There is usually the not entirely trivial problem of knowing how to set up the antenna. HF antennas that are efficient tend to be very long, and different lengths for each frequency. Let's say somewhere between 60 and 120 feet long being typical. If you are relying on a pre- installed antenna then it doesn't sound very disaster proof.

Then knowing what frequency will work at what time is worthy of some study. 2E0XJM going clear

> There is usually the not entirely trivial problem of knowing how to set up the antenna

Although efficient design is important, it's not always the case...

Once, as a kid I lost the antenna to a handheld (military band) radio and couldn't communicate with home base several km away. However, there was a fence nearby with broken wires. Problem solved, communication established. (Yes, I just plugged the one end of the broken fence wire into the antenna socket.)

I'm sure that my worldly and knowledgeable older self wouldn't have even tried it as a solution, assuming it wouldn't work.

You made a "random wire" end fed antenna. Your more knowledgeable older self might not have tried it, but an even more knowledgeable amateur radio operator definitely would have.

As long as you avoid even multiples of half the wavelength you're trying to work, it's an easy way to make a usable antenna.

> I'm sure that my worldly and knowledgeable older self wouldn't have even tried it as a solution, assuming it wouldn't work.

You have to keep reminding your older self that everything that conducts electricity can be used as an antenna in a pinch :). Up to and including your own body, or a stream of salt water squirted from a tube (in fact I recall reading about military testing out such antennas made of sea water on ships).

In a college class we tried using rockets for transmitting.

Like, the middle-school "rocket club" style rockets, a simple kit with a control board, and another that just had a very large spool of wire a la guided anti-tank missiles. They both sorta worked. Had to get clearance from the local airport about it, actually.

All I can say to this is, you must not know what an HF radio is. Perhaps you're confusing them with VHF radios?

https://www.universal-radio.com/used/sold050.html

Those are all HF radios, and not particularly obscure or sophisticated ones.

In addition to frequency, there is the issue of modulation, power, and tuning of the antenna. You can certainly have someone that knows what they're doing setup a station, and make it fairly turnkey (similar to how HF communications on an aircraft work), even then it can be more than just frequency. Also, if you're at the level of punching in frequencies on an HF radio, you have to contend with propagation.

In all but the most restricted HF radios, the interface can be intimidating to those without training. Maybe you have to accept that not everyone is as smart in gadgets as you are.. but many reasonably intelligent people will see a rig and their eyes will glaze over.

> you must not know what an HF radio is

No I've used HF, VHF and UHF, voice and data, clear and encrypted, in war-zones and around the world. I've seen people sometimes have to do some innovative things with antenna geometry for special use-cases, but apart from that I usually just switch them on and push to talk.

> Maybe you have to accept that not everyone is as smart in gadgets as you are..

As I say, I just switch them on really.

> As I say, I just switch them on really.

Ok. It sounds like you're mostly talking about military communications. For a very restricted set of short distance communication a pre-configured HF radio set with a pre-matched antenna may be pretty straightforward to use, but buying a brand new HF rig and getting it to communicate hundreds of miles is a lot more than just "switching them on". There's more to HF communications then you seem to realize. In the amateur service there are power restrictions, and modulation restrictions. If conditions are suboptimal there is then the issue of filtering or signal processing.

Oh ok.

That's not what HF radios look like in commercial services. Those are ham radios. You don't generally have a VFO.

Here's what somewhat older HF radios used for commercial and public safety purposes in Australia look like: https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/cotswold-hills/audio-gps-car...

Channels. Not a lot of options. No VFO.

Yes, I am quite aware (I mentioned preconfigured radios and gave aircraft radios as an example).. American CB radios are HF, after all.

But the poster claimed they had "never seen an HF radio" that was more complicated then turning it on, which is a very limited view. Further, you will see more featureful ham radios placed into public safety use in the US. It is perhaps not the best idea.

Do you the difference between LSB and USB, AM and FM? Do you know what SWR is? Do you know about daytime vs nighttime propagation? Do you know what a balun is?

Maybe these things are obvious to you but they are certainly not obvious to everyone. Maybe you can get lucky but to effectively operate an HF radio you need to know what you are doing.