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American Preppers Network Radio Net
The focus on communications under field conditions often involve UHF/VHF handheld radios, good for tactical point to point close contact. But to reach over the horizon, an HF Radio is the meat & potatoes for that communication task.
Modern ham radio boasts HF gear fitting in a backpack with globe spanning reach, however when the rubber meets the road, it’s the antenna that far often makes the difference in making the radio do it’s thing.
This is where Chameleon Antennas comes in. The Newport Beach based manufacturer has hit great strides in offering top quality, highly efficient and highly configurable field antenna systems perfect for emergency, space restrictive, and stealth operations.
Chameleon Antennas newest, the Chameleon Antenna – HYBRID-MICRO is all that in spades.
The Chameleon Antenna – HYBRID-MICRO is a lightweight highly portable broadband antenna system, designed to offer maximum portability and performance. The antenna weights about 1 lb. The antenna will operate at all frequencies in the 1.8-54 MHz band without any adjustment with most modern external antenna tuners. No masts or guying are required. The antenna will work successfully supported by trees, masts, the tops of vehicles or any convenient object or structure. The antenna works most effectively when elevated at a reasonable height. Like it’s lizard namesake, the Chameleon, the antenna can be configured to adapt to it’s surroundings.
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| The number of different antenna configurations is impressive! |
To operate on the High Frequency Amateur Radio Bands, you must be licensed with a higher than Technician Class license. However it is easy to learn enough radio theory to pass. It is no longer a requirement to know morse code to get licensed, and armed with a General Class Ham License, you can be granted permission to operate on 90% of the world-wide HF bands.
With only a 12 volt battery, a low-power HF portable radio, and a wire antenna like the Chameleon CHA Hybrid-Micro, you can easily make contact over the horizon, beyond a disaster area, or around the world.
Good article, but there is a significant error: “To operate on the High Frequency Amateur Radio Bands, you must be licensed with a higher than Technician Class license. ”
>>>>====> Technician Class radio hams CAN operate on several HF bands. 80, 40, 15 in Morse – which i strongly prefer, especially for emergency communication. 10 meter voice is also all part of the Technician Class privileges.
Haaar!
Popeye
A little more info on Technician HF operations:
HF CW (Morse Code) ONLY requires a Technician class license.
(You might want to read that again).
Technician class HF allocations:
3.525-3.600 MHz: CW
7.025-7.125 MHz : CW
21.025-21.200 MHz: CW
28.000-28.300 MHz: CW, RTTY/Data–Maximum power 200 watts PEP
28.300-28.500 MHz: CW, Phone–Maximum power 200 watts PEP
80 and forty meters are excellent bands for CW operation: I use them all the time and forty is probably the most versatile band there is – for my expectations. 15 meters is more about ‘DX’; that is international stations for those who love distance, rather than national communications, though you do talk with some Americans/Canadians on 15 meters, which is fun.
To learn the Morse code, my favorite is the G4FON “Koch” method freeware and the list that H-04 has included is very good!
You can run tiny, inexpensive radios for Morse if you’ll just take the time to learn – and folks, it’s never been easier to learn basic Morse code. After you hit 5 words per minute, let’s get ham to ham daily nets going. That will transform knowledge of the letters, numbers and a few punctuations into actually being able to communicate in code. Next come real conversations!
I have the Extra class license, have been a ham since shortly before the Earth’s crust cooled & etc. – and though I’m ‘street legal’ to run any mode and TONS of power, I use low to medium power Morse code (CW) 99% of the time because it works, it is enjoyable and frankly, its far less expensive than trying to do the same things in voice, because Morse code on HF radio has at LEAST a (measured) 13-18dB advantage compared to HF voice (US military research study [and many people’s experience]). Translated that means the the same station sending a message in Morse code can do it with 1/20th or less power than the voice station. Do you want to carry a Honda generator in your ruck or “AA” batteries? As I get older, I appreciate small transceivers more & more …
Haaar!
Popeye
Thank you Popeye for taking the time to write that out. Great information! Appreciated!
Hi Popeye: That’s for taking the time to put something together like this, it helps greatly. Being new to Ham, October of last year, I have been interested in Morse from the time I was a child. Downloaded the two programs you suggested, I like them both, to early to tell which one I like over the other. But thanks again.