Welcome to an occasional series of adventures with my old, heavy and extremely capable military radio: the RT/UK PRC-320 “Clansman” Manpack HF Transceiver, built for the British Army, and dating from sometime in the early 80’s.
This time, a visit—in warmer weather—to a nearby beach to test propagation and a new antenna, the Chameleon MPAS 2.0
The antenna is a complete system for deploying manpack verticals, wireline dipoles, inverted V and L shapes, and more. It’s super-configurable. What I love is the ability to mount the whip and whip extension together for an 18’ 2” vertical, which is then screwed into the Hybrid-Micro Matching Unit, and connected to a ground spike. The unit contains counterpoise and feed-line inputs, and the whole thing stands up in just a couple of minutes. No fuss outside of screwing the elements in place, and finding some earth that yields to the spike.
Kudos to Chameleon for the Ranger Green paint, lending notes of badassery to the proceedings. The system feels like a long-lost cousin with my Clansman.