In a worse case scenario many services (power, phone...) may be interrupted. I was thinking it may be of value to have a Ham radio or CB radio system to stay in touch if needed.

I have a few like-minded neighbors who see what may be coming and we have discussed us all having walkie-talkies to stay in touch.

I have solar/crank radios to listen to many bands, but nothing to transmit with.

Suggestions?

Unfortunately, I don't have any way to answer your question, as my ham/CB experience equals -0-. However, for gold donors, there's a SHTF forum, where such topics are discussed; I know that KD, for example, has a significant amount of ham knowledge. Shelling out some cash for that may be an option.

A buddy of mine has a HAM license. He told me, with registration of the FCC HAM license and radio station you and/or your equipment can be drafted by the gub in the event of a catastrophe. Take appropriate steps ;)

I started a very long topic on ham radios in the forum Wearedoomed mentioned. Gen and a couple of others here have a lot of experience with it. It took me about 6 months to learn everything I needed to know to get started and be confident that I could reliably send and receive a signal. Unless you have a physics or electrical engineering degree, it's not something you'll just know off the top of your head. It took took quite a bit of study for me to learn the principles. The radios themselves can be very complex. Each band (radio wavelength range) operates in its own mode and exhibits its own physical properties, which you should know in order to effectively use it.

As with anything, you can either put in a very small effort and get at least some small results, or put in a lot of effort and have a world class set up.

You need to answer these questions:
1. What exactly do you want to do under what circumstances?
2. How far do you want to be able to communicate?
3. Do you want to be able to operate if the electrical grid becomes unavailable?
4. What is your budget?
5. How adverse are you to getting government licenses which mean your home is always open to inspection by federal agents from the FCC?

There is a huge range in what you can do and spend depending on how you answer those questions above. I love my ham radios. I use them every single day since they not only pick up local amateur traffic, but also commercial stations (some AM stations) broadcasting from several thousand miles away.

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A buddy of mine has a HAM license. He told me, with registration of the FCC HAM license and radio station you and/or your equipment can be drafted by the gub in the event of a catastrophe. Take appropriate steps ;)

That is true in many municipalities. It doesn't matter if you have a ham license or not. The license tells the gov where you are and also gives the FCC the right to enter your home at any time for an inspection of your radio equipment.

The city of Austin has a city ordinance that gives the city the right to appropriate any possessions I own that the city may need in an emergency. This was all done at the same time after 9/11 with the Patriot Act and DHS crap that Bush implemented. That includes my vehicle, guns, gas, radios, etc. I've seen the document online; it's not tin.

^^that's nutz Jota^^ I do believe I saw ref to that document too.

Well, they can't confiscate what they don't know.

Edit: interesting what you said in your previous post about HAM tech, frequencies and their antenna length being the obvious. I recall some dudes running looooooong wires form their house to trees to pick up ultra long wavelength transmissions from overseas. Actually hitting the other side of the globe bouncing off the ionoshphere.

I recall once getting bloomberg, while driving, from the adirondacks on a day with a thick cloud base.

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. It shows you the government will do anything to ensure its survival, including stealing whatever it needs from the people, no matter how much they need it for their own survival.

What I wrote above:

Quote:

Each band (radio wavelength range) operates in its own mode and exhibits its own physical properties, which you should know in order to effectively use it.

isn't completely accurate. There are different modes for radio communication, which are used within a particular set of designated bands on the entire radio frequency spectrum. Each mode and frequency band exhibits its own unique physical properties which you must know to effectively use the radio to send and receive signals.

About 6 months ago I picked up one on these based off another thread on the subject here. About $110.
http://www.wouxun.com/Two-Way-Radio/KG-U....

I recently took my tech test and Jota is correct, its not something anyone can just pick up (I do have an Eng degree which helped). This particular radio seems to be pretty good. And SC as a good net, which when linked, makes it able to communicate with this little HT all accross the state and into GA and NC.

For the money, that Wouxun looks very cool. If you really like your handheld transceiver, I'd recommend getting a backup HT. I already dropped one of mine and had to send it back to Icom to get the volume knob fixed, so I'm glad I had a backup.

I've got an Icom IC-92AD and love love love that thing. It is mainly used for 144MHz/440MHz bands in FM mode. It will receive from strong repeaters from up to 70 to 90 miles away. It will easily transmit 10-20 miles on just 5 watts, depending on geography. I can pick up AM stations from Cuba, Venezuela and some others in Chinese, UK English and Dutch that I have no idea where they are coming from. I can also pick up local AM and FM stations. The battery will receive for about 20-24 hours and transmit for a couple of hours. I use it every day.

Great stuff guys. The FCC being able to come to my place is a deal killer to getting a license. So I may just "listen". I do have a Electrical Technology degree and repaired analytical instruments for 13 years, so I think I can master the subject.

Maynard, I like the idea of a modest handheld unit, so I may look to that because I suspect any news I would want/need that would affect me would be within a few hundred miles around me.

The Wouxum is a nice unit - I own one along with an Icom IC92.

The Wouxum is not an Icom, but it doesn't cost like one either...... you can buy something like five of them for cost of one Icom!

The subject material isn't any more complex than what you would learn in a basic Physics 1 and 2 class. It's mostly just memorization.

I just listen myself.

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Maynard, I like the idea of a modest handheld unit, so I may look to that because I suspect any news I would want/need that would affect me would be within a few hundred miles around me.

Mine has definitely come in handy before during natural disasters like flash flooding, tornadoes or hurricanes. Other ham radio operators will activate civil emergency networks (ARES, Skywarn, etc) on set frequencies and begin to solicit reports, send out spotters to check on specific areas, and log that information. It's noticeably better information than what you get from your local news TV station.

If you broadcasted without a license for a few minutes now and then to build and test your equipment, would you get a visit from a three letter agency? Or are their monitoring activities not that complete?

No they don't monitor, but you might not get a friendly response from the local channel users.

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If you broadcasted without a license for a few minutes now and then to build and test your equipment, would you get a visit from a three letter agency? Or are their monitoring activities not that complete?

I would not recommend that. You probably would not get a visit (they can't triangulate your location that quickly), but it's illegal.

If you have an automatic tuner, the automatic tuner will key the mike for an instant and will broadcast loud static for a second or two when you autotune a frequency. So watch out with that if you don't have a license.

There's a lot of info on HAM systems here:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_10/22_Ham_R....

It is also worth noting the following:

Hams are *exceedingly exacting* law-and-order types that revel in the tiny scraps of privilege that the .gov gives them in certain bands, and are willing to put up with anything to preserve that access.

I was reading ham forums during the Arab Spring and they were advocating reporting anyone that tried to communicate with any transmitters that were not explicitly authorized by the Arab governments, as to do so would (1) be in violation of the laws of Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, et. al. and (2) by communicating with someone labeled an "opposition group" by a foreign government the FCC might cut off their access.

I have zero doubt that during any extended SHTF, nearly all hams will enthusiastically be running around DXing and reporting any "non-patriotic" or "terrorist" or "opposition" transmissions.

Food for thought.

The hams who religiously transmit are just as hardcore geeks about their hobby as basement-dwelling Dungeons and Dragons nerds. I've heard some really silly arguments on air before that sounded like two sorority girls going at it. But it was ham-related minutia and was dead dog serious to them.

I would never transmit unless my life was in danger.

The FCC does seem to have plenty of time and manpower to go after stations who may break their rules. Here are FCC actions from the past few years:
http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/

Radio Days Are Back: Ham Radio Licenses at an All-Time High

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/1....

The FCC will absolutely come after you. The assumption here is that the government has gone to ****, in which case I doubt the FCC will be giving a flying ****, but anything you transmit in this sort of format is by definition "in the open" (it's illegal to use encryption on ham bands and as such unless you rig something for packet it's not going to be there as factory "stuff" isn't made for that reason for common sale. Of course you can hack your own -- but using it is unlawful.)

And if there are two or more people with directional antennas when you transmit listening, and they care, they can triangulate where you are with reasonable accuracy. Finally, a big antenna is hard to hide

Getting a HAM license has been running through my mind lately.

I see the benefit in being able to communicate a great distance without infrastructure, but as a day to day hobby what "fun" things can you do with one?

I'd like to get a HAM radio, and if TSHTF I would not give a **** if I did not have a license.

+1 Lumpor.

1lumpor2,

I agree with you, but if I do get one I'd like to legally use it in the meantime.

Get your license.

learn morse code.

The Elecraft KX1 Ultra-Portable CW Transceiver.....

This package will reach around the world on a few AA batteries:

http://www.elecraft.com/KX1/KX1.htm

It is considered the best in it's class. Hands down.