Boafeng UV-5R

[orangetom1999]

OH...yes...I've heard of NVIS antennas. My base station antenna..is a long wire loop antenna consisting of a 500 foot 12 gauge stranded roll of Lowes black insulated wire run through the tops of the trees on my property....and hooked up to a tuner. I've tuned this through the 50 MHZ band...from down to the AM broadcasting band.... ICOM 706 MK II and the G90 Xiegu Radios.

I keep a G5RV antenna and coaxial cable rolled up in the back of my truck for when I am traveling and want to temporarily set something up more efficient than my truck mounted antennas. MY truck rig is a Yaesu FT 100 D....and I like it very much.

Oh..and the Olde Elmers were correct and as time went on ..with experience...you learn that you don't always have to run gobs and gobs of power....and antenna efficiency is a big part of that. Antenna Efficiency./.System Efficiency is a huge part of radio operations.

I've made the trip to my friend's home in Eastern Tennessee a distance of some 400 miles on 5 watts on LSB mode on 75 meters. Before any lower put me down in the weeds so to speak.

A certain amount/kind of efficiency is always a good thing nor matter what kind of labors or tasks in which one is involved. One tries to be efficient without getting too complexity involved...which brings to mind another olde military saying....the KISS principle....Keep It Simple Stupid!!

The two seem to run together...quite well if properly applied...

And NVIS antennas fit the bill for me....Efficient and Simple...


Oh...and you are correct Tugaloo..in that many preppers are not naturally inclined with radios or antennas.

People like us are more naturally inclined and have certain curiosities...also we tend towards wanting to know if we can cut it...if we can do it ...make the grade...problem solve..have the right stuff so to speak.
A kind of natural curiosity in this arena.


Oh...this brings to mind something I told a prepper at work about security...
He was asking about scramblers..on radios....
There are some available, but most I've seen at any affordable cost are inverters..and invert the audio on the microphone...
This meaning that all one has to do is select the correct sideband mode and unscramble...most do not know or are not aware of this about voice inverters/scramblers.

A more simple and efficient manner of security in radio operations would be split frequency....but takes some skill and learning/experience to do this well. Transmit on one frequency and receive on another. The individual to whom you are speaking does this in reverse...receives on your transmit frequency and transmits on your receive frequency.
I have used this method...on occasion and some newer radios can be set up to do this automatically with the key up of the microphone.

This is also how one learns to operate one's radio when the channels/Frequencies are packed/crowded.


Thanks,
Orangetom

Not an Ishmaelite.

[Tugaloo]

The secret of NVIS antennas is they aren't as stealthy as many think.. Unless one believes an up to 80 air mile radius from their location is stealthy. ;)
My ICOM goes to 70 MHz from below AM radio, the Kenwood from below AM to 30 MHz; both are all mode. The ICOM can lower its power out; however, I haven't measured how low. The Kenwood 6 is a pure CW rig with Fox Tango 8 pole crystal filters at 250 and 400 Hz.

Split frequency is easy both my ICOM and Kenwood are easily capable. Even my TS-530 SP (Ham bands + WARC) can with its external VFO. Rare DX always sends CQ DX CQ DX up so split frequency capability is an absolutely necessary to work rare DX.
A waterfall display makes it a lot easier than it used to be.

For security? One time pads are great. Even frequencies can be controlled.

The FCC's regulations create all Hams equal or 1000 kW on CW and 1500 kW on SSB. There are two legal ways to break into a pileup. A low SWR or a gain antenna.


Another thought is Software Defined Radio or SDR. Imagine a waterfall display showing every transmission.
https://www.onesdr.com/2019/09/24/th...sdrs-for-2019/

[orangetom1999]

by Tugaloo...

The secret of NVIS antennas is they aren't as stealthy as many think.. Unless one believes an up to 80 air mile radius from their location is stealthy. ;)

No, such NVIS antennas are not stealthy per se.....

Once you key up ...anyone with the correct type of equipment....can find you. This type of equipment can be expensive and mostly owned by governments.

Learning to operate split frequency helps but it is not that stealthy...,.also running a lot of power is not stealthy as well.

Also, if one knows...changing polarization helps under some conditions...particularly with a directional antenna if one knows how to use it....but again not totally stealthy per se..

Once you key the microphone ....you can be found with the correct equipment.


Also many do not know that in Europe you have to pay a special tax on your radios and televisions.....and there is equipment which can detect if you are running an untaxed receiver. Be warned.


My non Ishmaelite .02,
Orangetom

[Armyjimbo]

Yea I've seen a antenna van cruising the area we were billeted in doing sweeps.

[orangetom1999]

by Army Jimbo,

Yea I've seen a antenna van cruising the area we were billeted in doing sweeps.

Yup....that is how I am told it is done in Europe .....by a van with special equipment designed to find/isolate certain frequencies within one's receivers.


Orangetom
Not an Ishmaelite.

[Tugaloo]

They use a broadband spectrum analyzers.



This is 15 meters, the one they are a lot fancier covering a huge area of frequencies. Adding superb RDF gear and they got whoever is transmitting.

In Europe, there is a tax on tax on everything. I belong to a private forum; one of the members lived in Finland. When his kids were at the age they needed to use the internet; he left the group.

[Armyjimbo]

That's kinda what I expected it to look like!

[Tugaloo]

I can see that is entirely possible, as many of our colleges are accepting the unqualified over the qualified due to CRT. There is a rocky road ahead.

[Armyjimbo]

indeed, now the facts are coming out, our crime minister's advisory board on the batstew flu didn't include 1 doctor. That's right zero doctors .....

[Tugaloo]

Our doctors who dared disagree were hounded by the media and medical licensing boards.

What follow the science really meant is follow the money.

[Armyjimbo]

Follow the dirty PHARMA money.

[Tugaloo]

Follow the dirty PHARMA money.

At a website, someone posted how much $$ Dr. Fauci makes from the patents he shares with big Pharma.
A Fauci fan said he donates all that money to charity.
Another poster said that means he keeps ever cent of his $450K retirement.
The Fauci fan never responded.