Howdy decadude,
Are you familiar with the Elecraft products such as the K1 shown above on this thread. If so, would you give us a brief lowdown on small Ham units?? Please.
We need info from the Hams, to make better personal and community decisions.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you are willing to give.
Cheers,
Mountainman.
I have a couple sets of the GMRS up at our hunt camp and even though they say they are good for 35km-50km.... I had a hard time communicating at 3km... worked but keep in mind location and lay of the land, when your surrounded by 50 foot trees they become limited.
GMRS are line of sight.... and the more you have in the way... bush, trees, buildings the more reduced the range is. Taken from Wikipedia..."For an observer standing on the ground with h = 1.70 metres (5 ft 7 in) (average eye-level height), the horizon is at a distance of 4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi). That will be the maximum line of site distance you will get with NO obstructions.
I am not in any way well versed in radio technology. I will say that I believe in order for this to be relevant there needs to be some coordination of frequencies etc. To have a radio is one thing. To be able to transmit and recieve is another. To have the very best rig out there that can cover the world is yet another.... BUT... there has to be someone on the other end to talk to and if there is no one set on your frequency then it is all for naught. If you have a group you wish to set up a net with then look at the longest distance between you and conditions... then decide on something that will cover that distance or area. Prior to any "event" you have to have an agreed upon set of parameters such as frequencies, times to communicate and make contact, radio checks, duration of transmissions, any key or code words to define expectations or events.. IE the CB "10" code. I believe that in most areas for local communication.. although it wouldn't be considered legal, the marine band would be good. They are inexpensive, have defined channels, rugged, designed to run on 12 volts and can be swapped out from a base setup to a mobile.. IE vehicle or even bicycle with a 12 volt battery. There are also handheld for dismounted use.
Howdy decadude,
Are you familiar with the Elecraft products such as the K1 shown above on this thread. If so, would you give us a brief lowdown on small Ham units?? Please.
We need info from the Hams, to make better personal and community decisions.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you are willing to give.
Cheers,
Mountainman.
Hey mountainman...
I have seen this transceiver before. It is a kit I believe. 5w transmit. Usually works 4 bands. A little history...
In radios, you choose the band based on the time of day. Time of day determines the successful propagation of your signal.... What may work 100 miles at noon will NOT work at midnight. So? Well a variety of bands assures your ability to talk at any time.
The power of the radio is important. 5w is the minimum in my opinion. 100w standard. 1000w excessive.
So what are bands? Basically the 'channels' called frequency. So cb is 11m band or (27Mhz) broadcast FM radios is 80Mhz to 108Mhz 'ishh'
In a prepping scenerio, I would want to have a main base station with a number of handhelds so that the small community can stay in touch. I find CB to be perfect. Also, more cb's are out there than amateur equipment AND in high noon, 11m will 'skip' quite a distance. Also, it is great for local comms (25miles base to base, 5 miles base to handheld)
It is illegal to communicate further than 30miles with cbs... But in a shtf situation? Who will care. But until shtf? You can outfit yourself and practice legally.
Just a few comments... please feel free to add to this.
I fully agree with your statements. On a personal note, I would prefer something that has AM over FM. FM does not carry quite as far as AM. Although FM is high fidelity (sounds most like the original sound)
Also, FM requires more power to run.
Marine radios are, however, very rugged and usually water proof 😉
Hey decadude. The other plus for the marine system would be that there would be very few "others" using this system on land.. therefore inherently more secure and a lot less interference . Just a thought re OPSEC.
True justabear....
So many choices for so many situations. Personally, I would like to communicate with other nodes of communities so I would like something common. But yes, privacy is a big issue in a lawless state. So it depends what you want. What I like about ham is that you can set your car radio in repeater mode, so your little 5w handheld can communicate with your car radio and the car radio repeats it at 60w... So it's like having a huge radio in a little package.
http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1139
http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=237&hilit=communicationhttp://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=879
Denob,
can we combine all three together?
Done deal!
...sorry, can't do the sticky thing. I don't have ALL the powers that be!
I'm really liking this conversation. I am in no way well versed in this topic, I do have a GMRS or FRS I can't remember which one it is that my older brother and I used to use for airsoft. Of course this is a very low tech radio with no real useful range other than between cars in a bugout or around camp. I'm going to the Lower Mainland meeting this weekend, and would love to see if there is anyone there with some ideas about establishing a national connection. To me, being able to plan a bugout with people you trust with the ability to communicate with each other is a very big piece of the puzzle.
If you're not willing to get behind our soldiers, feel free to get in front of them.
I'm really liking this conversation. I am in no way well versed in this topic, I do have a GMRS or FRS I can't remember which one it is that my older brother and I used to use for airsoft. Of course this is a very low tech radio with no real useful range other than between cars in a bugout or around camp. I'm going to the Lower Mainland meeting this weekend, and would love to see if there is anyone there with some ideas about establishing a national connection. To me, being able to plan a bugout with people you trust with the ability to communicate with each other is a very big piece of the puzzle.
If you get any bites on the network, let me know. I have been thinking of getting a national comms. network running, but it would take hams from across the country.
I would suggest after thinking about it for a while the following; 💡
finding a channel on a Ham system that is little used with good strength in Canada
this can be done by people who are already proficient in the Ham systems, this month
give out the station in secret, as in do not post in general conversation
keep this channel written down in your bug out bag.
make a pre-defined time that the network will be active;
eg 8pm-11pm
Now this will have to be a determined time based on a certain location as 8pm Halifax is not the same time as 8pm Vancouver
that way it is only 3 hrs of battery power than the whole day, as well signals travel farther in the evening than in the daytime due to atmospheric interference.
If and when SHFT does happen, afterwards you can get a Ham Radio, or connect the microphone and start checking in.
There are automatic as well as manned repeaters all across the Country and North America
There will be other Self Reliant people who will have set up compounds and villages themselves, maybe close as well
Even in an EMP event not all of them will be down.
OPSEC....
Great idea!
If there is anyone with ham experience willing to chime in on this please do!
Please no details here...PM me for contact info.
I really think we need to get a network going!
I would love to get in on this. Where do you find a Ham radio? Does it have to be a big basement filling piece of equipment, or are they smaller now? And roughly what do they cost? Seems like this is a great idea for like minded people to be able to stay in touch.
If you're not willing to get behind our soldiers, feel free to get in front of them.