Understanding Amateur Radio NVIS Antennas and Propagation

Copyright © 2002-2011 by Harold Melton, KV5R. All Rights Reserved. Feel Free to Link to This Page.

NVIS Antennas: Page 1

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Background

The author, a professional technical writer and training developer, has written adult vocational training materials for the petroleum refining, chemical, and aviation industries; and various technical articles for amateur radio. He has also been studying, building, and testing antennas for about 30 years as a hobby.

The material in this article is derived from The ARRL Antenna Book, 1957, 1974, and 1999 editions; Army Field Manual 24-18 and others, several QST articles, and various web articles written by other NVIS experimenters and HF antenna and propagation experts such as W4RNL. Various specifications given as examples are rough estimates, some with wide variability. They do not represent the absolute limits of performance, but practical applications where a high percentage of messages may be passed accurately, under average conditions.

This article is not intended to be a complete primer on HF radio propagation or emergency communications. Users needing background in HF radio propagation should see several of the excellent links at www.eham.net/DX/propagation, the many links at the bottom of this article, and the ARRL Antenna Book. The author assumes that the audience for this article has a general understanding of HF antennas and ionospheric propagation. Users needing background in emergency communications should see the various web sites of ARES and RACES groups, as well as FEMA and MARS sites.

The author wishes to thank all that have contributed useful information on this subject, and encourages comments, in writing, that may be used to improve this article. To quote a great writer from the 1830s, “Before you can convince me of error, you must first convince me you understand what I say.” Please read carefully.

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