Emergency radios

[Mac66]

Any particular recommendations on a Baofeng model? If you have two is it like a walkie-talkie? What is the range?

The Baofeng UV5R is the most prolific and popular dual band model.

I have some good ham radios but I use the Baofengs most of the time since no one else in the family is a ham and using them as just person to person walkie talkies means they become familiar with them.

As BD said, they are cheap. I will add that they are also very versatile. You can program them on all kinds of UHF and VHF bands including ham freqs, business class radio, MURS, GMRS/FRS, Marine, and some more obscure freqs into them. You can also program UHF/VHF EMS/Fire/ some police (who haven't gone to digital) and use it as a public safety scanner. Not to mention regular FM radio stations.

Technically you aren't supposed to use them on GMRS/FRS or MURS or on business freqs, or on ham without a license but using them on GMRS/FRS, MURS and business freqs is very common. Literally millions of people ignore the FCC regulations and use unlicensed GMRS radios. And in an emergency, there are no rules. When I was in Alaska a few years ago, my wife and I took them on our hikes in case we got separated. I had programed a couple repeater channels and national park operations channels into them which I monitored. I was surprised to learn that the NP base operations on Mt. McKinley use use GMRS to communicate with climbers up on the mountain. Many of these guys were using Baofeng radios.

As for range...they are 4 watt radios. You get a mile, maybe a mile and a half radio to radio, depending on antenna. (upgraded antennas help with range. Maybe 2 miles line of sight over water, or mountain top to mountain top. Repeaters are a whole different thing. And...there are a whole bunch of aftermarket headsets, ear phones, blue tooth adapters, microphones available for them. I just bought a set of remote headphones/microphones that fit in a motorcycle helmet so we can use the radios when riding the mini bikes.

[David]

Thank you Mac and BD for the education. This will need to be something that I look more heavily into as it is not a strong area of my preps.

I'm going to charge this one up tomorrow and check it out to make sure it's up to snuff.

I charged up the Eton FR-400 today. It has a red light that comes on when the adapter is plugged in but no indicator of charge level. I charged it for 7+ hours and figured it was enough. Tried it out and it worked fine. Able to pick up AM, FM, TV1 and TV2. Also had 'weather' as an option, meaning NOAA but I did not pick anything up on that band. I did pick up AM and FM loud and clear. TV1/2 I did pick up stuff but couldn't tell if it was actually a local channel. The light, emergency light and siren work quite well.

So I'll look for either a second emergency radio or one of the Baofeng which looks to be a better overall option.

[David]

https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV-5R-13 ... 3D&sr=8-3#

3-year service plan is only $2.99.

[bdcochran]

So you motivated me to review some of my communications gear yesterday. I located 3 FRS units, unused, that I will give to relatives this month - range too short. Otherwise I am covered by 36 mile range units.

Remember, things are constantly changing, items wear out and spares can transform themselves into clutter.

So, I also threw out a number of corroded aaa batteries.

Two old stories.

1. I had two male relatives who lived together. When the second one died, the City sent two large dump trucks to the house and filled them.
2. My parents built a house in 1957. In about 1972, the house was sold. I went and visited and all the clutter had disappeared. I asked my mother what happened. She had had the city send a dump truck that was filled.


Fighting the clutter, upgrading and storing properly are ongoing survival chores.

[Mac66]

So you motivated me to review some of my communications gear yesterday. I located 3 FRS units, unused, that I will give to relatives this month - range too short. Otherwise I am covered by 36 mile range units.

FRS are 1/2 watt radios by regulation. Newer bubble pack GMRS/FRS hybrid radios are rated at 2 watts but are limited by short, permanently affixed antennas. Older ones were limited to 1 watt. In either case you'd be lucky to get 1/2 mile, more like 1/4 mile range despite the claims.

Over 2 watts, GMRS radios are type accepted and require an FCC license which is $70 for 10 years. A license allows you to access GMRS repeaters. I used to have a GMRS license but let it lapse when I couldn't find any repeaters to use.* Virtually nobody gets a GMRS license these days but many i.e, millions of people program the Baofeng radios and use them on GMRS/FRS channels.

*The license is good for everyone in your immediate family. When I couldn't find any GMRS repeaters I looked into setting up my own repeater on my hunting property/cabin. That way it would cover my 52 acres and miles in all directions, particularly the ORV trails in the area. I wasn't at the property enough to justify putting up a large antenna tower and buying the necessary equipment. Now that I have a house up there I may look into it again.

[bdcochran]

https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2013/0 ... nications/

I had been wondering about who to devise a communications protocol that was effective and precise after shtf. Who wants to wait until shtf to develop a plan? So, the foregoing is a good plan. I am printing out a copy for each of my communications devices and putting it in a plastic baggie. I already keep a number of inexpensive watches for shtf for members of my circle.

You have to be able to communicate and coordinate.It is not enough to buy a $25 PRC made communication device and stuff it away in a box. You need to have written instructions, a watch and a communication device to keep people in contact with one another.

I have a pile of cheap and sometimes used Timex and Seiko watches. I just didn't have a communications plan until this evening.

[tom mac]

cheat sheets for UV5R

https://www.miklor.com/uv5r/UV5R-MenuDef.php

https://www.multnomahares.org/wp-conten ... -MJS-2.pdf

Cheat sheet for other radios
https://www.ke4rx.org/cheatsheet/

[Mac66]

https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2013/0 ... nications/

I had been wondering about who to devise a communications protocol that was effective and precise after shtf. Who wants to wait until shtf to develop a plan? So, the foregoing is a good plan. I am printing out a copy for each of my communications devices and putting it in a plastic baggie. I already keep a number of inexpensive watches for shtf for members of my circle.

You have to be able to communicate and coordinate.It is not enough to buy a $25 PRC made communication device and stuff it away in a box. You need to have written instructions, a watch and a communication device to keep people in contact with one another.

I have a pile of cheap and sometimes used Timex and Seiko watches. I just didn't have a communications plan until this evening.

The radiofreq plan is as good a plan as any. It's what I use. I also programmed my Baofengs with the plan's freq and printed them out to keep with each radio along with the comm plan.

I will be adding Tom's cheat sheets to my printouts as well.

[tom mac]

read thru the 333 info... and it is good and uses some sound principles

Sort of the old morning (around sunrise), noon, night ( sunset ) based on a limited battery usage.

But still trying to find a GOOD portable solar panel that will work on 12v

[Mac66]

Btw, Baofeng now makes a 8 watt handheld called the uv8r. That would my choice for my next radio.