Over the years, a number of people have reached out to me and asked what kind of comms I suggest. Of course, the unwritten part of the request is "should SHTF." Most are shocked when I advocate for a decent pair of walkie-talkies from the local sporting goods stores. Many are even more shocked when I tell them it really isn't a financial decision, either. To be sure, a pair of handheld walkie talkies is not going to break the bank (most pairs sell for $50 - $75 these days).
People ask: "but why do you not suggest (more) or (different)?"
Simple.
More Expensive Units Fail, Too.
I have been a part of a church security and safety team where we had $300+ units. They fail every bit as often as the $75 pairs do. And for the same reason. And they really do not offer any better earpieces or mics. And they have to be programmed. And while you can find someone who claims to be able to program them, actually getting that person to program them is... problematic. One time, offered $1000 cash for someone to do it over the next 4 weeks - all 6 who said they "could" backed out. So no, it is not a money or excessive expectation thing. I simply did not have time to become an expert in programming them myself.
Less Expensive Units are Terrible
Countless friends have invested in Baofeng / Pofung technology. I have a few of these units, as well. There are two types of Baofeng users:
1. "My unit has never failed." This person has used the unit fewer than 20 times total and never outside.
2. "If we have 20 perfectly functional Baofengs show up on a perfect weather training day, 5 will fail, and we won't know why. And 5 different ones will fail next week for equally mysterious reasons."
So, if you are going to invest in Baofengs, make sure you and your squad are good at hand signals.
And all of this assumes you know how to program them to start with.
Ham radio is just plain out.
No, I am not ham licensed. No, I am not going to become ham licensed. No, it does not offer any advantages. Ham operators have the highest percentage of insufferable twats among their ranks of any organized group I've ever come across. They will report you for breaking rules / the law. And the inconvenient truth of ham:
- The ONLY advantage to ham is the distance that "can" (not "will") be covered to communicate. However, this is not really an advantage. If I am on an operation, and need to communicate with someone, it is being broadcast for all to hear.
- If the SHTF has not yet happened in full, then I cannot use coded language on the open channel. It is not permitted.
- If the power is out, then ham is every bit as useless as any other form of wireless communication.
Is this post like one of those Crowder memes where he's sitting behind a table with a "Change my mind" sign?
ReplyDeleteI generally agree, but I think there are some advantages to ham radio that might be worth considering depending (I do licensed amateur radio and unlicensed radio, with probably your interests being the kind of thing being why I got into it)
If nothing else, going through the study guide for a ham license will teach you a lot of useful stuff. It might not seem directly useful, but the more you know just about how it's supposed to work, the better able you'll be at identifying and being able to fix radio issues even if they're user-error.
There ARE a lot of hams that are annoying in their desire to either tattle or to ban anything that they don't personally like. But, I don't waste my time talking with them once I figure out whoever I'm talking to is one of those types.
Getting licensed also got me buy some gear and to get on the air, giving me loads of radio experience which carries over to the unlicensed radio side too.
If you have time to work on it, I submit that amateur radio is worth checking out even if you don't know if or how you'd use it.
Perhaps you have seen to the heart of my issue - a complete lack of time (and desire) to devote to getting good at it. Just like when I did my website and didn't want to learn Wordpress because I do not have time to learn how to code.
DeleteFair enough, not everyone has time or enough left in the tank for it.
ReplyDeleteThere's a trainer in NC (99% sure you've read his stuff and know who I mean) who trains tactical stuff but also radios and so forth for "survivalists" who I think strikes a good balance. Do both licensed and unlicensed radio if you can. The more you know, the more you can figure out and do. You don't have to follow the rules if there's an advantage to not doing so, but knowing the rules and how to operate within them or when it's time to operate without them is a good thing.
In a related vein, I read somewhere (it might have been Sparks31 who unfortunately has gone quiet) who said that every badass pirate radio guy he'd ever met was also a pretty high-level amateur radio operator too. Kind of a radio analogue to bullseye shooters vs tactical shooters. Being a superb bullseye shooter will probably have some significant carry-over to tactical shooting.
Just one thing to throw out there that might be worth thinking about... there are some digital handheld radios out there, some of which offer something like encrypted voice communication.
ReplyDeleteIt's still a 5 watt or so handheld radio which means line of sight and probably a mile or two of range unless you're on a mountaintop. But having a walkie talkie type radio where other people can't hear what you're saying? I can see where that might be pretty handy, perhaps for a tactical radio if one were so inclined. (When out in the woods, I keep a ziploc bag handy to put the radio in, in case it rains or something. They are Baofengs even if they're nicer than usual Baofengs)
Some of them let you do neat ham radio stuff which isn't my interest, if you want. I see these as a handy capability builder.
The first one I came across was years ago, the Motorola XX (can't find the model I was thinking of now). Back 5-10 years ago they were maybe $250 per radio and it looks like they're up around $300 per radio now.
One I've experimented with, and I know the Boafeng part has some downside, is the Baofeng DMR-1701.
They're a little over $100 per radio. They seem better built and more robust than the Baofeng UV5R (the $35 radio).
Of interest and hopefully some use, some friends and I (several of us amateur radio people also) bought these and did some experiments. If you do this, I would recommend avoiding the amateur radio frequencies as that will attract attention you don't want. If you stick to FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies the radios will work, even if maybe you're not supposed to use these digital things on those frequencies you shouldn't be bother anyone.
Anyhow, our experiments- when using digital encryption (they call it privacy codes but this seems to actually be something like an encryption key, it is NOT the "privacy code" you see on some blister pack radios) other radios can't decode or decrypt what you're saying. Another friend of mine with some interest in this stuff, he's more of a ham radio guy than a training guy, tried to listen on us with all of his good gear and couldn't. There are some other brands of chinesium digital radios and it seems these digital schemes are proprietary, that is Anytone digital radio can't talk digitally to a Baofeng digital radio.
Something to know.
I also found it amusing that the Anytone, a mid-level chinese radio probably a level above the Baofeng, was "narrow banded" that is, the Anytone digital radio would not allow you to transmit on non-amateur radio frequencies like the ones I mentioned above. Baofeng doesn't disappoint and the DMR-1701 still let us transmit on both amateur and non-amateur frequencies (thumbs-up emoticon).
Sorry for maybe changing the subject a little, but I thought this might be something handy along the lines of the original post. I don't doubt a three letter agency couldn't listen in to these private digital radio transmissions, but short of that, these should be pretty private. "Private" as in even a fairly high-level ham operator can't listen in with his fancy gear.
Something that might be handy, for some folks. And a reminder that all of the limitations to VHF/UHF line of sight, low power radio still apply that is, limited range.
Good information. I made sure this one printed because there may be readers who haven't seen this information. They may find it useful.
DeleteThe church I used to attend had the $300 Motorolas. Those had problems as often, and consistent with, the $50 walkies. Plus, the Motorolas are very difficult to get programmed. The "uber-BaoFengs" have about as much difficulty working in the field as the $35 models.
The ultimate answer is this: if I am going to use comms, I do so with the expectation that they will fail. And boy-ooh-boy, they do live up to that expectation. Also, I expect someone else is listening, so I need to be able to communicate in code. That takes ham off the table.