The title of this post sucks, but it's what I've got for now.
Ham radio is a multi-faceted hobby. There are just so many things you can do with a radio set and some math.
One of the things ham operators like to do is try to make contact with other stations that are far away, something known as "DXing" (in radio jargon, "DX" means "distant station"). The farther away a contact is, the better.
The weapon of choice for hunting distant contacts is usually an HF radio. This is because the HF bands (between 3 and 30MHz) will reach around the world thanks to the fact that the radio waves will skip off the ionosphere. This allows an operator to effectively bend his or her signal around the curve of the Earth.
My problem is that I don't have an HF set, and there's currently no room in my budget to buy one. So while my wife is pleased that she won't have to put up with a radio shack in the basement and the backyard suddenly sprouting a forest of antennas, I'm not going to be DXing over HF anytime soon.
However, there is another possibility. Many operators are talking to distant stations on VHF radios, in the 2m band. While the range is not as great (VHF signals punch right through the ionosphere, so they won't reach the other side of the planet,) operators are reporting contacts as far away as 1000km thanks to other atmospheric effects like tropospheric ducting.
I already have a pretty good VHF set, which I was thinking of installing in my RV trailer. However, that's going to limit me in terms of when and where I can use it (for example, I won't be using it in the winter and if we're camping, I can't get out of everyone's way to go play with my radio.) Ideally, I'd like something a little more portable so I can lug it up to a nearby mountaintop when I'm out camping. And since I'm not using HF, I don't need a huge antenna, so a portable radio shack is not out of the question.
Most portable VHF radios find themselves mounted in a vehicle. For various reasons, that won't work for me, so I'm thinking of building a portable radio shack. Basically, a box that can be lifted into or out of the back of a pickup truck by one or two people. It would house a radio (or eventually two), battery, and have space to store a portable antenna. A place to put a 20W solar panel would also come in handy and would make the rig ideal for emergency situations.
As for the antenna, my early research is pointing me in the direction of a Yagi-Uda. Something that I can easily disassemble to store inside the box. Same for the mast; I want some height, but it also needs to be portable (ideally, stowed in the box beside the antenna.) This means flimsy; hopefully I can come up with something that can be attached to the side of a vehicle for stability.
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