Great video. I do have HF rigs but I am not currently licensed for the extra bands. As for VHF/UHF I have made contact with another ham 90 miles from my home. At the time my antenna was a copy of the arrow j pole that I had purchased for $20, and an FT 1900 that I bought used. I made this contact on 10 watts of power, now keep in mind my antenna is 45 to 50 feet up on the peak of my roof. And I live on a ridge. Keep up the great work, I always like watching your vids.
Other comments may have addressed this but you don’t need a special antenna to do NVIS. A regular half-wave wire dipole is all you need. It’s the height above ground that makes it suitable for NVIS. Instead of installing the antenna at a half wavelength high, instal it at only 6-10’ high. That will give you NVIS on either the 40m or 80m bands. To get more range, simply raise the antenna. And you don’t need the top class license to use NVIS. All 3 license classes have privileges on 40 & 80 meters. Albeit Technicians are limited to CW on those bands. But a General can use voice utilizing NVIS. And upgrading to General is relatively easy because, as a Tech, you already know about 50% of the answers on the General exam. That’s not the case when upgrading from General to Extra.
Hello GC I'm diggin this video, and understand completely where you are coming from! Perhaps you didn't know that I am also coming from a VHF/UHF background. There was a time in my life where 2 meters DX tests were normal ops for me, with 50mhz being my preferred band for over the horizon comms. Anyway, rather than making a long comment, I thought I would bust out a quick video response if that would be ok!? We are on the same page, but I fear my presentation has been poor up to this point. Thanks for sharing, I'm heading to the editor.
I like nvis. I use a dipole. I like to have both capabilities. I want to know if something bad is 500 miles away heading toward me. I like the immediate comms around me to help other people close or if I need help.
Hi, I'm studying for my Tech license, and then will get my general. Do you know if I can reliably communicate with people 150 miles away with NVIS? Thanks
I totally agree with your video mate! I was very lucky in that a friend gave me a commercial HF communications receiver which another friend refurbished. He then sold it on ebay and from the proceeds I bought a second hand Kenwood TS50 HF transceiver and the accompanying AT50 auto atu. I could never afforded or justified the expence of buying such gear ordinarily. I rarely use the TS50 but it is nice to have it there when needed. I much prefer VHF/UHF - VHF has longer range than UHF but UHF seems to penetrate buildings better. I think I have mentioned previously that I prefer to buy surplus commercial equipment (we call it Private Mobile Radio - PMR) then re tune/program to Amateur frequencies. A good example is when a friend and I bought some ex police Kenwood TK350s for ten quid each, I bet they cost around £200 new! Keep up the videos mate - they are good!
Good discussion, and very good point, first things first. Not letting pier pressure dictate how you spend your prepping dollar is very sound advice. Other than a weather, (NOAH), radio and a AM/FM, and maybe a couple of FRS radios, I'm not sure that a family needs to do more than listen. After the last 8 or 10 years of a bad economy, and a growing number of steady jobs lost, I think there may be more new preppers than many people think. I'm not even going to get started on the real unemployment numbers, and that the numbers of unemployed are going down because people are exhausting their benefits and are being dropped off the rolls. My point is that your point is a good one and needs to be made more often. Prepping is a lot like eating an elephant, you take one bite at a time. Keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing.
75 meters is a good night time band for local communication. I like to have all tools in the tool box. like GMRS. I have a GMRS License and 2 GMRS Repeaters one at home and a second portable unit , both are full duplex. I do like your videos and love the idea of the simplex repeater. I purchased a argent data unit after watching your video. keep up the good work Sir. 73
10 days ago, I bought a used Yaesu FT-817 5 Watt HF rig, with an automatic antenna tuner for $320.00. It works and I have made a couple of contacts with it on 75 Meters.
I agree with setting priorities.. I have just over one year as ham, general class. And 3 years prpepping. And so I know your right. You gotta have the food and water in place for your families needs. If you don't the rest of whatever your prepps are become useless when the s finally hits tf. So in setting balanced priorities I have 2 frs, 3 baofengs hts. A 2 meter mobile/base. And a used dual band mobile . All so I can talk too, wait for it. Me. There are very few hams in my neck of the woods. And even fewer preppers. So I set a comms plan and will move on to energy production from hear. Along with many other things, a HT rig is cost probibitive. By the way. I think the ht will help with the news from around the country. And if you are down to actual survival situation. Knowing how far and wide the shtf has spread, might help with your sink or swim type of choices.
I just snagged some Motorola MR355's, four of them. They have a few channels that work with repeaters, plus some cool features. Rechargeable or whatever AA's you want. Waterproof, or nearly so... They have some potential. Thanks for sharing.
The more tools in the tool box the better. Its been almost 4 years since you posted this one. By now you could be a HF equipped and trained ninja. Never too late to start enhancing your preps. More than likely time is on your side. Investments pay dividends.
I totally understand your immediate needs situation and yes HF can be expansive. But certain radios cover everything form 70CM to 160M. HF is DEFINITIVELY not something that is easy as VHF or UHF. HF requires A LOT of specific knowledge and practice. The FT-817ND is indeed a great rig. But for what you need to do I don’t see the need for HF. What is important to remember about VHF/UHF frequencies is to try to keep a good line of sight. Unlike the AM radio waves, radio waves in frequencies between 130 MHz to 500 MHz travel in straight lines and as a general rule cannot travel over the horizon or behind solid obstacles. But as in all general rules, there are exceptions to the rules. Even though these frequencies travel via "line-of-sight" paths, radio signals can travel through many non-metallic objects and be picked up through walls or other obstructions. Even though we can't see between antennas of a transmitter and receiver, this is still considered line-of-sight to the radios. Also, radio waves can be reflected, or bounce off surfaces so the straight line between radios, may not always be so straight. For your family you’re right on the money: simplex repeater is the way to go! If no repeaters are available, for regional COMM (0 - 300 miles) the best way to communicate around valleys, ridges and steep hills would be a HF NVIS antenna (40M (day) 80M (night)). But great video!!!
Thanks for your video. Food for thought. I guess my question is, why was 11 meters (an HF band) chosen for citizens band years ago? Isn't CB for local communications?
I didn't give a status report on how the battery and rest of the simplex repeater held up during your extended test. Did the old worn out battery manage to make it through the winter ok?
I have a lot of raw material I have to edit, comes out to like 3 different subjects. One being a full preventive maintenance session and one year status update on the system. The battery held up, but recently noticed the reliability of the battery was shutting down the system more frequently with a longer recovery time. Possibly within the next few days will spit the vids out. Thanks for watching.
GUERRILLACOMM I figured that you might have recorded more video and still needed to edit it. I was just double checking as I'm looking forward to your report on how well it performed. I've been gathering the parts to build my own Simplex Repeater based off your design. So far I've got: - 50mm "Fat" Ammo Can - NMO Mobile Antenna and Mount - Baofeng UV-5R Dual-Band Handheld - Argent Data Systems ADS-SR1 Simplex Repeater - 18 Amp Hour SLA Battery I'm thinking about using a flexible solar panel as they are lighter than the framed versions and would be easier to carry to a deployment location (flexible panels costs have come down quite a bit over the last year vs. rigid panels). I was going to build a frame for it out of Electrical Grade PVC to keep the weight down, and to correctly position it toward the sun. I just need to get the solar panel, and a charge controller that can control the load output to protect the battery. That way if the battery voltage gets too low it'll automatically shut off the repeater and radio to protect the battery. Both the repeater and radio would recover when power is restored with no issues. I would like to get a MPPT Charge Controller to get maximum energy out of my solar panel, but those are quite expensive. I'm still doing research into various manufacturers of charge controllers to try to find one at a reasonable price to keep the total build cost down. While researching the batteries and charge controllers, I've been keeping an eye on the cost of Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries a.k.a. LiFePO4. Battery Tender has recently entered the market with lower cost LiFePO4 Batteries as well (www.batterytender.com/Batteries/). Although the LiFePO4 Batteries cost quite a bit more, they can discharge to 80% of their capacity, and can be recharged 2,000 Times. By the time my standard SLA battery needs to be replaced, I'm going to be upgrading the system to a LiFePO4 Battery. I plan on getting one for my portable comms bag that will remain with my BOB solar/wind power setup.
Hey Bro. I get your reasoning about HF and sticking with UHF/VHF for local comms amd mobility. If you had a group and were sharing costs and had a need to talk with distant groups in far away places it might be feasible to have a base unit and a couple of hand held radios for field use, but other than that, what would be the point. A slim Jim pulled up a tree will get you out a fair distance anyway, depending on the terrain and you don't have to haul a damn great antenna everywhere or start rigging long wires. In survival SHTF situations a HF home base could even become a liability. Becoming the fox tracked by voracious hounds would not be good. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions if that is OK? I have been hearing about active and passive antennas but finding good information about active antennas for UHF/VHF work had been almost impossible. Is that because there is no such thing, or just that no one uses active antennas for those bands and if so, why is that? Keep running up those hills (Lol) and (If you remember my post about it) keep practising getting in the zone. It does work but alone is harder than with a friend.
Running, more like drudging up that hill. lol. Oh yeah, if you have established groups with a basecamp miles apart, HF would be and ideal and preferred setup in my opinion. I've heard of maybe one example on an handy talkie active antenna on VHF, though I think it was a marketing scheme to sell it. Not sure, but I think there really is no significant advantages fore an active antenna for those bands to make it cost effective. Much of the active elements are built into the radio itself. HF on the other hand is more commonplace to help reduce the bulk of the antenna for practical space limited applications like in vehicle. I do remember the post about getting into the zone with a friend. Usually I like to get away from people and perfectly fine with that arrangement. Thanks for watching. I don't mind answering questions, so feel free to ask, just might take some time to make sure I give an accurate answer.
Thank you so much for the fast reaponce. Ice started building my comms gear. Most picking up old surplus nextel phones the i355SI with extended antennas that offers the off network walkie talking im ablw to get about 5.5miles range out of these devices.
In my opinion, I would use HF receive mode and try to keep my transmitting to CW or digital modes. If you are without a computer, you can get a program for a smartphone free or pretty cheap to run the digital modes.
I'm almost finished studying for my Tech License. My goals are: I'm trying to figure out how to have very reliable communication for a region (say 100-200 miles in all directions). I have some family and a couple friends, and would like to see if any of them would ever be interested in doing this, and be able to communicate with them without the requirements of the grid (including repeaters). Right now it seems NVIS could work but I'm not completely sure. Anyone have any suggestions?
Like any other prep. Comms are going to be based primarily on the individual needs, resources and overall situation of the people involved. While I think your evaluation is partly based on (freely admitted) lack of knowledge on HF itself. One can not blame you for prioritizing as to YOUR situation. I enjoy your channel and have learned much. When you are ready to make the jump into HF, feel free to contact me. Some friend and I would surely like to help you along!
I hear you, HF is costly, I have been thinking of buying a rig but $1,200- $1,800 is not in my near future seeing we want to buy a new home South or South-West. I know you made a video on your portable repeater, can you give me an idea where I can find it?
buzzsah I have quite a few vids documenting this build, Here's a link to the playlist. There are a few new ones missing from this list. I'm really bad about organizing my channel.@playlist?list=PLjU0RtaogO9m1F37fkSVOlpkqzHonmU84
buzzsah Things can get costly, but I'm running a Yaesu FT-450D, which is currently $750 at HRO. After a $40 mail in rebate, that's $710 shipped!! By far the best deal going for a new HF rig. There are also used gems out there to be had for half that still. Plus the ham community is full of good tutors, called "elmers", many of which are very willing to loan out radios and gear. I operated on an early 80's Kenwood TS-120S, on loan from an elmer, for over a year before scraping together the wife approved funds for my Yaesu. So don't get discouraged because a majority of the new radios are well over $1k. The same holds true for antennas. A simple wire G5RV, Off Center Fed, or classic dipole is all the antenna needed. With the FT-450D's built in antenna tuner any antenna starting with a 3:1 or better SWR will work. Otherwise an external tuner may be needed, but an MFJ-914 Auto Tuner Extender will take care of any matching needs for around $80. Have fun, be prepared, and get on the air...that's the ultimate goal. 73
photofudge How true on the cost, I've been out of it for 25+ years. I just bought the FTM-400, and now a dew days later a DMR. and haven't even thought about the HF thus far. I can easily see spending another $1500 on VHF/UHF. I think I'll wait until we move before buying an HF system., we maybe moving to Fla in Nov, Dec..
I never really got into the HF thing. Am I licensed for it? Yes. Do an have an HF rig? Not currently (sold it about 6 months ago) and it's not really a huge concern. Narrow banding was very good to me. I've honestly have more GE and Motorola stuff (about 40% of it is even narrow compliant) than I know what to do with. Here lately I've gotten into high efficiency, low power repeaters for remote site use on GMRS.
An HF radio is good to have at home so you can reach out long distance when needed to find out more information that you may no longer have and talk to other people that are further abroad to gather more Intel on what's going on rather than just locally Keep the vhf/uhf for local use
You make a good point GG. Vhf capability should come first, that way the wife can call you in for supper without alerting the whole continent. Still though, hf is a lot funner.
yo GG....how you dooin? me, AzPapaLes, Dafrogtoad, SoCal and BenTheBondsMan have already worked HF. Here are my thoughts: HF is critical due to the information and intel gathering. Over a distance of more than 3000 miles, those of us mentioned above were able to communicate. It has a major psychological boost to know that we can at least communicate with each other. Not to mention the benefits of communicating with the world using DX. I've always been your biggest fan, but on this topic I have to disagree. HF capability will be important. Even regional comms using NVIS for interstate is huge!
Not a problem, disagreeing is a big part of learning different perspective. I do value the virtues of HF, I guess I came across too critical about it. Just wanted to give my perspective of immediate comms priority and the possible disadvantages of HF in short range applications. I welcome your input greatly.
Even you don't have a HF radio, go ahead and get your General license, I'm sure you know enough to pass the test with no problem. I have a friend that is thinking about selling his Yaesu FT-100D HF/VHF/UHF All Mode Mobile Radio soon.
H.F. is not to talk to family members. HF is great to listen, and get news. When you need range it does the job, and does so without repeaters. The more bands and coverage the better chance you have at communicating with someone. CB radio is another band, another thing to add as it will become popular as peoplo pull radios out of storage to use.
"Weak Signal Work" SSB (Single Side Band), CW (morse code), digital modes. Use of yagi's (beams), or circular polarized antennas. Learn how to bounce those VHF signals off of other objects to get those signals around surrounding objects. Not to mention learn how to look for and utilize Tropospheric Inducting and meteor scatter to get around those distances and objects. Sounds absurd? Absolutely not! All possible and all true. It's used every day of the year and I use it. Not to mention satellite (birds) work. With your portable HT communicate using orbital satellites. Most can be used on HF as well.
+N2RRAny These are all excellent parts of the hobby but can't be relied upon in an emergency situation are 'at will'. They take planning and often the right conditions before they can be benefited from. All that said, HF band conditions can be up and down as well.
Agreed to a degree. Using SSB/CW on VHF/UHF is far more reliable than using the FM mode. What you can't hear on FM you will using weak signal. That's with out a doubt. So the example he's using and for the nature in which lighter and compact is required is another focal point. It is the wiser preferred choice. It's either that, or if traveling energy will have to be spent on setting up a 40/80 meter wire which unless stationary with sufficient power for a 100watt transmitter necessary for bands such as the 40/80 meter bands to be efficient and reliable running QRP makes it much more worse. Can it be done? Sure! I am also just trying to mention simply, because I don't think their aware like many the other modes and use's the VHF/UHF bands have to offer. All his vids are just utilizing an HT running FM. None make mention on weak signal work.
+N2RRAny I'd much prefer a 817 over a HT anyday if I was caught out. I know cost etc is quite different but in a perfect world :) Actually on that note, I'd love to see a HT with SSB on it. Now THAT I would buy. Also, I don't think there is a man portable sized rig that will get you 2/70 thats not only FM, so if you're all mode on those bands you have to get all mod all band rigs. On a side note, I watch your vids and enjoy them. 73 VK2MRX
Sound judgement. Too many people get fixated on this part or that part of prepping. Its better to be even across the board and have the mind to endure. A very good friend of mine years ago in high school could run for days, do pull ups and push ups for hours and swim like fish. He was not near the best of any of these compared to others. however he made it threw BUD/s not because he was the fastest, strongest, smartest or the best at anything. He was well balanced and endured the hardships. Now he wears the trident and remains the "average" well balanced man.
You could operate over the mountains with NVIS antennas on HF. Short range is not as difficult on HF as you think. Military does it all the time. If S hits the fan, you could communicate over HF to a station 1,000 (or a lot more) miles away and ask them to call your relatives. HF can be used to gather intelligence from basically around the world. Besides, HF is where the fun is. VHF/UHF is too boring.
HF is going to tell you what's going on out in the hinterlands. VHF UHF is for short range, like maybe 35 miles max. You need HF to really know what's happening. GET HF.
kind of ironic that you choose that song for a shtf vid. it's a favorite of mine, played it alot as my wife was dying of cancer, really wish that premise of the song was a valid trade off. Irony - you're going right along in life, with a big grin on your face, then a little old, run of the mill, boring, shtf rattle snake jumps out and bites your ass. It's a weird sort of funny; we get all jacked up on the really scary shit, wax poetic about solar anomalies, super volcanoes, government conspiracies, invisible planets, black helicopters, debt calamities, dr evils giant cabals and all manner of far out, get your freaky fear on events, then some boring everyday life event alters your life 4ever. Irony, it'll f you up. Sorry for raining on your cloud bro, it's a good vid, the song, well, it just reintroduced some reality. Always good stuff out of you GC, not doubt you're a good man to know outside of YT.
HF IS important to your comms. Just as important as your HTs/repeaters, just not as immediate. Sure, you're more likely to use your V/UHF...but do you NEVER make long distance phone calls? Do you NEVER take trips in the car that require you to fill up to reach the destination? At some point, YOU are going to have a need to communicate outside of your 'group'...and YOU are a group as soon as you mention communicating with family over radio waves. (and they should be trained too, YOU can't be the SOLE person responsible for their needs...they HAVE to be 'prepped' too) Yes, short range comms are important and immediate. They (your group...or family as you call them) have to be trained how to use the equipment, its NOT plugnplay/turnkey stuff. They weren't born with the ability to use a phone, they had to learn it and they have learned it. No different with V/UHF equip. OR with HF, they have to learn how to use it too. Sure, HF is more complicated given ALL the bands, propogation and the things they teach with each level....but you're talking about situations where a licence is irrelevant...SHTF, WORL, emergencies. Ok, to practice you need a licence. Its the cost of being PREPARED. Well, you didn't exactly become 'prepared' just by rolling out of bed, you took the time and money to learn, purchase, store and enable yourself to be 'prepared'. Well, such is the case with HF too. Yup, its more expensive, but that's because it DOES MORE!!!! Gives you more abilities and more options. After all, you set up a repeater so you can communicate farther. So what do you think HF does? It communicates FARTHER and with better use of the power put into the comms. There's a reason U/VHF doesn't reach a hundred miles on simplex, even on FLAT ground, you addressed it in the video. It's 'line of sight' comms, it doesn't follow the earths curve nor does it 'bounce' well. Even at 50 watts (mobile radio, not an HT), you aren't going to pound out a signal to reach much more then 100 miles if your LUCKY (and that's a huge expensive HIGH antenna, MORE $$$$). But HF, given antenna options, you can easily reach farther then your V/UHF for less power. Not saying you have to buy EVERYONE in the family an HF, but at least ONE at a central location. The 'range' is determined by power output, propgation AND antenna. Its ludicrous to claim that an HF rig can't talk to a house 7 miles away....simply because the signal is skipping over the house...that's the antenna, not the rig's fault...and the antenna is a user's choice so its the USERS fault. Your car doesn't float, so if you tried to sail it across a lake to the neighbors house, does that make it the car's fault when you drown? Short version, ONE HF rig with a couple of antenna options (and antennas can be the inexpensive part) is a good 'go to' when you can't REACH OUT with your V/UHF to the people OUTSIDE your immediate group. People add am/fm broadcast radio recievers, SW recievers and scanners to their 'prep' stores..so they can get info. What about getting info OUT, beyond your immediate area? An HF rig CAN get over that mountain you put the repeater on so your V/UHF can get over it, and it doesn't require a remote 'infrastructure' to do it. NO, HF is not an immediate priority..but you've been 'prepping' long enough it's something you should really start considering (you have your immediate needs dealt with, repeater, HTs). Time to consider the NEXT level. After all, you didn't QUIT prepping as soon as you had your 72 hours needs met....you planned for longer. Well, time to plan for LONGER in the radio waves too.
MrRocque Good points. Yes, I make long distance phone calls, but what is the point if no one I care about has no phone to receive my calls? And you're right, I'm not going to stop looking for that next upgrade in capability, just not right now where other priorities must be met first . As a leader of my home unit, (family), I prepare for the lowest common denominator which are 2 little girls and a not so concerned wife. Knowing their weakness and strengths, I determined VHF/UHF operations is the best coarse of action due to my approximate distance when disaster strikes and the plan we set forth in dealing with that incident and most importantly, ease of operation under stress. I access their capability to advance to the next level constantly and my assessment at this time, there are not there yet. In the meantime, we are more than capable of having that communications link between us with what we have already deployed. As far as "needing" to communicate outside my group, the point of preparedness is to not have to rely on needing to communicate outside my group, depending on scenario of coarse. Natural disaster or national emergency when society is still cohesive, yes, I'm reaching out to help in any way. When society collapses, I'm going dark and hunkering down till the dust settles. Maybe just maybe, venture out when I can confirm visually and consistently the other parties are friendly with good intentions. At this time for ourselves, a shortwave receiver that covers the hf bands is good enough to monitor for any intel. I'm really not interested in communicating with a stranger miles away where I cannot validate their position and they cant do anything for me or I help them. I know all the good and bad attributes involving HF, enough to determine its impractical for short to intermediate range tactical applications in most scenarios, but not all. My views mirror what the military and first responders have been practicing for the past 50 years as far as implementing comms for a specific mission.
GUERRILLACOMM and I agree with virtually all of that. One HAS to work from the center outwards. YOU, the family, resources that are at hand, resources that are outside, and then those that are farther away. Make sure you're taken care of so you can take care of them so you can all take care of the situation so everyone enjoys shelter, food, security. But as I mentioned, you've taken care of that. Your channel has been around for a long time, you've shown your prep. You've got your security/food and taken care of immediate comms. Not saying spend all your time getting into HF, but it may be time to consider it more seriously and learn more about it...as an option (such as, what HF can do and why, or what it can't and why....ie. its minimum comms isn't KANSAS or two states away, it CAN be your neighbor's house). You've got the 'immediate' planned and sorted out; as well as longer term 'isolation'. Time to consider longer term and farther comms. Food stores don't last forever, batteries die (not discharge, DIE, won't recharge), ammunition gets used, elements of survival can't all be found in nature but require replacing or restocking. And that will, at some point, mandate talking to someone outside your V/UHF range or you're going to be 'relaying' a lot of conversations looking for resources. Otherwise, you're going to be spending a lot of energy looking around yourself. I'm not saying spend $1000's, there's no use for that in the situations we're speaking about. But a QRP rig (not mentioning any brands) can far out reach any V/UHF of comparible size/weight. (mobile V/UHF, 50W, 50 miles...QRP rig the same size, 1/5 the power...half way around the world depending on antennna and propogation...way MORE then you would need) Re: 'comms for a specific mission'...you do realize that if a patrol was going to be longer then the supplies they could carry, they usually HAD an HF radio (now a days, microwave/sat comms) with them (when the tech. was availible, so NOT back in WWI)!!! Because MORE then 50 yrs ago, it was the MILITARY/industry that employed radio amatuers to BETTER their HF equipment so the military could use it for their missions. Until that point, the military didn't have the resources and industry didn't have the knowledgable personel to deal with the sheer quantity of equipment that the military needed to play CATCH UP to the enemy who had invested YEARS into the tech. already. HAMs (licenced ones that took it apon themselves to learn and be licenced in HF) filled the roles in every aspect of the advancement of mobilizing HF from what used to be fixed within a room in a building to what eventually fit in a truck, to the 'man packs' we know today and the HTs we all enjoy. (not solely hams, I wouldn't dare say it was ONLY HAMs that helped). HF is still a viable 'back up' to militaries infrastructure, though highly under utilized now.
ok... i'm reeeaaaallly gonna stick my foot in it... ready? cb, yes cb 11M, is technically hf and a reasonable pair of ssb rigs would run under $350 maybe $400 new. no license, 12W pep and wire antennas can be made cheap... dipole would be roughly 17ft. let's not forget tons of mobile antennas that can be modified (i wonder if an aluminum backpack frame would make a good ground plane) you would still have the luggable factor tho with rig size & power supply (12v). usual power draw isn't too high... not 20A like a 100W ham rig with the clarifier you have some extra technical stuff to learn but less than a ham hf rig for sure ... might be a stepping stone for the kids into ham later on down side... ummm... i think we've all heard what cb is like, ssb'ers seem to be a bit more classy tho... still, watch the kids ears :) ...just thinking out loud. take care
When the SHTF, the repeaters may be offline. Ignoring HF is a huge mistake. Have fun.
I just thought I would come back and watch this video. I'm sitting here quietly giggling to myself. :D
+SurvivalTech Nord Really, it wasn't an immediate need... ;
+GUERRILLACOMM I know GC, I'm just busting your ballz
Me too!!!
Great video. I do have HF rigs but I am not currently licensed for the extra bands. As for VHF/UHF I have made contact with another ham 90 miles from my home. At the time my antenna was a copy of the arrow j pole that I had purchased for $20, and an FT 1900 that I bought used. I made this contact on 10 watts of power, now keep in mind my antenna is 45 to 50 feet up on the peak of my roof. And I live on a ridge. Keep up the great work, I always like watching your vids.
Prime real estate on a ridge top. Thanks for watching.
yo...woody...how you dooin?
Very good food thought. This why I enjoy and appreciate your vids.
Best wishes
Other comments may have addressed this but you don’t need a special antenna to do NVIS. A regular half-wave wire dipole is all you need. It’s the height above ground that makes it suitable for NVIS. Instead of installing the antenna at a half wavelength high, instal it at only 6-10’ high. That will give you NVIS on either the 40m or 80m bands. To get more range, simply raise the antenna. And you don’t need the top class license to use NVIS. All 3 license classes have privileges on 40 & 80 meters. Albeit Technicians are limited to CW on those bands. But a General can use voice utilizing NVIS. And upgrading to General is relatively easy because, as a Tech, you already know about 50% of the answers on the General exam. That’s not the case when upgrading from General to Extra.
I like your perspective. You've put together a system that is robust and works for you, that's the important part.
Hello GC
I'm diggin this video, and understand completely where you are coming from! Perhaps you didn't know that I am also coming from a VHF/UHF background. There was a time in my life where 2 meters DX tests were normal ops for me, with 50mhz being my preferred band for over the horizon comms. Anyway, rather than making a long comment, I thought I would bust out a quick video response if that would be ok!? We are on the same page, but I fear my presentation has been poor up to this point.
Thanks for sharing, I'm heading to the editor.
Looking forward to it..
GUERRILLACOMM
CB is a cheap way of doing HF, but long range communications depend on different cylces the sun is in.
I like nvis. I use a dipole. I like to have both capabilities. I want to know if something bad is 500 miles away heading toward me. I like the immediate comms around me to help other people close or if I need help.
Hi, I'm studying for my Tech license, and then will get my general. Do you know if I can reliably communicate with people 150 miles away with NVIS?
Thanks
I totally agree with your video mate! I was very lucky in that a friend gave me a commercial HF communications receiver which another friend refurbished. He then sold it on ebay and from the proceeds I bought a second hand Kenwood TS50 HF transceiver and the accompanying AT50 auto atu. I could never afforded or justified the expence of buying such gear ordinarily. I rarely use the TS50 but it is nice to have it there when needed. I much prefer VHF/UHF - VHF has longer range than UHF but UHF seems to penetrate buildings better. I think I have mentioned previously that I prefer to buy surplus commercial equipment (we call it Private Mobile Radio - PMR) then re tune/program to Amateur frequencies. A good example is when a friend and I bought some ex police Kenwood TK350s for ten quid each, I bet they cost around £200 new!
Keep up the videos mate - they are good!
Good discussion, and very good point, first things first. Not letting pier pressure dictate how you spend your prepping dollar is very sound advice. Other than a weather, (NOAH), radio and a AM/FM, and maybe a couple of FRS radios, I'm not sure that a family needs to do more than listen. After the last 8 or 10 years of a bad economy, and a growing number of steady jobs lost, I think there may be more new preppers than many people think. I'm not even going to get started on the real unemployment numbers, and that the numbers of unemployed are going down because people are exhausting their benefits and are being dropped off the rolls. My point is that your point is a good one and needs to be made more often. Prepping is a lot like eating an elephant, you take one bite at a time. Keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing.
75 meters is a good night time band for local communication. I like to have all tools in the tool box. like GMRS. I have a GMRS License and 2 GMRS Repeaters one at home and a second portable unit , both are full duplex. I do like your videos and love the idea of the simplex repeater. I purchased a argent data unit after watching your video. keep up the good work Sir. 73
I like watching your vids, Great sky forest view!
One pice at a time brother. That's how I look at it. God Bless
definitely agree with one piece at a time..... the mighty oak does not fall with one swing of the axe
10 days ago, I bought a used Yaesu FT-817 5 Watt HF rig, with an automatic antenna tuner for $320.00. It works and I have made a couple of contacts with it on 75 Meters.
I agree with setting priorities..
I have just over one year as ham, general class. And 3 years prpepping. And so I know your right. You gotta have the food and water in place for your families needs. If you don't the rest of whatever your prepps are become useless when the s finally hits tf.
So in setting balanced priorities I have 2 frs, 3 baofengs hts. A 2 meter mobile/base. And a used dual band mobile . All so I can talk too, wait for it.
Me.
There are very few hams in my neck of the woods. And even fewer preppers.
So I set a comms plan and will move on to energy production from hear. Along with many other things, a HT rig is cost probibitive.
By the way. I think the ht will help with the news from around the country. And if you are down to actual survival situation. Knowing how far and wide the shtf has spread, might help with your sink or swim type of choices.
Couple of typos sorry.
I just snagged some Motorola MR355's, four of them. They have a few channels that work with repeaters, plus some cool features. Rechargeable or whatever AA's you want. Waterproof, or nearly so... They have some potential. Thanks for sharing.
They look like Talkabouts
@@RustyX2010 I should do a review. Having used them a bit, they are infact, junk.
The more tools in the tool box the better. Its been almost 4 years since you posted this one. By now you could be a HF equipped and trained ninja. Never too late to start enhancing your preps. More than likely time is on your side. Investments pay dividends.
I totally understand your immediate needs situation and yes HF can be expansive. But certain radios cover everything form 70CM to 160M.
HF is DEFINITIVELY not something that is easy as VHF or UHF. HF requires A LOT of specific knowledge and practice. The FT-817ND is indeed a great rig. But for what you need to do I don’t see the need for HF.
What is important to remember about VHF/UHF frequencies is to try to keep a good line of sight. Unlike the AM radio waves, radio waves in frequencies between 130 MHz to 500 MHz travel in straight lines and as a general rule cannot travel over the horizon or behind solid obstacles.
But as in all general rules, there are exceptions to the rules. Even though these frequencies travel via "line-of-sight" paths, radio signals can travel through many non-metallic objects and be picked up through walls or other obstructions. Even though we can't see between antennas of a transmitter and receiver, this is still considered line-of-sight to the radios. Also, radio waves can be reflected, or bounce off surfaces so the straight line between radios, may not always be so straight.
For your family you’re right on the money: simplex repeater is the way to go!
If no repeaters are available, for regional COMM (0 - 300 miles) the best way to communicate around valleys, ridges and steep hills would be a HF NVIS antenna (40M (day) 80M (night)).
But great video!!!
Thanks for your video. Food for thought. I guess my question is, why was 11 meters (an HF band) chosen for citizens band years ago? Isn't CB for local communications?
I didn't give a status report on how the battery and rest of the simplex repeater held up during your extended test. Did the old worn out battery manage to make it through the winter ok?
I have a lot of raw material I have to edit, comes out to like 3 different subjects. One being a full preventive maintenance session and one year status update on the system. The battery held up, but recently noticed the reliability of the battery was shutting down the system more frequently with a longer recovery time. Possibly within the next few days will spit the vids out. Thanks for watching.
GUERRILLACOMM I figured that you might have recorded more video and still needed to edit it. I was just double checking as I'm looking forward to your report on how well it performed.
I've been gathering the parts to build my own Simplex Repeater based off your design. So far I've got:
- 50mm "Fat" Ammo Can
- NMO Mobile Antenna and Mount
- Baofeng UV-5R Dual-Band Handheld
- Argent Data Systems ADS-SR1 Simplex Repeater
- 18 Amp Hour SLA Battery
I'm thinking about using a flexible solar panel as they are lighter than the framed versions and would be easier to carry to a deployment location (flexible panels costs have come down quite a bit over the last year vs. rigid panels). I was going to build a frame for it out of Electrical Grade PVC to keep the weight down, and to correctly position it toward the sun.
I just need to get the solar panel, and a charge controller that can control the load output to protect the battery. That way if the battery voltage gets too low it'll automatically shut off the repeater and radio to protect the battery. Both the repeater and radio would recover when power is restored with no issues.
I would like to get a MPPT Charge Controller to get maximum energy out of my solar panel, but those are quite expensive. I'm still doing research into various manufacturers of charge controllers to try to find one at a reasonable price to keep the total build cost down.
While researching the batteries and charge controllers, I've been keeping an eye on the cost of Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries a.k.a. LiFePO4. Battery Tender has recently entered the market with lower cost LiFePO4 Batteries as well (www.batterytender.com/Batteries/).
Although the LiFePO4 Batteries cost quite a bit more, they can discharge to 80% of their capacity, and can be recharged 2,000 Times. By the time my standard SLA battery needs to be replaced, I'm going to be upgrading the system to a LiFePO4 Battery. I plan on getting one for my portable comms bag that will remain with my BOB solar/wind power setup.
Hey Bro.
I get your reasoning about HF and sticking with UHF/VHF for local comms amd mobility. If you had a group and were sharing costs and had a need to talk with distant groups in far away places it might be feasible to have a base unit and a couple of hand held radios for field use, but other than that, what would be the point. A slim Jim pulled up a tree will get you out a fair distance anyway, depending on the terrain and you don't have to haul a damn great antenna everywhere or start rigging long wires.
In survival SHTF situations a HF home base could even become a liability. Becoming the fox tracked by voracious hounds would not be good.
I wanted to ask you a couple of questions if that is OK? I have been hearing about active and passive antennas but finding good information about active antennas for UHF/VHF work had been almost impossible. Is that because there is no such thing, or just that no one uses active antennas for those bands and if so, why is that?
Keep running up those hills (Lol) and (If you remember my post about it) keep practising getting in the zone. It does work but alone is harder than with a friend.
Running, more like drudging up that hill. lol. Oh yeah, if you have established groups with a basecamp miles apart, HF would be and ideal and preferred setup in my opinion.
I've heard of maybe one example on an handy talkie active antenna on VHF, though I think it was a marketing scheme to sell it. Not sure, but I think there really is no significant advantages fore an active antenna for those bands to make it cost effective. Much of the active elements are built into the radio itself. HF on the other hand is more commonplace to help reduce the bulk of the antenna for practical space limited applications like in vehicle.
I do remember the post about getting into the zone with a friend. Usually I like to get away from people and perfectly fine with that arrangement. Thanks for watching. I don't mind answering questions, so feel free to ask, just might take some time to make sure I give an accurate answer.
GUERRILLACOMM
OK that makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to answer. Appreciated.
Whats the name of the song you use in the opening of the video brother???
"Running up that hill" covered by Placebo, Originally a Kate Bush song. Thanks for watching.
Thank you so much for the fast reaponce. Ice started building my comms gear. Most picking up old surplus nextel phones the i355SI with extended antennas that offers the off network walkie talking im ablw to get about 5.5miles range out of these devices.
In my opinion, I would use HF receive mode and try to keep my transmitting to CW or digital modes. If you are without a computer, you can get a program for a smartphone free or pretty cheap to run the digital modes.
I'm almost finished studying for my Tech License. My goals are: I'm trying to figure out how to have very reliable communication for a region (say 100-200 miles in all directions).
I have some family and a couple friends, and would like to see if any of them would ever be interested in doing this, and be able to communicate with them without the requirements of the grid (including repeaters).
Right now it seems NVIS could work but I'm not completely sure. Anyone have any suggestions?
Great advise love your videos...
Like any other prep. Comms are going to be based primarily on the individual needs, resources and overall situation of the people involved. While I think your evaluation is partly based on (freely admitted) lack of knowledge on HF itself. One can not blame you for prioritizing as to YOUR situation. I enjoy your channel and have learned much. When you are ready to make the jump into HF, feel free to contact me. Some friend and I would surely like to help you along!
Thanks. I will definitely take up your offer to modernize & build upon what little HF skill I have.
I hear you, HF is costly, I have been thinking of buying a rig but $1,200- $1,800 is not in my near future seeing we want to buy a new home South or South-West. I know you made a video on your portable repeater, can you give me an idea where I can find it?
buzzsah I have quite a few vids documenting this build, Here's a link to the playlist. There are a few new ones missing from this list. I'm really bad about organizing my channel.@playlist?list=PLjU0RtaogO9m1F37fkSVOlpkqzHonmU84
GUERRILLACOMM Thanks, will check them out.
buzzsah Things can get costly, but I'm running a Yaesu FT-450D, which is currently $750 at HRO. After a $40 mail in rebate, that's $710 shipped!! By far the best deal going for a new HF rig. There are also used gems out there to be had for half that still.
Plus the ham community is full of good tutors, called "elmers", many of which are very willing to loan out radios and gear. I operated on an early 80's Kenwood TS-120S, on loan from an elmer, for over a year before scraping together the wife approved funds for my Yaesu. So don't get discouraged because a majority of the new radios are well over $1k.
The same holds true for antennas. A simple wire G5RV, Off Center Fed, or classic dipole is all the antenna needed. With the FT-450D's built in antenna tuner any antenna starting with a 3:1 or better SWR will work. Otherwise an external tuner may be needed, but an MFJ-914 Auto Tuner Extender will take care of any matching needs for around $80.
Have fun, be prepared, and get on the air...that's the ultimate goal. 73
photofudge How true on the cost, I've been out of it for 25+ years. I just bought the FTM-400, and now a dew days later a DMR. and haven't even thought about the HF thus far. I can easily see spending another $1500 on VHF/UHF. I think I'll wait until we move before buying an HF system., we maybe moving to Fla in Nov, Dec..
Great video.
I agree that signal intelligence is much more important than communication.
I never really got into the HF thing. Am I licensed for it? Yes. Do an have an HF rig? Not currently (sold it about 6 months ago) and it's not really a huge concern.
Narrow banding was very good to me. I've honestly have more GE and Motorola stuff (about 40% of it is even narrow compliant) than I know what to do with.
Here lately I've gotten into high efficiency, low power repeaters for remote site use on GMRS.
An HF radio is good to have at home so you can reach out long distance when needed to find out more information that you may no longer have and talk to other people that are further abroad to gather more Intel on what's going on rather than just locally
Keep the vhf/uhf for local use
You make a good point GG. Vhf capability should come first, that way the wife can call you in for supper without alerting the whole continent. Still though, hf is a lot funner.
I have always wondered what camera you use, is it a go pro?
Maybe shortwave radio to get information outside your direct area. SFi
yo GG....how you dooin? me, AzPapaLes, Dafrogtoad, SoCal and BenTheBondsMan have already worked HF. Here are my thoughts: HF is critical due to the information and intel gathering. Over a distance of more than 3000 miles, those of us mentioned above were able to communicate. It has a major psychological boost to know that we can at least communicate with each other. Not to mention the benefits of communicating with the world using DX. I've always been your biggest fan, but on this topic I have to disagree. HF capability will be important. Even regional comms using NVIS for interstate is huge!
Not a problem, disagreeing is a big part of learning different perspective. I do value the virtues of HF, I guess I came across too critical about it. Just wanted to give my perspective of immediate comms priority and the possible disadvantages of HF in short range applications. I welcome your input greatly.
Even you don't have a HF radio, go ahead and get your General license, I'm sure you know enough to pass the test with no problem. I have a friend that is thinking about selling his Yaesu FT-100D HF/VHF/UHF All Mode Mobile Radio soon.
H.F. is not to talk to family members. HF is great to listen, and get news. When you need range it does the job, and does so without repeaters. The more bands and coverage the better chance you have at communicating with someone. CB radio is another band, another thing to add as it will become popular as peoplo pull radios out of storage to use.
"Weak Signal Work" SSB (Single Side Band), CW (morse code), digital modes.
Use of yagi's (beams), or circular polarized antennas. Learn how to bounce those VHF signals off of other objects to get those signals around surrounding objects. Not to mention learn how to look for and utilize Tropospheric Inducting and meteor scatter to get around those distances and objects.
Sounds absurd? Absolutely not! All possible and all true. It's used every day of the year and I use it. Not to mention satellite (birds) work. With your portable HT communicate using orbital satellites.
Most can be used on HF as well.
+N2RRAny These are all excellent parts of the hobby but can't be relied upon in an emergency situation are 'at will'.
They take planning and often the right conditions before they can be benefited from.
All that said, HF band conditions can be up and down as well.
Agreed to a degree. Using SSB/CW on VHF/UHF is far more reliable than using the FM mode. What you can't hear on FM you will using weak signal. That's with out a doubt. So the example he's using and for the nature in which lighter and compact is required is another focal point. It is the wiser preferred choice. It's either that, or if traveling energy will have to be spent on setting up a 40/80 meter wire which unless stationary with sufficient power for a 100watt transmitter necessary for bands such as the 40/80 meter bands to be efficient and reliable running QRP makes it much more worse. Can it be done? Sure! I am also just trying to mention simply, because I don't think their aware like many the other modes and use's the VHF/UHF bands have to offer. All his vids are just utilizing an HT running FM. None make mention on weak signal work.
+N2RRAny I'd much prefer a 817 over a HT anyday if I was caught out. I know cost etc is quite different but in a perfect world :)
Actually on that note, I'd love to see a HT with SSB on it. Now THAT I would buy.
Also, I don't think there is a man portable sized rig that will get you 2/70 thats not only FM, so if you're all mode on those bands you have to get all mod all band rigs.
On a side note, I watch your vids and enjoy them. 73 VK2MRX
yes, I don't even bother with FM when I am trying to go far on VHF. I use ssb with a horizontal beam. Way out performs FM simplex..
Sound judgement. Too many people get fixated on this part or that part of prepping. Its better to be even across the board and have the mind to endure. A very good friend of mine years ago in high school could run for days, do pull ups and push ups for hours and swim like fish. He was not near the best of any of these compared to others. however he made it threw BUD/s not because he was the fastest, strongest, smartest or the best at anything. He was well balanced and endured the hardships. Now he wears the trident and remains the "average" well balanced man.
And for immediate comms I mean uhf vhf.
You could operate over the mountains with NVIS antennas on HF. Short range is not as difficult on HF as you think. Military does it all the time.
If S hits the fan, you could communicate over HF to a station 1,000 (or a lot more) miles away and ask them to call your relatives. HF can be used to gather intelligence from basically around the world.
Besides, HF is where the fun is. VHF/UHF is too boring.
HF is going to tell you what's going on out in the hinterlands. VHF UHF is for short range, like maybe 35 miles max. You need HF to really know what's happening. GET HF.
kind of ironic that you choose that song for a shtf vid. it's a favorite of mine, played it alot as my wife was dying of cancer, really wish that premise of the song was a valid trade off. Irony - you're going right along in life, with a big grin on your face, then a little old, run of the mill, boring, shtf rattle snake jumps out and bites your ass. It's a weird sort of funny; we get all jacked up on the really scary shit, wax poetic about solar anomalies, super volcanoes, government conspiracies, invisible planets, black helicopters, debt calamities, dr evils giant cabals and all manner of far out, get your freaky fear on events, then some boring everyday life event alters your life 4ever. Irony, it'll f you up.
Sorry for raining on your cloud bro, it's a good vid, the song, well, it just reintroduced some reality.
Always good stuff out of you GC, not doubt you're a good man to know outside of YT.
not sure if agree with this....not saying dump all your eggs in one basket but COMMS is important and I know you know that.... further the better
I hear you and in total agreement. Just want to use the right tool for the right job at hand. Eventually I will be HF capable. Thanks for watching.
love your vids, I learn a lot
What’s the point of this video anyway? When you really love something a hobby you don’t think about prices you just enjoy it
HF IS important to your comms. Just as important as your HTs/repeaters, just not as immediate. Sure, you're more likely to use your V/UHF...but do you NEVER make long distance phone calls? Do you NEVER take trips in the car that require you to fill up to reach the destination?
At some point, YOU are going to have a need to communicate outside of your 'group'...and YOU are a group as soon as you mention communicating with family over radio waves. (and they should be trained too, YOU can't be the SOLE person responsible for their needs...they HAVE to be 'prepped' too)
Yes, short range comms are important and immediate. They (your group...or family as you call them) have to be trained how to use the equipment, its NOT plugnplay/turnkey stuff. They weren't born with the ability to use a phone, they had to learn it and they have learned it. No different with V/UHF equip. OR with HF, they have to learn how to use it too.
Sure, HF is more complicated given ALL the bands, propogation and the things they teach with each level....but you're talking about situations where a licence is irrelevant...SHTF, WORL, emergencies. Ok, to practice you need a licence. Its the cost of being PREPARED. Well, you didn't exactly become 'prepared' just by rolling out of bed, you took the time and money to learn, purchase, store and enable yourself to be 'prepared'. Well, such is the case with HF too. Yup, its more expensive, but that's because it DOES MORE!!!! Gives you more abilities and more options.
After all, you set up a repeater so you can communicate farther. So what do you think HF does? It communicates FARTHER and with better use of the power put into the comms. There's a reason U/VHF doesn't reach a hundred miles on simplex, even on FLAT ground, you addressed it in the video. It's 'line of sight' comms, it doesn't follow the earths curve nor does it 'bounce' well. Even at 50 watts (mobile radio, not an HT), you aren't going to pound out a signal to reach much more then 100 miles if your LUCKY (and that's a huge expensive HIGH antenna, MORE $$$$). But HF, given antenna options, you can easily reach farther then your V/UHF for less power. Not saying you have to buy EVERYONE in the family an HF, but at least ONE at a central location. The 'range' is determined by power output, propgation AND antenna.
Its ludicrous to claim that an HF rig can't talk to a house 7 miles away....simply because the signal is skipping over the house...that's the antenna, not the rig's fault...and the antenna is a user's choice so its the USERS fault. Your car doesn't float, so if you tried to sail it across a lake to the neighbors house, does that make it the car's fault when you drown?
Short version, ONE HF rig with a couple of antenna options (and antennas can be the inexpensive part) is a good 'go to' when you can't REACH OUT with your V/UHF to the people OUTSIDE your immediate group.
People add am/fm broadcast radio recievers, SW recievers and scanners to their 'prep' stores..so they can get info. What about getting info OUT, beyond your immediate area? An HF rig CAN get over that mountain you put the repeater on so your V/UHF can get over it, and it doesn't require a remote 'infrastructure' to do it. NO, HF is not an immediate priority..but you've been 'prepping' long enough it's something you should really start considering (you have your immediate needs dealt with, repeater, HTs). Time to consider the NEXT level. After all, you didn't QUIT prepping as soon as you had your 72 hours needs met....you planned for longer. Well, time to plan for LONGER in the radio waves too.
MrRocque Good points. Yes, I make long distance phone calls, but what is the point if no one I care about has no phone to receive my calls? And you're right, I'm not going to stop looking for that next upgrade in capability, just not right now where other priorities must be met first . As a leader of my home unit, (family), I prepare for the lowest common denominator which are 2 little girls and a not so concerned wife. Knowing their weakness and strengths, I determined VHF/UHF operations is the best coarse of action due to my approximate distance when disaster strikes and the plan we set forth in dealing with that incident and most importantly, ease of operation under stress. I access their capability to advance to the next level constantly and my assessment at this time, there are not there yet. In the meantime, we are more than capable of having that communications link between us with what we have already deployed. As far as "needing" to communicate outside my group, the point of preparedness is to not have to rely on needing to communicate outside my group, depending on scenario of coarse. Natural disaster or national emergency when society is still cohesive, yes, I'm reaching out to help in any way. When society collapses, I'm going dark and hunkering down till the dust settles. Maybe just maybe, venture out when I can confirm visually and consistently the other parties are friendly with good intentions. At this time for ourselves, a shortwave receiver that covers the hf bands is good enough to monitor for any intel. I'm really not interested in communicating with a stranger miles away where I cannot validate their position and they cant do anything for me or I help them. I know all the good and bad attributes involving HF, enough to determine its impractical for short to intermediate range tactical applications in most scenarios, but not all. My views mirror what the military and first responders have been practicing for the past 50 years as far as implementing comms for a specific mission.
GUERRILLACOMM and I agree with virtually all of that. One HAS to work from the center outwards. YOU, the family, resources that are at hand, resources that are outside, and then those that are farther away.
Make sure you're taken care of so you can take care of them so you can all take care of the situation so everyone enjoys shelter, food, security.
But as I mentioned, you've taken care of that. Your channel has been around for a long time, you've shown your prep. You've got your security/food and taken care of immediate comms.
Not saying spend all your time getting into HF, but it may be time to consider it more seriously and learn more about it...as an option (such as, what HF can do and why, or what it can't and why....ie. its minimum comms isn't KANSAS or two states away, it CAN be your neighbor's house). You've got the 'immediate' planned and sorted out; as well as longer term 'isolation'. Time to consider longer term and farther comms. Food stores don't last forever, batteries die (not discharge, DIE, won't recharge), ammunition gets used, elements of survival can't all be found in nature but require replacing or restocking. And that will, at some point, mandate talking to someone outside your V/UHF range or you're going to be 'relaying' a lot of conversations looking for resources. Otherwise, you're going to be spending a lot of energy looking around yourself.
I'm not saying spend $1000's, there's no use for that in the situations we're speaking about. But a QRP rig (not mentioning any brands) can far out reach any V/UHF of comparible size/weight. (mobile V/UHF, 50W, 50 miles...QRP rig the same size, 1/5 the power...half way around the world depending on antennna and propogation...way MORE then you would need)
Re: 'comms for a specific mission'...you do realize that if a patrol was going to be longer then the supplies they could carry, they usually HAD an HF radio (now a days, microwave/sat comms) with them (when the tech. was availible, so NOT back in WWI)!!! Because MORE then 50 yrs ago, it was the MILITARY/industry that employed radio amatuers to BETTER their HF equipment so the military could use it for their missions. Until that point, the military didn't have the resources and industry didn't have the knowledgable personel to deal with the sheer quantity of equipment that the military needed to play CATCH UP to the enemy who had invested YEARS into the tech. already. HAMs (licenced ones that took it apon themselves to learn and be licenced in HF) filled the roles in every aspect of the advancement of mobilizing HF from what used to be fixed within a room in a building to what eventually fit in a truck, to the 'man packs' we know today and the HTs we all enjoy. (not solely hams, I wouldn't dare say it was ONLY HAMs that helped). HF is still a viable 'back up' to militaries infrastructure, though highly under utilized now.
@@MrRocque Very well said.
ok... i'm reeeaaaallly gonna stick my foot in it... ready? cb, yes cb 11M, is technically hf and a reasonable pair of ssb rigs would run under $350 maybe $400 new. no license, 12W pep and wire antennas can be made cheap... dipole would be roughly 17ft. let's not forget tons of mobile antennas that can be modified (i wonder if an aluminum backpack frame would make a good ground plane) you would still have the luggable factor tho with rig size & power supply (12v). usual power draw isn't too high... not 20A like a 100W ham rig
with the clarifier you have some extra technical stuff to learn but less than a ham hf rig for sure ... might be a stepping stone for the kids into ham later on
down side... ummm... i think we've all heard what cb is like, ssb'ers seem to be a bit more classy tho... still, watch the kids ears :)
...just thinking out loud.
take care
Everything you said is valid. 11 meter has its use. Local or DX. All modes am, fm, and of course ssb.
Your simplex repeater isnt going to be much help if you can't talk to anyone else
This video hasn't aged well...🤣🤣🤣🤣
Mo
Yer dumping bogus info. You have know idea what you are talking about when it comes to HF
Based on what I heard you say in this video, you don't know much about ham radio.
I think he knows about prepping thought. :)
Maybe shortwave radio to get information outside your direct area. SFi