Why HF radio remains critical to military communications

For all the claims that “an army marches on its stomach,” in the 21St century, the most important thing is not only the ability to deliver food, but also the ability to communicate.

Tactical communication is firmly at the center of military thinking, and members of the world’s military and law enforcement agencies need the ability to communicate in remote areas where traditional infrastructure does not exist.

In the field, self-sufficient communications and the ability to transmit voice, email and data are imperative. This is where high frequency (HF) radio comes into play.

HF overcomes the challenges of operating in such difficult locations, providing the ability to transmit a full voice and data signal without relying on any supporting infrastructure.

HF radio is a means of communication that operates in the radio frequency spectrum between 1.6 and 30 megahertz (MHz) and provides effective communication over short and long distances.

There are two basic forms of radio wave transmission in HF radio: ground wave and sky wave. Ground waves travel along the earth’s surface, enabling short-distance communication, while sky waves are refracted in the earth’s ionosphere, providing a transmission range of over 1,000 kilometers.

A typical HF setup consists of a transceiver with a microphone, a speaker, an independent power source, and an antenna for transmitting and receiving.

The industry standard setters

One company that has been at the heart of the HF radio industry for more than a generation is Australian business Barrett Communications. This may interest you : Public-Safety Broadband Applications and Benefits. Barrett has several firsts to his credit, including the creation of the first commercially available HF transceiver and handset using touchscreen technology.

One of its latest releases for the tactical market is the PRC-4090, and for a small piece of kit, it can have a big impact. Weighing only 2.95kg, the PRC-4090 is now the lightest military-grade HF transceiver available, while boasting a staggering number of operator features.

“The PRC-4090 is one of the most advanced fully software defined radio (SDR) transceivers and remains true to Barrett’s ethos of designing transceivers that provide intuitive ease of use,” said Andrew Burt, CEO of Barrett Communications.

“Software updates available for Barrett’s PRC-4090 range enable the ‘future proof’ release of options and new features previously unavailable to older transceiver models.”

A brighter future

With its 24-bit color touch displays and icon-based interface, the PRC-4090 range is closer in user experience to a modern smartphone than other HF transceivers. On the same subject : Global Satellite Payloads Market Report 2021-2026. This brings huge benefits in terms of ease of use with reduced training load.

The PRC-4090 range comes equipped with the latest radio technology, including digital voice, which eliminates the background noise and interference traditionally associated with HF radio communications.

Along with Digital Voice, AES 256 and DES 56 encryption provides a higher level of security than before. Like the new icon-based interface, the improved sound quality makes the PRC-4090 much more similar to the quality of calls and mobile phone use.

Multi-configuration system and operator functions

The PRC-4090 can be configured as a backpack, mobile and base station. The manual comes with a 2. On the same subject : Outstanding warrants ~ Feb. 28, 2020 – Starjournalnow.05kg 16Ah Li-Ion battery mountable and can also be used with a number of other off-the-shelf battery and non-battery options.

The mobile configuration intended for installation in a vehicle, which includes a System Docking Station (SDS) and a range of antenna and accessory options. The base station configuration includes the same SDS with power supply and base station antenna option in place of the mobile accessories.

The PRC-4090 has four selectable output powers of 10, 30, 125 or 150 watts (30 W maximum for Manpack and 150 W for mobile and base station configurations), up to 1000 storage channels with multiple scan tables, with optional 2G and 3G automatic connection establishment (ALE).


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