Comms Prepping. Ham Radio, CB, Shortwave, ETC, get in here now

I found a lot of good info about it at google.com.


Incredible web site, they have just about everything!

I got the Tech and General ham licenses last summer although they are a waste unless you want to be a hobbyist. Ham radio is SELF POLICED, the FCC doesnt usually give a Dam about pirates unless they are stepping into commercial radio bandwidth.

Nobody is going to triangulate you during SHTF where you are mobile.

All comms are monitored and in urban areas, the frequencies will be completely blocked making radios useless.

Most handhelds (baofeng) are useless without repeaters running. I have the 18 watt baofeng handheld and it barely reaches 2 miles

It is easy to be overwhelmed on a new subject. Let's keep it simple. How about:

1. inexpensive equipment
2. easy to obtain equipment
3. plenty of people using the equipment
4. easy to operate equipment without lots of training.


Conclusion:

1. Classic Citizens Band (CB) radio. 11 meters. 27 MHz, High Frequency (HF). Been popular since the mid 1970's. Dropped a bit with the new love for personal cell phone technology. But there are plenty still using it. Truck stops sell the transceivers and accessories. They have 40 pre-set channels. AM, SSB, and soon to be FM modes. The old 23 channel units will work right along with the new ones but no upper channels available.
As a mobile unit, at the legal 4 watts, good antenna: 1 mile to 3 miles in the city environment. Open areas does better. Base station with a tall fixed antenna, maybe out to 6 miles. Walkie talkies not so good... about 1/2 mile.
BTW, I use Ni-Clad batteries in mine.


2. Family Radio Service (FRS) .70 cm & UHF, line of sight, 462 & 467 Mhz. The government says 2 watts is now legal. Great for close in work. Plan on almost a 1/2 mile range. Have someone go up to a 2nd floor and you will learn how line of sight works in your favor. 22 pre set channels. No license needed. Most large box stores have them- Midland, Cobra, Motorola, plus others.
Get the ones the batteries can be re-charged in the unit. They might have a cradle charger or a micro USB or both.
Buy more than just 2 walkie talkies.

Any links you can suggest? I am interested.

My machine is a Yupiteru MVT-7100
[link to www.eham.net (secure)]

I mainly use it around airports listening to coms between airplanes and ATC Towers. Haven't been out much at all lately because of the freaking virus.

Got props and antennas and all that which I rarely ever use but I am keeping them.



Last Edited by Concorde Warrior F-BVFA on 08/15/2021 05:38 AM

Thanks for this.

Good thread.

I'm looking for something inexpensive to start with. For HAM the Baofeng UV-5R looked promising. For CB I was looking at the Uniden PRO520XL.

Would those be good choices for a complete beginner? Would they be useful in a SHTF scenario?

Last Edited by WalrusRider on 08/15/2021 05:56 AM

The Uniden model you listed is their low end model, no frills....but it works. AM only. Maybe look at their model 68 or even the model 78 for just a few dollars more.

I like the Cobra 29LX. It seems to be more computer than radio but it is easy to operate. My opinion is the Galaxy 959 is the best CB on the market that has the FCC sticker on it. Lots of features and a classic look.

Also, many radio fans will tell you the MOST important part of a radio set up is the ANTENNA. Sink your money there and you will gain the most performance.

Is it illegal to broadcast on this type of radio?

Thanks, I think I'll up it to the 78 and get a decent antenna then.

I've had my amateur license for almost a decade. It was a requirement for participating in some of the volunteer disaster response activities we participate in. All of my radios are pre-programmed with frequencies to be used by local, state, and federal governments by various agencies in the event of a major disaster.

That being said, operating under the assumption that repeaters will stay up and running is a big mistake. Yes, some probably will, at least for a while, but you need to have alternate plans in place.

For instance, my wife and I have a simplex frequency set aside for communications if the repeaters go down. It's preprogrammed into all of our radios. The HTs will have limited range but the mobiles in our vehicles will get out much further.

This is our setup:
1: Multiple amateur band HTs located in bugout bags, vehicles, work locations, etc. including one pair secured in an EMP-hardened safe in our shelter.
2: Mobile amateur band in each vehicle.
3: Three pairs of GMRS/FRS HTs.
4: Three HT citizen's band radios.
5: Four mobile citizen's band radios.
6: One HF receiver for monitoring global broadcasts.

Redundancy and proper prior planning are key to keeping your comms operational during a SHTF scenario.

Amateur radio is the only communication method guaranteed to survive just about any disaster you can think of, but only if you plan for it in advance. The OP is correct: If you just purchase a couple of cheap radios off Amazon and then leave them in their boxes so you have them in case of emergency, you've wasted your money.

That day comes i have no desire to tlk to anyone any more than i do now but i do monitor most communications already just for a hobbie.

Then as you all are communicating youre giving up your position every time you transmit.

Nothing will every happen the Rich and Famous Politicians across the planet need there pawns sheep and worker bees so they can keep there heads high above the clouds in there materialistic fantasy land.

Y 7.8 billion let a handfull of people control them is beyond me .
Religious Wars for 5 thousand years divide billions and Political wars divide the rest .

Thank the Heavens the next life does not allow what atrocities exist here and main objective is the Live Life Explore and Learn from Cultures by Geographical life which also is much different there because Earth ?Mother Gia Has a Soul to and she is Prety much Whole over there.
And terraforming is done remotely over there getting other worlds far from here redy to live being that the populations over there are Trillions rather than billions.

Is it illegal to broadcast on a Baofeng UV-5R? Considering picking a couple up.

Under normal circumstances, you need an FCC license to transmit on amateur radio frequencies. But there is an exception to the rule: During an emergency you can transmit on any frequency whether you have a license or not.

And if a SHTF scenario does occur, the last thing the government is going to worry about are people transmitting without a license.

So go ahead and pick them up; you can legally purchase them, own them, and monitor frequencies with them without a license. Just don't transmit unless it's an emergency.

During shtf will we really need licenses?

I have a handheld. I live in the sticks and barely ever hear anything on it. What antenna would y'all recommend? Links would be great

The 'Karen' is so strong in some that they will be forcing masks on people long after the gubbermint has fallen.
Hams are like that ...

Short answer: No.

More complex answer: I would still get the license so you can do some transmitting *before* SHTF and get some experience with the technology and the lingo.

A: You should research the amateur radio repeaters in your county. You won't hear much on the simplex frequencies because they are for the most part restricted to line-of-sight, but the repeaters will allow you to communicate throughout your entire county.

B: For a standard dual-band/tri-band HT, you don't need to spend that much money on an antenna. Do a search engine find for "external dual-band ham antenna" and find one that could be mounted to your roof or the side of your house. Then just run the cable inside and use an adapter to connect it to your HT.

Also, your HT is limited by law to 5 watts of transmitting power. Look into buying a mobile unit designed to be mounted in a vehicle and you can get 50 watts at that point.

That is new information to me. Maybe for GMRS? CB is restricted to 4 watts across the board now. HAM can do up to 1500 watts on MOST bands.
My 10w transmit HTs have served me well over the years. I was looking at the new Zastone (Chinese) 20w but I don't like that much power next to my pretty head very often. Plus the battery life is a struggle in the field.

Note: MURS & FRS are restricted to 2 watts max. MURS can have removeable antennas so that gives more options.

2 miles is still a lot more than yelling.

and if its SHTF FCC rules are very clear you dont need a license to operate any gear on any frequency. You do whatever you need to do to survive.

Thanks a ton.

Would I need to consider grabbing a cord to connect to my PC? Also a detachable antenna is something I read could be useful. Either of these things worth getting or just grab the handheld?

Thanks for the help.

Will repeaters stay up during the SHTF? How hard is it to block all the known repeaters?

Who TF do you think will give AF about what's happening to you when the enemy controls the airwaves and the governmental response appararatus?

Who realizes that once you key up the other side can ride that signal back to you?

Exactly what do you expect to get with all that?

Are you expecting someone will come and help or are you planning to be a superhero?

If it gets as bad as it will, it's not going to help one way or another on your own.
It will just be a beacon for the bad guys to stop by and help themselves.

lol at the shills saying not to do anything for comms because it will be controlled airwaves. First, notice how everyone is saying monitor first and be careful transmitting, also there are modes with reduced power you can even use within your immediately community/sub mile range that are def valuable for local purposes without sending it across HF radio. Everything is a trade off based on needs and risk. You are using the internet thats controlled too and infinitely more logged, data mined, and tracked but its still useful while its available though isn't it? And yet people saying dont use radios they can trace your signal, LOL F OFF. If you don't want to have backup methods of comms or paid tree fiddy to say so, then thats fine, but go play somewhere else while the adults are talking.

It just depends on the situation. A lot of repeaters have back up modes like battery or some even generator to run for short periods of power outages. Some, esp in Mountainous regions, are fully off grid with solar and batteries. Just depends on your region and the repeater operators. If things got real bad, repeaters probably wouldnt be online reliably or risky to use if it was totalitarian crack down, then back to simplex / direct comms.

survivaltech nord great website and videos for offgrid/emergency comms

[link to oh8stn.org]

[link to www.youtube.com (secure)]