Intro to Radio Communications

[ag08]

A cell phone dies pretty quick usually using heavy power sucking programs. Can you let us know how this works for your wife if you do try it?

Yes sir will do. I'm hesitant to drop the $150 on an unproven company but will report back if I do try them out.

[mattw82]

ag08,

Excellent post. I've been a Ham since 1997 and I've been asked numerous times about ham radio, what it is, what it does, why not use CBs, why not use cell phones etc, etc... wish I had your post to hand them and say "here, read this". I typically lose people when I try and talk about radio. 😴 73!

[Whiskey&beer]

Anyone have experience with Baofeng radios? My buddy bought some UV-82c's for use while we are hunting, camping, etc. and was wondering how they hold up. We took them out camping and they seemed to have some decent range.

[FloridaWoodsman]

Anyone have experience with Baofeng radios? My buddy bought some UV-82c's for use while we are hunting, camping, etc. and was wondering how they hold up. We took them out camping and they seemed to have some decent range.

Looks like that is the commercial model, but it shouldn't be too different from the versions reviewed here: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/11364?page=2
With a similarly powered predecessor to that model, I can work 2-meter repeaters (mounted high) for around 10 miles around. If I plug into a ground-plane antenna in my attic, I can work a repeater about 30 miles away. That's in flatland territory. Talking to another handheld using standard antennas, I get about a mile depending on what's in the way. Using a car roof-mount magnetic antenna stretches that to maybe 3 miles between a similar setup.
It's not going to take the abuse of a ruggedized Icom model, but for the money, you can view it as a disposable and have a spare on hand.

[St.Michael]

If something happens do you guys think you will want communication with people unknown? I mean my coms plans mostly fall under use for family.

[mattw82]

If something happens do you guys think you will want communication with people unknown? I mean my coms plans mostly fall under use for family.

For me, it would depend on what it is that has happened. All out apocalyptic, every man for himself type scenario? Probably not. For natural disasters, accidents, getting lost at sea or in the mountains, day to day help, etc....then I am not worried as long as I get what at least sounds like a legit amateur call sign on the other end (or an unlicensed person with a life threatening emergency). I am cautious though about how much personal info I give on the air, no matter who I'm talking to. You never know who's listening.

[faithmyeyes]

If something happens do you guys think you will want communication with people unknown? I mean my coms plans mostly fall under use for family.

If I were in desperate-survival mode, I might toss out telecommunication altogether. There are many scenarios short of TEOTWAWKI, though, in which it might be beneficial to be able to tap into the ad-hoc networks you'd expect to see spring up if commercial infrastructure became unavailable, unreliable, or maybe just unaffordable for a large enough number of people. I advise people on strategies for site, local, expanded local, regional, and global resilient comms, but the guiding principle is always ROI: especially in a scenario with resource limits and tight margins, you don't do things that are more hassle than they are help.

[Whiskey&beer]

Yeah I didn't realize how cheap the radios were! A bunch of us were out on horseback earlier and checking GPS, we were getting around 2 miles radio to radio in a wooded environment.

[St.Michael]

If I were in desperate-survival mode, I might toss out telecommunication altogether. There are many scenarios short of TEOTWAWKI, though, in which it might be beneficial to be able to tap into the ad-hoc networks you'd expect to see spring up if commercial infrastructure became unavailable, unreliable, or maybe just unaffordable for a large enough number of people. I advise people on strategies for site, local, expanded local, regional, and global resilient comms, but the guiding principle is always ROI: especially in a scenario with resource limits and tight margins, you don't do things that are more hassle than they are help.

I know nothing about coms and what you said may as well be Latin

[FloridaWoodsman]

If something happens do you guys think you will want communication with people unknown? I mean my coms plans mostly fall under use for family.

So get to know them. Unless you're way out in the boondocks, there's probably an amateur radio club around.
You'll at least want to listen in on what's happening - find out what emergency crews are doing, find out road conditions, find where food distribution is taking place, etc.