Whos first to know about a disaster, attack or emergency situation? Not the Media and not the local radio stations.
Law enforcement and emergency responders know what is going on before anyone else. In some situations a trucker has the upper hand on the first alert before LE and Emergency responders. So when you need to Bug Out or Bug In and "Get ready," time is everything and you cannot waste any of it. I am a registered first responder/EMT and I am currently a volunteer fire fighter. From my point of view as a prepper and as a emergency responder, here is my take on neccissary, mission critical pieces of equiptment for SHTF communications. Although you may not be communicating with some of these, hearing things as the happen means you are one step ahead of the not prepared neighbor. Be it a nuclear plant meltdown, a leaking city-wide gas pipe system, a terrorist attack, shoot out, massive MVA, HAZMAT spill or miltary invasion; if you are first hearing about it from Mr. Newsman, you lost valuable time.
-Programmable scanner with NOAA weather frequencies.
I own a handheld Radioshack scanner with NOAA and trunking capabilities as well as a Uniden Bearcat mounted in my car. The both ran in the $110-$150 range and both have an aprox range with the stock antennas of 40mi. Although I don't drive statewide often, I have every state and local town frequency in New Haven county, Litchfield county, Hartford county and the Springfield MA area, NYC and other areas around me. The Radioshack scanner has about 100 pre-programmed frequencies including aircraft unicom and HAM 2M Repeater.
The NOAA frequencies are great for weather updates (Capt. Obvious here).
-CB radio.
I own two but none are currently installed in my vehicle. One is a Cobra and the other is a vintage Brutt CB. I am sure everyone over the age of 30 had a CB radio in their vehicle at one time or another. I hope that most every person viewing this knows what a CB radio is and why it is good to own one. When I would drive down I-91 or I-95, if there was an unusal build up of traffic, I would turn on the CB and tune to channel 19. If there was an MVA and a trucker was near it, he/she would most likely alert other truck drivers (and me) to the MVA. When I would drive to Okemo VT, if the weather wasn't clear I would call out every couple of hours and ask how I91 north ahead of me is. If it is icy, moving slow etc, a trucker would be able to give me an accurate heads up. CB radios have upto 40 channels. most wouldn't be cluttered so if you have 5 people that are bugging in or out with you and cell towers are down (like we saw in Boston a short time ago) you all can communicate via the CB radio. Although the channels are all open, if you use codes and callsigns known only to your group, opsec shouldn't be violated.
I love eBay, and I was looking for a portable handheld CB radio. I came across many CB kits that I believe were around durring the Cold War and part of some sort of Civil Defense thing. Here is the one I purchased. Vintage Brutt Power Hand Held CB with Antenna and Car Lighter Power Cord Case | eBay
I tested it when I got it and it works, but because I am not near any major highways, I could not conduct a complete radiocheck. I do know it is 100% functional though and I did hear some chatter although it was not clear. For the $$, I believe it was worth it and I advised my friends and prepper buddies to buy similar ones as well. They are 100% mobile and I keep it in my vehicle "go bag."
Other than that, two way radios are a must have.![Smile [smile] [smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif)
Thanks for reading
-Dave
Law enforcement and emergency responders know what is going on before anyone else. In some situations a trucker has the upper hand on the first alert before LE and Emergency responders. So when you need to Bug Out or Bug In and "Get ready," time is everything and you cannot waste any of it. I am a registered first responder/EMT and I am currently a volunteer fire fighter. From my point of view as a prepper and as a emergency responder, here is my take on neccissary, mission critical pieces of equiptment for SHTF communications. Although you may not be communicating with some of these, hearing things as the happen means you are one step ahead of the not prepared neighbor. Be it a nuclear plant meltdown, a leaking city-wide gas pipe system, a terrorist attack, shoot out, massive MVA, HAZMAT spill or miltary invasion; if you are first hearing about it from Mr. Newsman, you lost valuable time.
-Programmable scanner with NOAA weather frequencies.
I own a handheld Radioshack scanner with NOAA and trunking capabilities as well as a Uniden Bearcat mounted in my car. The both ran in the $110-$150 range and both have an aprox range with the stock antennas of 40mi. Although I don't drive statewide often, I have every state and local town frequency in New Haven county, Litchfield county, Hartford county and the Springfield MA area, NYC and other areas around me. The Radioshack scanner has about 100 pre-programmed frequencies including aircraft unicom and HAM 2M Repeater.
The NOAA frequencies are great for weather updates (Capt. Obvious here).
-CB radio.
I own two but none are currently installed in my vehicle. One is a Cobra and the other is a vintage Brutt CB. I am sure everyone over the age of 30 had a CB radio in their vehicle at one time or another. I hope that most every person viewing this knows what a CB radio is and why it is good to own one. When I would drive down I-91 or I-95, if there was an unusal build up of traffic, I would turn on the CB and tune to channel 19. If there was an MVA and a trucker was near it, he/she would most likely alert other truck drivers (and me) to the MVA. When I would drive to Okemo VT, if the weather wasn't clear I would call out every couple of hours and ask how I91 north ahead of me is. If it is icy, moving slow etc, a trucker would be able to give me an accurate heads up. CB radios have upto 40 channels. most wouldn't be cluttered so if you have 5 people that are bugging in or out with you and cell towers are down (like we saw in Boston a short time ago) you all can communicate via the CB radio. Although the channels are all open, if you use codes and callsigns known only to your group, opsec shouldn't be violated.
I love eBay, and I was looking for a portable handheld CB radio. I came across many CB kits that I believe were around durring the Cold War and part of some sort of Civil Defense thing. Here is the one I purchased. Vintage Brutt Power Hand Held CB with Antenna and Car Lighter Power Cord Case | eBay
I tested it when I got it and it works, but because I am not near any major highways, I could not conduct a complete radiocheck. I do know it is 100% functional though and I did hear some chatter although it was not clear. For the $$, I believe it was worth it and I advised my friends and prepper buddies to buy similar ones as well. They are 100% mobile and I keep it in my vehicle "go bag."
Other than that, two way radios are a must have.
![Smile [smile] [smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif)
Thanks for reading
-Dave