[Elecraft] Could you make a Element/vibration hardend VX3?

[mcduffie at ag0n.net]

On Sun, 4 May 2014 18:49:42 -0700, Russell Conner wrote:

> Except I keep saying over and over we ARE IN THOSE TWISTIES.
> and the hand helds are effective only part of the time. And yet, no one
> seems to be listening to me on that point. It gets frustrating. Hell, I am
> very frustrated.

You're also missing a point.  What you are asking is nearly impossible.  Low
band (six meters) works fairly well for that, but it takes a little power (that
will cost you with the MC electrical system), and reasonable antenna (1/4 wave
or so).  I've seen it work in mountainous terrain, and heavily wooded areas,
something that 70cm and even 2m don't do well without help.  Decades ago, the
law enforcement community found the answer, and they implemented it.  It takes
mountain top repeaters to cover things properly.  Even then, you'll have some
dead spots, depending on terrain.

You seem to know little about propagation, and unwilling to accept that there
isn't always a good answer for your situation.  The best you can do is choose
the right frequency for the job to be done, that of covering everything between
the front of the pack and the rear of the pack, and then do the best you can do
to get that job done.  That means the best antennas you can find, the highest
power you can run, and training your operators to know what to do to make the
best of them.  Obviously, there is a practical limit to all of those things and
what you can do because of cost, size, environmental concerns, electrical
capacity, etc.

Do your best, and deal with the rest.

Gary - AG0N