Radio's?????

[UnBroken]

Ok guys we have had gear, guns and packs .....what about radios . What fourm of communication do you guys run. What ways are you planning on communicating with home base while out on patrol or hunting .....

pics and links would be appreciated

[goodnightChesty1775]

cup phones man! no just kidding, i am interested in this too.

[gapatriot]

We have about 10 field phone ta-1's and ta-43's and a few miles of wire, primarily LP/OP to base coms. We are checking out some different wireless forms of coms right now.

[WhiteWolf]

I keep thinking about field phones, but everytime I find one it's old Russian or Czech crap that's never been tested. Last thing I want to do is spend $60 on a piece of junk that I have no idea how to restore. Plus, if I end up bugging out, which I know I will, I don't want to lug any more than I've already got. i have a pair of slightly higher end walkie talkies. Chesty, I'll have to look into those paper cup ones you mentioned. Which would you recommend, Israeli, Russian, Czech or different? 

[UnBroken]

Is go with czech. They seem to make good shiz

[WhiteWolf]

Is go with czech. They seem to make good shiz

Roger that. Plus side is they're light as heck so a bag of Dixie cups and some string won't be too much added weight.  [URL=http://www.smileyvault.co

[UnBroken]

Is go with czech. They seem to make good shiz

Roger that. Plus side is they're light as heck so a bag of Dixie cups and some string won't be too much added weight. 
Just hang them off the mollie straps on the back.... Then you'll be tacticool  [img]http://www.arrse.co.uk/at

[JohnyMac]

We have a small galvanized trash can of assorted FRS radios: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service they are all set on the same channel and locked so nobody can change the channel without locking the radio.

My neighbor has a CB. He has just ordered a power booster for it. Once he gets it and we hook it up we will see how well we receive / send.

Last, we have two Grudig s350DL SW radio receivers:  http://www.amazon.com/Grundig-S350-Deluxe-Shortwave-Radio/dp/B000Q5APCC "one is none two is one."

 

[crudos]

The 10-meter band seems a good compromise between distance, power, and cost. Been doing a little research to see how practical it would be as a band that offers distant communication possibilities and reasonable price as far as equipment.

[v0dka]

I'm trying to figure out a good radio to put on my gear. I'm thinking cb since they are fairly common to comes across.
any recommendations?

[TheHipsterPrepper]

Bump! I'm looking for communication options!

[special-k]

Bump! I'm looking for communication options!

Base station, mobile (vehicle), or hand held?

[TheHipsterPrepper]

Bump! I'm looking for communication options!

Base station, mobile (vehicle), or hand held?

I'm looking for something handheld to throw on my chest rig. It'll be going in the Chinese SKS chest rig "Big" pocket for now, until I can fabricate my own rig later.

[Colombo]

Don't forget the old signal mirror or even a weapon mounted laser.

[NOLA556]

Bump! I'm looking for communication options!

I've found that CB is hands down the cheapest and easiest, but obviously not the best. I go with CB for now because my budget won't allow for anything better. of course it's not secure, but wtf really is these days. learn to encode your own language and you're set.

I think I paid about $70 for the CB unit and another $35-40 on the antenna. I have a range of about 5 miles in the city and about 15 outside the city. right now, it's badass for avoiding traffic jams during rush hour. truckers are chirping all over their CB's way before the info hits the regular radio. I even radio'd in a traffic jam once and received MANY thanks from all the truckers that I helped!  [URL=http://www.smileyvault.co

my vote is in for CB unless you have a money tree and can afford a comms room... a vehicle-mounted CB should get 'er done.

[thatGuy]

That's good looking out there Dream Weaver!

What is really neat about C.B. setups is that they are already 12v. That makes it easy to hook up to a solar power pack.

You guys who are near the coast might want to look into UHF and VHF radios. They have great range and come in a wide variety of impact/water resistant handhelds.

[special-k]

Bump! I'm looking for communication options!

Base station, mobile (vehicle), or hand held?

I'm looking for something handheld to throw on my chest rig. It'll be going in the Chinese SKS chest rig "Big" pocket for now, until I can fabricate my own rig later.

For that purpose, I would go with these:   (check amazon before purchasing at this site)
http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/midland/midland-gxt-1000-vp4.aspx
OR the same radios in camo for a few more bucks: 
http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/midland/midland-gxt-1050-vp4.aspx

These have all the bells and whistles including being water resistant, low power settings to conserve batteries, and having the best range in their price range.  Their most important feature is that they can use standard AA cells....IMO this is the most important feature to have for a SHTF hand-held.  The one feature I don't like about them is the volume/power knob that can be accidentally turned down/off.  I use a little trick with a rubber band to prevent this from happening.  I would rather have a radio that uses standard batteries and just deal with the knob issue. 

You can buy hand-helds that get a slightly better range, but you're going to pay at least $290 for each radio...and they don't use standard batteries.  And for even more $, you can buy hand-helds that are highly secure and nearly impossible to eavesdrop on, even if the eavesdropper had the proper equipment (near field receiver & beam antenna) they would have to be within 100 feet for it to work.

[Outonowhere]

This is something that I have researched myself and talked with some others about before so here is what I got (not literally).

For cheap and local comms, GMRS are probably the way to go. 
+ generally easy to use
+ and - everyone has them
+ generally lightweight
+ generally lots of accessories
- easily jammed / eavesdropped / located
- range usually not that great unless you spend more $$$

There are also the eXrs radios that you can get for anywhere from about $75 to $100 which act similar to a cell phone.  Havent tried them myself but this is the jist of what I found with my research
+ not to hard to figure out
+ lots of functions
+many times more secure than standard FRS/GMRS
+ texting feature
~ Range about on par with GMRS radios
- reports of issues with more than 1-2 other radios on a channel
- non-standard 2.5 mic/output single post jack (hard to find headsets for this)

CB's are a great option because they generally wont break the bank, are common at least in certain groups but are used often.

Im not a commo guy so if I do any handheld SW it will probably just be on the receiving end.

In conclusion I would say this.  If you are looking for something to throw on your rig and have local comms between people, OR if you are just on a tight budget, go with either a good set of GMRS or the eXrs.  BE AWARE that legally to use the GMRS channels you ARE supposed to have a license.  FRS make up like the first 10 channels on those little radios, anything higher than that is GMRS.  In the end it is best to have redundancies as well as alternatives, just in case.

[thatGuy]

Might not be a bad idea to throw in a good ham receiver so you can listen to international news and peer to peer stateside.

Now if you are looking at getting a licence a hand held ham radio is the shit!

Depending on elevation and terrain it is not a stretch to communicate across the great state of New Mexico with one.

[special-k]

Do not waste your money on TriSquare eXRS radios.  They ALL have syncing issues...and there is NO way to solve these issues, no matter what the manufacturer says.   

I bought 4 pairs several years ago from a distributor at a huge discount.  The syncing problems make them completely undependable, they are definitely not to be used in a serious, life or death, or emergency situation.  I do use the ones that I have on a daily basis for a home intercom system.  I keep a pair in the charger at all times at each location in my home.  This doubles the chance of actually being able to receive a transmission, but even with the odds doubled, they fail to sync often.

EDIT:  Any reviews on amazon or elsewhere that claim to have no problems with these radios, are assuredly TriSquare plants trying to promote their shitty product.

On a side note, I've heard that the software that these use for their FHSS (frequency hopping spread spectrum), is the exact same software used in Dessert Storm 1 that caused more than one U.S. tank to be destroyed by friendly fire for lack of being able to communicate at critical times.

[crudos]

Will be setting up a CB/scanner combo in my home. Trying to find a old tv antenna tower to cement in the ground on the side of the house to mount decent aerials. Already have a couple of Shortwave receivers. See how that works, then plan on a ham radio set-up.

[JohnyMac]

Crudos, what are you running for your receivers?

We have two Eton Grudig's however I don't like them much. Maybe I need to add an outside antenna.

[special-k]

...Trying to find a old tv antenna tower to cement in the ground on the side of the house to mount decent aerials...

I got 11 10-foot sections of tower for sell...Only problem is it's sitting in a storage unit down in Georgia.

[crudos]

JM,

I have a newer Eton E-10 and an old Panasonic RF-2900. Outside antenna's are really the only way to go with shortwave. Just run a longwire antenna if nothing else. Super easy to do and cheap.

longwire antennas

[crudos]

...Trying to find a old tv antenna tower to cement in the ground on the side of the house to mount decent aerials...

I got 11 10-foot sections of tower for sell...Only problem is it's sitting in a storage unit down in Georgia.

Yeah, bit far to travel with me up here in Wisconsin. Surprised that preppers in your area haven't jumped at getting tower sections for their preps, especially if they are in a house (as opposed to apartments and condos).