NVIS equipment

[Lightspeed]

Another good candidate HF Mores capable radio for Survival HF comms needs:

This is a 4 band pre- built ultra portable unit that has capacity to install internal battery power supply. It requires external long wire / dipile antennas.

See:

http://www.wsplc.com/acatalog/HB-1A-MK3-...0_20m.html

Price: £249.95 (Including VAT)

This is a low power transceiver that covers four bands 80/40/30/20m. delivering up to 5 Watts of effective power.

It also has a general coverage receive from 3.2 - 16MHz that will decode SSB as well as Morse.

• Receiver drain just 60mA ( 12v) so very frugal power consumption.

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(13 July 2012, 09:37)Skean Dhude Wrote: LS,

I love the experience with the kit. One extra step I think most of us would find helpful is if you posted a link to a supplier. Using the specs we could, if we wanted to, shop around but that link defines exactly what it is and, certainly in my case, saves a lot of worrying about if it is the right one. I know it's extra work for you but it saves a lot of time for everyone else.

OK, I'll post links in future if this helps. The ATUs and SWR meters mentioned are fairly standard kit and can be accurately identified by the model numbers I have quoted.

---

The most important part of any radio station is its antenna.

with prepper Opsec in mind end fed thin wire antennas are probably the best bet.

This link gives a good overview of how to set one up.

A small variation that I have found to be most efficient is to make end fed antennas 1/2 wavelength long, feeding them through a Balun / Unun with an ATU. This method does away with the need for complex earthing systems and lends itself to stations located on upper stories of buildings, in attics etc. For 3.5MHz such an antenna is approx 120 feet long, for 7 Mhz its half this. But these wires do not vae to run in a straight line so can be bent around the boundaries of the garden if necessary.

http://users.whsmithnet.co.uk/m0dad/Home...d_wire.htm

[Paul]

Interference with: Domestic TV, HIfi's, Domestic radios. etc.

Old time CB'ers will know the effects of too much power through badly tuned aerials causing "squiggly lines" on a TV set and bursts of noise on the Hi-Fi.
Some city dwellers will also have also had the happy pleasure of the same from taxi radios, etc.
The problem is it can be caused by all types of radio transmission and, in a built up area, it doesn't take much power to cause problems with your next door neighbour.
Most stuff you buy today like TV's, Hi Fi's, etc is rubbish at keeping interference out and even crackly light switches can cause flickers on your TV and crackles through the Hi Fi. Technology advances and plastics in everything has actually increased this problem.

It follows that experimenting with long wire aerials can attract the wrong sort of attention. Long wires are occasionly difficult to tune in BUT if you try and take short cuts by using an aerial tuning unit BEWARE.

Although an ATU can electrically tune an aerial into a safe load for a transmitter, a rubbish aerial will always be a rubbish aerial and that will cause interference.

It can in extreme situations (and a prat of a neighbour complaining) lead to TPTB arriving at your door with a search warrant. They can (and do) seize anything they like if they think it pertinent to the problem be that legal gear or otherwise.

So, knowing that no one on the forum would ever think of setting up a transmitter without the proper licence and training, folk thinking of setting up NVIS or even CB sets must be careful.

IF your neighbour is an idiot, argumentative, or just a complete prat. My advice is:-

Only install covert aerials.

Keep power levels down, RIGHT down especially during intellectual TV programs like East Enders or Britians Got talent.

Or wait till they have gone down to the pub or Bingo before transmitting.

Avoid using types of transmission that can easily cause interference like AM, SSB, and especially morse when the neighbours will be watching the TV.

p.s. All this applies to CB'ers, freebanders, as well as 'knowedgable' hams.

Paul

[Lightspeed]

Hi Paul

Re Television interference.

Thanks for the update on this mate, I'd forgotten to cover this asect.

LS

[Martin200261]

(14 July 2012, 09:08)Paul Wrote: Interference with: Domestic TV, HIfi's, Domestic radios. etc.

Old time CB'ers will know the effects of too much power through badly tuned aerials causing "squiggly lines" on a TV set and bursts of noise on the Hi-Fi.
Some city dwellers will also have also had the happy pleasure of the same from taxi radios, etc.
The problem is it can be caused by all types of radio transmission and, in a built up area, it doesn't take much power to cause problems with your next door neighbour.
Most stuff you buy today like TV's, Hi Fi's, etc is rubbish at keeping interference out and even crackly light switches can cause flickers on your TV and crackles through the Hi Fi. Technology advances and plastics in everything has actually increased this problem.

It follows that experimenting with long wire aerials can attract the wrong sort of attention. Long wires are occasionly difficult to tune in BUT if you try and take short cuts by using an aerial tuning unit BEWARE.

Although an ATU can electrically tune an aerial into a safe load for a transmitter, a rubbish aerial will always be a rubbish aerial and that will cause interference.

It can in extreme situations (and a prat of a neighbour complaining) lead to TPTB arriving at your door with a search warrant. They can (and do) seize anything they like if they think it pertinent to the problem be that legal gear or otherwise.

So, knowing that no one on the forum would ever think of setting up a transmitter without the proper licence and training, folk thinking of setting up NVIS or even CB sets must be careful.

IF your neighbour is an idiot, argumentative, or just a complete prat. My advice is:-

Only install covert aerials.

Keep power levels down, RIGHT down especially during intellectual TV programs like East Enders or Britians Got talent.

Or wait till they have gone down to the pub or Bingo before transmitting.

Avoid using types of transmission that can easily cause interference like AM, SSB, and especially morse when the neighbours will be watching the TV.

p.s. All this applies to CB'ers, freebanders, as well as 'knowedgable' hams.

Paul

The TV interference isn't quite as much of a problem nowadays, eu regs have made manufacturers improve their designs so that they are not quite so susceptible and of course digital tv helps a bit too. Though watch out if you are in a poor reception area with everyone using signal boosters - you can cause a blackout with very little power!

Antennas can be very discrete, a bit of cable tacked to the top of a garden fence or a dipole attached to the washing line - almost invisble.

---

So who's up for learning morse?

I've started, there are several tutor programmes available.

The huge benefit of morse is the ability to get long distance with very little power, I frequently hear automatic beacons from the states operating on as little as 1W whilst I can struggle to pick somebody up on SSB using 50w from 20 miles away if conditions aren't right.

Low powered sets for morse can be relatively cheap or even home made while SSB sets cost quite serious money.

I'm going to build a simple cw transceiver and will let you know how I get on with it.

Cheers,
Martin

[Lightspeed]

Hi Martin,

You're right antennas of this type can be erected to be so discreet that no one will ever notice them. There is a huge body of knowledge on the internet there for the taking if you do a searh under "stealth Antennas"

My morse skills are mediocre at best, I just don't have the time to practice as much as I'd like. The G4FON program I find to work very well. I guess you've already found this.

I amd most other people I know who are learning morse, find that receiving is far,far harder than sending. This is unlike just about any other language learning of course. There are two good solutions to get you up an running. First is a computer based program called CW Skimmer, this is truely brilliant abd can decode tens of CW concersations simultaneously on the band you are monitoring. This is very useful when trying to spot a specific station on a crowded band. It used to be downloadable on a free limited period trial basis. The other system I use is a little battery powered pocket CW Reader from MFJ ( model number MFJ461) Its somewhat tempremental, but works well enough for me in field based operations.

Once you have your transmitter sorted and some rudimentary CW skills in place would you like to start a semi regular sked? Any other aspiring CW ops or listeners would be welcome to join us of course.???

72 ( low powered version of 73 = Best regards)

LS

You're right about its transmitting power, I have had fairly regular transatlantic contacts using home brew portable wire antennas and just 5w power.

[Bug_out_Bag]

LS wrote: " Any other aspiring CW ops or listeners would be welcome to join us of course.???"

I can put a glass to the wire! Count me in chaps! " ... on the side ... on the side!"

73s

[Lightspeed]

(17 July 2012, 08:15)Bug_out_Bag Wrote: LS wrote: " Any other aspiring CW ops or listeners would be welcome to join us of course.???"

I can put a glass to the wire! Count me in chaps! " ... on the side ... on the side!"

73s

Ho BoB



Are you good to go on 80m and 40m?

LS

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(17 July 2012, 09:25)Lightspeed Wrote:

(17 July 2012, 08:15)Bug_out_Bag Wrote: LS wrote: " Any other aspiring CW ops or listeners would be welcome to join us of course.???"

I can put a glass to the wire! Count me in chaps! " ... on the side ... on the side!"

73s

Ho BoB



Are you good to go on 80m and 40m?

LS

Oops anothe typo from me....

That should have read Hi BoB!!!!

[NorthernRaider]

Nup LS its to late you just called BoB a "Ho" your in the shit now mate

[Lightspeed]

(17 July 2012, 09:58)NorthernRaider Wrote: Nup LS its to late you just called BoB a "Ho" your in the shit now mate

Nothing new there then :-)

LS

[Martin200261]

(17 July 2012, 11:01)Lightspeed Wrote:

(17 July 2012, 09:58)NorthernRaider Wrote: Nup LS its to late you just called BoB a "Ho" your in the shit now mate

Nothing new there then :-)

LS

LOL, that's my standard position - it's just the depth that varies