The Last Mile
The final kilometres to a retreat can be the most dangerous. Build a communications plan covering checkpoints, radio windows, authentication, duress codes and controlled arrival procedures before an emergency forces you to improvise.
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How to Get Your Amateur Radio Certificate in Canada in 2026
From first lesson to your first call sign Buying an amateur radio is easy. Building a legal and dependable communications capability is harder. A handheld radio ordered online does not make someone an amateur-radio operator. It does not teach them how to choose a frequency, reach a repeater, control interference, connect an antenna or pass…
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The Human Courier Still Matters
When Radio Is Not Enough Modern communications have trained us to expect instant contact. We send a message, watch for the reply and assume that silence means something has gone wrong. That expectation disappears quickly in a long-term collapse. Cellular networks may be gone. Internet service may exist only in memory. Radio equipment can fail,…
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HF Where Antennas Are Forbidden
Building a discreet, transmit-capable HF station when apartment walls, limited space and ridiculous property rules work against you The conventional HF station has a tower, a beam and enough property for long wire antennas. That is a fine arrangement—if you own the land, have the space and are permitted to use it. Many Canadian operators…
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Build a Low-Power Message Network
How short transmissions, relay points, couriers, drop boxes, and disciplined schedules can keep a group connected when normal communications are gone Most prepper communication plans are too fragile because they depend on one thing working. A cell phone. A repeater. A handheld radio. A group chat. A Starlink terminal. A single person with a ham…
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Your Group Is Too Small To See The Whole Threat
A regional prepper net gives isolated groups a wider field of view after the grid, supply chain, and public order have failed A stocked retreat can still be blind. That is one of the hardest truths in long-term preparedness. A group can have food, water, tools, seed, livestock, medical supplies, trained people, backup power, and…
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The Ham Radio Licence Question
Why serious preppers should understand both the power and the tradeoffs of getting on the air Most preppers approach emergency communications backwards. They buy the radio first. They watch a few videos. They load a handful of frequencies into a handheld, toss it into a Faraday bag or emergency bin, and tell themselves they now…
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The Retreat Net
Why A Serious Survival Group Needs Communication Before It Needs More Gear A retreat without communications is not a retreat. It is a collection of people hoping they all notice the same problem at the same time. That may work during a weekend campout. It will not work when the phones are dead, the roads…
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The One-Off Code System
When government is gone, phones are dead, and every message has consequences, your group needs more than plain language and good intentions. Most people think emergency communications means owning a radio. It does not. A radio is only a delivery method. A phone is only a delivery method. A written note is only a delivery…
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VHF vs UHF for Preppers
How Ham Radio Signals Really Behave Around Hills, Trees, Buildings, and Bad Terrain Radio choice is one of those subjects that looks simple until you actually try to use one in the real world. A new ham operator buys a dual-band handheld, sees VHF and UHF on the spec sheet, and assumes both bands are…
