SHTF survival radio recommendations

[clodhopper]

One of the things lost when the board melted down was a thread on survival radios. I am thinking receive only versions, multiband including shortwave and not battery dependant. There were a few in the thread and of course I figured the info would be there later when I was ready. Poof. Time to start over.

Who has a link or a recommendation?[Beer]

[polski]

Take a gander at these sites:

http://www.ccrane.com/radios/

and

http://www.etoncorp.com/View_All

Need to be gentle when using the hand-cranks since they are made of plastic.

[BuffCyclist]

Oh yea, forgot about that thread (I started one, may have been the one you're thinking of too). Definitely good info to have!

[w748]

I've dealt with ccrane several times and recomend them highly.

[StagLefty]

I picked up an Eton FR-250 a few years ago that's an affordable emergency radio. Cell phone charger,light,AM/FM,shortwave,battery and hand crank powered. [Beer]

[Rapid Fire Bunker]

I personally like the Eton brand radios. As a plus the Eton Scorpion has a bottle opener for "emergencies" .[Beer]

[Ranger]

I keep a CB with weather band in my BOB but have a couple of those hand crank radios too, they actually work pretty well.

[StagLefty]

I personally like the Eton brand radios. As a plus the Eton Scorpion has a bottle opener for "emergencies" .[Beer]

Unfortunately Your not allowed to drink during an emergency broadcast [ROFL1]

[jerrymrc]

Unfortunately Your not allowed to drink during an emergency broadcast [ROFL1]

I always thought that was the best time. [Beer] As to the radios I have both my old DX-440 and a Kaito 1102. For a cheap all band that winds up I would suggest the Kaito KA007.[Flower]

[rbeau30]

I personally like the Eton brand radios. As a plus the Eton Scorpion has a bottle opener for "emergencies" .[Beer]


I bought an Eton Scorpion. It functions well. If the battery is dead you have to crank constantly while listening to WB. Charges good in direct sunlight.

If any of you are Active Duty or have access to AAFES.com I got mine for $35 there a few months ago.

EDIT: The Eton Microlink is listed 34.95 currently.

[Alpine]

I have a little Sangean that I bought back in the early 90's. Runs on AA-batteries. Works great. I travel around Europe with it, and took it to Saudi Arabia with me while I was active duty.

This is the current model of what I have:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/3505.html

[SpikeMike]

I have the following and they all work!

Radioshack DX-150 - solidstate - will run off of 12vdc
Radioshack DX-390 - solidstate - battery 6 vdc? haven't changed them in 7 years, still runs
Halicrafters S-38 - Tube driven, will run off of 12 vdc
Regen Tube radio (I built it from scratch with $12.00 in parts, covers 550 Khz through 7.5 Mhz) - 9-15 vdc
Starcraft Roamer (Kit I built, all tube driven - will run off of 12 vdc)
YouKit TJ4A 4-band HAM/CW/SSB Transceiver
BAND 1: 1.6 – 3.99999 MHz
BAND 2: 4 – 7.49999 MHz
BAND 3: 7.5 – 14. 49999
BAND 4: 14.5 – 29. 99999
YouKit TJ2A 2-band Handheld HAM/CW/SSB Transceiver
Band 1: 7.000 - 7.085 MHz
Band 2: 14.150 - 14.330 MHz
PRC-25
PRC-77

[Robb]

Hoping you guys can do my homework for me, who has one? Who is a good/solid manufacturer?

Ideally I would like it to be able to run on 120, and hand cranked if necessary. The ability to charge a cell is also mandatory. I don't think I'm looking for any other features, maybe a light on it? I just would like opinions on what is a durable, quality crank powered emergency radio.

Thanks.

[rockhound]

should also have a solar charging cell on it.

[HoneyBadger]

Tag for updates



[Peep]

[StagLefty]

I picked up an Eton FR-250 a few years ago that's an affordable emergency radio. Cell phone charger,light,siren,AM/FM,shortwave,battery,and hand crank powered. [Beer

[tonantius]

I recommend getting an amateur radio license so that you can transmit as well as receive. Morse code is no longer required. The first grade is Technician which allows use of many FM repeaters along the Front Range from Trinidad to Cheyenne. There are repeaters in the mountains as well. There are classes available if you need a jump start. The next grade is General which gives you privileges on the amateur short wave bands (called high frequency). You can even send and receive email with ham radio. Most equipment is designed to run on 12-volt batteries. I bought a solar panel kit to charge 12-volt deep cycle batteries.

[Ridge]

I picked up an Eton FR-250 a few years ago that's an affordable emergency radio. Cell phone charger,light,siren,AM/FM,shortwave,battery,and hand crank powered. [Beer

Got one of those as well. I sent in the paperwork for a cell charger years ago when I got it. Never arrived, though. [Rant1]

[Robb]

The amateur radio license isn't happening, can't afford the hobbies I already have. I'll look into the Eaton. The biggest gripe I see is about charging handles on all these radios. They're all plastic and less than robust, or so I've read.
Thanks for the advice.

[Aloha_Shooter]

Why would you want an emergency radio designed to run on 120? So much easier to deal with something that's DC because you have more options for emergency power -- including having a 120-to-12V AC-to-DC transformer.

[USAFGopherMike]

Tonantius - I had a ham license as a kid. I wonder what would be required to pick it up again. Back then, morse was required and I remember the test being hard. Know anybody who's taken it lately?

[brutal]

I've only just started looking into it, but the new VHF stuff requires only a test of how well you can write a check. Not sure what else that gets you (repeater access, etc.) or it's just to keep your conscience pacified. most folks buying VHF aren't running licensed and the FCC has too few resources to enforce it. It's said it will go the way of CB licensing did so many years ago.

[spqrzilla]

I recently obtained a technician license in Amateur radio. $15 to take the test. Many offered locally. There are test review books available. If you have some basic electronic knowledge its easy. If you have no electronic knowledge, its not hard - just a bit more studying.

I don't think you'll see Amateur radio go the way of CB. The amateur community polices its own pretty well.

[streetglideok]

No code required for any of the tests now for ham radio. VHF radios are not real expensive. It only gets pricey when you upgrade to general, and dive into HF.

[USAFGopherMike]

Good to know. I'll be looking into it then. Think they'll let me have my old callsign back?

[streetglideok]

Good to know. I'll be looking into it then. Think they'll let me have my old callsign back?

Doubt it, its most likely been re-assigned. I think you only have so long once it expires to renew it, or lose it. There is places in Teller, El Paso counties, and in Pueblo that test. Interesting to note, when I took the test in Pueblo last year for my tech license, it was $15, and however many times I want to test and retest. When I upgraded this summer to general, I took it in monument, and you could retest if you failed, however they wanted $15 additional. I recently read in Woodland Park, when MARC, the ham radio club for that area, does tests, they will not allow retaking a test at the same session. Just an FYI. I will say, if you fail a test, unless you missed it by 1, you will likely fail the next one.

[gnihcraes]

I didn't pass mine the first time, retook the same day, passed. Just was missing by something simple. This was 1995 though.

You can look up your old callsign on the web, just google for callsign lookup. (i'm too lazy at the moment to provide a link)

[Alpine]

I bought a Sony ICF-B200 emergency crank radio. It's a very small AM/FM radio that also runs on AA-batteies.

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sony_icf_b200.html

They are no longer in production, but you can find them on ebay from time to time. Very rugged radio, and I rarely use the crank as the batteries last forever.

[O2HeN2]

Necropost, but this looks like as good a place as any to put this!

I've been looking into "Parks on the Air (https://parksontheair.com/)" as a method to practice my mobile HF capabilities. POTA is kind of a do-it-yourself Field Day (https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2021/2_1-%20FD%20Flier%20-%20What%20is%20FD%20generic.pdf) outing. Ran my first "activation" (actually going to a park, setting up and transmitting) on Friday at Cheyenne Mountain State Park and it went surprisingly well.

My first attempt with my end-fed-half-wave (EFHW) antenna didn't go so well - took me so long to set up that when I was ready, an electrical storm was bearing down on me and I had to tear it down in a hurry.

This time it took me less than 10 minutes to get up and running - and I wasn't in a hurry.

On 20M I hit Eastern Canada, California, Idaho, Washington, Texas and some of the Eastern states like Georgia with my setup, which in my book makes it a resounding success.

Here's info on the setup (I link to Ham Radio Outlet merely for convenience):

The radio is an ICOM-718 (https://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/718/default.aspx), an over-20 year old design that's been updated and refined to make it simple and rugged. Something that may sound insignificant, but surprised me at just how much a difference it made was the 718's front-firing speaker. Most radios have a top firing speaker which muffles the sound. The 718's sound is very crisp and clear since it's aimed at the operator.

The antennas are Shark Hamsticks (https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-017722). Upside is that they're easy to set up. Downside is they're loooong, and monoband so you have to swap antennas when you change bands. To make swapping easier I have some Shark quick disconnects (https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016624).

The antennas are mounted to the top of the car with an MFJ magnetic mount (https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-008134). Note this is for stationary operation only. The mount, coupled with the thin-metal alloy of today's modern cars doesn't make for a very good holdfast to the roof. The 17 feet of coax gets you plenty far enough away from the high frequencies that this setup is designed for to be perfectly safe.

Everything is powered by a random flooded acid deep-cycle battery I got from Sam's or Costco, charged by a Harbor Freight solar power kit (https://www.harborfreight.com/100-watt-amorphous-solar-panel-kit-63585.html) (gawd, that was only $100 when I got it two years ago!) that includes the panels and a charge controller.

This is what the setup looks like on my First-gen Ridgeline (you can barely see the corner of the solar panels in front of the front tire):

91795

And here's a link to a prepper channel that talks about the ICOM 718:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvIGbSk_Wh0

O2

[bradbn4]

For recommendations is going depend on a few things...distance to communicate is a big component. I picked up a CB radio just because; mostly for the weather band and to see who or what is using that communications. Lets say in my area I have been getting 100 times more broadcasts on 70cm/2 meter than CB. The antenna size for 10 meter is almost the same as CB...there are a few CB radios out there that can support 10 meter band.

For pure local GMRS would be a simple solution, license is not too bad considering how long it lasts. The hardware is from cheap to fair. I would skip the free FRS radio because the GMRS dose the job so much better. There are a few cases where FRS is much better - but that is only the fact that it is rule based use versus license base use.

For long distances, I would say the 2nd level ham license that lets you go out and reach someone would be required.
-----------------------------
Licenses


GMRS - just go online with the ffc, pay your money - get a license good for a number of years. I think it is the same 10 year period as a ham license.

FRS (Family) - no license is needed...

The FRS is authorized 22 channels in the 462 MHz and 467 MHz range, all of which are shared with General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) which requires an individual license for use.

CB - what license - you don't need nothing like that...well; way - way back in the day you need a license but I think that requirement was dropped about the time Smoky and the Bandit move came out.


Ham licenses are broken down into 3 groups. Each level requires that the user pass a specific test. The test questions are published by the FCC and there are many online sites that can help a person study for the test. The first Ham license pretty much gives you line of site usage. The second level provides pretty much gives you the ability to go out and reach someone. The 3rd license provides a bit more capability of the General Ham license with a few tweaks to what Freq you can use.

-------------------------------
So which Ham license - -

For local ham use; you will need the technical license. Not that hard to pass; esp if you go on line and start taking the online same questions that pull directly from the official question pool. And yes, they do publish 100% of the question pool for all three (3) ham license classes.

(Tech license) The first ham radio license should be a snap, and if you are ok at taking tests, you could take the follow on general ham license on the same day. The old question pool I took, I think about 40% of the questions semi-sort of matched between both tests.

(General License) The second license opens the majority of the capabilities, and lets you reach long distance range.

(Extra License) - This license opens a few additional bands, but for most people not enough benefit.


Which license I would need
For in town use; tech ham license works fine...to go the distance; the general ham license is a must...the Extra class license while semi-useful - not sure for SHTF.

There is a hybrid setup that can be done to expand a cheap ham radio for local use if you want to increase you line of site support...

If you have access to a tower or mountain - then even the hand held units can work wonders; assuming you have a quality repeater installed....but that is sort of a different discussion.

---------------------------- mobility - or lack of that ------------

Hand held, base station, car mount...would be the normal configurations regardless the the tech behind it....


Car / Truck - could be a home base unit designed to be mobile.

If you can; join someone on a true field day and see what hardware that they are using to be semi-mobile. You pretty much can get all the hardware you need to fit inside a 2 foot square box. well; everything but a rigid antenna that is. There are some cheap - to good quality compact magnetic car mounts for CB, GRMS, and UHF frequencies. I did find the mag roof mount hardware I bought like to stick once I hit about 75 mph.

For larger simple to remove antennas - look at the trailer hitch hardware so you can remove the antennas without too much issue.

For home use; the hardware used for a car could be used at home...but it does provide the ability to use larger antennas depending on the need depending on VHF, UHF, or HF bands.
-------------------------------

Line of site...with a dash of SHTF...

If you can't take your radio with you; what use is it?

The hand held size hardware does provide portability often at the cost of range.

But the had held hardware is easy to move around, easy to power from a car batter, and also can be powered by a smallish solar panel. This setup is real useful for locations that attract bad weather like a trailer park attracts tornadoes.

The nice thing about battery only power; is that there is no RF noise caused by active charging / transformers.

----------------------------

Some cheap hardware choices for hand held Ham Radio...or GMRS or CB...

For semi-disposal price range baofeng is ok for the price. I have started poking at radioddity - for the digital hand held. Radioddity also sells Baofeng, and unique harware. ICOM/YAESU does have a lower end radios that does perform better than the baofeng if you want to buy better quality hardware.


For long distance; yea, nothing is cheap - even the cheap hardware can be quite expensive once you add all of the supporting hardware necessary to get online.

So do you need simple in town use, on the road, base station for home use...or something that can reach out over seas...lot of choices, depends on what range you are shooting for.

For CB radios - I would start to think of this as semi-disposable - maybe go to a local truck stop and see what they have to offer. Radioddity does sell that type of hardware; but I found that such things as the mic is hard wired into the unit. The price is sort of cheap; the hardware dose work, but break the mic - the fix is a lot harder to do.

[battlemidget]

718 is a great rig, I'm jealous.

[ChadAmberg]

718 is a great rig, I'm jealous.

I've got a 718 also. Really need to get that on the air again here soon!

[O2HeN2]

I guess I should mention that I got asked about ham radio enough I stood up a really simple site that describes ham radio and POTA. It also has a bunch of firearm links, too.

Somewhat Colorado Springs-centric.

http://nankoweap.com/

O2

[O2HeN2]

Woke up this morning with the thought that this note really needs an addendum...

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): If you want to practice long-distance radio communication, right now all you need is the entry-level Technician license.

Typically, you need the next license up - a General license - to use the bands that will go around the world. Not so at the moment. We're nearing solar maximum, and that's causing the 10-meter band - typically a band that is of little use globally - to be wide open and quite useful for global communication. ...and this should be true for the next couple of years.

And a good, usable chunk (200kHz) of the 10m band is available for use by Technician class licensees.

Just how far can you communicate right now on the 10m band? Well Friday I rolled into Castlewood Canyon State Park on highway 85 between Colorado Springs and Denver, stuck a short, inexpensive magnetic-mount antenna on the top of my car, dialed into the Technician area of the 10m band and talked to... Sweden. Station SM3NRY to be specific.

To make a long story short, if you want to practice global communication, right now all you need is a Technician license, a HF transceiver, an antenna and a 12V battery - your car battery will do as long as you don't run it down too much. :)

So, if you've been thinking of a Technician license for SHTF communications, get your technician license now so you can practice using the HF bands. And if you already have your technician license, buy a HF transceiver now - and practice using the 10m band.

Links to the equipment I used to talk to Sweden are listed below, along with some alternatives. Note that they're mostly Ham Radio Outlet links, but nothing says you need to buy the stuff there.

Radio: ICOM IC-718: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-003490
Antenna: Shark S-F10: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016615
Mount: MFJ-335BT: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-008134
...and a deep cycle battery from Sam's Club.

If you'd like to take a step up in radios, this is one of the most popular transceivers out there currently:
ICOM IC-7300: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=71-002065

A step down would be another popular radio:
XIEGU G90: https://www.radioddity.com/products/xiegu-g90-hf-transceiver

I'm sure someone can chime in here with some Yaesu radio suggestions as well. ICOM and Yaesu are the Ford/Chevy or Canon/Nikon equivalent in the ham radio world. I'm obviously an ICOM fanboi.

O2

[BushMasterBoy]

Iridium 9575A is the only real choice and is pricey. But it might save your life! Civilians can own one too.

The 9575A Satellite Phone is a military-grade 810F global satellite phone for government customers and offers an ingress protection rating of IP65, shock/water resistance and complete voice, data, and tracking capabilities.

https://www.ipinternational.net/global-satellite-internet/iridium-extreme-9575-push-to-talk/

[battlemidget]

Nice contact!
If you go up Pikes Peak, be sure to add "America's Mountain" to your callout.

[O2HeN2]

If you go up Pikes Peak, be sure to add "America's Mountain" to your callout.
Next week I'll be at the Las Palomas Wildlife Management area across the street from the SpaceX facility!

O2

[streetglideok]

Woke up this morning with the thought that this note really needs an addendum...

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): If you want to practice long-distance radio communication, right now all you need is the entry-level Technician license.

Typically, you need the next license up - a General license - to use the bands that will go around the world. Not so at the moment. We're nearing solar maximum, and that's causing the 10-meter band - typically a band that is of little use globally - to be wide open and quite useful for global communication. ...and this should be true for the next couple of years.

And a good, usable chunk (200kHz) of the 10m band is available for use by Technician class licensees.

Just how far can you communicate right now on the 10m band? Well Friday I rolled into Castlewood Canyon State Park on highway 85 between Colorado Springs and Denver, stuck a short, inexpensive magnetic-mount antenna on the top of my car, dialed into the Technician area of the 10m band and talked to... Sweden. Station SM3NRY to be specific.

To make a long story short, if you want to practice global communication, right now all you need is a Technician license, a HF transceiver, an antenna and a 12V battery - your car battery will do as long as you don't run it down too much. :)

So, if you've been thinking of a Technician license for SHTF communications, get your technician license now so you can practice using the HF bands. And if you already have your technician license, buy a HF transceiver now - and practice using the 10m band.

Links to the equipment I used to talk to Sweden are listed below, along with some alternatives. Note that they're mostly Ham Radio Outlet links, but nothing says you need to buy the stuff there.

Radio: ICOM IC-718: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-003490
Antenna: Shark S-F10: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016615
Mount: MFJ-335BT: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-008134
...and a deep cycle battery from Sam's Club.

If you'd like to take a step up in radios, this is one of the most popular transceivers out there currently:
ICOM IC-7300: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=71-002065

A step down would be another popular radio:
XIEGU G90: https://www.radioddity.com/products/xiegu-g90-hf-transceiver

I'm sure someone can chime in here with some Yaesu radio suggestions as well. ICOM and Yaesu are the Ford/Chevy or Canon/Nikon equivalent in the ham radio world. I'm obviously an ICOM fanboi.

O2
Yaesu FT 710 and 891 would be a couple of radios to recommend as well

[gnihcraes]

I run a Anytone AT-6666 10meter and am near castlewood canyon (castle rock) and have talked to North Carolina and Tennessee a couple of times on 60 watts. Base station with older CB Antenna tuned to the 10 meter band. Pretty cool to do.