COMMUNICATION ISSUES

I got a nice radio (Freeplay Summit) - they are available from many places on the internet but I got mine from 21stCenturyproducts.  I paid about $60-$70 for it. 

I like it because it has a crank generator and a solar panel - plus a normal 110 volt wall charger.  The batteries are NiMh - which are nice and have no charge memory. 

It is also entirely digital with a scan feature.  Many of the cheaper crank radios only have analog tuning - and I think this would be difficult to use.  In the Freeplay, once you have zoned in on the signal you can store it in memory and easily get back to it when you need to. It plays am/fm and shortwave bands.  I think the shortwave feature will be useful if the local radio stations run out of power and stop broadcasting.

For local communication in the immediate neighborhood I have GMRS/FRS radios.  They use AAA batteries - and I have a solar charger for those.   The range is only about a mile, though - even though the advertised range is 10 miles!

-R

Heh.  It's been along time since I took the test (1977) - the FCC does'nt even have me on record anymore.  I talked to a Ham friend of mine and said they do lapse. 

Anyway - after long discussion with said Ham, I've concluded that 2-meter is probably the best way to go for what I'm seeking.  He and most of his Ham friends also maintain 2-meter set-ups.  We live an a suburban system with a heavy 2 meter infrastructure that has a lot of generator backup.

What I'm seeking is not so much the "big news" worldwide - I think I'll get enough of that sensationalist stuff.  I want news from all the towns and stuff within a 30 - 50 mile radius.   The stuff like, "If I leave my house to go to town, what's happening out there?"

Also, for myself and few likeminded friends, we'd like to simplex and not use the repeater system to communicate with each other.

The cost and technology is right - for $400 we can get up and running with a maybe 50 mile radius and airwave connection to many Hams.

The Downside: we can listen, but if we transmit, we're breaking the law until we get our Techniciains licenses, though I doubt we'd be hunted down unless we made nuisances of ourselves somehow.

The Upside: we can install, study ( my guides on the way and I already know Morse, which isn't even required any more for a Technicians), and if there's time, take the test at a local Repeater club.   If we run out of time, we still have a communication system.  

Anyway - that's the current game plan!

 

-The Rock is Gonna Fall on Us - Harry Chapin

 

Right now the problem is time.  To get on the really long bands requires an FCC license.  While I'm sure the FCC won't be knocking on our doors during an emergency, we'd not only be clueless but also in the way of the real Hams, who have proven, over and over again to be the backbone of communication in a true crisis.  However, it's not too hard to find CBs that have been modified to also transmit and receive in the 10 meter band, these also have builtin amplifiers boosting them from 4 watts CB to up to 200!  Alot of truckers have been doing this.  The 10 meter band has some distance and is also considered a 'Ham' band.  You could communicate with friends, as well as the outside world.  At your leisure, you could take the 35 question test and do the morse for the FCC to get legitmately on the band, but in the meantime, if H5N1 happens, you've got two-way, both CB and low level Ham for about a $500 investment.

CB radios are a great way to communicate when everything else fails.  A standard CB signal only travels about 4-8 miles, but mods can be made.

A friend of mine, who turned me on to this site, has done some research regarding converting base stations.  He found ways to enhance the signal across multiple states.

It's not cheap ($500-$700), but it might be a great way to continue this forum.

I, or my friend, will post more detailed info soon for anyone interested.

Hand Crank cell phone charger (for obvious reasons)

Just google it. :) You can get one for about $20 USD.

Here is one site that sells it http://www.soscharger.net/ (I have not purchased from them so I can not endorse this company, I am simply giving an example)