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21K views 92 replies 58 participants last post by  Joshohoho 
#1 ·
I was wondering what platforms you all were planning on using if TSHTF. I know short wave will probably be the most popular(CB's and the such), but I was wondering if there were other things you would consider using? I've seen where some people would use sat phones, but I don't think the network would still be up possibly. Just let me know and bounce some ideas around.
 
#72 ·
Depending on the issue and your investment in things you can do the same thing zolon has done. You can add amazing range with little effort by learning things like how to transmit to HAM satilites, etc. Amateur radio is probably the most versitile, from being able to transmit computer data, voice, CW, use satilite communication and if you are really crazy even do moon bounce. It will allow you comunication to nearly any place in the world, while even a super boosted CB isn't going to have the abilities of even a 2 meter radio even without a repeater.
 
#74 ·
Solid state will last for a very long long time, and as long as people are making gun parts etc, they will be able to make rudimentry electronics. If you saw the original wireless radios, and how stupid simple they are you would realize that the tech will probably be avaliabe for a lot longer then firearms.

This all looks overwhelming because of the micro chip etc, but coils of wire and a few little itmes were the beginning. Add to that the avaliablity of componets from lots of places and anyone with basic knowledge can start making radios, and even in the amateur radio bands which will allow for alot even with a piddly 5 watts of power(clubs run awards for communcating with 1 watt per 1000 miles). You can build several chemcial batteries and power these items.

Even in a EMP war the first electronics to be fixed will probably be the Amateur radios, by HAMs that know what they are doing.
 
#81 ·
i just picked up a pair of "Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) in the ISM band (900 MHz frequencies)." 10 digits worth of channels, you can make group channels and share with those you want to comm with, and your handset's own channel is always 'listening', so even if you're "group A" channel, as long as you're not actively transmitting or someone transmittig to you, someone else can comm to your handset's channel and you get it (like call waiting). they also support sms direct between handsets. the units i picked up have vox, and noaa reception built-in for under $75 at Amazon, search for TriSquare TSX300-2VP eXRS Digital 2-Way Radio
 
#82 ·
I keep these around, all run the same level of encryption used by the military for squad to squad VHF comms. One of them is actually a ANC/PRC 127 EFJ VHF military radio.



I also have a rack charger that we removed the 120v power supply from and hooked it up for 12v direct, it can be powered by the 12v 150 a/hr SLA battery that's connected to a solar panel for charging, running radios and for the 120v power inverter along with a pile of extra batteries for the handheld radios.

We figure we can set up comms for several groups of people with whats here, I also have crypto capable VHF and UHF base radios as well along with a few HF (shortwave) radios and several base antennas for different bands.
 
#83 ·
You will want to have a shortwave with a rechargable battery, solar and crank capabilities as well as a battery supply in your pack. The one scenario I dread and am glad I am not in is urban survival. I was in the mid-east from 1990-91 so my urban experience isn't as extreme as these young soldiers today over there who experience it day in and out. On the flip side, our society has these younger teenage kids back home today so indoctrinated with the real hard style rap music and its okay to be in a gang mentality that membership gang recruitment when TSHTF will skyrocket in the cities against your survival outcome. You will want a shortwave to pick up as much intel as you can for exiting the city, if such intel does even exist in your area. Even then you have to be skeptical of who is broadcasting since that person will be unknown to you as you will have to weigh it all and make your best judgement call for an exit route.

Cities are always the first scenario and that is one place you want to bug out of asap if it becomes one. Once a city is locked down by whatever force, you can still get out but your chances just jumped ten fold. I personally wouldnt try to survive in a city for longer than a day or two. Plus remember that troops today in most industrialized nations often have way more urban training than mountaineer training due to how current wars are being fought. Therefore, if you are a hunter and woodsman with or without military training you will fair way better, imo out in the countryside. Depending on an environment, I would dig in at night and move in the day when in a city versus being in the woods where you want to move at night and dig in during the day; totally different scenarios with alternate outcomes for survival. One of my relatives, who served in a European army during WW2, escaped a German prison camp. He slept in the daytime in ditches, drains etc and moved at night. It took him 2 months to get home but he made it and was so undernourished that even his own father didnt recognize him when he first saw him again. Regardless, you definitely want to ditch any gps gear as you'll find shortwave will be your new best friend whether you are with family or alone.

The only people using gps [satellite] and cell phone communication will be the military and civilian government so shortwave receipt is the key. You can recieve transmissions from a greater distance depending on the atmospheric conditions. Basically, you want a shortwave radio and a decent walkie-talkie setup for you and your family or if anything just for yourself as you can sometimes pick up enemy frequency if you have the right setup with some luck. :thumb:
 
#84 ·
so after reading all of the posts and all of the different ideas... what I need to know is what is the best or would be the best for Ham equipment.... a total package...

If you have a large budget for what ever you would need .... what would it be... We are light on this type of equipment and I need to get the best made and top quality... so I need the advise here of you folks that understand this better than I do...
 
#86 ·
Actually, this can vary dramatically based on what KIND of communication, and how reliable you want the gear.

Honestly, if this is for shtf, learn to make your own antennas and QRP radios. Also learn morse code, as it can be heard easily through some of the worst noise floors.

My current setup is 4 23cm/2m/6m hand helds (VX-7R), 1 IC-7000 (HF+6m/2m/23cm) that has been opened up to do everything between, 1 Kenwood 520S, 2 netbooks for digital communication, 2 brass straight keys for morse code, and a bunch of extra parts, pieces, and wire to build many more things.

Is my setup the best, heck no. I'm still learning myself. I plan on getting some boatanchors (old tube radios) because tubes can handle EMP better then solid state. I also still need to get a couple amps, but those are low priority as a bigger antenna will do more then more power in the bang for buck outlook.
 
#91 ·
The short answer is that you could a digital protocol like PSK31 or morse code and a computer. There are videos of this working on youtube, but keep in mind a few points.

1. Any party transmitting a message needs to be a licensed Amateur. You could concievably transmit to a receive only party that is not licensed. Also, see 2.
2. The initial cost for such equipment will be extremely high, for each station you will need a computer, radio, antenna, and if you wish to run all of this "off grid", you'll need some sort of power source (battery, solar, etc.)
3. Messages are not permitted to be encrypted, that's not to say that you couldn't hide a message within a message. (See "steganography".)
4. It is difficult but not impossible to authenticate a message as being from a specific party. For instance, lets say you are KA1ABC, and you are sending to NJ1ABC. If you sent "NJ1ABC DE KA1ABC HOW ARE YOU?", there is no way for NJ1ABC to guarantee that the message is not forged from another party. You could rely on some sort of one time password phrase, where you keep a common list of words or phrases. Everytime you send a communication you include a phrase or word from that list, and you would never use the same word twice - Crossing the used phrases or words off the list in sequence. This is not fool proof, but you get the idea.
 
#92 ·
psk31 can be done w/o a computer http://www.nue-psk.com/

also if TSHTF I don't plan on using my callsign, might as well just tell people right where you're at....

as for message authentication, that's easy, have 200 or so pre-made authentication codes and several keys for a scrambled alphabet on each page under each auth code. That way you can authenticate a message from a sender. It would appear as "k5dmm k5dmm, w9sa auth as follows A14GD3T13 - message AHEP1YHF9KEA8REC3SHEC1WS - do you copy?" Where "A14GD3T" is the authentication code for the day and that code tells you what page in the code book to look. Then the "13" the the key on that page and "AHEP1YHF9KEA8REC3SHEC1WS" is the encrypted message that you decode using the specified key. Yea it's old school and slow but it works but you really have to guard the code book
 
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