And that brings us to what we can cross off the list up front. Preppers and Survivalists have to make use of gear in a general purpose sense; the more options available, the more flexibility, which in turn means more resiliency. Anything that doesn’t allow us to modify or build an external antenna should be crossed off the list. This is primarily aimed at all those bubble pack FRS handhelds from Walmart that make bogus claims about 35 mile range. You’ll actually get about a mile out of them on a good day. I really don’t like them for the same reasons I don’t like Dakota Alert MURS handhelds or anything that’s set to specific channels- there’s no modification by the end-user that can’t be solved much easier by just buying something else, so you’re stuck with what you’re stuck with. That means there’s no flexibility. And for those of you claiming that they’re so easy to use, that might be, but they’re also ridiculously easy to intercept and screw around on. You’re only left with a handful of channels to work with- that a guy with a scanner listening wit one hand and radio to jam on the other can exploit. It’s not all that hard to do- I did it with a really basic (and old) scanner. Most newer close call scanners and even frequency counters also display the privacy tone, so that’s a false sense of security. The only (somewhat) exception is CB, but CB shouldn’t be your only communications means anyway because its incredibly limited. Around here it’s basically useless, unless you happen to speak a Guatemalan or Norteno dialect of Spanish. Of course if you do se habla espanol, you can score a killer deal on some laying hens, so there’s that.
Local, Local, Local: Handhelds and Mobiles
So what do I suggest as a startup mobile? If you’re just trying to get the job done, the QYT KT-8900 actually ain’t horrible. At under a $100, 25w on VHF, 20 on UHF, and 4 frequencies on the VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator- the display), the small set works. And when I say small, I mean, it’s tiny. What’s very nice is that it fits in the dash of the truck and takes up almost no room, can be run off-grid from any 12v power source (as shown above) and it’s very simple to program with Chirp (see the sidebar for a link to download). But, like its chinese brethren, you’re not getting the best quality under the sun at this price. The VFO itself can act strange if scanning, the receiver is not the best in the world especially in the UHF range, and even though its not as bad as the first generation Baofeng, it does emit spurs. A step up in all around quality is to look for TYT’s version, the TH-8600, as it’s about the same size and waterproof for just a little more money. For about double the price you’ll get TYT’s quad band which includes 10 and 6m. We’ll talk about those in a second. And if you’re looking for highest quality with a company who backs their products up, look at Icom’s IC-2730.
But what about handhelds? Glad you asked. Since the de-facto prepper’s radio is the Baofeng UV-5R, and they cost somewhere between $25-35, there’s little reason not to own one for the simple fact that a large number of them are in circulation out there. There’s another, better reason to own one though- it’s an excellent test bed for homebrew antennas and a handful of other interesting applications for those who think outside the box. One thing that I do, as inferred by the pic, is to simply program it with all of the license free channels and set it to scan. So for $25, you’ve got a bubba detector with an incredibly long battery life. If you’re buying one, just stick with the UV-5R- the newer ones in my experience don’t offer enough improvement to justify any added cost.
After saying all this, the drawbacks are many and it’s not the first handheld I’d pick up to carry on patrol. If you’re looking for an HT that’s still on the lesser-expensive side of the house but is a huge step up in quality, look into the Quansheng TG-UV2. It’s still an analog dual band handheld, but it’s far more rugged in build quality, also has a nice long battery life, includes a rubber membrane inside, and still takes the rapidly-becoming-industry-standard Kenwood two prong plug, so all the Baofeng accessories will also work. I’ve been using one for over four years doing everything from hunting, property patrolling, coordinating range drills between teams in class, and bumming around on the local 70cm simplex ragchew. The receiver is actually excellent considering the low cost and mine makes a good foxhunting HT. The only bad thing I can say about it is the programmers from Chirp never found it, so it uses it’s own software. Don’t let that deter you from an otherwise good little HT. It’s on my chest rig right now, hooked up to an H-250.
That said, some of the recently discontinued rigs are also very good and can be found lightly used- that TH-F6A being one. Yaesu’s earlier HTs, the VX-5R and VX-7R, should be at the top of your hamfest fleamarket list, offering the same capability as the VX-6R above but in the case of the 7R, an even more durable package and no need for a hardware mod to enable full capability. All of these were made for a very long time and can be easily found. Purchasing one, even as a general purpose receiver, should be on your to-do list. It adds capability to your arsenal of equipment and redundancy with your other communications equipment, while each being well built and well established in an aftermarket.
10, 6 & 220: Off the Beaten Path
We’ve been mostly talking about the most common equipment (that’s current production) off the shelf that works for getting the prepper up and running. It just so happens that 90% of the gear you find today is built for the 2m (VHF) and 70cm (UHF) bands. It’s the path most traveled and has the shortest learning curve as far as getting on the air. And while it’s still pretty easy to hide in plain site, in one of the recent RTO courses the class intercepted a conversation happening in the Blue Ridge, over 60 miles from our position.
But this is a gear discussion. We’ve already mentioned the suggestions for coverage on these bands above, but there’s a few other lesser-known choices. Wouxon makes the KG-UV5D, which is a 6m and 2m dual band handheld. It’s still a chinese HT, but they’re not awful. While I think for the cost better stuff can be had ($120 versus $170-$200 for the used multi-band options I listed above) they are out there for those seeking them- and they’re relatively simple to use sharing a lot of commonality with Baofeng’s user interface and all the same plug-ins. There also was (maybe still is) a 220 version of Baofeng, so if you’re looking to dive into that on the cheap, it’s out there.
Shack in a Box: Creating A Base Unit Anywhere
Like all the other points contained here, browse the used market. Yaseu’s 897, the older and larger version of the same radio, can be found for a little cheaper on the used market. Icom’s IC-706 is extremely common, and it’s MKIIG version is the one you want to keep an eye out for. The IC-7000 replaced it with the same capability, while commanding a higher price. Like all Icom gear, the radios are incredibly durable and simple to use.
All of the above are simple to run off the grid, and although full-powered rigs can be power hungry, they’re still not bad if you’ve got a good sized battery bank and a decent means to charge them. In addition the 857 and 706. Even if you have no interest in HF at all, they’re worth having for VHF and UHF use just based on the ability to work sidebands and AM as well as listen to HF and shortwave. If you haven’t noticed, redundancy is a big deal to me, and for a good reason. It should be to you too.
At this point you might have more questions than answers, and that’s ok. Keep in mind, you have to first understand what the purpose of your station even is. Our primary focus here has been getting a general purpose station on the air using analog systems. Whether your purpose is community networking or getting an off-grid station up for a retreat, these are your common options in the wild which offer the most versatility on differing ends of the cost/build quality spectrum. Tactical use systems are different- and come with their own considerations. And these are all things covered in the RTO course, which we’ve got a couple coming up. There’s not another course like it offered anywhere, and it’s for everyone of all skill levels. Feel free to email me at brushbeater@tutanota.com for more details.
We’ll see you out there.