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Newbie ham here. My stepdaughter in France is interested in off-grid communication with us in Oregon, and so I am looking into what that would take. If I knew what frequency bands would be best I would erect an antenna cut specifically for them and align it in the optimum direction. My ham activities have thus far been centered on two meter FM but I have bought a Yaesu FT-450 and have a fairly large back yard- and no covenants/restrictions on antenna construction to worry about. Which band(s) would be my best bet- and where could I learn more about this topic in general? Best regards, Niels KI7KXK

Mike Waters
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niels nielsen
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I lived in WA for few years, hence from experience - most "reliable" band is 20 meters and if you really want "point to point " voice TWO WAY communication AND have the nerve and space - use three elements quad for an antenna. I had 4 element home brew quad on about 30 feet "tower".

The key is - you will benefit from SIMILAR antenna setup on both location.

Antenna height is not that critical , but more elements the better. Same for power , not that critical.

Of course you know that amateur radio, especially HF, was NOT invented to have RELIABLE communication 24/7 ...

Maybe some combination of Internet, UHF would be more "doable". Not my cup of tea.

Jan Hus
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  • thanks, will do! – niels nielsen Oct 08 '22 at 03:38
  • invented? Radio wasn't invented, it was discovered! we have invented ways to have reliable communication (like underwater cables), but when you are doing it all yourself and off-grid, you have to take what physics gives you. – user253751 Oct 10 '22 at 13:20
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You'll need at least a General license, and she'll need the French equivalent.

Your best bet would be on 20 or 40 meter band (hence General, to use voice on those bands), some level of directional antenna (a horizontal dipole with the ends to east and west is probably directional enough, presuming you've got 100W output), and aimed approximately north from Oregon (shortest route is over the North Pole). Gray line -- your dusk, her dawn, or vice versa) will give the strongest propagation, especially in a few years when the solar activity dies down again.

Don't forget, you're now required to make an assessment of RF in the shack for most HF installations. This is a recent change, since I got my license three years ago.

Zeiss Ikon
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  • Thanks! Got my general 4 years ago, this will be my first try at the HF bands. -NN – niels nielsen Oct 07 '22 at 22:16
  • I agree on grey line propagation, but most of the year any two given locations do not have the advantage of that. DX Atlas can tell you when grey line propagation will occur between them. – Mike Waters Oct 08 '22 at 11:48
  • Agreed, but Oregon to/from France -- ~10 hours time zone difference and similar latitude ~ 45 degree north -- should be good in the upcoming month or two and for a couple months from late January through February. That'd be Oregon dawn; there'll also be a couple roughly month-long windows for Oregon dusk either side of the summer solstice. – Zeiss Ikon Oct 10 '22 at 11:19
  • Re, "...over the north pole..." Not really. Open Google Maps, and use the "measure distance" tool to draw a single line segment connecting Portland (or wherever) Oregon with Paris (or wherever else) France. It will show you the great-circle route connecting the two, and you can figure out approximately which direction to point the antennae from that. To my untrained eye, it looks like you'd want the Portland end to point approximately 40 degrees east of true north. – Solomon Slow Oct 12 '22 at 20:14
  • You're probably right -- you'd go over Greenland, but not the North Pole. Makes sense, it's only 10 hours time zone difference, not 12... – Zeiss Ikon Oct 13 '22 at 12:48