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Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

plannedemergency.com

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Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#11

Post by valiant-comma »

nonrandomstring wrote: post #9

Whether or not this is a good list, I find the topic very interesting. For more exercise I've started to increase the range of my usual hikes, from just mooching around a 10 mile radius of home to some much more ambitious yomps out into wilderness. Being alone out there obviously raises thoughts about safety. Everyone knows I hate "smartphones" with a passion. For possible emergencies I carry a powered-down (battery…

Garmin’s InReach products are great for this. Emergency button, two-way texts, all satellite based, so basically full global coverage. They can also allow you to share your semi real-time location with friends and family, if that’s useful to you.

Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#12

Post by iasay »

gorgoiler wrote: post #10
iasay wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably because it’s illegal to use one without a license.

This is not technically true. These radios can — and most commonly do — use the unlicensed UHF bands (PMR446 in the EU, FRS 462Mhz in the US.)

Can vs will. Usually idiots turn up on 2m with them.

Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#13

Post by harg »

gorgoiler wrote: post #10
iasay wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably because it’s illegal to use one without a license.

This is not technically true. These radios can — and most commonly do — use the unlicensed UHF bands (PMR446 in the EU, FRS 462Mhz in the US.)

Even if used on the unlicensed bands it’s still illegal to transmit in those frequencies without a license as the UV5R doesn’t comply with the restrictions of license free radios. I.e it exceeds the max allowed power and has a detachable antenna.

However, there’s nothing illegal about using the uv5r to receive. And in reality if you only use it on the pmr446 frequencies you’re very unlikely to get busted.

Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#15

Post by aosmith »

harg wrote: post #13
gorgoiler wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not technically true. These radios can — and most commonly do — use the unlicensed UHF bands (PMR446 in the EU, FRS 462Mhz in the US.)

Even if used on the unlicensed bands it’s still illegal to transmit in those frequencies without a license as the UV5R doesn’t comply with the restrictions of license free radios. I.e it exceeds the max allowed power and has a detachable antenna. However, there’s nothing illegal about using the uv5r to receive. And in reality if you only use it on the pmr446 frequencies you’re very unlikely to get busted.

Nobody cares about the ism band, I doubt anyone has ever been "busted" using under a watt.

Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#16

Post by noughtme »

nonrandomstring wrote: post #9

Whether or not this is a good list, I find the topic very interesting. For more exercise I've started to increase the range of my usual hikes, from just mooching around a 10 mile radius of home to some much more ambitious yomps out into wilderness. Being alone out there obviously raises thoughts about safety. Everyone knows I hate "smartphones" with a passion. For possible emergencies I carry a powered-down (battery…

I prefer a standalone PLB (personal locator beacon) when backcountry skiing. Smaller, lighter, more reliable, no subscription fee.

Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#17

Post by nonrandomstring »

valiant-comma wrote: post #11
nonrandomstring wrote: post #9

Whether or not this is a good list, I find the topic very interesting. For more exercise I've started to increase the range of my usual hikes, from just mooching around a 10 mile radius of home to some much more ambitious yomps out into wilderness. Being alone out there obviously raises thoughts about safety. Everyone knows I hate "smartphones" with a passion. For possible emergencies I carry a powered-down (battery…

Garmin’s InReach products are great for this. Emergency button, two-way texts, all satellite based, so basically full global coverage. They can also allow you to share your semi real-time location with friends and family, if that’s useful to you.

Yes the Garmin stuff looks great. For some of those features you seem to need a renewable monthly subscription. I'm looking for products that build the connection cost into the one-off price, not out of cheapness but for more reliability/security than a subscription. Would be awful to finally need an emergency device and find the data plan had expired (as is now the case with phone networks that destroy your number when it goes unused regardless of how much credit you've charged it with). That's specifically one of the cost models I want to move away from. The only thing I should need to pack is some spare batteries.

Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#18

Post by iasay »

aosmith wrote: post #14
iasay wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably because it’s illegal to use one without a license.

Nobody cares in an emergency...

Other than the legit licensed responders who now have to traffic manage a pile of morons with no operating experience.

Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#19

Post by HillBates »

The biggest flaw of all prepper radio lists is that they do not contain knowledge about how easy it is to locate a radio transmitter. Every radio user should do at least one "radio fox hunt" to understand how to locate other people and / or how easy it is to be located.

You can do that even with radios on this list, no special equipment needed.

Re: Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

#20

Post by HillBates »

defrost wrote: post #3

In an extreme emergancy (eg: captured in a POW camp) you might just have to build your own: Queensland Prisoners secret radio revealed >> Two Queensland brothers, Ernest and Charles Hildebrandt, built a secret wireless radio receiver which they operated in the camp near Bandoeng in Java which was overran by Japanese soldiers in 1942. >> Constructed of parts scrounged from the internment camp where they were held pris…

Coverage of earth by earth sensing satellites in visible spectrum is so high, that you can literally write different message into sand / earth every hour. No radio construction necessary XD
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