Unchained Preppers
Communications => Radio => Topic started by: UnBroken on January 25, 2012, 10:17:43 PM
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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
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cup phones man! no just kidding, i am interested in this too.
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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.
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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? ;D
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Is go with czech. They seem to make good shiz
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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
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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 (http://www.smileyvault.co
[/quote)
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We have a small galvanized trash can of assorted FRS radios: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service (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 (http://www.amazon.com/Grundig-S350-Deluxe-Shortwave-Radio/dp/B000Q5APCC) "one is none two is one."
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The 10-meter band (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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.
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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?
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Bump! I'm looking for communication options!
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Bump! I'm looking for communication options!
Base station, mobile (vehicle), or hand held?
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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.
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Don't forget the old signal mirror or even a weapon mounted laser.
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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.
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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.
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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 (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 (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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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...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.
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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 (http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=longwire+antenna&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)
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...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).
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Great tip Crudos. Thx for the tip.
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Check out the puxing px-888.
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Check out the puxing px-888.
Thanks Kobalt, hadn't seen that one. Also check out the BaoFeng UV-5R. Lots of good reviews for a cheap. Haven't pulled the trigger on this one yet though.
Edit: Just found the BaoFeng UV-5R Plus is the latest/greatest of this model for around $50. Tempting, very tempting...... I don't know too much about VHF/UHF frequencies (I'm more of a HF person), but this might be a good way to start learning.
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OK Kobalt you got me going and i have spent the afternoon researching handheld 2 meter radios. It seems that the yaesu FT 60R was the one that received the best reviews and got the most praise.
Unfortunately the closest ham shop in my area is 81 miles away (Salem NH). I would like to go to a retailer to pick their brain.
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JM, I splurged and took a chance with the latest version of the BaoFeng UV-5R Plus. Just under $50. The original UV-5R got rave reviews when it was first introduced. I figure that by this time, they have all the bugs worked out (if any to begin with), and this version should be golden, hopefully. Will keep the forum posted when it arrives via Mao-land.
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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.
Thank you very much for your invaluable input! These were recommended by a prepper I know but he has never really used them. I read a couple places about the syncing issues so I wasnt sure about them in the first place and Im too cheap to waste that kind of money on a mystery product like that anyways...
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Crudos,
I will be looking forward to your review. [URL=http://www.smileyvault.co
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Radios and Commo are ridiculously important. Just look at the way the Chechen Resistance used tiny cheap short distance radios to great effect in Grozny. Its the difference between success and failure. [URL=http://www.smileyvault.co
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I have a yaesu ft-270. It's almost the same thing as their vertex standard line but has some civilian influences in it. It's self programmable, waterproof, shockproof, and all that good stuff.
I did have to modify it to be able to transmit on the public safety frequencies but that was easy. i mainly use it for fire fighting but i also bought it for wrol comms use.
Pretty soon i'm going to be buying a base stattion for my house and maybe one for my truck.
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Same as v0dka, I'm using a yaesu FT-270 and I'm extremely happy with it, there are a lot of accessories available and its IPX7 so you can put it underwater and it will still work, the battery life is excellent in reception mode it last for weeks without discharging and there is an accessory so you can use it with AA batteries.
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Did you remove the tiny ass resister in yours?
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I dunno man, the guy from the store "liberated it". I just know I can listen to the police and emergency services.
It goes from 137 to 174 Mhz, yours has the same range?
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Yes, by default it does that. If he did anything he made it able to transmit on the public safety channels.
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So you can hear public safety on that radio v0dka? Police and Fire?
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yeah im gona pick up 2 or 3 of those ft 270s when i have the means, and the AA packs.
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So you can hear public safety on that radio v0dka? Police and Fire?
Yeah all the channels that use the freqs between 154-173. Our system is pretty complicated, there isn't one radio for all the emergency services and alert systems.
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The BaoFeng UV-5R Plus that I ordered transmits and receives on all frequencies between 136-174MHz and 400-480MHz right out of the box. Of course you'll need a license to transmit on some of the those, just saying. :))
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Does anyone know of a "cheaper" 2m shortwave base station? All the ones I find are $500+. I'm probably going to have to spend alot of money for this, I can find 2m radios under $200 but just adding shortwave on it jacks the price up another $400.
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Just a suggestion...
1) Figure out what are the top three for your application,
2) Go onto Craigs list and EBay daily, and
3) Contact a local HAM store. They often have units that were used in trade or they may know of someone who is selling.
I have seen some older models in the $200- range on crailgs list.
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The BaoFeng UV-5R Plus that I ordered transmits and receives on all frequencies between 136-174MHz and 400-480MHz right out of the box. Of course you'll need a license to transmit on some of the those, just saying. :))
Still haven't gotten mine yet, but the reviews on Amazon of this are pretty good....
BaoFeng UV-5R reviews (http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-136-174-400-480-Dual-Band/product-reviews/B007H4VT7A/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_link_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0)
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The BaoFeng UV-5R Plus that I ordered transmits and receives on all frequencies between 136-174MHz and 400-480MHz right out of the box. Of course you'll need a license to transmit on some of the those, just saying. :))
Still haven't gotten mine yet, but the reviews on Amazon of this are pretty good....
BaoFeng UV-5R reviews ([url]http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-136-174-400-480-Dual-Band/product-reviews/B007H4VT7A/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_link_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0[/url])
It looks like a neat little 2-way for the price. I want to know if the programming software is compatible with Mac?... And is it as hard as the reviews are saying to program it from the keypad?
Looking forward to your review.
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The BaoFeng UV-5R Plus that I ordered transmits and receives on all frequencies between 136-174MHz and 400-480MHz right out of the box. Of course you'll need a license to transmit on some of the those, just saying. :))
Still haven't gotten mine yet, but the reviews on Amazon of this are pretty good....
BaoFeng UV-5R reviews ([url]http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-136-174-400-480-Dual-Band/product-reviews/B007H4VT7A/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_link_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0[/url])
It looks like a neat little 2-way for the price. I want to know if the programming software is compatible with Mac?... And is it as hard as the reviews are saying to program it from the keypad?
Looking forward to your review.
The programming software is not mac compatible, windows only, and that sucks. Although most ham software is winblows only anyway. Think the latest version has much better instructions, so hoping keypad programming won't be as bad.
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Those are pretty cheap and look as they work fine.
Do you know if there is a 12v charger for those baofeng?
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Those are pretty cheap and look as they work fine.
Do you know if there is a 12v charger for those baofeng?
This is the current package of the latest/greatest.....
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-Dual-Band-136-174-400-480-Two-way/dp/B0097252UK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1XJOEUB2D7LT7&coliid=IGTBT5GN2XIA8 (http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-Dual-Band-136-174-400-480-Two-way/dp/B0097252UK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1XJOEUB2D7LT7&coliid=IGTBT5GN2XIA8)
I was able to pick mine up for just under $48 shipped on eBay, fyi, not trying to promote Amazon or this particular seller.
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Check this out!!! I was playing with it last night. Pretty cool for what it is and for the price.
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll42/technique408/photo2_zps4af0142c.jpg)
It has an internal rechargeable battery, takes batteries, and can be crank powered- LOL
http://www.midlandradio.com/Two-Way-Radio.BS3/XT511-Base-Camp# (http://www.midlandradio.com/Two-Way-Radio.BS3/XT511-Base-Camp#)
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Dang buddy, that right there is UHF at it's finest!
I do wonder how easily it pairs with their walkies.
After making the above post I got to thinking about the power options on this radio. You can use the dynamo to recharge the power pack which is 4 aa batteries... Why couldn't you take a 4 aa battery holder from radioshack and attach the appropriate connection and be able to use the dynamo to recharge your own aa batteries?
Great find Tech and thanks again for helping me spend my pay!
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Found these http://www.uniden.com/two-way-radios/two-submersiblefloating-50-mile-range-frsgmrs-radios-with-2-vox-headsets-and-2-carabiners/invt/gmr50892ckhsg/ (http://www.uniden.com/two-way-radios/two-submersiblefloating-50-mile-range-frsgmrs-radios-with-2-vox-headsets-and-2-carabiners/invt/gmr50892ckhsg/) at Bass Pro and decided to try them out. Price is not bad around 80-100 dollars (depending on retailer) considering what you get. There are a TON of features on these radios so MAKE SURE you read the directions if/when you get them. Pairing with non privacy and other brand radios is good. You can set it where you can Tx/Rx with anyone on your freq, Tx to anyone but not Rx unless they are on your privacy code, or limit Tx/Rx all comms to just the people on your privacy code. You can also set these up with up to 16 separate "names" in order to do a direct call to just that person. Also has NOAA bands built in with optional NOAA alert setting. They are also submersible, as long as the plug is in covering the headset port, so no swimming while using a headset. That is just a sample of the stuff they do, like I said, a LOT of features.
Tested these out one clear night in a suburban area and they worked great for up to 3 miles through houses, trees and other stuff lol. would have tested out farther but it was in the middle of the night and I was on foot at the time.