BLUF: The book is packed with vital TTPs and I heartily recommend it
Table of contents:
- Introduction to the Baofeng Radio
- Functions and field programming
- Communication planning
- Traffic handling and reports
- A Crash Course in Field Antennas
- Communications Operations
- Digital encoding and encryption
- App A - The baofeng Repeater
- App B - Sample SOI and Report Formats
- App C - Sample Trigram List[/li][/list]
While the book includes an excellent crash course on the use of the Baofeng UV-5R radio in a field or tactical environment, 90% of what's found within is applicable to any Line Of Sight VHF or UHF portable radio - Midland, Kenwood, Yaesu, Motorola, etc.
Most everyone's got a little Baofeng radio, whether a UV-5R or one of the others like the UV-9R Plus, the UV-82 or the big-assed AR-152. Some of us have a bucketload of them. The book is geared around leveraging that cheap semi-disposable Chicom technology for radio communications in an opposed environment, whether it's a dangerous WROL situation, a civil conflict or if your nation is occupied by enemy troops. Turns out there's a heck of a lot of utility which can be wrung out of these cheap radios, especially if you have some knowledge of basic antenna theory and you can work digital messaging software on a wifi-only android tablet. There are many techniques in this book will keep you alive if you use them.
I see the book as a force multiplier. It opened my eyes to aspects of the guerrilla RTO's trade I would never have thought of. I'm not in a position to attend one of NC Scout's Brushbeater RTO or Advanced RTO courses, so it's up to me to absorb the lessons in the book and then practice them in the field. This book is an excellent guide to that end.
I bought 2 x copies for myself and will probably grab another couple as gifts.
It's available on Amazon as a paperback, or as a spiral-bound pocket guide from the Brushbeater website.
