Survival - Communication Go Kit

quote]Originally posted by DieBravely

Well what can you do? I recently listened to the audiobook One Second After, which details what America would be like, if a nuke was detonated in the upper atmosphere and the electromagnetic pulse from that bomb was tuned to fry electronics, it would fry all the electronics in the country sending America back to the dark ages.



This is where knowledge and preparation is important: The way you think will define your survival. Electronic gears can be "Hardened":

Hardening
Despite the variety of complex prob-
lems the communications operator is
faced with, there are a number of useful
approaches to prevent or work around
difficulties caused by nuclear weapons.
Using established guidelines, it is possible
to design modern solid-state equipment
with reduced susceptibility to nuclear ef-
fects. When a piece of equipment is
designed to operate within a nuclear en-
vironment without degradation it is said
to be "hardened." A number of harden-
ing techniques have proven to be effec-
tive. As far as impacts on the atmosphere
are concerned, there is not much that can
be done except to be knowledgeable as to
the effects one might experience and to
alter operational methods (switch bands,
for example) to bypass the impacts of
such disturbances.

More info here: blockyourid.com...

Originally posted by Trueman

Originally posted by Hellhound604

Originally posted by Trueman
Does it work during an strong CME ?

ALL HF radio communications depend on the ionosphere for propagation, that is physics, and VHF doesn't, but if some mishap takes out all repeaters, VHF and UHF is gone ..... then you need HF, which requires a bit more knowledge... with HF, if you know your stuff, and know about propagation, and how the ionosphere affects it, and know about MUF, LUF and NVIS, and dead zones, and ground-wave propagation, and sky-wave propagation, you can get your signal out to somebody, somewhere .... rofl ....

Thanks for such a good answer. So, in simple words you need to have a lot of knowledge and good luck to use this equipment successfully under CME conditions. Besides that, I think batteries will be a problem right?

nah, just a little knowledge and the will to learn.
Example: You don't have to be an engineer to build a car from pieces.
Rednecks do it all the time..in their backyards..from junk parts. go to any local dirt track raceway.






believe me, you'll have more trouble mastering an Iphone than ham radio operation.

reply to post by chameleonwalker


yea. if you got the money. if you don't you live up a holler, once a vehicle comes down, drop a tree.......let it get in. drop another. ambush it. see who it is......if friendly......o.k. if foe, take their stuff........take the entry thing out....conceal the site..........stay alive. simply put, not everyone has money to buy the stuff so you either take it and take the chance of triangulation......any radio person knows that the military can triangulate you with your rf transmission. comm is good but it can get you killed.......see, "look at me, here i am and I have good stuff, like this transmitting radio here.......come get me.......you know where i am at least a boot march from my signal...." oh oops I did not want them to find me.........run...............too late. the flying military plane has you. bye. so much for fancy stuff.

Originally posted by Hellhound604
reply to post by speaknoevil07

 

sorry, if you steal a HF radio, you wouldn't be able to make it work without some knowledge ....... to use HF is more of an art than a science, if you don't have that, sorry .......

I can't agree more on the that post!!!! How many major earthquakes we had since 5 or 7 years around the world? About half a dozen of so. What is the first thing to be be established right after a huge disaster? The communication network!

Haiti Earthquake Report Via Amateur Radio

When telephones, internet, and power are cut off, Amateur Radio fills vital communications needs. Fred Moore of Florida, callsign W3ZU provides a radio/telephone patch for Jean-Robert Gaillard, callsign HH2JR, of Port au Prince. Audio captured by Brian Crow. Images (c) their respective owners.

www.youtube.com...

Well if you are going to be a reporter during the apocalypse, you need more than just that equipment. You need a Brink's truck.
And you need to do some quick and dirty modifications inside.

At the back, you need to put a barrier, giving yourself room to wash off, before entering the rest of the vehicle.

And you have to have facilities inside to survive like camping. And if you plan to take a passenger or let anyone in at all, you need a quarantine area inside. Outside you will see dead people walking, at least they will look like they are dead, and they will be disease infested. The air may be toxic. Chemical explosions, radiation fallout smoke from fires etc.

So inside you need air filtration, with ultraviolet and a Brink's truck has managed air intake so you can modify that system and filter the air.

Ideally it would be nice to have some means of firing smoke grenades out of the top to dispel crowds etc who may block your way. And of course night vision cameras. And if possible if you were really on the ball, then a portable in the field spectrum analyzer to test air quality.
Probably you will need radiation badges, and for sure a chlorine detector, and oxygen bottle behind the driver seat. If the detector goes off, you have no time at all to drive out of there to high ground.

It can push vehicles out of the way it is made to do that. You can shoot out its tires it will still run, it has special tires.

It can take small arms fire and has ports that you can return fire out of. The only thing it is powerless against is rocket launcher and above.

So then your radio equipment would be useful in helping people to know the situation. Even in their shelters, you could be feeding them info about the roving hordes, the environment etc.

Providing there isn't an EMP attack.

So I looked at some radio equipment and have not yet decided what to get but I am thinking hand held, so that I can send info to a superstation. You know be a node and not a hub.

www.yaesu.com...

Originally posted by speaknoevil07
reply to post by chameleonwalker

 

yea. if you got the money. if you don't you live up a holler, once a vehicle comes down, drop a tree.......let it get in. drop another. ambush it. see who it is......if friendly......o.k. if foe, take their stuff........take the entry thing out....conceal the site..........stay alive.

You see if people have radios and they know that you "take their stuff" on the road they'll spread the word on the airwaves to warn travelers to not go there or they will ask if such or such roads are safe.

If you don't have a way to communicate you'll never know that some douch bags are stealling stuff on the raod. So the community will probably going to use the same radios to organize and guide a troop that will hunt down those stealing stuff.

reply to post by chameleonwalker


Don't overestimate EMP's. If your equipment is totally disconnected from any antennas, and a power supply, it is safe. For additional protection, you can wrap tin-foil around the case your equipment is in. Of course, if your equipment is connected to an external antenna, and the mains-supple, it is a different matter. Have your back-up set in your basement, not connected to anything, and after TSHF-event, you can drag out your emergency equipment.

EMP is higly exaggerated. You can EMP-proof your equipment, but that is NOT a cheap solution. Think of EMP as a lightning bolt, lots of similarities, different waveforms, different rise-and-decay times, but the same. How do you protect your TV from a possible lightning strike? by unplugging it, both the mains, and the antenna. if you are really paranoid, cover your TV with tin-foil all over, but that is all there is to it..... of course, you can't watch TV during the lightning storm, but do you really want to talk over your radio when EMP bombs are going off???

it reminds me, once I had to design EMP-hardened equipment for military aircraft, and the customer really insisted in some really ridicilous specifications. After the design phase, I had to go to a very expensive testing-house to have it tested, and after a couple of weeks there, after destroying a LOT of their equipment, (but my equipment still worked) their chief engineer just looked at me, and asked why these tests were needed, as any human that would have operated the equipment under these conditions, would have been dead in any case... (and they would have known, they were part of the committee that developed those EMP specifications after all.) To give you an idea, it was to have a 10 000 000W microwave blasted directly into the equipment from a distance of 1m....

So, EMP hardening is quite possible, but you can't operate the equipment at that instance in any case. So, just have some spare equipment in your basement, and when everything is safe, come out, lay out new antennas (most likely your old antennas would have shorted out in any case), and that is all there is to it....

Originally posted by Rocketman7
So I looked at some radio equipment and have not yet decided what to get but I am thinking hand held, so that I can send info to a superstation. You know be a node and not a hub.

www.yaesu.com...

edit on 7-10-2011 by Rocketman7 because: typo

You might want to look at the folliowing KG-UVD1P:
www.radioshop888.com...

I have one like and you can modify it with on your computer with a cable.

The Price $106 delivered in your home in the US

reply to post by chameleonwalker


LOL, but that is a VHF/UHF radio .... under SHTF conditions I would be more comfortable with HF, lol ..... and hey, what is more fun than building your own working HF rig , lol ....

but still, even with HF/VHF/UHF, it is not quite that simple as it. For starters, you need to know the correct frequency (or channel) to be on, and I can remember my exasperation trying to teach some folk about PTT!!!!!!! You need to press this little button to talk, AND release it to be able to hear people talking to you!!!!! ... and of course, after PTT came that frigging Squelch knob, rofl ..... Of course, for most people it is not an issue, but for some ...... it really drove me crazy!!!!!

reply to post by Hellhound604


Absolutely! the KG-UVD1P is a VHF/UHF radio. With a good antenna and 5W you can reach several miles. It's pretty good for local communication. But you see Hellhound604 you understand the importance of communication. The only reason why this civilization exist is because of communication.

But too many people prefer to complain, watch football and drink booze than actually trying to get something done in their life. It's insane to see the level of negativity so far in here.

Originally posted by DieBravely

Sorry for the sarcasm, but I'm making a valid point. The vast majority of us can barely keep our head above water, much less afford this expensive stuff.

Watch the following and that will put some perspective in you life:

www.youtube.com...

Originally posted by chameleonwalker

You might want to look at the folliowing KG-UVD1P:
www.radioshop888.com...

I have one like and you can modify it with on your computer with a cable.

The Price $106 delivered in your home in the US

The price is right thats for sure. I have 500 bucks put away for this and this is what I was going to buy, for 349 and spend about a hundred on accessories.

www.universal-radio.com...

So then is the radio you quoted a better radio? IS it going to last like a Yeasu?

Do you think that if I bought two of the 100 buck ones, I would be better off than one Yeasu?

i was going put the same system together even thought about the maxpedition versipack

yaesu ft-817nd is a good radio from what i have read and the youtube videos i watched.

pair it up with a folding solar panel theres a youtube video out there with that system setup and was going to get one of the goal zero sherpa power packs.

thats a great setup

Originally posted by Rocketman7
So then is the radio you quoted a better radio? IS it going to last like a Yeasu?

Do you think that if I bought two of the 100 buck ones, I would be better off than one Yeasu?

edit on 7-10-2011 by Rocketman7 because: typo

I've that radio since more than a year and the radio is build like tank! Never got a single problem with it.

You can see what people think about it here: www.eham.net...

Yeasu you pay A LOT for the name. If you want a "brand" radio you'll better with a ICOM.

You can also look on Ebay: www.ebay.com... ticky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_sc=1

Originally posted by chameleonwalker

I've that radio since more than a year and the radio is build like tank! Never got a single problem with it.

You can see what people think about it here: www.eham.net...

Yeasu you pay A LOT for the name. If you want a "brand" radio you'll better with a ICOM.

You can also look on Ebay: www.ebay.com... ticky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_sc=1

Well I might take a chance on it since the price is right. But I looked at your review link and this is the first review!

"If it works now, it won't down the road. Just a piece of junk. I'm sorry, but this radio should not even be in OUR market. It's not even worthy."

Here is the spec sheet for the Yeasu, is the capability the same as the one you have? Can you send and receive data packets using your radio? Like pictures? Can you access the Internet by connecting it to your lap top?

www.universal-radio.com...

You see I think this one is capable of sending data packets to a hub, like a superstation, then you have a kind of network like a BBS (Bulletin Board System)

The Internet may be down but maybe you can create a network using ham radio packets. People do that now don't they?

Originally posted by neo96

yaesu ft-817nd is a good radio from what i have read and the youtube videos i watched.

The FT-817ND is GREAT portable radio because it's a TRUE QRP(5W) rig. With one or two ezternal get battery ($15 each) you'll run forever with a good solar panel.

After if you need more power you can still go with the QRP to 30-35W HF Packer Amp Version 4 Edition (amplifier) www.hfprojectsyahoo.com...

The selection of your radio will depend of your needs and finance. In case of emergency you want to communicate from 0 - 400 miles maximum.

Under the best condition you'll want two radio (redundancy):

1 for VHF/UHF
1 for HF

reply to post by Rocketman7



guys calm down, if you want a cheap solution, build your own, or get a kit (damn, pity Heathkit isn't with us anymore), but Yeasu, Kenwood, Icom, and a lot of other brands are all the same. It is like the difference between Mercedes, BMW and Toyota. All I know is that under a SHTF situation, I wouldn't like any of them, because if they break down, I most probably can't fix any of them, unless I am in a workshop, with workshop manuals, and the such .
and about solar cells and chargers ..... some of my colleagues looked strangely at me when I would rather recommend a hand-crank generator, rather than a solar charger..... Do you know how long it takes for a solar charger to charge batteries you need for a 100W HF rig????? (was a couple of days just to get a couple of minutes of talk time)..... do the sums, say 100W at 50% efficiency (normal for a linear amp), that equates to 15A from 12V when you talk, and a solar panel can give you maybe 0.5A at 12 V under bright daylight.... rather have some friend, or family member cranking the # out of a hand-cranked generator for a couple of seconds when you talk, lol ..... and then have a solar panel to charge the batteries when you are just listening .... but of course, when I was at my old company, I kept on pushing them to invest development in fuel cells.........that is another option, you just add some more of your moonshine every couple of days instead of drinking it all

reply to post by chameleonwalker


that video i watch the dude was running it without the battery pack just straight off the folding solar panel.

gotta say really want one

reply to post by chameleonwalker


of course, if you want really rugged (and waterproof) comms equipment, and you are willing to spend some time on refurbishing, lots of military forces have sales of their redundant comms equipment every now and then, and I can promise you, your ICOMS, Yeasu's, Kenwoods, etc, etc...... are not a match for that equipment as far as reliability is concerned.... (of course, you will miss out on some of the latest and most modern gimmicks, but if we are in a life-or-death situation, we don't care about gimmicks, do we???)

Originally posted by Hellhound604

it reminds me, once I had to design EMP-hardened equipment for military aircraft, and the customer really

Have you listened to One Second After? Great read. It is written for the lowest common denominator as probably a Pentagon sponsored awareness campaign but still good doom reading.

In that story one of the survivors in the militia in this small town says, "Airforce One wasn't hardened enough? We wouldn't be that dumb would we? (The President dies on day one when airforce one goes down since he was put into the air as soon as they suspected a missile launch or some BS. I mean how long does it take a missile to get from a container ship to the upper atmosphere? 200 miles, well maybe thats enough time to get onboard)

Well I kindof figured it was exaggerated. A car parked in a parkade would probably be ok don't you think?.

I doubt that EMP will be the method. Solar flare is similar though isn't it?