Is CB still alive? It is not very good, actually, for mobile communications because you need an antenna that is 7' long... (11m / 4 = 2.25m = 7' for a quarter wave vertical - and you still need a ground plane to complete the antenna.)
I’m going to get some sort of mobile shortwave tranceiver (Icom or such)
As I understand you don't have a license yet. Please correct me if I'm wrong. If you are licensed then read the following as generic words on the subject. You need to have a license if you plan to buy from official resellers like HRO.
I will never use the shortwave tranceiver without a license, but I will if there is ever an EMP or complete societal breakdown
It's like buying firearms and ammo but never shooting them until TSHTF. How would you know how to operate your radio? How would you know that it still works? I guess you could transmit into an attenuator, but that's not the same as being able to match the transceiver to a random wire.
As others mentioned, using a radio is not rocket science, but it takes certain learning. This is especially true for modern HF rigs. They are loaded with DSP that allows you to optimally match the passband to the shape of the signal of interest. It is not trivial to just remember what button does what. You must use the radio - if not every day then at least every month (pick a contest) if you want to work your radio when there is no time to learn.
Also certain modes of communication have their unique aspects. How quickly can you tune to an SSB transmission? The frequency error must be under 50 Hz, and there is no time to experimentally tune here and there. You need to know how much off you are and turn the knob to where it should be; otherwise you are wasting time. RTTY is yet another example - it uses two tones and you need to hear both. What filter you are going to use? 200 Hz is too narrow; 300 Hz is about right ... but while tuning you can hear only one tone and you don't know where the other one is. The waterfall is helpful, but it may be a distraction too. Modern digital modes are even harder because they require identification by the ear, and there are tens of modes, each with several bandwidth options. The RSID is not a silver bullet because it depends on someone transmitting it - and if time is short and power is precious the other station may turn it off. Then you are on your own. Even today most digital mode operators keep RSID off. I use it only when working in more exotic modes.
In other words, there is absolutely no reason to invest a lot of time and money into hardware but at the same time skip on getting a license. When TSHTF you may reach for your radio and find out that it requires some cables and connectors that you never obtained - and it's too late now to go to HRO. Do you have your ARRL Repeater Handbook ready? If you never operated then it wouldn't even occur to you that you need one (or that one exists.) By the way, do you remember by heart how to program PL tones and offsets into your gear? I don't, honestly. It's different for every radio that I have, and that's why I have manuals (hardcopies and PDFs) for everything.
On that subject; many repeaters will go down after TSHTF. But quite a few have battery backups and other power sources. A repeater on a mountaintop can be happy with a moderately sized solar panel. But even if the repeater is down, its output frequency is a natural gathering spot for area hams. It helps to be tuned to that frequency all the time. Not only you will be testing your gear every single day, you will also get to know people in your area. After the TSHTF day it will be *much* harder to make friends.
Thanks for the input. That’s a hell of a lot of information to digest. I do have a HAM friend that is trying to get me to study and get a license. I was hoping he’d just teach me the basics for an emergency. I obtained one book “HAM Radio for Dummies” or something like that but the information is not presented in such that it can be grasped easily.
As far as CB’s, I figure those that are working after an EMP there will be people using them, and the SSB can go for (I’ve been told) a few hundred miles. The idea was just to make contact with others to learn news. I have an old Zenith T/O B-600 with the battery pack to be able to receive any foreign broadcasts, again, just for news.
Communications is important, but not at the top of my list, especially when it comes to time investment. I’ll take your advice seriously moving forward, though. Thanks again.