HF Mobile Coverage

[Nashua Area Radio Society]

Hi,

I’m looking to set up mobile to mobile ssb HF coms.   I want high reliability over 20-50 miles over hilly terrain.   Is there a set up that can do this without the complexity of NVIS.   Preferably antennas would be vertical whips if possible.  What modern radios are suggested?   It seems Micom or vertex standard would be the choice but I’m hoping someone here has direct experience.   Also, it seems those radios are hard to obtain.

Regards,

Joe

KC2KVS

[Hamilton]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Hello Joe,</p>
You should get a number of suggestions and options.  The following is my limited experience.

Ira (KC1EMJ) and I both got an Icom IC-7100. We both like the sound and performance of the radio on HF SSB. It is very clear and crisp. It has a small head unit that is easy to mount and the main unit with the supplied interconnect cable can be mounted in the back or trunk. The radio covers HF, 6, 2, and 70cm. With a mag mount it is a great 50w  2m/70cm setup.

We both had MFJ loaded mono band verticals for 80m, 40m, and 20m.

We set out to test the local range. My expectations were low from other ground wave experiments using the home shack but it was still disappointed  on the 3 bands. 80m was the least bad.  When Ira and I were on hill tops 15 miles apart we managed a 5/3 and a good QSO. As soon as we left the hill tops we lost the signal.

When we were closing range on Rt-122 in Hollis and Amherst we were within a few miles before we could copy each other.

At the same time we could both hear and work ECARS net control in NJ.

Ira, using the same mobile setup during his return from FL worked me from 5 states. I was using my home shack.

I wrote an club article on a 20m dipole hung as a vertical. I used the RBN and WSPR to collect SNR data. The few local network nodes report low SNRs, lower than many that were over 6000 miles away.

Based on my experience ground waves are not reliable for local HF communications.

I have helped develop and test a HF vertical for Army vehicles. These antennas are rear mounted and tethered to the front bumper to arch over the vehicle to support NVIS.  Local to 100 mile comms were spotty but often available.

[Author]

Posts