yanNov 13, 2022
what ham radio setup should i get for disaster prep (cheapness/portability preferred)
Show threadDan TurnerNov 13, 2022

@bcrypt depends on what role you expect to play in a disaster, which also depends on which disasters you expect.

Shelter in place/evacuee? A regular radio with weather radio functions.

Not involved in the rescue, but you want to check in on friends/family? Maybe a CB or FRS radio.

Need to coordinate with people far outside the affected area? HF/MF rig

Directing search and rescue (SAR) teams? VHF/UHF rig.

On an SAR team? VHF/UHF handheld.

Show threadDan Turner

@bcrypt more often than not, your antenna size and placement is the biggest factor.

You might want alternate power if you think the grid might go down. Handhelds and in-car rigs don't usually suffer from this, but base stations often do.

In big disasters these might not work so well. During the TX blackouts I heard reports that ≈every bit of spectrum was busy.

Nov 13, 2022 at 7:32amWeb