[PSYOP Soldier]

Plenty of good info on radios here. Popular options are ham, gmrs, frs, murs and CB. Ham and gmrs require a license. Ham license is 35 bucks now and plenty of online free study guides and practice exams. Gmrs requires exam, just go pay online. It's also cheap and the license covers the whole family. The advantage of ham and gmrs is that they give you repeater options. Anyway, have fun with it. Lots of good radios out there to choose from.

No exam for gmrs, fee only.

 

[Cigars]

No exam for gmrs, fee only.

Oops, edit.

 

[justanothergunnut]

I think we need to expand on that a little bit.

I was just being obnoxious

 

[FirstToken]

Military Command and Control
4.724 usb
6.739 usb
8.992 usb
11.175 usb
13.200 usb
15.016 usb

Several of the frequencies in that list are changed or no longer used. It is badly in need of update. Not going to try and correct it all, but will address the section I quote above.

The section you call "Military Command and Control" is the US military (available to all services), US Air Force operated, HF-GCS (High Frequency Global Communications System) network. However, 6739 kHz (and not on your list but used when 6739 kHz was, 6712 kHz) and 13200 kHz are no longer used. Those frequencies were removed several years ago. The 4 regularly used frequencies now are 4724 kHz, 8992 kHz (night time primary), 11175 kHz (daytime primary), and 15016 kHz, all in USB mode. There are also many other discrete frequencies that may be used, but those are the 4 most often active.

T!

 

[6kd6]

One thing I think is important is to own an FM transmitter......which I now think is legal to use with CB radio.

In a world of vastly unprepared people (STILL!) having to ability to rebroadcast emergency HAM or other signals.........a $65 system will have a solid broadcast radius of 3.5 miles and up to 6 miles unobstructed you can use a $35 antenna to get a boost even further than that but runs the risk of running over other frequencies.

Helping keep the sheep calm may prevent them from running off of a cliff and taking you and your family with them.

HK

Hi

I think that is a very good idea. Nice prepper project material. FM receivers are everywhere. Even on cellphones. There are cheap low power transmitters on AliExpress/eBay and you can make an antenna out of coax (Like for your Baofengs).

I’ve been playing with radios since my childhood in the 80’s. CB/Ham voice/digital etc etc I really love them. Just from my point of view, CB radios should be taken into account in any scenario. They have the local AND distant contact (DX) capabilities in the same package (because the frequency they use). They are easy to use and easy deployed on the field.

As for the Baofengs, the more the merrier. A Yaesu FT-411 was USD 400 when I was young. Only two meters (144mhz), no LiIon batt, charged overnight. Big chunky bastard (loved them btw). Now you have a Vhf/uhf radio for 25 bucks. A no brainer. Yeah, sure, there are better radios. Enjoy and take advantage of what you have. Use Them.

Nice forum.

Cheers
6KD6

 

[cowboy1964]

FM receivers are everywhere. Even on cellphones.

My little Nokia mobile phone circa 2003 had an FM receiver, I thought that was the coolest thing. That was back before anyone was streaming radio stations.

 

[BlackSaint11]

So, I am not an optimistic fellow by nature it seems.
Tonight, I rewatched the movie World War Z. I like that movie.

The thing that I came back to was THE RADIO. The use of the cellphone will fail us. It simply will. It is too dependent on too many things.

Radio on the other hand, is not.

I spent a bunch of years deep in radio technology, but it has been at least 10 years, and I will return now.

It seems simple. A homebase unit for where we end up.
And radios on my loved ones.

I did a random search here, and will do more. But, am totally interested in a discussion.

Kind of curious - do amateur licenses delve into UHF and SATCOM?

 

[citizendino]

Kind of curious - do amateur licenses delve into UHF and SATCOM?

I had never explored that.
But now I will.

 

[BlackSaint11]

I had never explored that.
But now I will.

Yeah, I'm trying to expand my knowledge to help troubleshoot with guys on the ground. I have some good resources, but sometimes multiple sources helps round out the education.

 

[jeff_k]

UHF - Yes...quite a few repeaters in the 420 – 450 MHz range.

SATCOM - Yes. Not Military SATCOM though.

Talking to Satellites on Ham Radio – Ham Radio Prep

One of the other cool things you can do with a Technician Class license is work the “birds,” otherwise known as amateur radio satellites.

hamradioprep.com

 

[BlackSaint11]

UHF - Yes...quite a few repeaters in the 420 – 450 MHz range.

SATCOM - Yes. Not Military SATCOM though.

Talking to Satellites on Ham Radio – Ham Radio Prep

One of the other cool things you can do with a Technician Class license is work the “birds,” otherwise known as amateur radio satellites.

hamradioprep.com

Super cool. Yeah, I'll definitely look into getting an amateur license then. The principles still apply!

 

[PromptCritical]

I have friends that like me on CB because I have a license and use the longer distance ham bands and can relay to them what I hear long distance.