in a car/truck. For other means of transportation, you usually hear it qualified as “pedestrian mobile”, “bicycle mobile”, “maritime mobile”, etc.
I've never seen anyone say that pedestrian mobile isn't a kind of mobile. So, to the first question you asked, Is using an HT and walking considered mobile, I say “yes”. (And practically, however you're labeled, you've taken on the limitations of a mobile station — small antenna, no earth ground, battery power, etc.)
But in any specific actual contest — if the rules aren't clear, ask for clarification. It's the opinion of the contest organizers that actually matters.
Kevin Reid AG6YO
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When I hear people operating portable, they are usually outside and walking or biking through town with an HT. More often then not they are also outside their QTH's grid square.
W8AWT
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