Posted: 2/26/2016 9:16:00 AM EDT
| What are my options if cell service goes down to communicate with my family. Would a couple of BaoFeng UV-5R+ Dual BAnd 136-174/400-480 MHz FM HAm two-way units work? |
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Is everyone sitting with a Ham ticket? If not we went GMRS, our own system, spent around $3K to have repeater, control radio, mobiles and 3 handhelds.
My setup currently, I get 15-20 miles on mobile, with plans on a 70-80 foot tower and adding a 10DBd commercial antenna this spring. Good luck. You could do the same on 70cm and get decent coverage if everyone is on Ham. ETA: If you are Ham, I would look at a 2 meter repeater setup, tad more range, plus the cost on gear seems to be lower. I would stay away from the Chinese stuff, go commercial radios, you won't be sorry. PM me if you are looking for any gear. I am helping a shop sell off his old trade in inventory as well as old "new" stock, VHF and UHF as well as some UHF 800 stuff. We have a lot of repeaters laying around as well. |
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What are my options if cell service goes down to communicate with my family. Would a couple of BaoFeng UV-5R+ Dual BAnd 136-174/400-480 MHz FM HAm two-way units work? Wow, thanks for the rabbit hole (jk) 
The Options are endless, but I will start by saying the Baofeng isn't the answer. I podcast about ham radio for the new guy, and I've recently been on a few other shows. The following links may be of some help as you walk into the Comm-sphere... Prepper Recon-Comms Readiness Prepper Recon- Listening in an Emergency some of that may help-it may not, YMMV. for more on Ham Radio-try this: Fo Time Podcast: Where to Start it's a wildly popular page that is connected to my Ham Radio Podcast. There are SO many variables that you'll have to consider and share before we can truly offer a workable group of suggestions (8.34 millions ways to skin the cat). You may also want to visit the Stickies at the Top of the page for more immediate information! SCW ETA: If you can listen to Spirko, give this an ear-an arfcommer talks about Comms, Ham, Scanners, etc... |
| Let me re-phrase my question. Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need, so I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it. Is there anything that fits into that category? |
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Let me re-phrase my question. Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need, so I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it. Is there anything that fits into that category? No, not really. ex: You wouldn't purchase a new gun and place it straight into the safe w/o cleaning, sighting, etc...-radio/comms is the same way-it's a skill that needs to be used and practiced to keep it from getting rusty. The only real solution to a need with little thought of maintaining could possibly be a set of Sat Phones-but even then, they must be charged, tested and updated. Communications, like all other skills will dull if not used. Sorry, there is no easy, cheap, buy and toss in closet answer. that said, this kinda stuff doesn't have to cost a lot of money- sure a $30 Baofeng is better than nothing-but not knowing how and when to use it makes it virtually useless. it's just not that easy.-- -ETA: Well, maybe CB, but it's gonna suck for most anything over 4+/- miles. FRS 1.5+/- miles |
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Let me re-phrase my question. Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need, so I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it. Is there anything that fits into that category? Depends on what range your wanting to communicate. Real short range, FRS. Otherwise most likely not. Most of the good things we can use for 5-5000 mile + takes a bit of know how. Not something one can just inbox on 2 ends and expect it to work. There a couple good links above that explain why a bit better than I do. |
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Let me re-phrase my question. Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need, so I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it. Is there anything that fits into that category? Two tin cans and a string? Seriously, what you are saying is possibly the equivent, to someone who never fired a gun before, buying a gun and ammo sealing it up in a container then burying it in the back yard for some day when you may need it to go hunting. Good communication comes from the radio operator operating the equipment and the personal knowledge gained by that experience. To get effective communications in adverse conditions and physical limitations will require knowledgeable radio operators on both ends. A good rule of thumb for hand held radios is, with out repeaters, if you can see the other person then it will probably work. The less obstruction between the two points the better the signal. |
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What kind of maximum distance are we talking about?? Also is the area flat land, hilly or mountainous?? These factors all come into play here. Give us a bit more info on these and we'll be able to inform you a lot better. ..FN.. flat land, 10 miles or less |
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flat land, 10 miles or less Quoted:
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What kind of maximum distance are we talking about?? Also is the area flat land, hilly or mountainous?? These factors all come into play here. Give us a bit more info on these and we'll be able to inform you a lot better. ..FN.. flat land, 10 miles or less Mobile? Meaning HT to HT, this is unlikely. If either or both sides have a real antenna in use this is 'possible'. |
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Let me re-phrase my question. Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need, so I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it. Is there anything that fits into that category? If it's just two fixed stations with 10 miles of flat land in between, then the answer is yes. Using two GMRS type-approved radios at the 50W ERP limit, two high quality base station antennas both up 30ft, and two battery backed power supplies, it should be possible. No fancy ham radio tests, just two GMRS licenses. You might go over $1K on this, but not by a lot. There are less expensive ways to do this, but they are not legal and so no one will discuss them on this forum as that would be a CoC violation. The other thing you might consider is satellite text messaging, specifically Delorme inReach. The less expensive ones are $300 ea. They'll work anywhere on the planet if you are outdoors. They are portable. Any USB charging method works with them. You will have to blow something like $150/year on an account for each one, though. |
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Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need Quoted:
Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need Welcome to the forum. Please read the following stickied posts in their entirety: What we can, will, and won't do here - You are starting with this one, in particular, for a reason. If that seems harsh, remember that we're here to help. We don't want to to get ridden (Hard) by life after buying a piece of kit, stashing it away, and having no working knowledge whatsoever of how it works. If you'd still like to learn more, avail yourself of the knowledge within the following: Ham Radio 101 - Yes, Ham. It applies to all radio services. The can't fail thread The everything you wanted to know about ham radios thread Once you're caught up on your reading, you'll have questions. Swing back by us again when you do. Quoted:
It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need... Is there anything that fits into that category? No. |
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If it's just two fixed stations with 10 miles of flat land in between, then the answer is yes. Using two GMRS type-approved radios at the 50W ERP limit, two high quality base station antennas both up 30ft, and two battery backed power supplies, it should be possible. No fancy ham radio tests, just two GMRS licenses. You might go over $1K on this, but not by a lot. There are less expensive ways to do this, but they are not legal and so no one will discuss them on this forum as that would be a CoC violation. The other thing you might consider is satellite text messaging, specifically Delorme inReach. The less expensive ones are $300 ea. They'll work anywhere on the planet if you are outdoors. They are portable. Any USB charging method works with them. You will have to blow something like $150/year on an account for each one, though. Quoted:
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Let me re-phrase my question. Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need, so I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it. Is there anything that fits into that category? If it's just two fixed stations with 10 miles of flat land in between, then the answer is yes. Using two GMRS type-approved radios at the 50W ERP limit, two high quality base station antennas both up 30ft, and two battery backed power supplies, it should be possible. No fancy ham radio tests, just two GMRS licenses. You might go over $1K on this, but not by a lot. There are less expensive ways to do this, but they are not legal and so no one will discuss them on this forum as that would be a CoC violation. The other thing you might consider is satellite text messaging, specifically Delorme inReach. The less expensive ones are $300 ea. They'll work anywhere on the planet if you are outdoors. They are portable. Any USB charging method works with them. You will have to blow something like $150/year on an account for each one, though. Mobile to mobile should provide 7-10 miles with roof mount antennas. Antennas 20-30 feet up one can really get away with 5-10W on fixed stations. Gotta correct you on the ERP limit. On the interstitial channels there is an ERP limit of 5W. On the actual "high power"/GMRS only channels there is no ERP limit. The rules clearly (one of the few things) 50W out of the transmitter. Now depending on how you read the rules, an antenna may be mounted no more than 20 feet above the structure/tree of which is is affixed to. To me that means you can't have an antenna more than 20 feet long (the rules don't define a mast as being separate from your tower structure) so one could say the highest gain (single) antenna array that could be used would be a DB-413 which could easily support a system running 600-1000W ERP in the proper circumstances. |
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Let me re-phrase my question. Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need, so I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it. Is there anything that fits into that category? The answers is - NO. FRS/GMRS radios from Wally World may work up to 1 mile. I'm talking about the bubble pack radios that claim to work 36 miles. The advertised comm distance is pure BS. 1 mile is about an average distance you will get in real life. Ham radio optio will require all participating members to have a minimum of a Technician class ham license. You will need good external antennas and 50 Watt radios to cover a 10 mile radius. Baofengs you mentioned will work up to 2 miles (on a good day). Look at buying several GOTENNA units that will connect several Android or Iphone devices without a cell service. You'll get one or two mile coverage and the units will be relatively easy to use for non-technically minded people. All you need is to download an app and link the Gotenna to your phone via Bluetooth. |
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The answers is - NO. FRS/GMRS radios from Wally World may work up to 1 mile. I'm talking about the bubble pack radios that claim to work 36 miles. The advertised comm distance is pure BS. 1 mile is about an average distance you will get in real life. Ham radio optio will require all participating members to have a minimum of a Technician class ham license. You will need good external antennas and 50 Watt radios to cover a 10 mile radius. Baofengs you mentioned will work up to 2 miles (on a good day). Look at buying several GOTENNA units that will connect several Android or Iphone devices without a cell service. You'll get one or two mile coverage and the units will be relatively easy to use for non-technically minded people. All you need is to download an app and link the Gotenna to your phone via Bluetooth. Quoted:
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Let me re-phrase my question. Having an alternate way to communicate during an event is what I'm looking to do. It will be another item that I will put away and hope I never need, so I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to do it. Is there anything that fits into that category? The answers is - NO. FRS/GMRS radios from Wally World may work up to 1 mile. I'm talking about the bubble pack radios that claim to work 36 miles. The advertised comm distance is pure BS. 1 mile is about an average distance you will get in real life. Ham radio optio will require all participating members to have a minimum of a Technician class ham license. You will need good external antennas and 50 Watt radios to cover a 10 mile radius. Baofengs you mentioned will work up to 2 miles (on a good day). Look at buying several GOTENNA units that will connect several Android or Iphone devices without a cell service. You'll get one or two mile coverage and the units will be relatively easy to use for non-technically minded people. All you need is to download an app and link the Gotenna to your phone via Bluetooth. Why are you saying "No"? Look at my response, and zapzap's also. And GoTenna is JUNK. |