Alternate Comms

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HF radio is a lot of fun and with the upswing of the solar flux more and more bands are coming alive. NVIS operation is common for emergency operations and other groups who need to maintain contact over a radius of operation (300-500 miles). Of course you can talk further if the band is open, but NVIS is used by the military to ensure communications on HF in an area. It works by having a near vertical signal path instead of a low take off angle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_vert ... ce_skywave

I have used a wide range balanced antenna tuner such as an Icom AH-4 or SGC-237 with a 56 foot long wire suspended on 18 inch garden stakes from Home Depot with a 61 ft ground wire directly underneath. On 40 meters I was 20+ to 40+ over S9 in Houston, Laredo, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Band conditions were good and you may have degraded signals when not so good conditions are present, but you can still communicate.

HF antennas on vehicles should just have the vertical radiator folded over for NVIS: