Communication if Times get Bad

[AJMD429]

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https://rumble.com/v11ld8v-cb-radio-cou ... speech.htm

Perhaps this would be something we should all get familiar with...

Not the range of the Ham Bands but easy to use.

[AmBraCol]

And they still show up regularly at yard sales, etc so not hard to obtain. I remember back in the day a fellow had one down in the Amazon basin. Not "kosher" by any means, had it boosted to where he could pick up traffic from across the US of A.

[Bill in Oregon]

Those are almost nostalgia items now, but Doc, you make a good point.

[crs]

Still have mine from years ago. I will get it and see if it still works.

[OldWin]

Still have them in the Jeeps.

[jeepnik]

Shortwave is much better than CB. But folks shy away from Amature Radio because of the licensing requirements. In truth, it pretty simple to get licensed. There are on line resources available. And, you don't have to get a General, much less an Extra to get started. Technician limits your broadcast frequency and strength, but for many it's all that's needed.

[yooper2]

I haven't messed around with CB since middle school. My friends and I scoured junkyards to cobble together a few working sets that we kept in our rooms for unmonitored communication. My mom was a really good sport about the 2x4 screwed to the window sill that held my antenna.


Eric

[Grizz]

CB radio is the 11 meter band. that band can light up on fire depending on the ionosphere. two-way radios are good all the time. if you learn learn morse code, easy to do, 5 watts to the right antenna at the right time will get you halfway or more around the world. here is a phone capable transceiver kit: https://www.qrpkits.com/bitx20a.html these kits are very high quality.

of course if it gets that bad we might just need bullhorns and simple codes: "aj 97 move 2 #9f!-5y785, repeat ..." etc.

the technician class license has some morse code opportunities at 80M and 10M it believe. and HF is always fun fun fun. and maybe HF phone is available to technician class licenses somewhere. look around ham events and garage sales. i used to build tube transmitters on television chassis.

high quality kit radios are available for people who like to do that. example: https://www.qrpkits.com/tribander.html i have this kit and plan to build it for the boat expedition. mine will transmit and receive digital comms on 80 meters, 40 meters, and 10 meters.
there are also kits like this to make SSB radios for HF. [ single side band for high frequency]

not everyone needs a new hobby. AND ham radio licensing is OWNED BY THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, and is a vector into the details of your life if you pee them off.

†

[jeepnik]

Of course the French didn’t ask for Nazi approval to operate radios during WW II. Just a historical note mind you.

[OldWin]

I haven't messed around with CB since middle school. My friends and I scoured junkyards to cobble together a few working sets that we kept in our rooms for unmonitored communication. My mom was a really good sport about the 2x4 screwed to the window sill that held my antenna.


Eric

We did that same thing! Me and my buddies would talk every night when we went to bed. I had an old Realistic Navaho base set beside my bed. I still have it.

[gamekeeper]

Back in the 80s I used CB radios when on night time poacher patrol, they worked well.

[Grizz]

Of course the French didn’t ask for Nazi approval to operate radios during WW II. Just a historical note mind you.

absolutely, this is a fact. now days one ham game is to track down a transmitter. a skillfully hidden one. then the players charge around with their directional antennas and compete to be the first there. IMHO, the best use of a transmitter is for bait to trap the kill squads...

all hypothetical. but'cept you can find rf sources with a cell phone now.......

[piller]

Your own code is easy enough. Change it daily. Base it on pages from an obscure book. Use a keyed microphone to draw in the ones you need to eliminate. Never let any of them live or get a message out.

[Griff]

A "CB"? What's dat? I think I have 6 or 7 of 'em... Enforcement is nearly non-existent. I think there's 3 in my truck right now. I have a converted 10 meter radio... and it stays turned on, but the volume all the way down nearly 99% of the time. When I started driving, cell phones were nearly non-existent... now EVERYONE has one, and few drivers use their CB anymore, if they even have one! Some places that used to communicate with drivers waiting to load or unload via CB, have gone to cell phone. If I turn my volume up, I can go for hours before I hear a conversation.

[jeepnik]

Speaking of cell phones, I wonder if there are plans to simply pelosi them down if the government decides to do so.

[Grizz]

Speaking of cell phones, I wonder if there are plans to simply pelosi them down if the government decides to do so.

i am sure that there isn't anything they can't break. i imagine they can have their own version of the internet kill switch. i think "they" have their own isolated and mostly secure internet. imagine the racket a couple of guys with CB radios would make if all the other RF noise suddenly stopped. unless it was EMP attack. it reminds me that i still need to build a vacuum tube transmitter with discreet components.

https://survivalist101.com/emp/

[JimT]

For years I ran a Single Sideband on 11 meters ... in and out of the CB band. During the 80's it was easy to talk to Alaska, South America, Europe on 5 watts. I had a home built 3 element beam antenna 55 feet in the air. Our house was close to 5000 feet elevation. On a clear night I could talk to Phoenix over 150 miles away. Signal would not even move the needle but I could hear them clear.

I have QSL cards from all over ..

[jeepnik]

The ionosphere is a strange and unpredictable critter.