My Biggest Fear...what about the kiddiots?

[savageagle]

inplainsiteprepper had a good point, alot of systems here in cal (central valley) have been protecetd against EMP's and in the case of EMP's your radio's and ALL electronic equipment you intend to use later on needs to be protected or it'll be fried. This includes generators, batteries, solar panels, wiring and anything electrical that you depend on as part of your system.
Depending on the severity of an EMP your home's electrical circuits could also become unusable as well as your car.

 

[Clyde]

factory CB's come with 5 watts so not alot of power. If you want more distance, take it in to a place that works on CB radios (just check them out first, especially the one near truck stops) ask to up to 150 watts and 1000 kicker. All antennas are 360 unless one side has been covered. I had a friend in Colorado who could talk to someone in Australia with his. He had both in his car and in his home. That is another thing that comes into issue. Where and what are you using it for. There is alot to CB/HAM Radios

I thought CB's come with 4 watts. I could be wrong, or I missed the increase in power as authorized by the FCC.

 

[JSL109]

My plan was if I was on some kind of compound to keep the kids, moms, and the old in some safe house then I'll define it to my last breath. when it (it beaning the thing your prepping for) happens I'm sure the parents here have plans like that or better but to the people who are not prepping idk what to say

 

[savageagle]

A ham license is very easy to obtain with the easiest amount of learning for most people. The "tech" class is the lowest or first step in the list of licenses and the easiest to learn. I stuck with that license because I loved 10 meters (28-29.7 mhz), 2 meters (144-148 mhz (VHF)) and 440 (440-449.999 mhz) and most aspects of the hobby i'm involved with are withing these frequency ranges.
I belong to the counties emergency services through RACES (radio amateur civilian emergency services) as a communications tech and disaster services worker (EMT/SAR) and 99% of all communications traffic occurs within the VHF and UHF range. 140 mhz vhf through 470 mhz uhf.
This radio in the link is a great radio for the price and covers both 144-148 mhz 2 meter ham band and the 440-448 mhz ham band. It also recieves a wide range of bands. the link covers the range. I have a license to operate within the ham bands only but when tshf my license I believe will be useless. It's supposed to be against the law but...........radios including the one in the link can easily be modified to operate on an extended frequency range, my wouxun is. Again, as a HAM operator your license gives you privelegdes on HAM bands only. After tshf who knows what will be legal or illegal.
This small radio can be operated continuosly with a simple solar panel then add a car battery, an antenna cable leading to a cushcraft multi-band vertical or even a 5/7 element dual-band directional antenna. It's quick to setup and mobile enough if your on the move or sunk away somewhere but come out and setup your simple radio setup. Just with the radio putting out 5 watts and connected to a directional say up at a low 15 feet you got alot going for you that the guy with no radio has. If I can reach a repeater 120 miles away on 5 watts with a rubber ducky antenna just imagine your capabilities with this simple setup.
You can purchase without a license and this radio is the lowest on the market today. Even single band HT's are more expensive and this one is dual-band.
When shtf I will be using ANY frequency I feel is neccasary for my survival and being able to listen to a wider range of frequencies is a great benefit. You will be more informed at least of what may be going on in other areas around you.
Having a handheld is just the start. check out more of the hobby and you may find other aspects you'll be interested in for survival.

http://www.powerwerx.com/wouxun-radios/kg-uv3d-dual-band.html

 

[old_anorak]

I am a certified moron when it comes to anything remotely technical. I think I would like to learn to operate a Ham radio, but without someone right next to me showing me what to do, it will never happen. Hell, I don't even know how to set up the voice mail on my cell phone or how to text.

 

[jeepgirl]

I think the biggest part of retrieving children is just having a plan. I talk openly with my kids about dangers and how to escape a situation. They actually just did a drill for a shooter the other day and my oldest daughter came home and said other people were talking during the drill. It really bothered her because I've taught her to stay quiet in a situation like that...unfortunately, other parents don't teach. I used to work an hour and a half away from home and my boyfriend works in a place he can't just up and leave, so I was terrified. I would have to cross 2 States, 4 counties, and a whole lot of lunatics to get home. Fortunately, I have since left there which that in thought made it easier. Ham radio is better but I also have a CB in the Jeep and they do work well in wooded areas and on mountains. Once you think you've thought of everything, something else comes to mind. Do you think you will ever be finished prepping? lol

 

[realisticdude]

I have never heard a prepper say their prep was 100% There is always room to improve.

 

[jeepgirl]

I know! it was a fleeting thought of wishful thinking.

 

[Trapper]

I will chime on the communications stuff. I have no background in HAMM radios. I do have background in other radios.

I have been around CB's all my life. Given the radio signals in the air you get too much interference for long distance use. Best is 5 miles with the antenna set properly, even then the guy your talking too has to have a properly set up unit or it wont work. As far as power boosters, they will over power units not set up for them your trying to talk to making them useless. VERY few guys really know how to set them up and they have to be set up to talk to specific radios or they wont work. You will pay alot to get them to marginally work. Not worth the time, money or hassle.

FRS radios. When they first came out range was 2-3 miles. I have probabely 6 sets if differant brands. Even the 20 miles rated one will hardly talk line of site even a half a mile due to regulations the fcc has on them. Dont waste your time or money.

Marine band radios...I have handheld units. I believe they are 2 watt. They will talk about 4-5 miles in woods/hilly terrain. They blow away FRS units in side by side comparisons. Cost about $50 for the cheap models I have. The hand held models that are about $100 are even better range and clarity. The models that hard wire into vehicles is what you want, but limited to use in a vehicle or house set up for use. I have personally used them with great success. The bear and coyote hunters running dogs use them all the time in WI. They WILL talk 30+ miles. I personally have talked to close to 50 miles on a clear day. No set up needed. Hook up antenna, hook up power and your live. FYI, these are FCC regulated for over water use only. You could get a fine for unauthorized use. I have never heard of it happening though. Cost is $100-500 per unit depending on model and antenna hardware.

 

[old_anorak]

Trapper, thank you for the information on the marine band radio. We're limited in what we can use here due to our terrain, it's all ridges, hills, and hollers. The little frs radios work for house to barn or out to the pastures, usually, but I can manage the same by sticking my head out the door and yelling. Something like what you are talking about would be good to have for my kid to stay in contact if she's at school and something happens, you don't think they'd be banned at school do you?

 

[Trapper]

I cant believe the school would ban them. She would need to keep it in a backpack unless its needed. If its a marine radio they would not know the difference in it from an FRS radio if she had a small one. How far from home to the school? I could take mine to the office when I worked locally and it would easily talk from home to anywhere in our local town. It is all within 4 mile range, no problems.... It would have worked great for our kids. Then then they were also getting old enough to get cell phones. Now Im a grandpa and the kiddos are growed up.

 

[old_anorak]

As the crow flies it's about 4 1/2 miles through the hills and hollers. She has a cell phone she carries, but reception is crappy at the best of times. We are along the Missouri River bed and signals just get eaten here by the bluffs and who knows what. We have a plan in place and she knows what to do. I was thinking that the radios would be good for when she's out on her horse on the trails with her friends, in case something happens, cell phones just don't cut it. How bulky are the radios?

 

[Trapper]

The small verison I have will fit in a shirt pocket. Here is a link to the one I have. If your going over alot of hills, not sure of the reception. He had one BIG hill to get signal over for deer hunting and it did it well and that was about 3 miles distance. Multiple hills may cut reception down more. You could also put a base station in the house with an outside antenna which may help with reception and someone could monitor it from inside the house when needed.

Try the link I provided. If that doesnt work, copy paste what I have in a google search it will come up easy enough. The link is just one of many places you can get it from. Amazon has them also.
Midland Nautico 1 88-Channel Water-Resistant VHF Marine Two-Way Radio

http://www.buydig.com/shop/product....1503877809&catargetid=1889111558&&cagpspn=pla

 

[old_anorak]

Thank you Trapper. This is going to sound stupid, but are they easier than a cell phone? I'm so far behind the times when it comes to technical things. I remember using CB radios when I was a kid and they were fairly easy, but they don't work well here in the hills.

 

[savageagle]

Just a tidbit of info........As I was learning ham radio 25+ years ago I remember one thing that stood out. In mountain areas the leaves on a tree really absorbe the signal and the worst are pine needles.
Thats good info about the marine radios. Some have not realized that when tshf "ANY" frequency and "ANY" radio band will be usable by handheld-to-handheld even aircraft handhelds. The systems and repeaters will most likely be junk but the handhelds can still hear another handheld because the frequencies and bands will still be usable providing your radios didn't get fried from EMP's.
You can even setup your own repeater by using a small handheld ham radio. If you live in a place where you have a sizeable hill in the way get yourself one of the available handhelds with "X-band repeat". This allows you to talk to that handheld on one frequency (input) and the handheld will transmit on another frequency to let say your wife who is on the other side of that hill. Usual power output for handhelds is 5 watts and with 5 watts you could with a good line-of-sight path talk up to 100 miles just with the rubber ducky antenna and setting up a small charging system to keep everything charged up is very simple.

 

[Trapper]

My handheld radios as shown in the link only have a button to change the channel and a volume on/off knob. Very basic. Given them to the kids for 10 minutes and they can teach you how to use them!!

 

[HarrySachs]

funny, I too remember using these in my teen years, pre cell phones. They are however on my list
of consideration. More so down the lines, if my kids move away and go to college or w/e, I will
consider installing some to keep in contact. With big enough antennas, the range is quite far.
Back in the day, those who had 6ft antennas could talk to truckers thousands of miles away.
We had 2 way radios that worked even better. It might be old school, but they do work

 

[jimLE]

i have a pair of walkie talkies that i got from my older brother.they need chargeing.but thats a idea seeing how they'll reach a good distance.especilly without to many obstructions in the way..cb radios are good for car use seeing how they reach out further.might want to sit down with your son who drives.and have a good talk with him about every thing.who knows.you might need him to come get you instead..or go get the other from school.might save time that way..and thats great when it comes to survival..as for school lock downs go..i dont have kids of my own.but do have necies n nephews.and if a parent asked me to go n get up i would.and as thier uncle id tell um go ahead n call cops cause im thier uncle and have the right to them and im armed and i'll protect them better then any scool where thier not armed..

 

[Uncle Albert]

My wife an I both go for the kid, then to the house if possible. A second location is determined if the first is no good. We both have 3 day bags so if one of us gets stuck least we have some supplies. Now communication is the hard one or the one i am lacking in, we all have phones but they might not work. I am in need of some good two way radios. Hope this helps a little.

You're right, I've sat through 4 hurricanes here in south Louisiana and cell phones stop working. Towers are ripped down or whatever. I haven't tested it but maybe we ought to try CB's again, remember those back in the 60's? Everyone had one. Walkie talkies seem to have a short reach unless you have a really expensive one. Communication is extremely important. You need contact with officials as well, and what they are broadcasting. Radios are big.

 

[Lone Ranger]

actually my days of worrying over the kids has gone by now they are all grown and moved out of the house. Both of them know where we will be should something happen., and they will proceed to where we are at.
We all have a bag in the vehicle and add more in the winter months.

 

[Gazrok]

We have a pre-made plan to all meet at the ranch if some kind of disaster hits (and yeah, 9/11 would have fit the bill...for all we knew then, WWIII was about to start). Currently, we have two-way radios to communicate in case cell communication is out. But, they only have a range of about two miles at best, and while that is fine for them, the wife and I work further from home, so we'll be upgrading all to handheld VHF radios that have a bit more range to them. Even still, I have quite a trek home, so the plan is that they'll turn on the radio for 10 minutes at different time intervals during different days, and listen for me to make contact while I'm coming home (in case I have to hoof it vs. driving).

 

[Gazrok]

Wow, 27g's? that's quite a racket they got going there. Luckily, I know enough special forces guys to get a free assessment.