Ham Radio

[Great-Kazoo]

The_Fly is a comm guy touch bases with him, he did some volunteer work during the High Fire.

[KevDen2005]

The_Fly is a comm guy touch bases with him, he did some volunteer work during the High Fire.

I think it would be awesome to help with comm stuff during an emergency like that too...

I am sure those guys are much appreciated.

[SpikeMike]

HAM radios, especially those with broad frequency ranges that include SSB (LSB/USB) are fantastic to have. But one should take the time to get licensed and take the time to learn Morse Code.

There are companies out there on the internet that sell kit radios for those of us who are on a budget. One that comes to mind is: http://youkits.com Check out their kits, this is a greta company that stands by the stuff.

Their TJ4A kit is a pretty good kit and yes, you need to know how to solder and read schematics (which is not all that hard.) Learning to solder is a requisite skill for suvival anyway, so learn it. You can get practice lab kits from Radioshack.

As far as EMP goes, you need to build a Faraday cage or box. There is a ton of information out on the internet on how to do this. Remember, grounding it to an "earth" ground is a must. Don't use your home's ground.