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CHA EMCOMM II Engineering Guide: Counterpoise and RF Ground

CHA EMCOMM II Engineering Guide: Counterpoise and RF Ground is a complete-system question: transformer, radiator, return path, feed line, choke condition, tuner state, and measurement reference plane must be evaluated together.

Engineering Reference CHA EMCOMM II Reviewed 2026-07-14
In plain language: CHA EMCOMM II Engineering Guide: Counterpoise and RF Ground is a complete-system question: transformer, radiator, return path, feed line, choke condition, tuner state, and measurement reference plane must be evaluated together.

Matching is not a property of the transformer alone. The installed wire, return current, feed line, ground, and nearby conductors all contribute to what the radio sees.

The CHA EMCOMM II V2 is a one-pound, one-operator broadband wire system built for rapid field communication when the station cannot carry a collection of resonant antennas. Its matching transformer and 60 ft insulated radiator pack onto the supplied line winder and can normally be deployed in less than 15 minutes.

What matters for this decision

  • This guide deliberately allows either a named counterpoise or a documented length of coax shield to serve the return function. Do not list a separate choke and a choked cable as two simultaneous requirements, and do not shorten the return path without re-evaluating the complete installation.
  • Begin with the current guide’s dimensions and connection point.
  • Measure broadly at low power, then change only one conductor length, tuner state, or routing variable.
  • A low station-end SWR does not by itself prove high radiation efficiency or controlled common-mode current.

Why operators choose this system

Its value is not one universal pattern. The same 60 ft radiator can be kept low and horizontal for regional NVIS work, raised as a sloping wire for general field coverage, or bent into an inverted-L when the site offers two useful supports.

Published operating reference

  • Published continuous frequency range: 1.8–54 MHz.
  • Published power: 200 W SSB and 100 W other modes under intermittent commercial/amateur service.
  • Published wire length: 60 ft maximum and approximately 35 ft minimum deployed length.
  • Published weight and setup: approximately 1 lb; one operator in less than 15 minutes.

Make the next deployment repeatable

Record product revision, configuration, wire dimensions and bearings, endpoint heights, support hardware, return path, coax and choke condition, tuner state, analyzer reference plane, weather, and on-air reports.

Boundary: Broadband coverage does not mean no tuner, identical radiation on every band, or permission to reuse the EMCOMM III counterpoise table. Follow the EMCOMM II V2 configuration and return-path instructions.
Keep the current guide with the station.

This lesson explains the operating choice in plain language. The current guide still controls assembly, dimensions, power limits, and safety.

Open the EMCOMM II V2 User Guide 240317 · View the current product page

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