Intro to Radio Communications

[ubet]

Made in US? Would be very surprised if it was...

That is a full featured radio. A person new to comms wouldn't be able to use three-quarters of its capability, let alone program it (DMR, etc.). If money is never an issue with you then the sky's the limit - that is a very capable radio and I bet you can find someone to program them for you. Get at least a half dozen or more for your crew.

I highly recommend Yaesu FT-65r (enter extended freq code) and an FT-2980 (with MARS mod already done) and use on MURS, GMRS for now. FT-65 is commie made but two steps above the baofengs. FT-4XR is same chipset as Baofengs, so not much gained except a bit better receive filtering.

Use quality aftermarket antennas on FT-65 (like Nagoya or Comet), get speaker mic, extra batteries (ebay chicom batts if u have to, but only buy Yaesu for speaker mics). See if they have a speaker mic that allows you to add an earphone to it. Discreet is good. If you are a real butt hurt you can get concealed earpieces. TCI used to be one of the better aftermarket, but who knows since Safariland owns them now. Tac Ear Gadgets is most likely source for regular joe concealment. And of course there are plenty of cheap eBay alternative crap.

For the base station 2980 use good transmission line (LMR400UF) and a decent exterior antenna such as Comet GP series. Weatherproof the connnections. Have 25amp 12volt power supply and backup batteries.

And a decent handheld scanner that receives ham, FRS/GMRS, LMR so you know what individuals are doing around you. If you have plenty of cash look at getting a digital trunking scanner, if the public safety agencies in your area are not encrypted. Uniden has a line that can program itself for the area you are in. Sometimes interesting to listen to, may or may not be useful to you.

FYI, unless you're on the edge of the suburbs I'd get out of the cities, period. " if you can order food delivery you're probably not out far enough"

Licensed ham for 29yrs, bad times are coming and rulez boyz can frick off and die. Get ready NOW with half decent gear. At some point you will get what you pay for.

I am not a fan of baofengs (if I have to go chicom, GD-77 pls)... But there is a beauty to having a dozen Baofengs, half of them in EMP resistant nested containers vs. a pair of $250 Chicom wonderradios you would have to figure out first.

Yah bless.

Thank you for all of that. I don’t know really anything about radios. I’m going to suggest and re read what you’ve written. But I do know you’re better off to buy quality stuff as you generally get what you pay for. I was also looking at this one too.

https://www.retevis.com/Ailunce-HD1-...-Radio/#A9131A

Which of the two would you think better for someone like me? Or is your suggestion still ft65r?
I’m at the point if it goes south rule boiz can blow me.

We don’t live in town. And we’re surrounded with a lot of like minded individuals.


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[turnburglar]

@Ubet =

Do you even know if you are going to use a DMR radio? Both the ones you 'want' are DMR radios and you even said yourself you know nothing about radios. Long story short, DMR is probably gonna be WORTHLESS to you. It's for only the most sophisticated of HAM dudes to talk either privately or LONG distances, and requires supporting software and a live internet connection.

Operating in simplex mode, which is radio to radio communication, probably on FRS frequencies; you will see ZERO benefit in your $250 DMR rig over any radio that comes in a blister pack. These handheld HAM radios have some extreme capabilities for niche applications, but they are not the simple straight forward 'tool' that some preppers want them to be. For example without the supporting software and cable, and knowledge of which frequencies you actually want to be on, this thing will be a paper weight. Find out what frequencies you actually want to be on and then we can make a better radio recommendation. I

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Thank you for all of that. I don’t know really anything about radios. I’m going to suggest and re read what you’ve written. But I do know you’re better off to buy quality stuff as you generally get what you pay for. I was also looking at this one too.

https://www.retevis.com/Ailunce-HD1-...-Radio/#A9131A

Which of the two would you think better for someone like me? Or is your suggestion still ft65r?
I’m at the point if it goes south rule boiz can blow me.

We don’t live in town. And we’re surrounded with a lot of like minded individuals.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The Ailunce is very similar to the Anytone you mentioned earlier. The digital (DMR) capability is very nice to have. Especially since audio is always crystal clear + it would eliminate over 98% of any eavesdroppers out there - great for reconnaisance use. However... it's not something you will figure out on your own. If you are committed to watching YouTube videos and researching forums and it can absolutely be done by you - if you have any tech chops.

Since very few people do not have those kind of chops or dedicated interest... They end up not being able to use those whizbang features.

FT-65R is one of the most cost effective, decent, easily-enabled wideband handheld radios. Relatively simple, but I would still get the programming cable and software. Makes it a lot easier.

Range is going to be very limited with any handheld radio. That's why I suggested an FT2980s as well. Put it in a house, put it in a car - And you may have enough wattage to brute-force communicate where other radios are deaf... especially when you need to get a message out to a bunch of people that have handheld radios that are at the edge of handheld range.

I have limited time to type here, but if you wanted to do a phone call or online voice chat we can set that up. I made a simple PDF for a preparedness meet up that goes over the basics. I am by no means a radio guru, but I think it might help you some. Especially if I give you some talking points.

It is difficult to talk in much more detail without knowing some specifics about budget, intended use, etc.

PM me with your email addy at the least. Holla.

[ubet]

The Ailunce is very similar to the Anytone you mentioned earlier. The digital (DMR) capability is very nice to have. Especially since audio is always crystal clear + it would eliminate over 98% of any eavesdroppers out there - great for reconnaisance use. However... it's not something you will figure out on your own. If you are committed to watching YouTube videos and researching forums and it can absolutely be done by you - if you have any tech chops.

Since very few people do not have those kind of chops or dedicated interest... They end up not being able to use those whizbang features.

FT-65R is one of the most cost effective, decent, easily-enabled wideband handheld radios. Relatively simple, but I would still get the programming cable and software. Makes it a lot easier.

Range is going to be very limited with any handheld radio. That's why I suggested an FT2980s as well. Put it in a house, put it in a car - And you may have enough wattage to brute-force communicate where other radios are deaf... especially when you need to get a message out to a bunch of people that have handheld radios that are at the edge of handheld range.

I have limited time to type here, but if you wanted to do a phone call or online voice chat we can set that up. I made a simple PDF for a preparedness meet up that goes over the basics. I am by no means a radio guru, but I think it might help you some. Especially if I give you some talking points.

It is difficult to talk in much more detail without knowing some specifics about budget, intended use, etc.

PM me with your email addy at the least. Holla.

Thank you. I will pm you my phone number and maybe we can talk. I wont have time to talk on the phone until Tuesday morning.


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[ubet]

@Ubet =

Do you even know if you are going to use a DMR radio? Both the ones you 'want' are DMR radios and you even said yourself you know nothing about radios. Long story short, DMR is probably gonna be WORTHLESS to you. It's for only the most sophisticated of HAM dudes to talk either privately or LONG distances, and requires supporting software and a live internet connection.

Operating in simplex mode, which is radio to radio communication, probably on FRS frequencies; you will see ZERO benefit in your $250 DMR rig over any radio that comes in a blister pack. These handheld HAM radios have some extreme capabilities for niche applications, but they are not the simple straight forward 'tool' that some preppers want them to be. For example without the supporting software and cable, and knowledge of which frequencies you actually want to be on, this thing will be a paper weight. Find out what frequencies you actually want to be on and then we can make a better radio recommendation. I

I dont know what I dont know that’s why I am asking. I have access to live internet at high speeds, for now. The biggest thing I want in anything I buy is reliability.


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Thank you. I will pm you my phone number and maybe we can talk. I wont have time to talk on the phone until Tuesday morning.


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Your PM box is full - will try again tomorrow.

On radios...

Power. I'm augmenting a solar/AGM setup with a small genset.

I'm weighing pros and cons of two cheap inverter generators to power/charge on demand.

or

One solid (Honda/Yamaha) 1kw.

Thinking of going with the quality model in a dual fuel setup, gas/propane.

Missed out on a lightly used craigslist Dayton/Honda without any electronics. Dagnabbit. Been seeing a number of older Onan RV generators popping up.

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I dont know what I dont know that’s why I am asking. I have access to live internet at high speeds, for now. The biggest thing I want in anything I buy is reliability.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

On quality...

I started out with the Standard Horizon HX370 - submersible, legal for (VHF) marine, ham, LMR (business band). While they require manufacturer software to program... they are channelized and keypad lockable, so easier to dummy proof for people who only need to know where the microphone is. This was pre-Baofeng era. I added HX400 model when HX370S was discontinued.

With very few exceptions I prefer to buy commercial or commercial-derived gear. However you lose flexibility with that gear. Most of these radios are channelized and you cannot enter frequencies directly via radio keypad.

The ham radio offerings split the difference in quality and frequency agility. Even the cheapy FT-65:
The FT-60R is much higher quality radio but to get the extended transmit (so you can use on MURS or GMRS) you have to take the radio almost completely apart and remove a tiny surface mount resistor.

With the FT-65 you simply power on the radio in a special sequence and urn up the radio in a special mode and enter a key code on the radio's keypad.

Anyway, we'll talk soon.

[turnburglar]

So checking back in after scanning for awhile with my UV-9R. I wasn't able to find the channels I originally wanted to find (fire). After looking through the logs on repeater book it appears only 2 departments in my state DONT run on digital. I have been using my Boafeng to monitor the local HAM repeaters and find it interesting. I can only store 128 channels on it, and my local AO is closer to 300 in total. I have been keeping a log of channels that work, and am trying to get back to chirp and add new ones that I haven't tried yet. My question to the community:


1. About how many local channels do you actually get traffic on? Im only seeing about 8 active ones.

2. do you see more use on 2m or 70cm?

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Around here 2m repeaters outnumber 70cm by a factor of 3 or more.

Outside of town in our wooded area we find 2m has a fairly significant distance advantage over 70cm given same power levels. A lot of people don't run high grade coax that makes the difference for fringe reception on more lossy (relative to 2m) 70cm. Even more pronounced when running 70-80W 2m radios.

However the guys on 70cm talk more freely - seems they think fewer people are listening! Which is true. We did a preparedness radio demo recently and the semi-rural radio traffic on 70cm about today's politics was raising some eyebrows haha It was awesome.

If the budget allows, and if your local digital traffic is not encrypted, you might enjoy a digital scanner more.

I like having a fast scanner running, especially the FRS/GMRS freqs. Back when I was university popo I would have an FRS/GMRS radio on the dash scanning, mostly for auto burglary lookouts.

I'm hoping to soon be far from any place where there's constant ham/public safety radio traffic though...

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Add -

I have about 55 channels in the ham/serious use radios. Most of those are simplex freqs I scan.

I have an analog handheld scanner (RS/GRE) with 100s of air band, railroad, public safety analog backup channels, etc. So much faster scanner and, most important, separates govt traffic from serious personal traffic with flick of a switch.