Communication

[M.Link]

I was thinking, if something actually happened and the government didn't want people communicating, they would probably screw up cell service, CB Radios, etc. I'm thinking about putting a VHF marine radio in my truck, as are so e of my friends. VHF radios work a lot better than CBs and VHF is what police, fire, etc use. I don't know if they would mess up their own communications. Any thoughts?

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[wiresparker]

M.Link
I would sugest you take the test for a tecknition amature license.
You then can get and install a 3 meter radio in your truck.
Two meter radios work both simplex (direct to another station) and duplex(thru' a repeter for much longer range)
wiresparker

 

[wiresparker]

M.Link
sorry, I ment 2 meter
sparks

 

[oregonshooter]

I'm thinking about putting a VHF marine radio in my truck

This is a FCC violation FYI. I thought about getting a HAM lic, but then figure the only comm need can be handled with a family channel radio if the cell is down.

 

[timbernet]

*edit* -- took too long to press submit ... duplicate reply
It is very, very, very illegal to operate a Marine band radio on land....

 

[deadeye]

*edit* -- took too long to press submit ... duplicate reply
It is very, very, very illegal to operate a Marine band radio on land....

If you want to communicate during a SHTF or Government blackout would you really give a rip if it was illegal?:huh:

 

[oregonshooter]

deadeye,

Yes. You will be prosecuted. If you are talking "revolution" comms then none of the standard radio applications are going to help you.

If you are talking Katrina SHTF, they will find you, and you are telling them every time you key up.

 

[M.Link]

I have LOTS of friends right now that have VHF Marine Radios in their truck. They use them hunting. The State Police and Yamhill County Sheriffs both know about this (they always run into eachother and stop and talk up in the hills). They never say anything to them. They know that the CB channels up there are over used by loggers. Also, here in the Linnton-Scappose area, a Vessel Assistance (boat towing) company have the radios in their trucks and they work everyday with Coast Guard and MCSO Marine Patrol. I think they have bigger fish to fry than you or I talking on a Marine radio.

 

[pchewn]

In an emergency, you can use any radio any way you deem necessary for the emergency. (e.g. Using a marine radio on land).

For example: It might be a good idea to have the marine band emergency frequency programmed into your HAM 2-meter radio for emergency use near the coast. The coast guard helicopters monitor this frequency and could be called if you had an emergency on land (near the coast).

 

[The Cheese]

If you really wanted to cover your bases, get both. A 2meter or better yet, get one of these. you get 2m, 70cm and a couple HF bands (think long distance communication bouncing signals off the ionosphere and such). That radio can also do cross band repeat which is pretty cool. Means that you can set it up to act like a mini repeater. Do this and then get one of these or one of these and it makes for a pretty sweet set up. You and your buddies will also need your ham radio licenses (which is cheap and very very easy to get, no more morse code requirement), but with the mobile units you can talk to people a long ways off. 50W of power on 2m can get you a long ways. You can also get better antennas and reach even further. With my crappy little 1/4wave (19") antenna I was able to talk to a guy, albeit barely, on the other side of a 1000ft tall hill 20miles a way from my driveway where I get piss poor signal (2m is pretty much line of sight). And that was with out a repeater. I can easily make the larch mtn WA repeater only using 5W and if I am off the valley floor a bit I can get the Salem Repeater from the west side of hillsboro. Frankly HAM radio has a bit more to offer than the marine bands. Plus with pretty much all HAM radios you get wide band receive which means you can listen on other frequencies that you are not allow to transmit on. So you can monitor the marine, airplane, short wave, private mobile and a few other communications freq that are in use. Kind of a nice feature IMO.

 

[M.Link]

All that HAM radio stuff sounds nice, but one reason I was looking at Marine radios is I can buy a nice radio for $150, a nice antenna for $50 and be done. I know HAM radios will cost me a lot more.

 

[The Cheese]

All that HAM radio stuff sounds nice, but one reason I was looking at Marine radios is I can buy a nice radio for $150, a nice antenna for $50 and be done. I know HAM radios will cost me a lot more.

I was $150 out the door with radio, coax cable, antenna and mount for my 2m mobile rig. Granted its not a quad band, but it gets the job done. Eventually I will get that Yaesu 8900, but for now this works and works pretty dang well. You can barely even see my antenna.

 

[Spray-n-pray]

All that HAM radio stuff sounds nice, but one reason I was looking at Marine radios is I can buy a nice radio for $150, a nice antenna for $50 and be done. I know HAM radios will cost me a lot more.

You can get a pretty cheap 2 meter radio off ebay for around 100 bucks. Add 20-30 more for an antenna and you're done.

 

[riverrat373]

Try one of these. TriSquare - 2-way Radio - Beyond FRS Beyond GMRS eXRS (TM) eXtreme Radio Service A frequency hopping radio that no one can monitor except the people you have programmed in! No license is required and they have better range than FRS and GMRS radios.They are very reasonable in cost, easy to program, and Bi-Mart carries them as well as Amazon.com and many electronic stores.

 

[bumpkin]

These Trisquare radio are nice - the frequency hopping feature is a big plus if you are concerned about SHTF scenarios - there's nothing worse than hungry cannibals eavesdropping on your private comms.

I would like to see a shootout between a pair of the Trisquare frequency-hoppers a pair of the more common FRS/GMRS radios. I think the extravagant claims of FRS/GMRS radio range are mostly Bee-esS and would like to see a fair comparison done under real-world conditions.

Most of these little radios will run on plain "AA" cells. Amazon is selling Energizer L91 lithium "AA" cells at $80 for 50 cells. They quote an expiration date of 2019 but mine just got here and all 50 have an expiration date of 2025. These Li cells have a very long shelf life, and the last ones I bought at Freddies were like $10 for four cells.

 

[riverrat373]

These Trisquare radio are nice - the frequency hopping feature is a big plus if you are concerned about SHTF scenarios - there's nothing worse than hungry cannibals eavesdropping on your private comms.

I would like to see a shootout between a pair of the Trisquare frequency-hoppers a pair of the more common FRS/GMRS radios. I think the extravagant claims of FRS/GMRS radio range are mostly Bee-esS and would like to see a fair comparison done under real-world conditions.

Most of these little radios will run on plain "AA" cells. Amazon is selling Energizer L91 lithium "AA" cells at $80 for 50 cells. They quote an expiration date of 2019 but mine just got here and all 50 have an expiration date of 2025. These Li cells have a very long shelf life, and the last ones I bought at Freddies were like $10 for four cells.

There was a shootout between the radios you mentioned on a internet website, but I don't remember where. A search should provide an answer. Yes, the long range that you see advertised for FRS/GMRS radios is under ideal conditions. Mostly open desert or on the ocean. All these radios operate under what is called "line of sight". Hills, buildings, trees etc will diminish the range. I do remember that the Trisquare radios beat out the competition for range.

 

[The Cheese]

YouTube - TriSquare XRS TSX300 Review Part 1

 

[oregonshooter]

What do you guys think of this option?
Puxing PX-777 PLUS VHF Hand Held Radio

 

[The Cheese]

What do you guys think of this option?
Puxing PX-777 PLUS VHF Hand Held Radio

still need a HAM license to talk on it. If you can spare an extra $50 I would get one of these in stead. Water proof for the most part and built by a reputable manufacturer. Very nice radio for the $$$. Plus if you live close to Tigard you can cruise down to Ham Radio Outlet on 99w and save the shipping costs.

 

[pokerace]

Ham Radio Outlet on 99w

where is it?