[Ares-races] Use of HF for local communications

[Rick Hampton]

Hi, Joe.

With an appropriate antenna, that is one with a high radiation angle and now known by the fancy moniker "Near-Vertical Incident Skywave" or "NVIS" for short, the lower HF bands are great at short ranges.  I used to do this all the time way back when I was still in a Combat Communications Group.  (Actually, my current HF antennas are NVIS, too.)

As for me, I would like to have all the bands available.  That provides more circuits and redundancy.  In some situations, an effective NVIS HF circuit may be easier to establish than a VHF circuit.

Remember, the key to emergency operations is flexibility and the more resources you have, the more flexible you can be.

73,

Rick Hampton, WD8KEL

Joe wrote:

> Hello to All,
>
> There is a group that is trying to promote the use of HF in the State of Connecticut for emergency communications WITHIN the state.  For those of you who are not familiar with my state, it is approximately 100 miles East to West, and 50 mile North to South.  The primary frequency for communications has been selected as the 75 meter SSB band.  I myself do not see the logic in this.  I am in favor of the use of 2 meter repeaters to cover this area, being careful to select repeaters that are centralized to the area and that have backup power sources. My opinion is the HF would only be effective for communications from Connecticut to other areas OUTSIDE the state. HF would only be my choice if the 2 meter network failed to give adequate coverage in isolated areas.
>
> What have been your experiences?
>
> 73, Joe, k1ike