# How do you plan to get news or communicate?



## Sr40ken (Nov 21, 2012)

I've heard of people setting up ham radio networks. What are plans you may have?


----------



## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

Ham is the way to go, when all else fails, ham will be there, you cannot change radio waves. More specifically, cw. Start learning amateur radio while you can, get licensed with it. Its not only great for a teotwawki situation, but is a great hobby.

73s


----------



## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

For awhile Radio AM /Fm band Satellite feeds. over time that will be less and less as power is no longer available. Will listen in on HAM but not transmit. We have a couple Radios that are hand crank we will see how long they last. 
Not to push one brand here is a link to look at many
Crank Radio Review 2013 | Best Wind up Radios | Emergency Hand Crank Radio - TopTenREVIEWS


----------



## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

I have commercial amateur equipment, from two meter down through hf.

Also have military hf transceivers that cover from 200 kc to 30mc continuous.

They operate all modes, usb, lsb, rtty, cw up to 2 kw pep.

2 meter ht's 6mtr ht's, bases with packet.

Everything is either emp proof or shielded when not in use.

If the shtf will operate outside the standard bands.

Field ops will be with encrypted motorola saber's.

Local comm with op's, lp's and ff's will be with ta312 wire line with a sb22.


----------



## Sr40ken (Nov 21, 2012)

Looks like I have some studying to do. I got food, shelter and firearms covered or on the way but just started thinking about comm.hmmmmm


----------



## J.T. (Nov 10, 2012)

Smitty901 said:


> For awhile Radio AM /Fm band Satellite feeds. over time that will be less and less as power is no longer available. Will listen in on HAM but not transmit. We have a couple Radios that are hand crank we will see how long they last.
> Not to push one brand here is a link to look at many
> Crank Radio Review 2013 | Best Wind up Radios | Emergency Hand Crank Radio - TopTenREVIEWS


Same here. Been looking at HAM lately and will be getting certified soon. The emergency radio I have is the Kaito Voyager. I posted a few pics and a real brief review of it on this thread (post #12) http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/...ions/108-eton-emergency-radios.html#post15983

As long as NOAA is still up they will brodcast any emergency information so whatever radio you go with make sure it has the weather band.


----------



## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

J.T. said:


> Same here. Been looking at HAM lately and will be getting certified soon. The emergency radio I have is the Kaito Voyager. I posted a few pics and a real brief review of it on this thread (post #12) http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/...ions/108-eton-emergency-radios.html#post15983
> 
> As long as NOAA is still up they will brodcast any emergency information so whatever radio you go with make sure it has the weather band.


 I want to avoid any transmitting if it gets to that point of a lock down I want us to fade away not draw attention to us . Even use of small very short range communication devices will be very limited


----------



## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

Radio comms will be great, but transmitting always carries the of risk giving away your position-










MORE: http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/general-talk/2035-where-prep-post-about-communications.html


----------



## rstanek (Nov 9, 2012)

New to this forum, have been reading for awhile, anyway an answer to the above question, we would be just listening. Plan on bugging out, so HAM equipment would not work out to well. To much to transport or carry...


----------



## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

rstanek said:


> New to this forum, have been reading for awhile, anyway an answer to the above question, we would be just listening. Plan on bugging out, so HAM equipment would not work out to well. To much to transport or carry...


There are VHF/UHF hand-helds that cover those Ham bands as well as FRS/GMRS, MURS, Public Service, Marine, NOAA Weather, FM Broadcast, etc. that will fit in a shirt pocket and cost less than 60 bucks.

...oh.. and welcome to the forum


----------



## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

rstanek said:


> New to this forum, have been reading for awhile, anyway an answer to the above question, we would be just listening. Plan on bugging out, so HAM equipment would not work out to well. To much to transport or carry...


I've got this ordinary battery radio to listen to news broadcasts (if there are any) at the end of the world so i can figger out my next move, for example I wouldn't want to miss one that said "Government food convoys will be coming into your city so sit tight"










After taking that pic I EMP-proofed it (below) by removing the batteries and wrapping it in a plastic bag and kitchen foil, and it now sits on a cupboard shelf. (the plastic bag keeps the foil from touching the radio). Hey noobs, EMP stands for Electromagnetic Pulse from a nuke bomb or solar flare, both capable of blowing out radio electronics unless proofed.


----------



## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

rstanek said:


> New to this forum, have been reading for awhile, anyway an answer to the above question, we would be just listening. Plan on bugging out, so HAM equipment would not work out to well. To much to transport or carry...


Welcome to the forum. While is great you are thinking about weight and every pound to ounce to gram does make a difference, subsitute a pack of playing cards for a radio. There are some that are less in weight than what I have.

Here are the weight specs for my ft-60r
Weight: 13.05oz (370g)


----------



## preppermama (Aug 8, 2012)

I think this is the radio recommended by SoutherPrepper - Wouxun KG-UV2D

Wouxun KG-UV2D+Original Speaker MIC+USB Cable+CD 136-174/420-520 Ham 2-way Radio on eBay!


----------



## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

Hmm seen a lot of contradictory statements here according to what I know.

My HAM is a cool little device, no doubt. I was able to find a local repeater and key it in, it probably will reach up to 25 miles- covering my whole area. It will also let me listen in on police channels and other radio comms like weather band and FM. But since I got my ticket and call sign I have found that people who operate HAM radios are ASSHOLES! You should have heard this one guy me and Hank heard while testing our rigs...he started telling us he 'owned' that frequency and we better get off the air of he would get out his 'directional finding equipment' and come to our houses and have us arrested. We started laughing. He then starts cussing at us and called Hank a '******* without a license' (Hank is extra class) and I cut him off and reamed him fashionably. Hank is a guy so gentle and nice his honeybees will let him pick them up without trying to sting him. I'll be damned if someone talks like that my my best friend in front of _me_.

So after picking this bozo-nerd apart and telling him exactly what he was going to do to us, he gives up (having his bluff called out and laid flat) and goes 'you'll always be scum!' and goes silent. I mean to say that I have NEVER seen so many elitist snide asshats on one hobby. I have been scanning the repeaters and going around the channels, checking with local radio clubs and damn if every other one isn't an asshole. First of all, HAM is boring. Every second operator is some pocket protector oddball trying to be the airwave police, or some argumentative drunk who thinks it's a national debate outlet. All the former wants to do is call in "w4tgr, checking in" and vanish after the other confirms. NO talking seems to be the rule with most HAM operators. If the objective of HAM is just to briefly make contact and go onto the next station, that is plenty lame. Why would you buy 1200 dollars of HAM equipment to barely even use it? The price of almost all HAM equipment is beyond insane these days. It's hard to use, hard to manage and hard to find other signals. Hard to stand some of the people who run them, too. Now, I have had a couple good conversations while randomly scanning, such as a pair from Lockheed Martin who talked with me for about half an hour and they too agreed HAM radio is usually lame. I was telling them about the guy I mentioned and they assured me it was all too common to see that crap. It is. These people I guess have some elitism issues because they bought a 25 dollar license that is pathetically easy to get. It doesn't mean anything, it's too easy to think you're special. I HAVE a license and I'll be the first to tell you that it means absolutely nothing. If a ten year old can have a HAM lic. then it means nothing in all reality. It's all about the gov't getting money.

I saw a post above from our pal that made me laugh about getting arrested. Here's how this works.

The FCC will not, absolutely will not (proven fact) bust *anyone*. They _can't_. They have no legal authority over you but their very vaguely worded federal code. They CAN impose hefty fines to people they have in their hand with mounds of evidence and eyewitnesses (or ear witnesses) which rarely happens, or they send you a piece of paper saying to stop and just how angry they will get with you. It's useless for other HAM operators to track down your station with directional antennas (which is a long drawn out process) and only works when the offending operator is actively broadcasting for long periods of time. Even then, all the people who tracked it can do is tattle with the FCC and hope they send a piece of paper saying to please stop or they will get mad. The piece of paper is the worst that will happen. It's a joke.

Now, if you are running like 1000watts on ten meter band and splashing over onto nearby TV sets and car radios for long hours on end or disrupting police comms with your rig, yeah. They might come down and arrest your ass. And it would be the COPS, not the _FCC_ because you were braking real laws. the FCC has had nothing to do with the last five people busted for doing something like that, and had no hand in _anything_ including the tracking. If a large number of citizens complains to the FCC yes, they may find you and fine you if you are stupid like those 5 people nationwide over a ten year period (see what I'm getting at?) If a large number of other HAM operators complains to the FCC nothing will occur. It's the paper. The most recent person busted had an extremely powerful station and was jamming CA police and fire radio, threatening to bomb people, threatening the police captains and telling people she would blow them up while disguising her voice with a tone shifter and broadcasting 24/7. Wasn't long before the cops kicked her door in and had all the evidence they needed to convict. Rarely does that happen, and I mean rarely.

It is anarchy over these airwaves otherwise. HAM is just not what it used to be or was intended to be. the FCC takes tax money and sits lazily aside. It's snake oil is what they are. They HAVE no real function. As for THEM tracking you, won't happen. Other HAM operators will be the ones to find you and then it will still take some doing. And if they wind up trespassing they can get shot like any other man. What they will need to do is prove someone is in possession of, and actively using a HAM setup WITH facial identification AND other corroborating eyewitnesses or...when it gets to court (any court civil or criminal) the case gets thrown out for lack of prosecution evidence. Any fool cheap lawyer could run rings around what a few HAM operators and a soccer mom can bring to the stand. Without a giant antenna in the back yard or them being in the room and identifying you while doing it, the best evidence they have is circumstantial at best and this is _precisely why _the FCC will do nothing about it. Not to mention the moment you stop transmitting you are a ghost. If you are mobile like I am they cannot track you realistically. Triangulation doesn't work that way. And the people using directional antennas still have to find what area, what street, what house ect ect...the second you go quiet and stay quiet for awhile they lose the trail. I have seen guys on youtube running home made repeaters out in the woods and masking their facility's locations and the HAM clubbers have been looking for the last 2 years and have not been able to find them yet. The cops and FCC refuse to investigate.

The reality of HAM is that is has potential to be of great use to preppers, but it's really expensive and boring and the main part of HAM operators will not even let you talk over the airwaves. You'll deal with a lot of elitism, a lot of old dorks who are jerks and nitpicky people who absolutely know you don't have a license if you don't say your callsign after everything you say. Or you will deal with channel after channel of utter silence. My opinion? (which I respect)

Go shoot yourself in the foot with a 22. It's cheaper and less painful.


----------



## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Leon sounds like a government run agency. Lot of what you say is spot on. Remember the deal with the outlaw radio station with the city. They kind of allowed that too long as the did step on the wrong toes.


----------



## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

the guy on youtube broadcasts between commercial radio stations and they haven't done a thing


----------



## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

I have been a ham for over 20 yrs. Most of the people I deal with are not like that. geeks yes, a**holes not so much. Am I a geek, maybe a little but not has much as my friends. They have much more electronics and computer training than I do. Being partially color blind will do that to you. I guess I am a semi-geek. I can operate and diagnose many but not all radio/computer problems. Am I a dork? Guess it depends on who you talk to. Am I an a**hole? Sometimes if the situation calls for it. I am adaptable. Could I stand up toe to toe and duke it out with you? Not anymore, too old for that shit. Have I met hams with cranial/rectal inversion? Yup, but then again you can find those people in most walks of life. 

Most of the hams I know will go out of their way to help you. Every Saturday a group of hams meet at a What-a-Burger here and you can ask all the questions you want and get answers. I have seen a newbie come in and a group of experienced hams have helped them install gear in their cars. Antenna issues, electronic issue and even computer issue will most likely be solved there. You don't have to be a member of any club or hang out with certain people. They will welcome you, much the same as I have found here. 

The only real function for hams is emergency communications. Other than that, it's only practice. Like firearms you are only as good as your training. Ham radio is like everything else, you have the good and not so much good. I'm sorry you had a problem with these people but not all hams are like them.


----------



## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

preppermama said:


> I think this is the radio recommended by SoutherPrepper - Wouxun KG-UV2D
> 
> Wouxun KG-UV2D+Original Speaker MIC+USB Cable+CD 136-174/420-520 Ham 2-way Radio on eBay!


We've got 3 of the KG-UVD1P's (in addition to various Icom and Vertex handhelds)... the Wouxun's are actually pretty good radios and stand up well under (ab)use.
The UVD1P's and the UV2D's, however, do not have the 2.5KHz frequency step required to correctly tune many public service frequencies newly assigned during the VHF Narrow-banding mandate that takes effect next month.
This is not critical, but it's a nice feature if you want to include updated police, fire, ems, ema, etc. in your list. A couple of UV6D variations do include 2.5KHz stepping.


----------



## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

whoppo said:


> We've got 3 of the KG-UVD1P's (in addition to various Icom and Vertex handhelds)... the Wouxun's are actually pretty good radios and stand up well under (ab)use.
> The UVD1P's and the UV2D's, however, do not have the 2.5KHz frequency step required to correctly tune many public service frequencies newly assigned during the VHF Narrow-banding mandate that takes effect next month.
> This is not critical, but it's a nice feature if you want to include updated police, fire, ems, ema, etc. in your list. A couple of UV6D variations do include 2.5KHz stepping.


My buddy and I got the UV-5R partly because of the cost, dirt cheap on ebay, and partly because it was the least expensive radio available that we liked with the 2.5KHz increments. As far as durability, time will tell. I am not the most graceful person around. My Kenwood TH-D7a once went flying off the hood of my car at 35mph. I didn't destroy it like I thought I had. Yeah, I can abuse some equipment, lol.

Another buddy is in a nursing home and I bought him a UVD1P so he could have access to his local repeater. That's not a bad radio either. I got that about a year ago and he is still using it.


----------



## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

Hey Leon,

Sorry to hear that your ham radio experience has been so disappointing... I can assure you that it's not like that everywhere. I've been licensed for more than 30 years and Mrs. Whoppo has her ticket as well. While we do have a few locals who are kind of a disappointment, the majority of hams in this area are good operators, extremely helpful and generally nice folks. We've got repeaters on 10 meters, 6 meters, 2 meters, 220MHZ, 440MHz and 1.2GHz with coverage areas from a few miles to over 150 miles, so anything from a quick hello to a "old buzzard" rag chew is never too far away.

At home I've got some vintage AM gear dating from the late 30's through the early 60's that I use on 160 and 80 meters mostly and more modern gear for SSB and digital modes. We've got HF/VHF/UHF gear in both daily driver vehicles and in the motor home... from my pickup truck I've worked 175 countries and have regular conversations with friends all over the place. It's hard to imagine being without ham radio, despite the occasional douchebag.

I hope your future ham radio experiences improve.


----------



## preppermama (Aug 8, 2012)

whoppo said:


> We've got 3 of the KG-UVD1P's (in addition to various Icom and Vertex handhelds)... the Wouxun's are actually pretty good radios and stand up well under (ab)use.
> The UVD1P's and the UV2D's, however, do not have the 2.5KHz frequency step required to correctly tune many public service frequencies newly assigned during the VHF Narrow-banding mandate that takes effect next month.
> This is not critical, but it's a nice feature if you want to include updated police, fire, ems, ema, etc. in your list. A couple of UV6D variations do include 2.5KHz stepping.


Good to know. When we have some extra cash, I plan to pick one up.


----------



## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

I appreciate that, I'm just being a wise ass (as usual) just some funny observations from around here, I just got my ticket a few days ago and it's been really confusing around here. This pair of guys near me somewhere are truly silly with all their policing efforts. The repeaters they have listed for atlanta don't seem to work and the one in marietta wasn't seeming to be working either. If I go up on that hill some evening I'll see if my little radio will reach out to somewhere beyond the county. I was still rather impressed at the coverage of the repeater W4GR runs, i was about 25 miles away from my town and could still reach it with a 5 inch antenna sitting inside the car. the repeater guys at lockheed martin work on experimental aircraft and they said if it's quiet we can use it to chat, but that's outside our area so we would only need it if inside the metro atlanta area.

In afterthought there is a guy here too who has a hacked up CB setup that splashes over the channels and he will babble _mindlessly_ for ten minutes at a time literally rolling over three or four channels and you can't hear anything else. every day at around 5pm that freak is already drunk and just babbling too fast to really understand what he's talking about but he loves to hear that skull of his rattle.


----------



## Sr40ken (Nov 21, 2012)

What device will give you the best coverage of reception that is small and "packable"? Or is that what one would want?


----------



## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Sr40ken said:


> What device will give you the best coverage of reception that is small and "packable"? Or is that what one would want?


Depends on what you will be using it for. My first thought for packable is a Yaesu FT 857D. I don't own one but I know a number of people who do and take them on Boy Scout weekends. This is an all purpose hf/vhf/uhf radio. Icom makes something similar that comes in a backpack.


----------



## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

I use the small hand-held VHF radios that I use on my boat. They have pretty good range, and can be recharged off a generator quickly. And they have an emergency clear channel (16).

Funny story -- my wife and I also use the small hand held walkie-talkies when we are trailering the boat, camping/hiking, or traveling in car convoys. They can save a marriage when you are backing a trailer -- ask us how we know. When we first got them, we were playing around and decided we needed "handles" to go by. My wife likes tree frogs, so she chose Tree Frog. I decided to be Horny Toad (I used to live in Texas, what can I say). So we are calling back and forth "Horny Toad to Tree Frog, Horny Toad to Tree Frog" and acting, well, like amateur radio operators sometimes act when they are horsing around. All of a sudden a child's voice chimes in and says "You people are WEIRD!" We laughed so hard we got cramps in our sides. 

But the hand-held radio -- like Lucky Jim has -- comes in real handy. After a hurricane, we were without power for a week (drawback to rural living -- you are "at the end of the line" literally when it comes time to restring electrical lines). No cable TV (pre-satellite), no phone. No antenna reception. So I crank up my 9-volt AM/FM radio I used to take to ball games, and start listening for news. Announcer says Home Depot is getting a truck filled with 750 generators. We jump in the truck (after loading the rifles) and head to town. Halfway there (dodging downed trees, dead animals, and live power lines along the route) the radio in the car says Home Depot is "SOLD OUT already." Since I ride motorcycles and ATVs, I just went to my local Honda dealer and bought a Honda generator instead (cost more, but it still runs two decades later -- Hondas). But that little $15 Sony radio was our connection to the world that still had power.

After that, I bought handheld VHFs and the walkie-talkies, a weather radio, and a hand crankable programmable AM/FM/WEATHER bedside radio, and have never looked back.


----------



## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

Verteidiger said:


> I use the small hand-held VHF radios that I use on my boat. They have pretty good range, and can be recharged off a generator quickly. And they have an emergency clear channel (16).
> 
> Funny story -- my wife and I also use the small hand held walkie-talkies when we are trailering the boat, camping/hiking, or traveling in car convoys. They can save a marriage when you are backing a trailer -- ask us how we know. When we first got them, we were playing around and decided we needed "handles" to go by. My wife likes tree frogs, so she chose Tree Frog. I decided to be Horny Toad (I used to live in Texas, what can I say). So we are calling back and forth "Horny Toad to Tree Frog, Horny Toad to Tree Frog" and acting, well, like amateur radio operators sometimes act when they are horsing around. All of a sudden a child's voice chimes in and says "You people are WEIRD!" We laughed so hard we got cramps in our sides.
> 
> ...


Just fyi: it's not legal to use vhf marine radios on land. It's not always enforced, but I have a truck driver friend that landed a $2K fine for the one he put in his truck.


----------



## Meangreen (Dec 6, 2012)

Leon you just answered all my questions about HAM radio, thanks


----------



## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

Leon, sounds like you have a lot of jerks owning repeaters down there, or were you running off simplex? The only time I've ran across something like this was this last weekend during a contest, which one guy from minnesota said we had our gain up to high. Everyone else in my area has been extremely helpful and have went out of their way to help me. Now, on another note, I've been to some ham radio forums where they were jerks with the questions I've asked, but other members have stepped in and called them out on why ham radio ops have a bad name because of this reason. So like anything in life, you have your jerks and you have your helpful ones.

How about a qsl contact with me in morse sometime? Distance of what, 300 miles?


----------



## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

survival said:


> Leon, sounds like you have a lot of jerks owning repeaters down there, or were you running off simplex? The only time I've ran across something like this was this last weekend during a contest, which one guy from minnesota said we had our gain up to high. Everyone else in my area has been extremely helpful and have went out of their way to help me. Now, on another note, I've been to some ham radio forums where they were jerks with the questions I've asked, but other members have stepped in and called them out on why ham radio ops have a bad name because of this reason. So like anything in life, you have your jerks and you have your helpful ones.
> 
> How about a qsl contact with me in morse sometime? Distance of what, 300 miles?


The only two people I hear on the local repeater think they are the airwave police or something. I heard him go off again on someone for not saying his AND their callsign after everything they said. Was looking into my own repeater, there's one I see on ebay for about 200 bucks. You can pretty much run some wire up a tree, right? or maybe mount a dipole up there?


----------



## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

Leon said:


> The only two people I hear on the local repeater think they are the airwave police or something. I heard him go off again on someone for not saying his AND their callsign after everything they said. Was looking into my own repeater, there's one I see on ebay for about 200 bucks. You can pretty much run some wire up a tree, right? or maybe mount a dipole up there?


Putting up a repeater take more than meets the eye...
In addition to a transmitter & receiver, you'll need a controller with ID timer, etc.
You can use individual tx/rx antennae if you've got enough space to place them far apart enough to keep the transmitter from desensitizing the receiver.
You can use a single antenna if you use a duplexer (a series of tuned cavity notch filters to isolate transmit/receive frequencies from each other). You'll also need the use of a cushman rf service monitor (or similar) to tune the duplexer properly. You'll want to feed the antenna(e) with good, low-loss feedline, preferrably 1/2" or larger hard-line.
Before you do any of this, you'll need to coordinate a frequency with your regional coordinator.

Yeah.. I've done this once or twice.. it's a lot like work :shock:


----------



## gemoose23 (Nov 9, 2012)

I am going low tech on Communication.. ill have to walk or ride a bicycle over to the neighbors to talk with them. Luckily we have lots of family within a 5 mile radius of us. In the middle of no where, we will just have be ready for the initial bug-in, then we can start our feelers out when all is calm and see how everyone is faring.


----------



## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

whoppo said:


> Just fyi: it's not legal to use vhf marine radios on land. It's not always enforced, but I have a truck driver friend that landed a $2K fine for the one he put in his truck.


I will look into that, but I know a lot of people who are on land that own and operate VHF radios, although all of them live on the waterfronts.

I was referring to emergency use anyway, the walkie-talkies are for everyday land use.

I do appreciate the heads up, though!


----------



## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

gemoose23 said:


> I am going low tech on Communication.. ill have to walk or ride a bicycle over to the neighbors to talk with them. Luckily we have lots of family within a 5 mile radius of us. In the middle of no where, we will just have be ready for the initial bug-in, then we can start our feelers out when all is calm and see how everyone is faring.


lol stick your head out the window and yell


----------



## gemoose23 (Nov 9, 2012)

Leon said:


> lol stick your head out the window and yell


Hahahs... I can hear the neighbors dog bark but both direct neighbors are a qtr mile away. 2 uncles farms are 2 miles away.

We packed up the kids left California and moved to family farm country in the Midwest. Best decision we ever did for the kids.


----------



## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

whoppo said:


> Just fyi: it's not legal to use vhf marine radios on land. It's not always enforced, but I have a truck driver friend that landed a $2K fine for the one he put in his truck.


I looked into this, and it turns out Whoppo was right (virtual high five, Whoppo) -- you cannot use VHF marine band for land-to-land communication. Thank you again for the heads up!

As it turns out, I had not done this, but it was my Plan B. So, now I have to go to Plan C. And drop some more cash on stuff I may never need, but I can use in the meantime.

I need some help here from the Forum members. I have the FRS walkie-talkies, but as my silly story relates, these are inexpensive and these will be useless in emergencies since everyone and their kids have them.

But I don't know jack about civilian legal radios, and I do not want to have to go get a license to run some. I am thinking about MURS radios for my group to use. But I am a fish out of water here, so can some of you clued-in experienced users help a complete newbie out on this? I am not a techno-geek so please don't zap with megahertz and crystals-speak -- way over my head (big goofy grin).

Will MURS work for an eight-man team with others listening in? What considerations do I need to take into account? I can recharge off a gasoline generator. Anyone use solar/PV flexible panels to recharge?

It seems to me many people could be helped with some shared knowledge on this, but if you want to keep your broadcast and receiving plans closer to the vest to limit goombahs from hogging the freqs, please PM me. I have discovered a hole in my prep plans, and I need to fix it.

Intended use is comms withing 1-3 miles, land based, mobile, VHF, under $500 per pair if possible, up to 10 users, and handheld with rechargeable batteries.

I truly would appreciate some advice on this -- I am sitting here with my morning cup of joe fretting over my gap in the prep plans. Many thanks, folks!


----------



## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Verteidiger said:


> I looked into this, and it turns out Whoppo was right (virtual high five, Whoppo) -- you cannot use VHF marine band for land-to-land communication. Thank you again for the heads up!
> 
> As it turns out, I had not done this, but it was my Plan B. So, now I have to go to Plan C. And drop some more cash on stuff I may never need, but I can use in the meantime.
> 
> ...


In a SHTF situation, I do believe that licenses will be a moot point. FRS is GMRS without a license. The difference being power. Anything with 2 watts or more requires a license as near as I can find. GMRS license is $75. The FCC states murs radios cannot exceed 2 watts and must be licensed. A murs license could be free though. I can't find a cost.

Whatever way you go, ebay is the best source of radio's. You can find multiple Motorola business handheld radios for a few hundred dollars. The cheapest way I have found overall is the chinese ham handhelds. I bought a wouxon kg uvd1p for a friend for about $100 and bought a baofeng uv-5r for $50 for me. A ham radio license will cost you $14. This includes the testing and is good for 10 years. A technician license is not that complicated, it's when you go for general it gets harder and the extra class test made my brain hurt. But I did manage to pass the extra. The best part is when you pass the original test, all you need to due is renew. I don't know what happened but my renewal the last time was free.


----------



## J.T. (Nov 10, 2012)

Yeah, I think inceptor has it right. Going with a handheld ham may be the best option. I've been thinking about a Wouxon too. I found this video by Southernprepper, has some great info on exactly what we're talking about....


----------



## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

J.T. said:


> Yeah, I think inceptor has it right. Going with a handheld ham may be the best option. I've been thinking about a Wouxon too. I found this video by Southernprepper, has some great info on exactly what we're talking about....


Yaesu ft-60r, same price, better resell value if not going up already.

Wouxon China made

Yaesu Japanese made

$139 for the yaesu at R & L Radio

http://www.randl.com/shop/catalog/p...ts_id=38350&osCsid=2s7ctgoacjf7tmjo0ft4omfab5


----------



## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

There's a number of good choices for VHF/UHF handhelds.

The Yaesu's are generally high build quality but while the radio is comparably priced, the accessories (rapid charger, spare batteries, etc) are significantly more expensive. They can be modified to transmit out of the ham bands for those who have authorization, but they're not FCC Part 90 certified, so non-emergency use outside the ham bands would not be legal.

The Wouxun UV series radios, while somewhat lower quality than the Yaesu's, work quite well and hold up to a fair amount of abuse. They Rx and Tx throughout the MARS/CAP, Ham, public service and private radio service frequencies and are FCC Part 90 certified, so it's legal to use these radios for public service, etc (as long as you have authorization of course). Desktop rapid chargers are included with the radio and spare lith. batteries are under 20 bucks each.

The Baofeng handhelds seem to be on par with (perhaps slightly lower quality than) the Wouxun's but offer similar functionality at a still lower price.

I've got Yaesu/Vertex, Kenwood and Icom commercial radios, Kenwood and Icom Ham radios and I've chosen the Wouxun handhelds for the daily pack rigs and protected stashes. Drop-in rapid chargers at home, the office, the truck and the motor-home and AA Battery shells stowed at all locations.

Whatever you might choose, options like these will always offer more flexibility and features than blister-pack FRS/GMRS radios.. well worth looking at.


----------

