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This is one of the things that got me into ham. If cell phones and internet go down, most people can only communicate as far as they can yell.

by calebm 8y ago

criddell 8y ago
None of the other people I communicate with are hams, so if the grid goes away, I'm still pretty much limited to yelling.
- scarecrowbob 8y ago
  I dunno... one part of ham radio is acting as a relay. If there are two groups of folks, and they each have a ham in them at least the groups can relay messages to each other.
  - criddell 8y ago
    There's a lot of ifs to all that. I think if I were going to do something to prepare for disaster, I'd have a big store of water and shelf-stable foods on hand first. I probably should do that...
    - scarecrowbob 8y ago
      Well, pragmatically, it only takes 2 folks with radios. Historically, there is a whole lot of prescident for it's functionality. By all means, though, having water and store-able food is an excellent thing to do regardless. Just anecdotally, having a radio and knowing how to use it is way higher on my list of personal prep than owning a firearm and knowing how to use it.
    - sean2 8y ago
      Well, yeah, communication is so far down on the priority of needs that my county's disaster preparedness pamphlets don't even mention it. But after we got hit with a hurricane it was pretty nifty to have ham radio friends who were able to exchange messages with hams near families in unaffected areas. I don't remember seeing any pragmatic uses for ham radio in that particular disaster, but those lines of communication was great for morale.
    - HocusLocus 8y ago
      Don't underestimate the value of stocking the necessary hardware for short, medium and long range communication. Only part of the post-apocalypse equation is continued survival of you and your family. At the next level is, how useful are you to the community of people around you? There is a deficit these days, or you could call it an advantage -- that there are far more people skilled in computer technology, and even simple farming -- than radio. Practical skill with communication technology also gets you an 'in' with those in charge of things, even if you were a nobody before. My survival plan involves - 12v systems from car batteries - VHF/UHF short range communication - HF as money permits - low power FM broadcast station - simple low current broadcast studio - legacy PCs and notebook PCs, Linux & Windows 7 (custom mods for better/convective cooling, slower clocks, long life) - massive libraries of ebooks, music, audiobooks and old radio shows - selected paper reference works (now is a great time to buy!) Note that solar panels do NOT make this list, not in any massive way. It's about available funds and priorities now.

This is one of the things that got me into ham. If cell phones and internet go down, most people can only communicate as far as they can yell.

by calebm 8y ago

This is one of the things that got me into ham. If cell phones and internet go down, most people can only communicate as far as they can yell.

criddell 8y ago

None of the other people I communicate with are hams, so if the grid goes away, I'm still pretty much limited to yelling.

scarecrowbob 8y ago
I dunno... one part of ham radio is acting as a relay. If there are two groups of folks, and they each have a ham in them at least the groups can relay messages to each other.
- criddell 8y ago
  There's a lot of ifs to all that. I think if I were going to do something to prepare for disaster, I'd have a big store of water and shelf-stable foods on hand first. I probably should do that...
  - scarecrowbob 8y ago
    Well, pragmatically, it only takes 2 folks with radios. Historically, there is a whole lot of prescident for it's functionality. By all means, though, having water and store-able food is an excellent thing to do regardless. Just anecdotally, having a radio and knowing how to use it is way higher on my list of personal prep than owning a firearm and knowing how to use it.
  - sean2 8y ago
    Well, yeah, communication is so far down on the priority of needs that my county's disaster preparedness pamphlets don't even mention it. But after we got hit with a hurricane it was pretty nifty to have ham radio friends who were able to exchange messages with hams near families in unaffected areas. I don't remember seeing any pragmatic uses for ham radio in that particular disaster, but those lines of communication was great for morale.
  - HocusLocus 8y ago
    Don't underestimate the value of stocking the necessary hardware for short, medium and long range communication. Only part of the post-apocalypse equation is continued survival of you and your family. At the next level is, how useful are you to the community of people around you? There is a deficit these days, or you could call it an advantage -- that there are far more people skilled in computer technology, and even simple farming -- than radio. Practical skill with communication technology also gets you an 'in' with those in charge of things, even if you were a nobody before. My survival plan involves - 12v systems from car batteries - VHF/UHF short range communication - HF as money permits - low power FM broadcast station - simple low current broadcast studio - legacy PCs and notebook PCs, Linux & Windows 7 (custom mods for better/convective cooling, slower clocks, long life) - massive libraries of ebooks, music, audiobooks and old radio shows - selected paper reference works (now is a great time to buy!) Note that solar panels do NOT make this list, not in any massive way. It's about available funds and priorities now.