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***What you should understand is what is meant by “ground”. In the context of this discussion ground has more to do with the conductivity of the soil or surface below your radio. Not to get too in the weeds, but what must be understood is the waves coming off the antenna travel in both directions, up and down (picture that same doughnut buried halfway into the ground). Ideally the waves bouncing off the “ground” will meet the free-space (sky) waves in-phase and help things along. This ground is not necessarily the surface which you are walking on, and will vary based upon soil composition. Some places are better than others. Dry sand soil is generally a poor ground so a counterpoise (artificial ground) is appropriate. So a grounding rod is probably not exactly what we are talking about. Would it help? …sure…is it practical?....No. A counterpoise presents the best solution to get the waves to have as vertical a takeoff angle as possible and increase the gain of those waves. (hope I didn’t geek out too much on that)
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That helps, thank you. I know just enough about electrical grounding to be dangerous, but this makes sense to me. I do know enough to know that the ground rod that comes with the radio (about 16" long or so) isn't going to do a whole lot anyway, especially in rocky/sandy soil.
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***NVIS while moving is somewhat problematic. The reliability would not be the best, and I personally would not count on it. Ground wave maybe, but there are always possibilities. The simplest solution may be using a wire of appropriate length and having someone stretch it out for you (use an insulated stick or something to avoid burning you buddy) Depending upon the situation and circumstances you may be able to get a bit more creative on how you deploy your antenna. The biggest thing is to work this out beforehand since you may find that the solutions are impractical.
***I am personally a fan of a wire antenna. They tend to be more durable and less of a “signature”. A long whip is a bit annoying while you are moving (I am sure you realize), but if I can chuck out a wire and use a Low-to-the-ground Dipole , inverted ‘L’ or an Inverted ‘V’ I find it much easier. A wire antenna can also be configured to fit the physical characteristics of where you are. A long whip is a long whip so you have to make it fit. (Example: Inverted L consisted of wire off the radio and run through a 550 cord loop about 3 feet above the radio, wire run out about 15 feet and secured)
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I probably could have done a better job of phrasing my question - I don't really envision using the radio much while "moving around". It goes without saying that the long whip is too long for movement, and the doctrinal LRS mission doesn't really call for commo on the move.
Interestingly, though, one of the articles referenced above "AN/PRC-150 HF radio in urban combat" talks about the possibility of infantry units using the 150 as their primary means of commo in MOUT, and even swapping out the long whip with a 3' short whip from a SINGCARS, and just bending the gooseneck horizontal for NVIS commo while fighting. I don't have the experience or background to know how well that would work, but it is an interesting article that helped me think about how I might use the 150 for the LRS mission.
All that said, it is clear that what I need is some quality time with a radio and someone who knows what they are doing with HF in the field. Like most people, I will probably have an "aha" moment when I see someone set up one of these more advanced antennas for the first time. I suspect I will learn a lot at RSLC when I go. I am just trying to educate myself, and have some tools in the toolkit to use when training my soldiers. The 150 is a relatively new piece of gear for my unit (we still have to borrow them from other units to train), and there isn't really anyone I know of in our unit that is a subject matter expert.
Right now, I am in "sponge" mode. Anyone that wants to put in their 2 cents on using manpack 150's in the field, I'd love to hear it.