posted ago by CuzMerica
+228 / -0
How about TD.win establishes a frequency (or series of frequencies) for HAM radio owners to tune into and listen. We all go out and buy cheap Baofeng UV5Rs and can communicate (or at least listen) in the event of SHTF comms. Maybe we have a volunteer PEDE or two with a license to work it out?
I am a radio noob - so please discuss/correct.
How about TD.win establishes a frequency (or series of frequencies) for HAM radio owners to tune into and listen. We all go out and buy cheap Baofeng UV5Rs and can communicate (or at least listen) in the event of SHTF comms. Maybe we have a volunteer PEDE or two with a license to work it out?
I am a radio noob - so please discuss/correct.
This isn’t a bad idea. Though, it’s quite likely, just as in my area surrounding Portland Oregon, that you have a local ham radio group that is already structured for this very thing as most if not all ham radio operators that are licensed for more than “fun” do it to prepare for SHTF. You’d be quite surprised honestly the support local groups like this have. Look it up, just not on google lol. I’ll be listening out for you!
There was a thread about this a few hours ago. Lotsa good info. https://thedonald.win/p/11R4Sa930l/cqcqcq---ham-radio-megathread-ge/
Know a good way to find groups? I struggled looking in my area but there has to be something. No in person exams within 200 miles in the next couple months...
http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club Is the easiest way. You may be able to find more information about getting a test created closer to you if you have more people interested. It’s not expensive but it has to be worth the instructors time. You read from a pamphlet unless you have a super excited tester. Then you may be in for a full class. Mine lasted 6 hours with a small window for testing at the end. Best of luck!
Breaker breaker one nine
I have me a salty commie creeping towards my back door, gonna blast past the chicken coop to get a bear to lick off the salt after I blast him with my chicken lights.
Catch you on the flip flop
10-5
10-4 good buddy
HAM HACKS QUICKSTART GUIDE FOR ‘CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?’ FOLKS
I don’t want to learn or research, just tell me — what should I buy?
Gotcha covered, lazy eye!
Get at least 2 Baofeng UV 5R - about $30 — A longer antenna and a battery back that accepts aaa batteries is also recommended.
Also get about 6 cheaper ‘walkabout’ radios. Pre-test them to make sure you have everything set up on the same frequency and settings.
Then what do I do, besides learning anything about wavelengths?
KEEP THEM TOGETHER AS A SET, and KEEP THEM CHARGED. STORE them with a set of replacement batteries attached. You will end up HANDING THESE OUT and COLLECTING THEM BACK when you need them, on a ‘project-to-project’ basis.
If you DON’T use this approach, you will always only have 1 radio on hand, and it won’t ‘hear’ the other guy with a different radio, and you won’t have time or knowledge to figure out why, and so you’ll pretty much be without radios and things will be a big clusterfuck.
How do I use them though?
First, learn to practice radio discipline.. (Use the cheap set, Don’t use the Baofengs to transmit until you get a HAM license, just familiarize with it and test it to make sure it works right)
RADIO DISCIPLINE is about learning how to use radio comms to clearly communicate. The basic pattern is:
OTHER ‘RULES’
Train with your team to use this pattern, and then practice actually accomplishing some tasks using radio comms only. These patterns will help overcome the radio delay problems and frustrations common to intermittent and spotty radio communications.
But what about the wide, wide world of HAM radio operators?
Use https://yippy.com to search for ‘HAM repeaters’ in your state, and print yourself a list. Listen on these frequencies for info, DO NOT transmit on them unless you know what you are doing.
Get together with your 6-man team and pre-designate a Primary, Alternate, Contigency, and Emergency channel. Give each a codename. Then you can contact each other and switch channels i/when necessary.
At least one of your channels should be from this list, where you can also interface with store-purchased ‘walkabouts’ and ‘walkie-talkies’:
(Make sure to comply with all state laws and FCC rules - this is not a complete guide, only a snippet of reference info for emergency use or entertainment purposes)
The Family Radio Service “FRS” is comprised of 14 channels allocated by the FCC to be used for non-commercial purposes, without the need for licensing.
Channel : Frequency (MHz)
There are five MURS channels and the channels are either 11.25 kHz or 20.00 kHz each. The channel frequencies and (bandwidth) are:
The most common use of MURS channels is for short-distance, two-way communications using small, portable hand-held radios that function similar to walkie-talkies.
I can’t hear them, or can hear them but they can’t hear me! Should I give up and simply use Morse code and Whistles?
Yes. You should.
During testing your radios, if you are on the right channel and you can’t hear, or they can’t hear you, it’s probably due to ‘privacy codes’, ‘interference codes’ or CTCSS — a setting that can be set on a receiver to ‘not listen’ unless the transmission has a hidden tone embedded in it.
Google by the model number for the owners manual to the walkie and set the ‘privacy code’ to 0. Then it won’t be blocking received transmissions on the given channel.
If you turn off CTCSS on your baofeng, then you will hear every radio on the frequency you are using that are within range, REGARDLESS of which tone they may be using. The menu codes on a 5R are:
Using these features doesn’t stop anyone from listening to you, they just stop you from hearing other people. If someone has a radio with no CTCSS and DCS on, they will be able to hear everyone on the channel/frequency, including people using CTCSS and DCS.
As a general rule, ‘privacy codes’ on Midland GMRS radios and ‘interference eliminator codes’ on Motorola Talkabout two way radios are about the same thing. Turn them OFF to receive all signal on the channel
This page breaks down all of the privacy codes for most popular radio brands and tells you which code matches with which:
https://www.k0tfu.org/reference/frs-gmrs-privacy-codes-demystified/
NOW THAT YOU’RE A KNOW-NOTHING BITCHBOXER WITH A WORKING SET OF RADIOS READY FOR EMERGENCIES, GO ACTUALLY LEARN ABOUT HAM.
Thanks your primer, saved and printed!
The UV-5R is not the best HAM radio, it is merely the cheapest good one. Other handheld radios are about $50-$70 more expensive. The “good” of a HAM radio is measured , in addition to cost, by interface (ease of use, accessibility, useability, customizability, personal preference, suitability to your application), transmission power (‘walkie-talkies’ are about 2 Watts, UV-5R and most ‘5-mile’ radios — many with packaging boasting 25 mi. — around 5 Watts, ‘base stations’ can easily be anywhere from 15-100 Watts), and antenna type (different kinds of antenna receive different ranges of wavelengths better than others).
I posted my recommendation — get a few UV-5Rs, upgrade the antenna & get a spare aa or aaa battery back, and then get a bunch of cheap radios to pass out to the people you need to talk to, who will break them and/or lose them. Most of your usage will be coordinating small group movements less than 2 miles apart, such as vehicle convoy, hiking, perimeter checks, neighborhood watch, etc.
To your question, I don’t really think it matters all that much, as much as practicing using them with radio discipline does. Practice will give you a good sense of their capabilities and range.
Personally I like Midland X-tra Talk model xt25, and Motorola Talkabout T6500, but also very often end up handing out cheap Cobra Microtalks because of the ‘disposability’ factor.
Why the hell does anyone need a fucking license for this stuff? I mean it's a radio, and this is a free country, you buy it, you can use it - right?
Besides, SHTF happens, ain't no one going to be concerned about my "radio license" yeah?
Be very careful about legalities. There are many who would wish to shut down or silence the site any way they could, and "colluding to violate the law" is rather up there among excuses to do so.
Does having a plan for a SHTF frequency to listen into violate the law?
More commonly it's transmission than reception that's an issue, and actually doing so as opposed to talking about it, but not always.
(For instance, it is illegal to have some types of devices capable of reception of (or capable of "readily being altered by the user to operate within"!) some frequencies in the 800MHz-900MHz range for some relatively convoluted reasons around mobile phones - see https://computer.rip/2020-11-28%20the%20verboten%20band.html.)
At the end of the day, I'm not a lawyer. Some of this is legal, likely, but if it's ruled to be legal after a couple of years of back and forth with the site shut down that is in and of itself a problem. So all we can do is tread rather carefully.
No
https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtvhf
Here are the marine VHF freqs and legal uses for the US. Those little Baofeng radios can tx/rx on these as well as the UHF bands. I use VHF, don't know anything much about HAM or HF/UHF so hopefully somebody else has info for that. At least the VHF will let you tx/rx direct to the Coasties if you're near blue water and see commies that need to meet Mr. Apache the Happy Fun Attack Choppa.
Check the FCC website for the rules and regs, follow them and don't be the dick that ruins it for the rest of us ;). FCC radio station licenses are zero difficulty to obtain - I have an SSL that covers me for any legal freq, anywhere in the world, and it took almost no effort (and very little $$) to obtain so if you're serious, just get the license so you have a legit callsign and paperwork in case you need it.
AmRRON
TAPRN
And consider hooking up with AMCON. Many regional and local groups are conducting comms training.
This might be a good place to start for non-licensed pedes.
http://www.websdr.org/
Please do it. Some pede must be a shortwave radio operator
this is an excellent idea, i’m afraid one day we will lose the ability to converse freely over the webs
There was a thread about this a few hours ago. Lotsa good info. https://thedonald.win/p/11R4Sa930l/cqcqcq---ham-radio-megathread-ge/
how do you say, bill clinton is a rapist in morse code?
Where have you people been the last ten , twelve years?
AMRRON has the best emcomm plan going. Never going to duplicate it. Download while you can.
also AREDN or BBHM for microwave mesh use.
Hurry time is short.
PACTOR hf bbs is alnother possibility. Packet radio still works in a number of areas.
A walkie talkie app like zello?