I have been looking forward to Winter Field Day and it was indeed a lot of fun. I picked Nebo Lake near Holton, KS since it is close and the facilities are well maintained. The terrain isn’t ideal for my current antenna, an offset dipole. Since I need tall trees to put this antenna up I had to decide to be on a hill where the trees were short, or near the lake shore where there are tall trees but my signal would be masked to the north. I ended up picking the hill, so as to not exclude northern potential contacts. The view was beautiful even though the weather was gloomy.

You can set up 24 hours prior to the event so I opted to do that so as not to be rushed. The hike in was about 100m, which isn’t far, but I really need better carts as moving the equipment was awkward. The photo above shows a grey box which has the stove and camp tools, the black box which is radio equipment, and the wood box which is the batteries. The boxes also serve as tabletops after the items are taken out. Setup takes about 2 hours.

The weather made solar less efficient, but I got a little power from it. It rained all day Saturday but the tent did very well. I focused on digital contacts mostly, and we ran the station most of the 24 hour period, excluding about 3am – 8am.

We ended up with just under 70 contacts throughout the US and Canada, since I was able to talk to both coasts often it appears my reach was pretty good. I have ordered a multi band vertical antenna from DX Commander and am looking forward to it as this will allow me to set up away from tall trees.

One of my main goals for this event, besides making contacts, was getting a better understanding of battery management. I am using 2 70Ah gel lead acid batteries. I shut down the station from time to time to compare the reading of Amp hours used on the Powerwerx power meter I have vs voltage readings of idle batteries and found that I can use about 30Ah safely (with an ample buffer) and this gives me roughly 8 hours of continuous transmit activity from full charge.

The goal for my next event will be focusing on voice contacts. Most of my contacts are digital, but I found that the pool of people to talk too in contests runs out eventually so learning to manage voice will help broaden potential contacts in future contests. I have been avoiding voice since, for me, it is more difficult to manage logging and picking out faint signals.

I really enjoyed Winter Field Day and am looking forward to doing more contests and Parks on the Air.

Appendixes available on request to validated .mil users

HF Radio Deployment For Voice and Data

130 FAB, Annual Training (AT) 2019

CW2 J. M., Net Tech 25 June, 2019

1. Introduction
2. Equipment
3. Antenna Placement
4. Radio Integration
5. AFATDS Integration
6. Conclusion
7. Appendices
8. References

Introduction

The 130 FAB was tasked with controlling fires for all subordinate firing BN’s (4 in total) during AT 2019. Both BDE and subordinated BN’s were located in Fort Riley, KS. High Frequency (HF) radio, Joint Capabilities Release (JCR), and FM SINGCARS were available for data communications; while HF radio and FM SINGCARS were available for voice communications. Mission Command Information Systems (MCIS) and SATCOM were unavailable during this training exercise. The operational PACE plan prioritized HF communications for both voice and digital. This document describes how the 130FAB established reliable HF communications for both voice and data during the training exercise.

High-Level Architecture

Equipment (R = Required, O = Optional, # = Quantity)

BDE:

(R)(6) AN/PRC 150 HF Radios

(R)(6) RF-1944 Antenna Kits

(R)(6) OE-254 Antenna Kits

(O)(6) Metal Keyrings or D-rings (for mounting balun via pulley)

(O)(6) Zip ties (for mounting balun via pulley)

(R)(6) LMR 400 Coax Cable (or equivalent) equipped w/ BNC (F) to BNC (F)*

(R)(4) HF Radio Serial Data Cable (PPP Cable)**

(R)(2) IP6600 Serial/IP Data Routers (AC Power)

(R)(1) Laptop pre-loaded with Harris Radio Programming Application (RPA) and NRDI software

(R)(1) Layer 3 Switch (capable of creating multiple secondary IP addresses per interface)

(R)(1) Secure Key Loader (SKL) loaded with appropriate COMSEC

(R)(*) AFATDS

(R)(*) Ethernet networking cable (e.g., CAT 5e)

*Needs (quantity, type, length, etc.) will vary based on TOC layout, number of systems (e.g., AFATDS), and other unit specific requirements.

** The PPP cable should be included in the man-pack configuration for the PRC-150. The part number for the cable is 10535-0775-A006.

BN:

(R)(2) AN/PRC-150 HF Radios

(O)(2) RF-1944 Antenna Kits*

(O)(2) OE-254 Antenna Kit**

(O)(2) Metal Keyrings or D-rings (for mounting balun via pulley)

(O)(2) Zip ties (for mounting balun via pulley)

(R)(1) HF Radio Serial Data Cable (PPP Cable)

(R)(1) AFATDS

(R)(1) SKL loaded with appropriate COMSEC

(R)(1) Laptop pre-loaded with Harris Radio Programming Application (RPA) and NRDI software

*Other HF antenna types (man-pack whip, AS-4701/VRC, etc.) may be used instead. Antenna design and utilization should be based on unique variables associated with the mission (e.g., terrain, distance, TOC layout, available equipment, etc.).

*The RF-19440-AT 150 Antenna Kit requires a vertical platform to elevate the balun and elements of the dipole. The antenna can be elevated using nearly any vertical platform (e.g., OE-254, a tree, or even an M577 queen mast).

Antenna Placement

The BDE utilized 6 different HF radios (2 voice, 4 digital) paired with 6 RF-1944 antennas during AT 2019. The radios were required to communicate with subordinate BN’s deployed within the Ft. Riley area of operations (AO). The BDE S6 section conducted a terrain/mission analysis, and determined an average of the various azimuths in the direction of the subordinate units; which was used to plan the deployment of an antenna field which centered the broad (strong) side of the propagation signal to the BN’s. The chosen antenna architecture would potentially support a vast geographic separation between the BDE and each BN (to simulate a potential real-world scenario); while simultaneously supporting all units located within the confined AO.

The S6 coordinated placement of the antenna field with BDE operations; who allocated an entire (long) side of the operations center (TOC). The antenna field placement required a significant physical footprint (approx. 330’ x 50’); and was required to be as close to the TOC as possible (limited by available cabling).

Six antennas were deployed in an Inverted Vee configuration; and were deployed in accordance with the HARRIS RF-1944 installation/deployment manual. Each antenna was mounted to an OE-254 mast, extended to a height of approximately 33’. The balun’s were mounted to the OE-254 feed cone using a zip tie and d-ring (see Figure 1A). The zip tie and d-ring created a pulley system, which allowed operators to lower and raise the balun once the OE-254 was emplaced (see Figure 1B).

Each element of the antenna was fully extended, resulting in a 160’ Inverted Vee antenna. The diagram outlined in Figure 1C shows the bird’s eye view of how the antenna field was installed. The first antenna in the formation (on the bottom of Figure 1C) was approximately 20’ from the center of the S3 portion of the TOC. All antennas were equipped with LMR-400 coaxial cables (2×200’, 3×150’, 1×87’); and all cables ran into the S3 portion of the TOC.

The antenna placement at each BN varied. Some BN’s deployed Inverted Vee’s using RF-1944 and an OE-254 (similar to BDE). Some BN’s deployed Inverted Vee’s mounted to masts on the M577 FDC tracks. Others utilized man-pack whips, AS-4701/VRC’s, or whatever was available (or whichever provided the most efficient and reliable connection to BDE).

Radio Integration

Fifteen (15) HF PRC-150 radios were used to link communications between BDE and BN’s during the training exercise. The distribution of those radios consisted of the following:

BDE –

[4] Data Radios

[3] Voice Radios

BN –

[1] Voice Radio

[1] Data Radio

All voice radios across the BDE were loaded with the same configuration, using the Harris Radio Programming Application (RPA) software. The voice configuration leveraged the Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) radio mode; which consisted of a single channel group, 5 channels, 5 frequencies¹ (ranging from 2 – 14 MHz), and 8 different stations. Appendix A² provides the step-by-step instructions that were taken to program each voice radio.

The data radios across the BDE were loaded with slightly different configurations; which were also built using the Harris RPA. The data configuration leveraged the Harris 3G – IP Networking radio mode. Four channel groups were created, each representing a one-to-one link between each firing BN and the BDE.

The BDE was only allocated 10 HF frequencies to distribute between the 4 channel groups. This would generally be considered inadequate³; however, all units within the AO were well within range of ground wave propagation, which negated the need for a distributed range of frequencies needed to communicate reliably. A larger geographic separation would require a much larger pool of frequencies per channel group – to account for atmospheric changes (e.g., weather, time of day, etc.).

All radios resided on the same wireless radio subnet, which allowed any BDE programmed radio to communicate with any other BDE programmed radio as long as they were set to communicate on the same channel group. Channel groups were generally assigned to BDE/BN pairs, to simulate a direct dedicated link. Each radio also resided on a unique subnet for their respective local area network (LAN); and generally acted as a gateway (or Exit Router) for any local systems utilizing the radios as a data transport (e.g., AFATDS).

The BN architecture consisted of the radio being directly connected to an AFATDS system (a.k.a. PPP Serial Direct Method). This connection required a PPP serial cable to interconnect the AFATDS and the radio. Step-by-step instructions for establishing a connection between AFATDS and an AN/PRC-150 can be found in Appendix B.

IP address settings for the radio wireless network, the IP network used to communicate with computers (e.g., AFATDS), and all IP routing information were contained within the configuration. The 130 FAB S6 leveraged a generic FAB data and voice RPA to integrate HF data communications in the environment. The generic RPA configurations can be found in Appendix C⁴.

The BDE architecture was slightly more complex. It consisted of multiple AFATDS interconnecting with the 4 BN radios via an Ethernet IP network. The S6 team leveraged the existing Ethernet network interface cards on the AFATDS systems to tie into an Ethernet LAN, which was distributed using a layer 3 Cisco Switch. The switch was then connected to a pair of IP 6600 routers. The routers then communicated with the radios via a PPP serial link. This architecture allowed AFATDS systems to route packets through an existing Ethernet LAN, through any of the interconnected radios, and eventually to the desired BN AFATDS. The design was flexible enough to allow a single or multiple AFATDS to communicate with all BDE AFATDS. See Figure 2A for the LAN/WAN architecture.

1 The HF frequency range allocation to the BDE was significantly lower than what was requested.

2 Appendix A references a pre-built RPA configuration. The RPA configuration must be completed and made available prior to attempting to program a radio. See Appendix C for generic RPA examples.

3 The reference document “LRC HF Radio Plan and Frequency Management”, prepared by CGI Federal, provides best practice recommendations for allocating frequencies to channel groups.

4 The generic RPA was provided to the 130 FAB S6 by Mr. CM, CGI Federal SED Contractor.

AFATDS Integration

The BDE AFATDS system(s) integrated into the architecture outlined in Figure 2A via a single ethernet network interface card (NIC)¹. Four separate Fire Support Tactical Internet (FSTI) connections were created and assigned to the Primary NIC (see Figure 2A for FSTI network details). Once the FSTI networks were created, the individual AFATDS destinations (for each BN AFATDS) were created. The appropriate FSTI networks were assigned to each destination AFATDS (e.g., FSTI Network 1 would be assigned to 2-130 AFATDS). This allowed the BDE AFATDS to communicate with all AFATDS simultaneously through a single ethernet interface. When multiple BDE AFATDS were utilized, the same process was taken; with the exception of the FSTI Networks having different local IP addresses (e.g., AFATDS 1 would be x.x.x.4 for FSTI Network 1, while AFATDS 2 would be x.x.x.5 for FSTI Network 1).

A data sheet/radio plan should be created

Conclusion

The BDE HF deployment was generally considered very successful. The HF (data) radios proved to be extremely reliable for the AFATDS communications. Once the routing bug in AFATDS was identified and corrected, there were no identified outages and/or issues reported with the connections.

The HF Voice radio deployment wasn’t quite successful as the data radio deployment; mostly due to the operational change that was required to adapt to the way the radios functioned. Unlike FM broadcasts on certain Net ID’s, the HF voice radios required calls to be made to certain parties; and those calls to be terminated once it was complete. Other than the change in how it worked, operators mentioned on multiple occasions that the call quality on the HF radios was much better than the quality of FM communications. Overall, it was a successful implementation BDE wide.

Finally, the antenna field placement had little to no impact on TOC placement. Power distribution was handled on the opposite side; and environmental control units were easily distributed on either side. Even though MCIS was unavailable during this training exercise, there was plenty of room available to deploy a JNN/STT.

Appendices

All referenced appendices can be found as external attachments to this document.

References

All references can be found as external attachments to this document.

AFATDS IP 6600 Method Example

LRC HF Radio Plan and Frequency Management

AppC Troubleshooting AFATDS networks settings

HF Data CMDRs Overview

LRC 25U HF Radio system function test, maintenance and troubleshooting Guide

LRC HF Reference Guide

Linking by HF subordinate battalions to FAB_DIV

FAB Data Sheet – Radio Plan

1 The primary or secondary NIC can be used.

In short, POTA is taking amateur radio equipment to a park listed on the POTA database and making contacts from there. The people that participate in this have a wide variety of setups ranging from a small battery and radio set on a picnic table to setups that can be in poor weather and sustain operations with some form of power generation. My goal is to lean to the latter, sustaining radio operations for several days away from power.

My last overnight trip was Perry State Park on Lake Perry, KS. The spot was beautiful and I had a great view.

Since I don’t have a mast, I have to select a spot with a tall tree to get a dipole antenna in the air. I took some fishing weights and put those in a tennis ball with paracord tied to the weights. The weights are silicone calked inside the ball. I use this to throw a line into a tree, which I use to hoist the dipole feed point up as high as I can. The ends of the antenna I either stake in or find other trees to tie off to to make an inverted V. Once the antenna is in place, I can set up the campsite since my feedline to the antenna will dictate where I can go. Ill have to be cautious of dead trees as these can be dangerous. Setting up or tearing down the entire thing solo takes about 2 hours. Once in operation it looks like:

I weighed the equipment and found:

1. 200lb Gel lead acid batteries (140Ah), solar panel, and cart
2. 100lb M1950 Tent and Yukon stove
3. 100lb Personal care items, rucksack, cot, sleeping pads, camp chair, food
4. 15lb IC7200 and accessories
5. 10lb Tuner and power distribution
6. 10lb Raspberry Pi, Software Defined Radio (SDR), and tablets
7. 10lb Handheld Transceivers set with charging components
8. 10lb Backup laptop
9. 10lb Antennas and feedline

465lb of equipment. Some of the personal care items are not required such as the chair and cot. The tent, batteries, and radio can all be brought down in weight with items made to be light and I can get those over time. The current setup works well and my Lake Perry POTA activity was alot of fun.

The Yukon stove really works well. There isn’t much info on it to be found using with wood as a fuel like I am, and my experience with it isn’t helpful since we used vehicle fuels (diesel/gasoline) to burn in these when I was using one on active duty. I have the fuel burning plate, but do not intend to use that. I have no idea how we didn’t start several fires with these when using gasoline in the 80s, luck I guess. The door on the stove does not seal well, so regulating temperature when burning wood is largely dependent on bringing the coals forward or rearward and feeding the fire with smaller pieces more frequently as opposed to stuffing it. I found it wont burn overnight with wood so ill have to set an alarm after a few hours to feed it so it does not go out. The TM mentions coal or wood as a fuel, but does not go into detail. The stove works great to cook on and during my trips I have a constant supply of coffee or tea. In summer ill have to make a cooking fire outside since this stove produces quite a bit of heat.

I am really enjoying POTA activities and am looking forward to doing these as often as I can.

The cart concept would work with some very expensive items, namely lithium iron phosphate batteries, and winter tents that are light but can contain a wood stove. The cart with shelter and radio equipment was simply to heavy to move more than a few hundred feet unless on perfect terrain, and then it was slow going. I won’t abandon the concept, but ill have to wait to get the items required to be portable. In the meantime, still with an eye to winter field day, I did get a surplus shelter that I have quite a bit of experience with while stationed in Germany in the 80s. It is an M1950 hex tent, and I have coupled it with a surplus Yukon stove that I have had, but not had a use for, for years.

The shelter has ample room for the radio equipment, stove, and a second person. Its 80lb, added to 2-300lb of radio and camp gear, so this will be something that will require transportation of some kind (ATV/Horses).

I tested the setup at my farm, then took it to Lake Nebo, KS for a “Parks on the Air” activity https://parksontheair.com/. Parks on the Air encourages radio operators to take their equipment to a national or state park to make radio contacts from a field location. This was my first attempt at doing such an event and it was successful, in that I made the required number of contacts. The terrain at Nebo is not ideal for the antenna I have, and my ability to be heard on the airwaves suffered. It was fun, and I definitely plan on doing more parks on the air activity since it combines my love of camping with radio. I still need to evaluate what equipment I must have to get lighter and more organized, but with the way that most parks/campgrounds are set up moving the equipment from a vehicle to the campsite is possible without much difficulty.

Inspired by OH8STN (http://oh8stn.org/), and in anticipation of Winter Field Day (https://www.winterfieldday.com/) I decided to make a portable station. For the most part, it is my normal home setup on a cart. It is heavy but it works, refinements will be reducing weight. When put together for travel it looks like:

The items aren’t ideal, but this was made from scrap and items I had on hand. The only items I purchased for portable use was the cart, a Rambo Bikes cart made for a fatbike but can double as a hand cart, and a GPS dongle for time which is required for some digital modes. Additionally, a 100w solar panel from Rockpals provides recharging capability, which I got on sale.

The batteries are the same as my home station, I got a fresh set and used the older ones for portable. They add the most weight at 100lb of Gel lead acid battery, but I get 140Ah from it. The box is weatherproofed, but ill need to refine how I cover and load the cart for rain. The box lid doubles as a tabletop when it is inside the shelter. I added an IC7200 to the setup since its made to take out in the field and less delicate than the IC7300. A couple of old tablets provide VNC (remote desktop) access to the Raspberry Pi, which handles digital modes. Antenna is a multiband Windom dipole that uses trees for height in an inverted v configuration.

Moving the station is workable, but weight reduction will help make this easier. difficult terrain will be a challenge in its current state.

It works in testing, I get the same reach as my home setup, so I am happy with it. The next step will be to find some local campgrounds, hike in, and set up there to see how far I can pack this and what can be done to improve its portability.

A friend of mine suggested we participate in Field Day 2020. Having not done any contesting before, much less in the field, I wasn’t sure how this would work out but I really enjoyed it.

Our setup was a simple 12v car battery and our HF rigs. I had handheld 2m radios but we didn’t use them very much. Our antenna was an inverted V dipole that we shot into the trees with a bow, a fishing pole, and guy line. We set up a campsite and then focused on operating the station. My friend made a significant number of voice contacts and we discovered the rules gave an advantage to digital contacts. I have used digital modes mostly in JS8Call and Contestia, but I could only make a small handful of PSK contacts. The action seemed to be in what sounded like JS8Call, but I found later the mode was FT8. Having spent some time since learning this mode, I should be in good shape for the next field event.

We ended up needing a generator a couple times, which introduced interference with radio operation. For the next event I’ll be looking for some foldable solar panel sets to charge the station batteries and a Raspberry Pi/tablet combo for power efficiency with the digital aspect. My home station battery setup can run for a few days without sun, but that is mostly listening so i’ll have to work up the math on contesting, which is a great deal more transmitting, thus power consumption, than I am accustomed to.

After a little under a couple months of use, I can say that this power setup is quite adequate. My concern was that it would not be enough to sustain radio operations and I would have to charge batteries from wall power from time to time, but I have not needed this. I did an initial charge when I first installed it but nothing since. I am transmitting at 100 watts often so the system is getting moderate use. The Powerwerx power meter is very helpful in monitoring whats happening with the batteries – https://powerwerx.com/watt-meter-analyzer-inline-dc-powerpole. The gel type batteries charge at voltages above 13.8 and the meter shows when this is happening, even overcast days can provide sufficient charging voltages. Measuring the level of the battery is done by turning off everything and reading voltage with no draw, 12.85v is full, and anything under 12v is empty. I have not observed below 12.60 (75%) so far.

If you are considering powering your amateur radio equipment with solar, it can be successful, unfortunately there is not much information to review about it. Fortunately, there aren’t many components and making a design was fairly straightforward, but finding references took some hunting. Overall I am very happy with my setup.

• 

For 6 months I have been slowly gathering the items I need to make this project work. The items I selected for the solar system are:

Solar Module, 110 Watt, SWPB-110 – SunWize

Phocos ECO-N-T Series (10-20 A) – http://www.phocos.com/na/blog/portfolio/eco-n-t-2/

2 Duacell DURG12-70P, a 70 amp hour battery, connected in parallel. http://www.batteriesplus.com/product-details/sealed-lead-acid/battery/duracell-ultra/durg12=70p

PowerWerx DC power connectors, specifically the Anderson connectors.

Watt meter to measure battery and utilization – http://powerwerx.com/watt-meter-analyzer-inline-dc-powerpole

Rigrunner, a DC plug setup – http://powerwerx.com/west-mountain-radio-rigrunner-4005h-horizontal

The construction of the area to house these items in took longer than expected, but I really like how it turned out. My study/radio area was a father’s day gift. The office has an electronics closet that will house computer and solar items with venting fans. It isn’t finished quite yet, but I have tested the function of the system and the components work. When I finish antenna installation and start making contacts I can begin measuring the effectiveness of the setup.

• 

Since getting an HF radio, I have been interested in powering it without utility power. I live in a rural area where the power goes out occasionally, and the ability to communicate would be handy for those times where utilities are out for long periods. I found a very helpful vendor – https://www.sunwize.com/ who helped me select an appropriately sized system. I ended up with a single panel and a couple of large batteries that should run my radios for a couple hours of transmit time @ 100 watts per sunny day. I used https://solarpoweredhamradio.com/ as a starting point. Once it is set up I will review the specifics and how practical it is.