E-Mail 'The K.I.S.S. Principle and Transceivers - Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit' To A Friend

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1. Thank you TR. This is just the information I needed for radio communications. While I would like to do ham radio someday, it will have to wait until time and money allow. What you have provided (under 20miles) exactly fits what need. Thank you again!

2. One antenna I have found that is very reliable for a base station is the Arrow Antenna. I have a couple of the OSJ models (for 2M/440 and 220 band) that have been up and running since 2007 and I can hit repeaters in NC, SC, TN using 50W and this antenna. And I live in the mountains of WNC and we have had severe weather including strong winds/rain from hurricanes from the coast, snow, ice, etc., and my Arrow J poles are still going strong, even better than my higher cost Comet dual band. The Arrow’s are made from aircraft aluminum and very easy to assemble and put up on any mast. As far as a mobile antenna I prefer a mag mount and that way when I go into a parking deck I can just take off my antenna and just put it in the back seat with no problems and doing it that way only takes less than a minute.

   Thanks for the articles TR, excellent info.

   1. Hi Randy,
      Arrow Antenna J-poles have a good reputation. I would have at least one of their yagi’s. It is also best to learn how to make these antennas, and how to repair antennas. Arrow Antennas has changed ownership. At one time yagis could be custom ordered for your particular center frequency, such as MURS and GMRS. There is not ERP limit for MURS, so we can take a 2 watt MURS hand held and use a yagi to boost the signal like a spot light intensifies light and casts it into a beam, greatly extending the range that two radios can talk to each other. Yagi also allow us to hear very weak signals from FRS hand held’s. It is like cupping your ear to hear a whisper.

      I like 220Mhz because the yagi is more compact, and a 5 element yagi can be used and carried easier than a 2 meter 3 element yagi. 220mhz is almost as good as 2 meter in the woods. A 5 element yagi could have a gain of 11dBi and produce a signal strength, or ERP of about 30 watts if using a 4 watt Boafeng. If on foot, if the yagi has too much gain, thus a narrower RF foot print, the user will have a harder time pointing the yagi in the correct direction without using a map and compass. We want to avoid using a high powered transmitter on a omni directional antenna, if we can, but it would be good to have just in case our other efforts fail to contact the base station. If a patrol is in trouble, transmit and move several miles if you can if an omni directional antenna is used.

      440Mhz is much more lossy in cables, but we actually do not wish to have an ERP of more than 10 watts in most cases. UHF does not do as well in the woods, but can shine if one wishes to keep the splash from leaving the area you need to communicate with. This is an especially desirable attribute if operating from a base station. If things get bad, real bad, a base station should only risk transmitting with yagi. A 12 element 440Mhz yagi is manageable, and produces a very narrow foot print. If talking between base stations, both should use yagi’s. If I could, I would only send 250mw threw this yagi. I could use even use an FRS radio that has been modded to accept an antenna connection because I want a very low powered transmitter.

      This is best for a base station to use. Point a 5 to 12 element 440 yagi down a valley and into a hill side on the opposite side. Use only 1 watt, I can calculate the ERP, but it is not so important as the narrow RF footprint. Odds are the splash from the transmission will be too weak for others to over hear. All this talk about how to control our RF, and what is a truly a secure signal, would go to serve us well in the worst case scenario that could be in our future if we must deal with an invading force. There are many techniques to use, and not enough time to get into all of it here.

      If you can get an HF set, and set up what is loosely termed here as a Near Vertical Incident Skywave dipole, that is basically a dipole that is less than 32 feet hieght, ideally 25 feet, and as low as 10 feet high, and get a OTP generator from Ready Made Resources, this is the least technically challenging, and the most secure means of communication in a war zone, and can be accomplished for very little money. We are going to need more warriors with radios, and Hams can quickly employ this. Of course digital modes would be helpful, but they are not absolutely necessary if transmitting Short Skip (NVIS). You would be DF proof if there is no interception station within 25 miles. I’ve been told by experts in the business that this is so. This is not Internet rumor.

      Others who are interested in learning more, I send you to brushbeater.org run by NC Scout. Down load the articles there. What he will give you is proven on current battle fields. He has real world experience on a battle field.

      1. Randy, T. Rabbit is correct about the HF NVIS and OTP combo. Satellites not withstanding of course. Because while more than 25 miles away they have clear line of sight. Send your traffic and run like heck and very little of tactical value is gained by nation state actors (NSA). So sayeth this pro.

         After reviewing your articles on comms in its totality is can see what you are doing and the angle you’re coming from. I like it. I think I can best help by pointing out things from the NSA perspective. To a certain degree of course. I learned the ropes at the Center for Information Dominance Corry station before being forward deployed in the fleet at first as an EW (electronic warfare ) then later a CTT ( cryptologic ). Cannot and WILL NOT CROSS THE LINE, but will chime in where I can help. By the way I left a link for you on your previous post TR.

         1. I did my best to explain Near-Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) HF in the Radio Ranch chapter of my first novel, Patriots. Only the most sophisticated government agencies (NSA and strategic level MI) have access to true HF-DF equipment. That requires a very long DFing baseline (ideally, hundreds of miles), chirp sounders for gauging the current ionospheric layer propagation conditions, and some sophisticated DFing software. Best regards to a NSG veteran from an ASA veteran.

         2. Got the link and made remarks there.

            About NVIS propogation.

            Thanks for the validation in general and about NVIS. Years ago I tried to get my Ham buddies into NVIS, and they just do not want to do anything more that what they already know. There is always resistance to change. The larger the club, the more resistance. Few are forward thinkers and leaders, so you’ll have to shop around in the quest to find some one who will participate and break new ground. If no one else is doing it, no one wants to join in. Education is the answer, and necessity will provide the motivation, but we need to develop the skills to operate this way now if we can. At the very least get the knowledge. Even though I cannot find anyone who wants to play now, I will learn all I can by reading.

            This type of propagation is nothing new, it works. Relay stations every few hundred miles would be unstoppable. Hams need to get together and practice. The antenna is cheap and easy to set up dipole less than 1/2 wave length off the ground, so there is little practical barrier to get started. Start with a dipole for 40 meters, and just get it high enough so that others do not walk into it. It really is that easy to get started, and play with it. There are other configurations that make it easier to operate. Use it locally and regionally. Information is every where. Down load the content from this link.

            https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/nvis-antennas/

3. Thank you for this excellent 5 part article. I’ve been pondering a HAM for years…
   In the mid 80’s, I was deployed to the National Training Center in So Cal., not my first rodeo, I made an antenna from fiberglass cammo poles and braided copper wire connected to a cheap, radio shack 40 channel hand held CB and could talk clearly to central Louisiana from very close to the death valley.
   Now reconsidering a radio and thanks for the reawakening.

4. Thank you for the very informative series of information TR. Years ago I purchased a dozen or so Baofeng radios that JWR recommended ‘just in case’. I have no interest in transmitting with them as intended, just using them for listening and possible walkie talkie use. Your post has motivated me to open the case of radios and see what I have and figure them out for possible use.

5. Good post TR

6. Thanks a lot for this informative series.

7. T R, has anyone published instructions that are readable and understandable for the Baofeng radios?

   1. Even if you can do Chinglish, I an not aware of any printed manual that is clear and concise. This often the case with many owner’s manuals that are written by those who are technically inclined for the masses. But there are scores of helpful videos on YouTube. Some are better than others. Here is one from a fellow who has done a ton of instructional videos and knows his stuff.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyHwAq7w9QE&t=1185s

      BTW, if I disappear today, it is because my internet connect went down.

      1. http://radiodoc.github.com
         Uv5r user guide in plain language. Hope that helps.

         1. Got it. Thanks!

8. I might of missed it mentioned in the article, but an excellent site for information on the Baofeng radios is https://www.miklor.com/. Tons of info there. They do cover other radios also.
   I have built several Slim Jim antennas for a small group of us that use Baofeng radios for GMRS comunication. I live in an area that is full of hills and valleys. We do have a repeater in the area, but with the Slim Jim, we are able to talk to everyone without use of the repeater.
   Great article, thanks for your work in putting this together.

9. Excellent 5 part article, that should be saved. Tunnel Rabbit covered the need to know information, with references for further knowledge.
   …….. The ‘powers to be’ in our country and around the Globe, are activity trying to censor the opposition. A fence between the USA and Mexico is bad; a fence around our Nation’s Capital and the American People, is called ‘good’ by our crookedly elected elites.
   ++++++ At some point, the outrageous spending by our politicians will catch up with the people of America. Prep now. An independent source of communications is worth having available.

10. The Tactical Baofeng.

    One of the reasons not to use a Baofeng for serious tactical work, is that that the plug where ear and mic sets plug in, quickly become loose and unreliable. Not every one needs head set, so purchase a few really good hand helds and head set that are indeed rugged, or make sure the TL (team leader) has access to replacement Baofengs. As a poor country boy, I might even resort to extreme measures such as using JB Weld epoxy to make sure the plug is not subject to movement, yet the ear piece is also fragile and will have to be replaced sooner rather then latter.

    Fortunately I do already have a few better quality ear pieces, but these have Kenwood plugs that do not fit into Baofeng radios, but fit my very low powered that are no more than 250mw radios that are also scrambled. Even if OPFOS ( a gang could be OPFORS, Opposing Forces) can hear our traffic, it would be unintelligible. And even if they could understand the traffic, they would not understand the brevity code, and they would be so close that you would not loose tactical surprise. The scramble feature also provides the illusion that the transmitter is further away than it actually is. Also, we should use a tone to avoid being jammed with an hot mic. At the squad level, they will not have the equipment to discover the tone that you are using if they even suspected that a tone was in use. They cannot hear it.

    This head set from Ready Made Resource is a good example of what the TL (team leader) should have. Even if it is of good quality, we’ll still need several replacement sets. We actually do not want the rest of the fire team or squad to fill the air with chatter, and unnecessary RF anyway, and we probably can not afford to out fit every one with the best we can afford. Learn to use arm and hand signals, and if one day the radios are too risky to use, you’ll not be without.

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