Communications when-if something happens

[Skyowl]

Now transmitting is a way different story. Even a little half-watt FRS HT is going to be noticed a good couple miles away by someone running even the most basic COMINT setup, and depending on who's doing the listening, could be a very bad thing.

I do agree however that you should have your Op-Plans hammered out before hand. The lower a signature you generate overall is a good thing.

Excellent idea. Most of your communications should be passive in nature with actual transmitting of signals kept to a bare minimum and of very short duration. Think OPSEC.

Passive systems could include...

Grecom PSR 300 scanner. Can listen to just about anybody transmitting.
Eton Solarlink FR-600. SW, Weather, etc. Solar powered and crank. Uses regular AAs and/or rechargeables.

Active systems could include the Midland GTX900 series.

Just some ideas to consider.

[Thomas Icom (Ticom)]

[Walkie-talkie......smoke signals....pony express.....relay..... ]

Relay would be the most secure ..... A radio emits an electromagnetic signature while in the "ON" position which can be detected with pinpoint accuracy by our military/ gov commo folks ..... you may want to avoid this O.W.

True up to a point. Local oscillator signals are detectable from a distance, I got a couple hundred feet with some old Stoddart NM-series Radio Research receivers which are designed for such things. That was in a residential area with a pretty high noise floor from all the crappy China-made consumer electronics throwing all sorts of hash into the ether. The RF noise floor might be lower after the apocalypse, and therefore the detection range of receiver LOs and other non-intentional emitters might increase some.

Considering what practical range at which compromising emissions from electronics might be detected, I would worry more about concealing my body's heat signature from FLIR-equipped aircraft which would probably has a greater detection range than a TEMPEST SIGINT receiver picking up the emanations from my electronic devices.

Now transmitting is a way different story. Even a little half-watt FRS HT is going to be noticed a good couple miles away by someone running even the most basic COMINT setup, and depending on who's doing the listening, could be a very bad thing.

I do agree however that you should have your Op-Plans hammered out before hand. The lower a signature you generate overall is a good thing.

[Oscar Wilde]

[Walkie-talkie......smoke signals....pony express.....relay..... ]

Relay would be the most secure ..... A radio emits an electromagnetic signature while in the "ON" position which can be detected with pinpoint accuracy by our military/ gov commo folks ..... you may want to avoid this ..... should you "press to talk" you'll be talking to them as well.

[Best to get your emergency directives for coordination hammered out beforehand, so if TSHTF, no communication will be required...determine a rally point and a time-table.]

Ditto ..... one remains in place if possible ..... the other seeks.
O.W.

[Chupathingy]

If u need to communicate to others inside a building or large structure. You could look into instructions on how to build a voice powered radio like they use on ships in the navy.

[Thomas Icom (Ticom)]

I've been a licensed ham since the mid 1980s, and from a versatility standpoint you can't beat a well-implemented HF-VHF ham setup. Get an HF (shortwave) rig, two meters, and six meters. You'll be connected with thousands of others with similar setups. Supplement it with a couple police scanners for local news/intel.

The issue is the license. Easy to get now, but most people don't think ahead. Likewise you'll need some time to get proficient with the equipment. See previous statement about license.

FRS/GMRS portables are 1-5 mile range radios max unless you've got some elevation. I monitor the frequencies to see who's playing in the neighborhood. MURS is nice, but too exotic for most. You can't buy them at a Wal-Mart.

That pretty much leaves CB. Three watts AM with the right antennas will go ten to twenty miles under normal circumstances. No license required and ready availability. Most individuals who are slightly above average will probably go that route, and I can see CB being a post-TEOTWAWKI jungle telegraph.

Just some quick thoughts...

-Tom

[imluna47]

I got a MagicJack, it's about the size of a cigarette lighter and plugs into your usb plugs for VOIP telephone. It cost $19 a year, plus $39 for the gadget. I can now call free anywhere in the US or Canada.
Oh...it DOES require high speed internet, but I never use my land line long distance anymore. The sound quality is really good,and it has an answering system for messages. imluna47

[imluna47]

Long time ago I read in Discover magazine that you could plug a coax cable into a tree and get radio, VHF, UHF,VLF signals....it works by using electromagnetic fields.
This method was used during World War 2. My husband and I tried it last week out of curiousity. All you do is drive a nail 2/3 of the way up a tree, ANY tree, size doesn't matter. Then you connect a copper wire to the nail, and use a connector to connect a coaxial cable or whatever type of wire you are using.
This works, folks! We got analog tv channels more clearly than we could using a booster and an antenna.
I wish we had known about it before. It's perfect for receiving radio signals. It picked up signals in WW2 from Germany, and was used to send communications out of France.
There is some info on this online.
Like I said, it was used in WW2.....till later, imluna47

[Zombie Axe]

I know that you and your neighbors have probably done this... but keep going to the website and asking if dsl is available... Get all your neighbors to do the same... these inquiries go to marketing and THEY actually make the decisions on where to add or upgrade dsl service...

So if you are the 'lone voice in the wilderness' you ain't even a blip on their radar! However if enough folks are interested they may figure out how to get that 'cash cow'...

There are lots of other factors as well, and the 'death star' is spending most of thier efforts to go to equipping locations for U-verse, which is TV,Phone,and high speed internet...

My advice is don't hold your breath ;)

[OneBadPig]

The systems i looked at dont need a land line. The cost is pretty high but i would recoup some of the monthly $$ by canceling my regular phone. One of the main reasons we still have a landline is for dial up.
My big objection to Satellite net is the latency(lag) making it useless for real time gaming and pretty near useless for voice over net.
In the meantime, i continue to pester AT&T to get the lines upgraded;)

[Zombie Axe]

Pretty decent but pricey... works well for what it is... be aware there is a bandwidth limitation on some plans...

If it is a 2-way satellite service then it can be reliabe if the landlines and other things are out in your area... however if you 'request' info via a landline and it downloads via satellite... you would be screwed if the landlines go out...

I always wanted it, but they got DSL in my neighborhood, so I got that...

There may also be dedicated wireless (not talking celluar) that aims a directional antenna at a distant hilltop/tower and gives you reasonable speeds per cost ratio...

[OneBadPig]

I might get satellite internet since DSL is not in my area yet(or near future)

It occured to me that if the phone lines and cellular are out, i might be able to use that for sending/receiving messages. (assuming that some conflict hasnt knocked out satellites)
Thoughts?

[Big_Saw]

I'm thinking that anyone that would really want to talk to me, I would not want to talk to.

That could be good or bad, depending on your perspective......

[kenno]

I'm thinking that anyone that would really want to talk to me, I would not want to talk to.

[Big_Saw]

I am thinking for easy to find methods of comunication would be CB, Ham, FRS-GMRs and then marine UHF , VHF and Single Side Band. Then if you know some one who knows some one you can have these radios modified to have more power and channels or frqs.

+1 one on the radio mods........I know a guy here locally who will "tweak and peak" just about anything, for a small donation to his beverage fund...;)

You probably have one in your area, too.....just gotta find out who he is, and what he drinks :D

[Omegaman]

I am thinking for easy to find methods of comunication would be CB, Ham, FRS-GMRs and then marine UHF , VHF and Single Side Band. Then if you know some one who knows some one you can have these radios modified to have more power and channels or frqs.