Communication

[ScorpionHunter]

Just curious how many keep a few descent Motorola handheld radios around for short range (yeah, real short range,lol) communication?

Depending on the landscape where you live you might even get a descent range. I keep 3 around the house and considering picking up another set.


Sorry if this is a little OT from the big boy radio discussions.

I don't have a huge property, but I leave one walkie talkie on in the charger in the kitchen and take one with me if I have to do any heavy work. If I do something stupid, I figure my wife or kids will have sympathy and come help before I can crawl back to the house.

I have my license, but don't have time to do it as a hobby yet. I did put mobile radios in the cars in case there's an emergency outside of cell phone range. I think in addition to having the radios, a working knowledge of antennae can make the difference between making a contact or not.

 

[Sapper740]

Now that one would be intimately familiar, having been literally umbilically attached to a prick 25 as a FO. Damned antennae was used as a registration point for the bad guys, and the mic cord wasn't near long enough... But it saved our butts many times.

I got tagged to be our Engineering unit RTO since I was the only one who paid attention during the radio procedure lesson and knew the phonetic alphabet. My bad. I carried the PRC 77 around a lot. First and most important lesson I learned was to never say "Repeat" in place of "Say Again".

 

[karlac]

First and most important lesson I learned was to never say "Repeat" in place of "Say Again".

LOL Especially if "fire for effect" was part of a preceding transmission...

 

[craftkr]

Been wanting to get into it. But it's so damn expensive. Not only that but I'm more of a hands on learner and I think the books have only confused me more.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

It's not that expensive, I put a HAM study application on my phone and went and took the test. I bought one of the little baofeng handheld, played around with it for the first couple of months and finally upgraded to a radio for my truck.

I grew up using CB's and continued to play around with them till about a year ago. A friend got me considering HAM, and since then we utilize the radios allot. No doubt in my mind that it will provide decent communicaiton post SHTF. Mainly on simplex, don't want to be dependent of repeaters as if power is out for an extended period of time they won't be operating.

I pushed off getting my HAM lic. for a few years, and once I finally just did it I could kick myself in the butt for not doing it sooner.

 

[craftkr]

I got tagged to be our Engineering unit RTO since I was the only one who paid attention during the radio procedure lesson and knew the phonetic alphabet. My bad. I carried the PRC 77 around a lot. First and most important lesson I learned was to never say "Repeat" in place of "Say Again".

LOL Especially if "fire for effect" was part of a preceding transmission...

Glad I'm not the only one that freaks out if I hear "Repeat" on the radio..... start having flashbacks. I was a battery powered grunt (USMC). Toated a variaty of HF, UHV, VHF, Sat Comm rigs on my back. It was fun, the newer technology was cool but I always noticed the importance of old school HF. It was always the backup net for comms.

 

[PhulesAu]

Google 2 meter tape measure antennas. I'very not had any hands on with a prc, but"if" I remember correctly these antennas might look familiar.

 

[karlac]

Google 2 meter tape measure antennas. I'very not had any hands on with a prc, but"if" I remember correctly these antennas might look familiar.

Yeah, they did bend much like a tape measure. Problem was, and seemingly when you needed it most, the best reception was always when the damned antenna was in a position that was highly visible.

 

[craftkr]

Yeah, they did bend much like a tape measure. Problem was, and seemingly when you needed it most, the best reception was always when the damned antenna was in a position that was highly visible.

IF you could get comms with the shorter tape antenna. And the 10 ft antenna on the PRC-119 talked well..... but you had a 10 ft antenna that wasn't really realistic to move aorund with. You could manage decent comms with the 10 ft antenna broke down to about 1.5 ft.

Ideally if on patrol I liked the PRC-104 with slash wire cut to freq and just drag it behind you. But as SATCOMM technology allowed you to be mobile and talk vs. fixed position with setting up antenna I really liked that.

 

[karlac]

IF you could get comms with the shorter tape antenna. And the 10 ft antenna on the PRC-119 talked well..... but you had a 10 ft antenna that wasn't really realistic to move aorund with. You could manage decent comms with the 10 ft antenna broke down to about 1.5 ft.

Ideally if on patrol I liked the PRC-104 with slash wire cut to freq and just drag it behind you. But as SATCOMM technology allowed you to be mobile and talk vs. fixed position with setting up antenna I really liked that.

Unit I was mostly working with during a seven month period as an FO, was an ARVN Ranger unit that had an American supplied TOE that didn't leave much choice in equimpment. Complicated by the fact that their AO was mostly in violation of another Country's neutrality.

 

[PhulesAu]

Ya know. unless it was a river or big mountain range , I never could find the damn map lines on the ground.

 

[karlac]

Ya know. unless it was a river or big mountain range , I never could find the damn map lines on the ground.

lol

Trick of the trade for ya: Shoot a single WP (White Phosphorus) round where two gridlines on your map cross ... with a height of burst set at 1500' above the ground. If you're that lost, and it happens in triple canopy, you might have to climb a tree, but it'll get you your bearings/unlost quickly.

Another trick, but more important: When we stopped at night, we did it right before dusk, then moved a few hundred meters from where we stopped and dug in, as the bad guys couldn't get a good fix on us in the dark. I would then get a registration (based on 'walking rounds" below), from the closet battery firing support, and fire four rounds, 400 meters from our dug in position and at all four points of the compass. If we got hit that night, it was easy to adjust fire to 'danger close' in a matter of seconds if need be.

Moving out the next morning, I "walked" a round (based on one of those rounds fired the night before) about 400 to 800m away in the direction we were going, and we'd walk to the sound. Repeat all day long. I also counted every other step in my head to get the distance, and used a compass for bearing. In addition, had a mirror, with a hole cut it in, to flash a passing chopper and get him to give me a coordinate fix from his viewpoint.

When it is your job to know where you are on the ground at all times, and to provide coordinates to get your ass out of a crack, you do what you gotta do...


To keep it on topic, couldn't do that without commo.

 

[TheDan]

Google 2 meter tape measure antennas.

haha... That's one way to measure your elements.

Another trick...

Navigation by artillery. Now that's cool.

 

[HKaltwasser]

As much as I hate to promote anything Chinese made, Baofeng makes a good handheld HAM radio.

Check these out: Amazon.com : 2pcs Baofeng New UV-82 VHF/UHF 137-174/400-520MHz Handheld Dual Band Two-Way Radio Walkie Talkie : Frs Two Way Radios : Car Electronics

I hear ya, I would much rather have an American made unit, but this may get me started. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Sapper740]

Unit I was mostly working with during a seven month period as an FO, was an ARVN Ranger unit that had an American supplied TOE that didn't leave much choice in equimpment. Complicated by the fact that their AO was mostly in violation of another Country's neutrality.

Sounds like you were involved in some Daniel Boone or Prairie Fire missions.

 

[HKaltwasser]

Okay, I received one of my two hand held HAMS. I got my FRN # and applied for a GMRS to get started. Is this a good place to get to know some rules and frequencies in HAM?

 

[Booyah]

There are some basic things about HAM radio that you can start picking up by operating on GMRS but that won't get you even close to being all the way there. Outside of the technical side of radio (like home-brewing your own RF circuits and antenna, which used to be a big part of the hobby but has been in a long steady decline since you could start buying equipment off the shelf) HAM really is mainly a social hobby. The best way to learn the ropes is to start hanging out with other HAMs. Find yourself an 'Elmer'...that is HAM slang for a mentor. There are books that can teach you all the rules but there is a crap ton of etiquette and best practices that have just naturally evolved over the years and that you will best learn by hanging out with those who have been in the community for a long time. Get some books, find a club/group near you and introduce yourself.

Found a club real close to you at Roadrunner Microwave Group. They have kind of a specialized interest but they are HAMs and I am sure they would love to have you. There is also Austin Amateur Radio Club.

Good luck and 73s, KC5AWP

 

[Rebel]

My SHTF plan is to buy many long rolls of string and a whole sleeve of Dixie cups.

 

[equin]

This is a great topic (communication). My Dad lives in Biloxi. When Katrina hit, all the cell towers and landline telephone poles were knocked down. No one could call down there, and the folks down there couldn't call anyone. With the news broadcasting nothing but death, chaos and mayhem, I had no idea if my Dad was alive or not. I didn't (and still don't) have a HAM radio, but during my time of despair worrying about my Dad, I sure I wish I had one! Instead, I did the next logical thing and loaded up my truck with a bunch of spare gas, water and food and drove down from Dallas to find him. Luckily, he was safe and sound, despite the damage to his home (which is many miles inland, by the way). He didn't get any phone service (landline or cell) til a few weeks later!

 

[uglyslidedave]

Any thought of bringing this to the Fort Worth side of heaven?

 

[Saltyag2010]

It won't be zombies. It'll be robots or the government. Quit being so damn paranoid.