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CB radio for emergencies?
I was thinking of getting a pair of handheld CBs for emergencies. I'm
in the US just FYI since each country has a billion different standards. I saw a story about Hurricane Sandy, where a family member went out to help somebody down the road. Wouldn't it be nice if he brought a radio so he could communicate with the people he left at home? Since I my area was amazingly lucky and had literally zero damage even though the storm passed right over us. Things could have been very different. It got me thinking that if I were in that situation. I was thinking of a set of UHF, GMRS, or even business band radios. I knew I would be breaking the law using them, but during an emergency I don't think anybody would come after me. I would not use them every day. I'm thinking CB might be a good idea too, since there are probably more people on it and they could listen in and possibly help. A good thing if emergency services are stretched if operating at all. Eventually I plan on getting a HAM license, and being part of the local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). What is your input? Any specific models or brands of radio I should get that fits the bill? |
CB radio for emergencies?
"Justin" wrote in message ... I was thinking of getting a pair of handheld CBs for emergencies. I'm in the US just FYI since each country has a billion different standards. I saw a story about Hurricane Sandy, where a family member went out to help somebody down the road. Wouldn't it be nice if he brought a radio so he could communicate with the people he left at home? Since I my area was amazingly lucky and had literally zero damage even though the storm passed right over us. Things could have been very different. It got me thinking that if I were in that situation. I was thinking of a set of UHF, GMRS, or even business band radios. I knew I would be breaking the law using them, but during an emergency I don't think anybody would come after me. I would not use them every day. I'm thinking CB might be a good idea too, since there are probably more people on it and they could listen in and possibly help. A good thing if emergency services are stretched if operating at all. Eventually I plan on getting a HAM license, and being part of the local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). What is your input? Any specific models or brands of radio I should get that fits the bill? As you are planning on getting a ham license, you may want to look at this brand. Go to Amazon.com and search for Baofeng. They are small handy talkies that have an output of about 4 watts. They can be programmed for the ham bands and other frequencies. Be sure to get the programming cable and softwear for them. A pair should be less than $ 100. |
CB radio for emergencies?
On 12/7/2012 5:07 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
wrote in message ... I was thinking of getting a pair of handheld CBs for emergencies. I'm in the US just FYI since each country has a billion different standards. I saw a story about Hurricane Sandy, where a family member went out to help somebody down the road. Wouldn't it be nice if he brought a radio so he could communicate with the people he left at home? Since I my area was amazingly lucky and had literally zero damage even though the storm passed right over us. Things could have been very different. It got me thinking that if I were in that situation. I was thinking of a set of UHF, GMRS, or even business band radios. I knew I would be breaking the law using them, but during an emergency I don't think anybody would come after me. I would not use them every day. I'm thinking CB might be a good idea too, since there are probably more people on it and they could listen in and possibly help. A good thing if emergency services are stretched if operating at all. Eventually I plan on getting a HAM license, and being part of the local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). What is your input? Any specific models or brands of radio I should get that fits the bill? As you are planning on getting a ham license, you may want to look at this brand. Go to Amazon.com and search for Baofeng. They are small handy talkies that have an output of about 4 watts. They can be programmed for the ham bands and other frequencies. Be sure to get the programming cable and softwear for them. A pair should be less than $ 100. Yes I'm planning on getting a HAM license, however I'm studying for the CPA first. What about brands like Kenwood? Aren't they know for decent quality? |
CB radio for emergencies?
"Justin" wrote in message ... On 12/7/2012 5:07 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote: Yes I'm planning on getting a HAM license, however I'm studying for the CPA first. What about brands like Kenwood? Aren't they know for decent quality? They are fine brands. Just as Icom and Yeasu are. I was thinking of the price. You get about the same in any of them. I have a Wouxun HT that I bought several years ago. Many in the ham club have them and they work fine. That is about a $ 120 each radio. There are many places to get the Wouxun. Here is one : http://www.wouxun.us/item.php?item_i...category_id=46 I bought mine from a local dealer. |
CB radio for emergencies?
In article ,
Justin wrote: I was thinking of getting a pair of handheld CBs for emergencies. I'm in the US just FYI since each country has a billion different standards. I saw a story about Hurricane Sandy, where a family member went out to help somebody down the road. Wouldn't it be nice if he brought a radio so he could communicate with the people he left at home? Justin- If you do get the pair of handheld CB radios, they should be a relatively inexpensive "learning experience". They may be of some use, but you will learn they do not work over a very long distance. Their range is mostly limited by interference from the many other users of the Citizens Band, even if the radio at home is connected to an outdoor antenna. Using GMRS radios may not have as much interference, but are limited to line-of-sight distances. If there is a nearby GMRS repeater with a high antenna, your range would be determined by the line-of-sight between each radio and the repeater, which could be several miles. If there are no repeaters in your area, you would need to install one of your own, perhaps on top of a tall building in your community. The same is true with Ham Radio. Using a Two Meter repeater, your hand held radios might have a range of several miles. There are Ham Clubs that sponsor repeaters in most population centers, and many are involved in ARES and RACES emergency services. I suggest you look for Ham Clubs in your area. Some offer free Ham Radio License Classes to get you started. Take a look at the ARRL website, http://www.arrl.org. Just remember, in a true emergency, power failure may keep all of your radio systems from working unless they have backup power. In many situations, the Cellular Telephone System may be the only working system in the early hours. Fred K4DII |
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Their nets takes place on 80 meters - 3.800 - 3.999 MHz - which requires you to have a General Class or higher license. Both the Technician and the General requires you to pass a 35 question, multiple guess test. Each time you upgrade - you will be requires to learn more. The problem is - then you need a transceiver that can do 80 meters, a 80 meter antenna, feed line, a power supply, a tuner - since most antenna's are not resonant on 80 meters except for a 80 meters dipole - very large antenna, or a Barker & Williamson BWD 90 which is about the same size as a G5RV - fits in a space about 100 feet long and needs to be 60 or more feet in the air. That is out of reach of most city dwellers and people who lives within a covenant - housing development plan. Although amateur radio now has more licensed operators then any other time. Historically - it is loosing its core members at a proportional rate, and the old members would need to mentor the new members to make them contributing members of society. The problem is - most of the newer members comes from the CB radio and we can't teach them nothing because their mouths are open and their minds are shut. CB radio mentality is if you cannot make contact - use more power. They don't understand how antenna's radiate the power applied and they don't understand how communications works. ALL THEY WANT TO DO IS TALK! I would suggest that you find a real amateur radio club and join it. Get some advice from some real hams - if you can find them. Do as much internet research as possible - learn as much as you can learn. |
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Cell phones are the LEAST reliable equipment - not the most. Even in New York - at least 25% of all the cell towers were down and the ones that were not, were over taxed to the point of where they also failed - because they were not designed to be used with more then the average amount of users and they were overloaded. If the calamity is so bad that it wipes out MA BELL - you can bet your dupah that it will also talk out most of the cell towers, public service communications, electrical power etc.... A real ham maintains a battery bank and has real radio equipment, towers, antennas, transceivers etc.... I tried to relate this information to our local ham radio clubs two years ago, the problem being that we have never experienced real storms of such a magnitude as what Hurricaine Sandy was and we were not prepared... The mindset here was that our local repeaters would save us, and when the lights went out and no one knew how to control the local repeaters - we lost many people who could have helped - because no one could hear them, because the linked repeater system unlinked. The Walkie talkie serves a couple of good purposes - if you have a flat tire, you can place it under the tire to keep the vehicle from rolling away. You can use it instead of stones if you want to skip it over a body of water. Or you can use it as a flashlight if the display is bright enough. It is the last radio you should buy and not the first. It doesn't talk anywhere - except the one or two local repeaters and it doesn't do anything - unless you are working with some friends that are also hams - doing some type of chore such as field days or a ham fest where you want personal communications... |
CB radio for emergencies?
On 12/7/2012 7:24 PM, Fred McKenzie wrote:
In , wrote: I was thinking of getting a pair of handheld CBs for emergencies. I'm in the US just FYI since each country has a billion different standards. I saw a story about Hurricane Sandy, where a family member went out to help somebody down the road. Wouldn't it be nice if he brought a radio so he could communicate with the people he left at home? Justin- If you do get the pair of handheld CB radios, they should be a relatively inexpensive "learning experience". They may be of some use, but you will learn they do not work over a very long distance. Their range is mostly limited by interference from the many other users of the Citizens Band, even if the radio at home is connected to an outdoor antenna. The CB radios would be for short range, maybe half a mile, or around the neighborhood. When Sandy hit the cell phones were out for days. Even though my area was relatively unscathed, the towers were still down. Just having the ability to talk to a family member back at the house would be nice. Using GMRS radios may not have as much interference, but are limited to line-of-sight distances. If there is a nearby GMRS repeater with a high antenna, your range would be determined by the line-of-sight between each radio and the repeater, which could be several miles. If there are no repeaters in your area, you would need to install one of your own, perhaps on top of a tall building in your community. I don't know of any GMRS repeaters in the area, but that's a good idea, I'll check it out. Is there a website with all of them mapped out? The same is true with Ham Radio. Using a Two Meter repeater, your hand held radios might have a range of several miles. There are Ham Clubs that sponsor repeaters in most population centers, and many are involved in ARES and RACES emergency services. I suggest you look for Ham Clubs in your area. Some offer free Ham Radio License Classes to get you started. Take a look at the ARRL website,http://www.arrl.org. Just remember, in a true emergency, power failure may keep all of your radio systems from working unless they have backup power. In many situations, the Cellular Telephone System may be the only working system in the early hours. That's true, the cell phones worked for a while but not for long. Fred K4DII What about those TriSquare radios? I know TriSquare is toast, but was the technology any good? |
[quote='Justin[_4_];799490']On 12/7/2012 7:24 PM, Fred McKenzie wrote:
Justin- If you do get the pair of handheld CB radios, they should be a relatively inexpensive "learning experience". They may be of some use, but you will learn they do not work over a very long distance. Their range is mostly limited by interference from the many other users of the Citizens Band, even if the radio at home is connected to an outdoor antenna. Using GMRS radios may not have as much interference, but are limited to line-of-sight distances. If there is a nearby GMRS repeater with a high antenna, your range would be determined by the line-of-sight between each radio and the repeater, which could be several miles. If there are no repeaters in your area, you would need to install one of your own, perhaps on top of a tall building in your community. I don't know of any GMRS repeaters in the area, but that's a good idea, I'll check it out. Is there a website with all of them mapped out? The same is true with Ham Radio. Using a Two Meter repeater, your hand held radios might have a range of several miles. There are Ham Clubs that sponsor repeaters in most population centers, and many are involved in ARES and RACES emergency services. I suggest you look for Ham Clubs in your area. Some offer free Ham Radio License Classes to get you started. Take a look at the ARRL website,http://www.arrl.org. Just remember, in a true emergency, power failure may keep all of your radio systems from working unless they have backup power. In many situations, the Cellular Telephone System may be the only working system in the early hours. That's true, the cell phones worked for a while but not for long. Fred K4DII GMRS requires a license and permission to use another persons repeater. The repeaters are not open, because the people who built the repeaters owns them and leases them to others - who wishes to have wireless communications, but does not have the experteise and property and finances to build their own repeater system. GMRS repeater frequencies are usually not published... At the same time, building your own repeater just in case is a very expensive proposition.. Repeaters are built in the most opportune places - places such as on top of mountains, very tall buildings or atop very large towers. It involves both the construction costs to purchase the land, the tower, the equipment and the frequency - since you have to apply to a repeater council for permission for a frequency and the repeater council charges a fee - if there is an available frequency available and a fee to belong to the repeater council. It also involves land tax or a lease, insurance on the tower and equipment and calamity... A tower owner with a tower more then 300' tall also has to include the costs of lighting the tower. Most tower owners can anticipate having at least one lightning strike every 4 years which is very expensive to repair. With a Cellular tower - the cost averages about $12,000.00 in repair costs alone..... Unless you are willing to pay a monthly fee for permission to use someone's tower, a license fee of $85.00 every 10 years and the cost of good transceivers and antenna's - you ought to forget about GMRS.... Amateur radio - most towers / repeaters are free to use.. Less then 5% of all repeaters are closed repeaters... THe license is free - once you pay for the exam. AND - there is more people to talk to, once you establish yourself in the buddy club. |
CB radio for emergencies?
On 12/11/2012 9:22 AM, Channel Jumper wrote:
'Justin[_4_ Wrote: ;799490']On 12/7/2012 7:24 PM, Fred McKenzie wrote:- Justin- If you do get the pair of handheld CB radios, they should be a relatively inexpensive "learning experience". They may be of some use, but you will learn they do not work over a very long distance. Their range is mostly limited by interference from the many other users of the Citizens Band, even if the radio at home is connected to an outdoor antenna.- - Using GMRS radios may not have as much interference, but are limited to line-of-sight distances. If there is a nearby GMRS repeater with a high antenna, your range would be determined by the line-of-sight between each radio and the repeater, which could be several miles. If there are no repeaters in your area, you would need to install one of your own, perhaps on top of a tall building in your community.- I don't know of any GMRS repeaters in the area, but that's a good idea, I'll check it out. Is there a website with all of them mapped out? - The same is true with Ham Radio. Using a Two Meter repeater, your hand held radios might have a range of several miles. There are Ham Clubs that sponsor repeaters in most population centers, and many are involved in ARES and RACES emergency services. I suggest you look for Ham Clubs in your area. Some offer free Ham Radio License Classes to get you started. Take a look at the ARRL website,http://www.arrl.org. Just remember, in a true emergency, power failure may keep all of your radio systems from working unless they have backup power. In many situations, the Cellular Telephone System may be the only working system in the early hours.- That's true, the cell phones worked for a while but not for long. - Fred K4DII- GMRS requires a license and permission to use another persons repeater. The repeaters are not open, because the people who built the repeaters owns them and leases them to others - who wishes to have wireless communications, but does not have the experteise and property and finances to build their own repeater system. GMRS repeater frequencies are usually not published... At the same time, building your own repeater just in case is a very expensive proposition.. Repeaters are built in the most opportune places - places such as on top of mountains, very tall buildings or atop very large towers. It involves both the construction costs to purchase the land, the tower, the equipment and the frequency - since you have to apply to a repeater council for permission for a frequency and the repeater council charges a fee - if there is an available frequency available and a fee to belong to the repeater council. It also involves land tax or a lease, insurance on the tower and equipment and calamity... A tower owner with a tower more then 300' tall also has to include the costs of lighting the tower. Most tower owners can anticipate having at least one lightning strike every 4 years which is very expensive to repair. With a Cellular tower - the cost averages about $12,000.00 in repair costs alone..... Unless you are willing to pay a monthly fee for permission to use someone's tower, a license fee of $85.00 every 10 years and the cost of good transceivers and antenna's - you ought to forget about GMRS.... Amateur radio - most towers / repeaters are free to use.. Less then 5% of all repeaters are closed repeaters... THe license is free - once you pay for the exam. AND - there is more people to talk to, once you establish yourself in the buddy club. Just as well, there aren't any repeaters around here. Closest one is 40 miles. |
CB radio for emergencies?
In article ,
Justin wrote: What about those TriSquare radios? I know TriSquare is toast, but was the technology any good? The technology used in the TriSquare is the same as found in the iDen/ISM Nextel Cellphones when used in direcTalk Mode... They used the same Motorola chipset. These Phones are available on eBay for DIRT CHEAP ($10US or less each) They are Part15 Devices and ARE SECURE Comms with about the same range as FRS Radios. They are 902-928 Mhz Spread Spectrum Radios... and if you are a Tech Class or Higher Ham, you can boost Output Power up to 10 Watts, and patch in any External Antennas you like. A full writeup can be found at: http://www.survivalmonkey.com/thread...-comms-device- for-your-cn-aoo.33828/ -- Bruce in Alaska add path before the @ for email |
CB radio for emergencies?
On 12/11/2012 3:36 PM, Bruce Gordon wrote:
In , wrote: What about those TriSquare radios? I know TriSquare is toast, but was the technology any good? The technology used in the TriSquare is the same as found in the iDen/ISM Nextel Cellphones when used in direcTalk Mode... They used the same Motorola chipset. These Phones are available on eBay for DIRT CHEAP ($10US or less each) They are Part15 Devices and ARE SECURE Comms with about the same range as FRS Radios. They are 902-928 Mhz Spread Spectrum Radios... and if you are a Tech Class or Higher Ham, you can boost Output Power up to 10 Watts, and patch in any External Antennas you like. A full writeup can be found at: http://www.survivalmonkey.com/thread...-comms-device- for-your-cn-aoo.33828/ That sounds pretty damn awesome! Is Trisquare going out of business? |
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There is a pretty good chance that what you are talking about is not legal. I don't know if those phones are Part 97 approved and I am not sure if spread spectrum or digital phone is legal - because of the way it might be scrambled being a phone and all. Second problem is that in order for any type of communications to work - you need to have two radios on the same frequency and I highly doubt that in a emergency you are going to find people operating on 900 mHz.. As a matter of fact, unless you are in a big metropolitan area - you probably won't even hear anyone operating on 220 MHz anymore.. Most Technician's are relegated to two meters phone - due to the fact that most walkie talkies are two meters and the cheapest mobile radios are two meters only.. Even just getting someone to buy a dual band transceiver or better equipment is like pulling teeth... Like I tell all perspective hams - get a license and join a real ham radio club and LEARN... Find a Elmer - don't think that you can do it on your own.. |
CB radio for emergencies?
In article ,
Channel Jumper wrote: 'Justin[_4_ Wrote: ;799509']On 12/11/2012 3:36 PM, Bruce Gordon wrote:- In , wrote: - What about those TriSquare radios? I know TriSquare is toast, but was the technology any good?- The technology used in the TriSquare is the same as found in the iDen/ISM Nextel Cellphones when used in direcTalk Mode... They used the same Motorola chipset. These Phones are available on eBay for DIRT CHEAP ($10US or less each) They are Part15 Devices and ARE SECURE Comms with about the same range as FRS Radios. They are 902-928 Mhz Spread Spectrum Radios... and if you are a Tech Class or Higher Ham, you can boost Output Power up to 10 Watts, and patch in any External Antennas you like. A full writeup can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/cbdaxd8 for-your-cn-aoo.33828/ - That sounds pretty damn awesome! Is Trisquare going out of business? I would contact the ARRL before I would make a investment like that.. There is a pretty good chance that what you are talking about is not legal. I don't know if those phones are Part 97 approved and I am not sure if spread spectrum or digital phone is legal - because of the way it might be scrambled being a phone and all. Second problem is that in order for any type of communications to work - you need to have two radios on the same frequency and I highly doubt that in a emergency you are going to find people operating on 900 mHz.. As a matter of fact, unless you are in a big metropolitan area - you probably won't even hear anyone operating on 220 MHz anymore.. Most Technician's are relegated to two meters phone - due to the fact that most walkie talkies are two meters and the cheapest mobile radios are two meters only.. Even just getting someone to buy a dual band transceiver or better equipment is like pulling teeth... Like I tell all perspective hams - get a license and join a real ham radio club and LEARN... Find a Elmer - don't think that you can do it on your own.. Your an Idiot.... There is NO Part 97 Approval required for Transmitters, only for Amplifiers that are built "For Sale"... I mean, REALLY... Duh..... These units are Part 15 Devices when used in the 902-928 Mhz ISM Band, which is co-Located with the 902-928 Ham Band, which is a Secondary Use Ham band.... So any use of the device, by a HAM of Tech Class or Higher, may ADD External Antennas and Amplifiers, as long as they do NOT exceed the Power Limit of 10 Watts, which was added to Part 97 this last spring, in a Report and Order from the FCC, which changed the Allowed Power Output for Spread Spectrum Frequency Hopping Systems in the 902-928 Mhz Ham Band to 10 Watts.... Duh.... Your Scrambling Theory, is also BOGUS, in that it is NOT Scrambling but Digital Modulation, which by it's nature is unrecoverable without knowing the Spreading Code, and Spectrum Chunk, USED..... DUH... You just don't get it, do you.... These type Units are for SECURE Comms within a Group... Not for communicating with unknown Users.... They allow the Group, to communicate within their Group, knowing that their Comms ARE SECURE from Scanners, and DF'ing non-Group outsiders. They ALSO allow individuals in any Group, to move to Private SECURE Unit to Unit Mode, that allows only those two Units to have a SECURE Comms interchange, that can't be heard by any other of the Groups Users, by using the Programmable Ten Digit Unit Number of the other Unit for the Spreading Code, instead of using one of the 1-15 preProgrammed Spreading Codes, which are used in Squad Comms Mode..... Must be nice to comment on Technology that you have NO CLUE, about... Kind of like a Talking Head on the Boobtube.... Are you Blond? |
CB radio for emergencies?
In article ,
Justin wrote: If you do get the pair of handheld CB radios, they should be a relatively inexpensive "learning experience". They may be of some use, but you will learn they do not work over a very long distance. Their range is mostly limited by interference from the many other users of the Citizens Band, even if the radio at home is connected to an outdoor antenna. The CB radios would be for short range, maybe half a mile, or around the neighborhood. When Sandy hit the cell phones were out for days. Even though my area was relatively unscathed, the towers were still down. Just having the ability to talk to a family member back at the house would be nice. Justin- CB walkie-talkies might be capable of that if no one else was there. Considering that you can sometimes hear other people hundreds of miles away, half a mile might be optimistic! Go ahead and get a pair. You probably have time before the next storm, to see how well they would work for you. For local information about GMRS repeaters, look for a store that repairs the radios. They can probably fill you in on repeater availability, and will also sell you the radios. Fred K4DII |
[quote=Channel Jumper;799502]
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I hate to tell you that you are wrong on about 80% of your GMRS comments, True-"GMRS requires a license and permission to use another persons repeater". True and False-"The repeaters are not open"Some are some are not according to the owners all you need to do is ask permission and the repeater owner is supposed to keep a list of regular users. False-"GMRS repeaters are leased to others",donations may be given for upkeep but leasing GMRS is against FCC part 95 rules. False-"since you have to apply to a repeater council for permission for a frequency and the repeater council charges a fee - if there is an available frequency available and a fee to belong to the repeater council".There is NO repeater coordination for GMRS,you are free to use any repeater pair on a shared basis with other licensed users with exceptions of power limits on certain frequencies near the Canadian border. False-"Unless you are willing to pay a monthly fee for permission to use someone's tower, a license fee of $85.00 every 10 years and the cost of good transceivers and antenna's - you ought to forget about GMRS...." A GMRS license is $85.00 for 5 years it covers you whole family including in laws, also a good site to get a idea of repeaters around the country which mind you is not a complete list is www.mygmrs.com. On a side not hand held radios are limited to 5 watts and mobile transceivers are limited to 50 watts along with low power base stations. I hope that clears up the misconceptions of GMRS.I prefer to read what the rules actually say instead of hearsay. http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx... 1.1.5.1.139.1 |
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