U.S. Navy unit discovers HF radio communications

[Sparks]

The Commander of Task Force (CTF) 75, Fleet Combat Camera Pacific (U.S. Navy), has recently discovered that HF Radio across the Pacific actually works ...

Commander, Task Force (CTF) 75 successfully completed communications systems tests using high-frequency (HF) radio waves to broadcast voice and data 6,050 miles from Naval Base Guam to Port Hueneme, California, July 27, 2017.


The assessment tested the capabilities of expeditionary forces to use HF waves to deliver data over the Pacific. HF has become a viable alternative for military forces when more common forms of communication, such as satellites, are unavailable.
[...]
Common communication devices used by the U.S. military incorporate satellites. CTF-75 has been testing HF systems in the case of satellite communication failure. HF is a frequency wave broadcast that is transmitted around the curvature of the Earth. Unlike other forms of frequencies, such as very-high frequencies and ultra-high frequencies, the transmission is not distorted by terrain or physical obstructions.


"We may not always have access to operational equipment or the latest assets, but as communicators we should have a backup plan that is ready to be executed," said Carmon.

Well done, boys! — Next: The Wheel. And then: Gunpowder ...

[htfiremedic]

That's funny!   Didn't they use that "new technology" in Vietnam??  I may be mistaken, but.....


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[gil]

One word comes to mind... Duh!

Gil.

[RadioRay]

Those who refuse to learn from history .... probably are in overfunded government jobs.

And what kind of idiotic drivel is this?

"Unlike other forms of frequencies, such as very-high frequencies and ultra-high frequencies, the transmission is not distorted by terrain or physical obstructions. "

What an embarrassment...

[cockpitbob]

The problem is people get distracted by bright shiny objects.  All the attention and glory is in the new high tech systems.  And, since history shows that, in general the army with the best war tech wins, it makes some sense.  But it seems they've been focused on new bright shiny objects for so long they've forgotten some of the fundamentals of radio communications.  Yes, Sparks, next the wheel and gunpowder lol

[gil]

This is why amateur radio will always have an important role, simply because there is nothing else to replace it. Unless some weird quantum communication scheme is discovered, radio in simplex use will always sporadically be the only game in town. HF is the only way to communicate with the other side of the world directly. Even if it was prohibited, basic transceivers are so simple that no government entity could ever prevent their manufacture. It's not like electronic components are hard to find.

Satellites have their place, but an HF backup is a must. A good EMP, natural or not, and all those birds go silent. Of course, HF requires a bit of knowledge, which WE keep alive. It's not just a hobby, never "just" has been.

Now, that the Navy of all people is surprised that HF works, is sad... Someday they'll rediscover Morse code too, just wait...

Gil.

[swxx]

More advanced nations than the declining west, such as Russia and China, have never let go of HF nor of CW nor of the knowledge. Indonesia too is an advanced nation using CW many times a day every day with broadcasts from its National Resilience Institute. Isn't that what others should be doing too? South Korea and Japan, perhaps the two most technologically advanced nations in the world, BOTH still use Morse Code for some of their FISHING fleets across the Pacific, so they have not given that up even at a non-military level! Perhaps comforting to know, may be that not only USA but also the other "mine is bigger than yours" threat of nuclear war, DPRK aka North Korea, do NOT use Morse Code neither in their military nor anywhere else it would seem, and this is the reason that they have no one to monitor any amateur radio CW expedition to that country. BUT the USA has many hams that know CW AND HF, even if the authorities don't.