Remotely Operating Transceivers Via Field Phones
If one could potentially be DFed, then we should operate a transceiver remotely, and should do for this purpose at a distance of no less than 500 meters away from a base station. 500 meters was once the standard for an adequately small enough area that was considered as a good ‘fix’ on a location identified by using radio direction-finding techniques in the 1990s. It was an area size small enough for an effective artillery bombardment. Drones can be used to pinpoint a location, yet there can be user error. There are ways to confuse drones, and drone operators using unconventional low-tech electronic warfare techniques.
The EE-8, and the popular TA-312 (pictured), or most any other field phone operated by two D batteries could operate a transceiver from many miles away. If not 5 miles away, the further away, the better. And we could use a low-power transmitter on a directional antenna to link to a repeater on a directional or omnidirectional antenna to further reduce the risk. This demonstration shows us just how easily it can be done using most field phones, and a common, inexpensive transceiver:
FIELD PHONE OPS: Remoting a VOX Radio Using a TA-312
Remote Transmission Using VOX and Voice ‘Receiver’ Interface
Field phones can also be used to operate a radio remotely by using the VOX function of the transceiver without using a plug, or jack. We can also use some commercial phones for this task as well. If the buzzer or commercial phone receiver is placed directly on the surface of the transceiver in front of the microphone, the VOX function can operate and cause the transceiver to transmit, because when the PTT switch on the field phone handset is depressed, the piezoelectric buzzer acts as a tiny speaker. Polarity does not matter, just connect the buzzer to a wire pair. The transceiver hears the voice signal and transmits if the VOX setting is appropriately set to be sensitive enough to hear the tiny speaker.
Vintage commercial phone handset earpieces can also be used, and these are best as they have a much better audio quality that could greatly improve the quality of the transmission. However, the piezoelectric buzzer, used as a tiny speaker, is the lowest in price. However, we can not hear the reply over the field phone, but must listen to the reply over a receiver at our location. This is not ideal, yet it can be useful in some situations.Continue reading“Advanced Field Telephone Techniques – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit”