Narrative:

I had landed at ZZZ uneventfully; went in town for dinner and returned at night to return to ZZZ1. After preflighting the plane; I prepared to take off for the 20 minute flight back to ZZZ1. No AWOS or ASOS was available; however; I had received a weather briefing a few hours before and it was obviously a clear; no-wind evening. I had actually called ZZZ; located 3 miles away; earlier in the day and asked what the procedure was for departing ZZZ via ZZZ2 class D; and ZZZ3 class C; located above the class D. I was making reasonable efforts to know what I needed to do. I expected to contact ZZZ2 after departure for a clearance and a squawk code for flight following back to ZZZ1. I attempted to transmit my movements on the CTAF while taxiing and taking off at ZZZ. There was no other traffic in sight; so I was not surprised to receive no response. However; when I tried to turn on the runway lights via pilot controlled lighting means; nothing happened. This should have been my first clue that the problem was with my radio. Instead; I assumed the lighting system was not working; so I proceeded to take off using only my landing light to stay on centerline. Immediately after takeoff; I circled to gain altitude; to avoid nearby mountains (which I could see) and to stay out of the class D until cleared. I called ZZZ2 tower; but got no response; despite repeated attempts to call. At that time; I squawked 7600. At 4;500 ft; I leveled off and circled for a while. I did not want to return to ZZZ as there were no runway lights. So; since I could not land there; I decided I should just continue to ZZZ1 as it was close by; familiar; no mountains around; and the lights would be on. I proceeded toward pdz; my sole turning point toward ZZZ1. In the meantime; I got out my handheld communications radio and tried to connect the various cords to the radio; a mike switch and my head phones. This was a disaster. In the darkness of the cabin; I could not keep the cords straightened out and still fly the plane. I did not succeed in connecting everything correctly and gave up with the handheld. I opted to reconnect to the plane's radio. Unfortunately; while doing this; I overshot pdz; significantly. I realized it when I saw in front of me ZZZ4. Knowing this is a very busy commercial airport; I knew I was past my mark and had to get out of there fast! I turned around and headed back to pdz. I tried the plane's radio one more time; but this time I switched to the last approach channel that I had used. To my pleasant surprise; the radio worked. I was receiving approach control; and upon trying contact; was successful. I told the controller who and where I was; the situation; and that I was squawking 7600. He was immediately helpful and asked if I needed to declare an emergency. I said now that the radio was working; no; but I needed to be vectored away from ZZZ4 and back to ZZZ1. I eventually got back and landed safely with no further radio faults. There were 3 lessons I learned that night. First; find some way to assure that I have working radios before taking off; if at all possible. This was the first time I had landed at an airport without even an AWOS/ASOS; so I did not think about having a radio problem while still on the ground. Second; I lost situational awareness during my fuss with the handheld. This was the most dangerous condition of the entire episode. I have learned this lesson well. While the weather was quite clear and there were plenty of southern california lights to help me figure out where I was; it was still an issue in the dark of night. This turned out to be a 'no cost' but very valuable lesson. Third; I was not prepared to use my handheld in the dark. Consequently; I have now 'pre-wired' and taped up the cords so that if needed in the future; there will be no mess to contend with. I also plan to review its operations manual again.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A GA pilot departed a California CTAF airport and discovered radio problems airborne. Possible violations of Class D and class C airspace occur prior to communications being reestablished.

Narrative: I had landed at ZZZ uneventfully; went in town for dinner and returned at night to return to ZZZ1. After preflighting the plane; I prepared to take off for the 20 minute flight back to ZZZ1. No AWOS or ASOS was available; however; I had received a weather briefing a few hours before and it was obviously a clear; no-wind evening. I had actually called ZZZ; located 3 miles away; earlier in the day and asked what the procedure was for departing ZZZ via ZZZ2 Class D; and ZZZ3 Class C; located above the Class D. I was making reasonable efforts to know what I needed to do. I expected to contact ZZZ2 after departure for a clearance and a squawk code for flight following back to ZZZ1. I attempted to transmit my movements on the CTAF while taxiing and taking off at ZZZ. There was no other traffic in sight; so I was not surprised to receive no response. However; when I tried to turn on the runway lights via PCL means; nothing happened. This should have been my first clue that the problem was with my radio. Instead; I assumed the lighting system was not working; so I proceeded to take off using only my landing light to stay on centerline. Immediately after takeoff; I circled to gain altitude; to avoid nearby mountains (which I could see) and to stay out of the Class D until cleared. I called ZZZ2 Tower; but got no response; despite repeated attempts to call. At that time; I squawked 7600. At 4;500 FT; I leveled off and circled for a while. I did not want to return to ZZZ as there were no runway lights. So; since I could not land there; I decided I should just continue to ZZZ1 as it was close by; familiar; no mountains around; and the lights would be on. I proceeded toward PDZ; my sole turning point toward ZZZ1. In the meantime; I got out my handheld Communications Radio and tried to connect the various cords to the radio; a mike switch and my head phones. This was a disaster. In the darkness of the cabin; I could not keep the cords straightened out and still fly the plane. I did not succeed in connecting everything correctly and gave up with the handheld. I opted to reconnect to the plane's radio. Unfortunately; while doing this; I overshot PDZ; significantly. I realized it when I saw in front of me ZZZ4. Knowing this is a very busy commercial airport; I knew I was past my mark and had to get out of there fast! I turned around and headed back to PDZ. I tried the plane's radio one more time; but this time I switched to the last Approach channel that I had used. To my pleasant surprise; the radio worked. I was receiving Approach Control; and upon trying contact; was successful. I told the Controller who and where I was; the situation; and that I was squawking 7600. He was immediately helpful and asked if I needed to declare an emergency. I said now that the radio was working; no; but I needed to be vectored away from ZZZ4 and back to ZZZ1. I eventually got back and landed safely with no further radio faults. There were 3 lessons I learned that night. First; find some way to assure that I have working radios before taking off; if at all possible. This was the first time I had landed at an airport without even an AWOS/ASOS; so I did not think about having a radio problem while still on the ground. Second; I lost situational awareness during my fuss with the handheld. This was the most dangerous condition of the entire episode. I have learned this lesson well. While the weather was quite clear and there were plenty of Southern California lights to help me figure out where I was; it was still an issue in the dark of night. This turned out to be a 'no cost' but very valuable lesson. Third; I was not prepared to use my handheld in the dark. Consequently; I have now 'pre-wired' and taped up the cords so that if needed in the future; there will be no mess to contend with. I also plan to review its OPS Manual again.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.