Communicating During An Emergency

Prep-Blog ^ | 3/22/13 | Butch C

[Kartographer]

Being able to effectively communicate with family and friends during an emergency is critical. In the past we’ve seen disasters quickly take down the infrastructure needed for cell phones to operate as well as situations where cell towers were undamaged but overloaded. When too many people try to use the same means of communication the cellular networks can quickly become overloaded and calls simply will not go through.

[The Duke]

An interesting hand-held unit to investigate is the frequency-hopping device made by TriSquare. I can imagine that being very beneficial in a tactical situation.

Also, CB radio is underrated ... in a disaster you may want to have access to as much info as possible, and if you get SSB you can also have less crowded channels.

[Marcella]

You have done what I have. Have a fine Sony ham radio receiver so I can hear what's happening everywhere when Hussein shuts down TV and radio stations which he can do now, but he can't touch ham radio operations.

I have nothing for outside communication if my old plug in the wall phone stops working due to a catastrophe. Right now, it works when power is down and I use it after every hurricane when power is out.

I looked on the internet and will try the cheap way to see if Motorola units that transmit 35 miles will work to call my friend who is ten miles away. I realize the limitation of this method, that construction can interfere with getting the signal to the other person. We have no hills here, are fairly flat, but there are many buildings between us.

I'll just give her the other unit with some extra batteries. I will also work up code words with what they mean and give her a copy. She is a brilliant woman and I would trust her with my life. She is a problem solver as I am.

[Marcella]

“I would think it would be prudent to have a scanner to monitor police calls to see if the bad guys were headed your way - and just to keep on top of things in general.”

I was going to get one but found out in my research, some towns/cities have a system so you can't hear them on a scanner and there was a list of cities that have that and my town is on there, so even if I had a unit, I couldn't hear them. Drats!

Right now, you can use search on the internet, think I put something like “listen to Conroe Texas police” or something like that, and could hear their communications over the internet.

You can also find and hear guys communicate over their Ham radios on the internet.

[Calamari]

"Most of the Ham operators I have had the misfortune to meet have been arrogant, snotty, and condescending. “What, you don’t have $5K to spend? Shoot, son, don’ wanna talk to ya!” Those comments are usually followed by threats to send radiation over the airwaves that will fry your radio, cook your eardrums, make you have three-headed kids, and help keep America from winning the war."

What did you ask them to evoke such a response?

My experience with licensed Amateur radio operators is that they are eager to explain their hobby,help interested newcomers pass their licensing test(s), help the newly licensed amateur with technical issues as they advance in the hobby, do things as frugally as possible, volunteer their time during emergencies or disasters, volunteer their time to prepare for communications support for disasters, enjoy making a DX contact with New Zealand using 5 watts of RF on the 10 meter band,chat with fellow Hams via the local repeater,make a contact with the international space station, build antennas from wire or copper tubing that work as well or better than commercial models, and act with the utmost courtesy when talking to people with inquiries about any aspect of the hobby.

Are you sure that these were licensed HAMs?

The hobby can be very inexpensive or outrageously expensive. That depends on you and how you apply the knowledge you acquire about amateur radio.

What do you want to accomplish with your radio communications? The answer or answers will determine the equipment you will need and what you can build and what you must buy. There are solutions for literally any pocketbook.

Keep in mind that CB,FRS,GMRS are not Amateur radio.

So, what would you like to know about Amateur radio? I would be happy to help you out with any knowledge that I can share.

73,

Cal

[ErnBatavia]

I just hit this thread, so it's probably posted somewhere else.......but if you've got more than a doggie-dump's worth of hill breaking up the signal, CB isn't a worthy option - unless you need to contact somebody down the street.

Been there, done that.

[ErnBatavia]

If a cheap walkie talkie would work for a distance of 10 miles,

I've tried four different varieties/brands....None of 'em - even the ones that tout "15 miles!" - work over two....and that's a straight line, unobscured stretch.

[Marcella]

“I’ve tried four different varieties/brands....None of ‘em - even the ones that tout “15 miles!” - work over two....and that’s a straight line, unobscured stretch.”

That is not encouraging news.

[Old Sarge]

Well, apparently I have yet to meet the ones you mention. One person DID direct me to a local Ham Club, and I might still go that route.

There have also been several links back up thread that I might be able to study as well.

When I was still driving commercial truck, there were a group of old pharts who called themselves “Knights of the Road”, like they were something noble - they generally wouldn’t take a leak on you if your pants were ablaze, and just as soon run you off the road as look at you. I guess Ham Radio has their version as well.

What can we recommend for a novice who, while never using amateur radio, does have knowledge of radio procedures from the service; and doesn’t have a car loan or more to spend?

[steve86]

My "26 mile" units did two miles at most, with any degree of usefulness.

So I've switched to a 2M HAM radio similar to the model in comment #18, but a different brand.

It will, BTW, communicate with the GMRS/FRS radios like my old "26 Mile DIVIDE BY 10 set".

[Calamari]

The primary issue is antenna limitations on the walkie-talkies. The stock "rubber duck" antenna on most FRS, GMRS and CB handhelds is not suited to long range communication. Those antennas have zero or even negative gain on an RF signal and are designed to present a good RF match to the transmitter section of the talkie. For long distance communication with low power talkies you need "gain" antennas but there are restrictions on the FRS and GMRS services that preclude enhancements to the antenna system on the talkie. A CB handheld is limited by FCC regulations to 4 watts of Amplitude modulated RF and by its nature is normally a short range communications mode but you can add an external antenna that would increase your range but likely not to 10 miles.

Amateur radio offers a lot of flexibility on antenna systems, the amount RF power allowed,the modes of operation, the frequencies that can be used and the choices of equipment.

[ErnBatavia]

That is not encouraging news.

Posts 89 and 90 are educational.

I had tried the handheld thingies for communication (emergency) with the caregivers of my now deceased parents a few years ago, in the event the San Andreas fault decided to take a massive dump; their home was maybe three miles down the hill with a couple of humps which took out the line-of-sight thing........all those disappointed, and got returned to Big Five Sporting Goods.......sigh.

[steve86]

The great thing about the 2 meter handhelds is that in addition to having the output power (say, 4-5 watts), the radios can use existing repeaters which are up on the hilltops and maintained primarily for emergency communications. I carry an improved gain antenna for my Wouxun handheld but the standard antenna seems to be quite adequate. The primary site for my radio:

http://www.wouxun.us/item.php?item_id=216&category_id=46

[driftdiver]

Growing up I had a couple of mentors who helped create amateur radio. They could build a radio and trade code at 40 wpm with a box of radio shack parts.

Sat down with one of them and did it. Took a couple of hours.

[CyberAnt]

Hmmmmm ..?? My son never explained it to me that way; but it’s good to know .. thanks.

[Calamari]

"What can we recommend for a novice who, while never using amateur radio, does have knowledge of radio procedures from the service; and doesn’t have a car loan or more to spend?"

Go to the local Ham club. Most clubs have regular meetings and at our club meetings guests are always welcomed with open arms. Start studying for your Technician license. The question pool for the exams is not secret and the answers to the questions are also available. Once you have you license you can start using the amateur bands that your technician license afford you the privileges to operate on. 6 meters, 2 meters, 70 centimeters, microwave bands including the Ham portions of the 2.4 GHz band where some router WiFi and ham allocations overlap. 6M, 2M and 70 Cm. (420 to 450mHZ) are the places for local comms out to 35 to 50 miles with proper antennas and transceivers. If you pursue the next level of license, General Class you will also gain privileges on 80 Meters, 40 Meters, 20 Meters, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters which open up for world wide communications. Also on 80 and 40 meters a propagation mode known as Near Vertically Incident Sky Wave (NVIS) allows comms from 0 to 400 miles with no skip over zone so it is very good for local to state wide comms. The Germans used this mode during WW2 to communicate between valleys separated by high mountains or other terrain obstacles.

You will decide what equipment, what brand, and what your budget will tolerate. For your base station you will need a 12 volt power source (deep cycle battery or 120 Volt AC to 12 Volt DC power supply that can supply at least 20 Amps rated as Intermittent Communication Service (ICS). I would suggest a dual band 2 meter/ 70 Centimeter transceiver capable of 50 watts on 2 meters and 35 watts on 70 Cm, 50 ohm coaxial cable with connectors and an omni-directional antenna with reasonable gain of 6 to 9 decibels over a dipole antenna. Mount the antenna as high as possible for the best distance coverage on simplex (radio to radio without using the local repeaters) and possible out to 80 or 100 miles using the installed Ham repeaters. Here in Texas there are several linked repeater systems that afford coverage over several hundred miles.Rough estimate of pricing would be $250 for the transceiver, $140 for the power supply, $150 for the antenna, and the coax about $100 but maybe more due to the price of copper. So ~$640 for a great base station. That will get you on the air. You can do it for less if you go with a single band 2 Meter radio and a monoband 2 Meter antenna.

You do the research and the shopping after you get your license which will give you a much more in depth knowledge of how radios and RF work in a practical sense

First get your license

Next begin your equipment shopping

Mean while observe what your new Ham friends use and how they use it

Talk to your new ham friends about what you want to do.

Join the local Ham emergency communications group; either the local clubs emergency communications committee or the local ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) group.

You will learn the procedures, plans, frequencies, and operating protocols as you attend meetings and participate in emergency practice drills. Help at public service events such as providing comms for triathlons, marathons, bike races,etc. and you will gain valuable hands on practice.

There is more involved than picking up a microphone and pressing the pus to talk button to effectively communicate

Do a google search for Amateur Radio and Ham radio and American radio relay league to find the question pools and online practice tests.

Look up the meaning of the shorthand "73" It is worth the effort!

Your turn.

73,

Cal

PS

Places to shop on line for ham gear are AES and HRO use Google

Got to go boil some crawdads(mud bugs, crayfish)now. More tomorrow if you want to continue.

[TEXOKIE]

What is a “CW?”

[Calamari]

Continuous Wave— in amateur radio synonymous with transmitting Morse code.

[cva66snipe]

A few years back there was a group of kids on a field trip to Abrams Falls in the Great Smoky Mountain NP. The terrain down at the falls is steep except for following the trail along the creek. While the kids were there a boy fell in the water below the falls and drowned. One of the kids had brought his handheld HAM Radio and he was able to hit a repeater and summon the Park Rangers. Otherwise someone would have had to walked two miles back to the parking area.

That band spectrum is VHF at about 164 MHZ IIRC. VHF at that frequency and below can work considerable distance even with a hand held. My last employer had a business radio in the 150's MGH range and a base unit at the building. I could talk across town back to base on the handheld. With my antenna farm and scanners I could sometimes hear the base unit 20 miles away when I was home.

I've also heard 154-159 MHZ Police Comms as far away as Indiana and I'm in East Tennessee. If a person simply wants to monitor Police, Fire, Ambulance, Rescue, HAM, Air, USCG, the power company, wreckers, drive through windows, GMRS, Mall Security, Hospitals, and business radio with one radio then a Police Police Scanner is the right choice. But you need to see it you need to determine what type radio system is used in your area. It is 800MHZ with analog voice a Trunk Tracker will work. In more rural areas the Law Enforcement usually uses either the 150's or 460 MHZ Spectrum in the clear. You will not pick up Feds on one generally though. Most agencies except maybe BLM have gone digital.

You can turn a discarded old Outdoor TV antenna into a scanner antenna fairly easy. But the Rubber Duck antenna they come with will get most local agencies.

[thecodont]

Bookmark.

[thecodont]

Bookmark.