HF, UHF/VHF WHICH TIN IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

To answer this question, a few things about frequencies need to be understood. The main difference between HF and VHF/UHF is in the way they propagate. Which is to say, the way the frequencies travel through the atmosphere. Long and the short of it and generally speaking, HF bounces around the atmosphere and around the world, VHF/UHF doesn't.

VHF/UHF punches through the atmosphere and into space. This reduces its effectiveness to ''line-of-sight'' communications. Many VHF/UHF transceivers are handheld affairs with short ''rubber duck'' antennas. This keeps them easily portable. Longer and higher antennas will help with both transmission and reception but take time to set up.

HF bounces around the world. This must make it much better than VHF/UHF, right? Not entirely. HF wavelengths are long and require longer antennas to use effectively. Conditions in weather and time of day change the angle the radio waves are reflected. This can make consistent contacts difficult as one day your signal may “skip'' 200 miles and the next 300.

How do we use this to our advantage? Simply put, diversify. Possessing both HF and VHF/UHF capability will allow you to listen locally and internationally. Products like dual band ht's (Baofeng's) are great for person to person (simplex) operation around 3-5 miles. Further distances can be attained by using better quality antennas, raising them higher, and even using devices called repeaters. Many areas have repeaters in them operated by amateur clubs and public safety organizations like police and fire. This allows us to put our ear up to the door and listen in to officials while conventional primary means of communications like phone and internet may be down or restricted. To listen farther out we can use our HF transceiver. Many states have emergency management centers at the capital and major cities and a properly hung antenna can hear much further. If the internet is down, reports from outside the country may be the only thing keying us in on what may be coming.

So, why the tin? It's not just for the meme's. The tin provides a hard shell to protect the equipment. It is unassuming. When left in plain sight the casual observer won’t think there is a few hundred dollars worth of radio equipment inside. Though they may open it in search of a snack! Lastly, the metal in the tin should provide some protection from EMP.

Whichever tin or system you choose, my biggest recommendation, as with any emergency kit, is that you practice. The time to learn to use your equipment should never be when it is needed. While the internet is up there are many resources available to teach us how to set up antennas, how to program our radios, and what frequencies might be useful in times of need.

Check back for tips, tricks, and tutorials.

As the hams say,

73 de KE8UNO (Drew)