Hello Hayr,

I am new to Ham as well, but not radio or electronics. You don't need to be an electronics guru... I would suggest that you concentrate your efforts on learning about antennas, which I believe is the most important factor in getting a signal out. The rest of it will come later. As to tuber sets, I would not suggest them... First, because they use very high voltages and are dangerous to mess with if you don't know what you are doing. An unplugged radio can shock you pretty bad if you touch a charged capacitor by mistake. Second, they are very heavy, and mobility in my opinion is an important advantage in prepping. If you want to buy a cheap radio, look into old solid state rigs like the late Atlas radios, or anything between tube technology and surface-mounted components.
I personally used to be interested in the latest stuff with all the bells and whittles, but my opinion has somewhat changed. Now I value simplicity and ruggedness more. So, my best advise is to take your time in choosing. As to fixed or mobile, I prefer "portable." which is a third category. I want a radio that is simple, with a low current draw, light, small, that can be transported easily, even on foot. You have to give up other things to get all that, like power, but I think portability is more important. That's just for the minimum of course, you can always get that boat anchor later  ;)

Gil.

Hello,

First I would turn on my 2m handheld on and start scanning.

Second, I would jump on 20 and 40m to check news from further away. People might not know locally or regionally about what is going on, but Ham in different states or even countries/continents might have heard news about the event...

I think both HF and VHF are a necessity.

Gil.

Hello,

Do you need a license for these radios, or should we just not mention anything about that  ;)

Gil.

Oh yes Scott, I agree. Emergency radio is not a profession though like being a doctor or a teacher.. It can be in some cases probably, but usually isn't. So, what is the motivation here? We have to be honest with ourselves when talking about serving a community. In many ways, of course, helping your community is beneficial to yourself and betters the world around you for everyone. I don't think however that people usually think that far. So, there are I believe two kinds of individuals that would be willing to pay to help others. Those who are smart enough to realize that they are creating a better environment for themselves and their families, or simply enjoy the hobby and want to do a little more while providing a service, but there is also the kind with an ego problem who crave recognition for their services (maybe not consciously). The later are the people I do not like. Not that they are prevalent, but they are around...

Gil.

Thanks Frosty for that great link!

About CB, the problem is that a beam antenna is huge, and not everyone can or wants to set-up such a monster on their roof... A beam antenna for a 2m SSB radio is much, much smaller...

Gil.

Hello,

I got a Yaesu FT-270R and I really like it. It isn't too complicated but has all the features you want. It is also waterproof, with is a nice feature for an emergency radio...

Gil.

Hello,

I would like to welcome all new members who joined us here this week-end following a link from survivalblog.com.
Thank you to whomever posted it, and thank you all for the great posts  :)

Gil.

Hello,

The Ic-7000 sure looks great. 2A though is indeed way too much for battery operations. My K1 draws 55mA, K2, 220mA, and that's with the backlit LCD on, and the S-meter on as well. Even the FT-817-ND draws 450mA on receive, which is considered high..

Gil.

Hello,

I am sure more experienced members will comment, but here are my thoughts... Had you mentioned 20 miles or 300, the choice would be easy. 45 miles, not so sure... If you used 2m radios, you would need some power and antennas up high. Yagi antennas would be best, but then you have to point them in the desired direction. SSB would undoubtedly work better than FM for that purpose. The problem here is that it gets a bit complex and costly for someone who isn't into Ham radio. A regular antenna at a good height might work. I would maybe get FT-2900Rs which output 75W. Not sure it would work though over that distance...
40m might be a better choice with an NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) antenna. It might not work all the time, but mostly I think it would. A general class license is required though, but it isn't hard to get, and only one person per family needs it for the intended purpose. Of course, for real emergencies, a license wouldn't matter, but in the mean time you need to practice... For 40m on a budget, I would say MFJ-9440X.

Gil.

Well, I am glad to hear that kind of behavior isn't common in ARES. I am not saying all Hams interested in emergency communications are elitists. The attitude does exist however, and it is one thing that makes me raise an eyebrow when I see it. As to the classes, couldn't they also be administered by volunteers?

Gil.

Hello Ray,

I sold that radio, maybe a mistake.. Now I do have 80m on the K2 and K1, though not AM... I made a W3EDP antenna, which should work for 80m, we'll see. I djust don't have a tree high enough to try it at the house here..

Thanks for your comments about the K2  :)

Gil.

Hello,

My K1 worked so well, I built a K2! It took me thirty hours over three days. Everything works, but I am now battling a lack of sensitivity, especially on 20m. I do have full output power on all bands however. The kit wasn't harder than the K1, it just took longer. Right now it is the basic version, but I plan on adding the auto tuner, SSB card, audio filter board and internal battery kit.

Control board and front panel, end of day 1:


RF board, end of day 2, receiver subsection.


My happy Elecraft family:


Hopefully the sensitivity problem will be easy to fix, I just have to find the problem. I did have a bad solder joint on TR7 (the one missing on the RF board photo). Maybe the problem is related to it. I just don't have the time right now to troubleshoot. I will have to, because I want everything to work perfectly. As it is, my K1 receives much better than the K2, not cool.

I might yet build a KX1... That however, with the 40m SSB kit I am expecting from ozqrp.com will be, for quite some time, the end of my radio building career. Then I'll start really using them! The more I am listening to HF and CW, the less I am interested in VHF...

I am not going to do a full review, there are plenty of sites that do, including eham.net. Here are my impressions however:

As far a building goes, it was the same fun level as the K1. Everything fits, the manual is exemplary, the only thing missing was the rotary encoder nut and washer. I did use one from a discarded Gonset Communicator potentiometer, so that K2 has some historical parts!

The K2, while small, is still quite a bit bigger than the K1. For field use, especially backpacking, the K1 is king. The controls are very similar, so a K1 user will feel right at home with the K2. The alignment procedure for the K2 filters though is a pain. That said, once done, you won't have to do it again. People complain about the S-meter, I think it works great. You can lock your frequency, a feature I wish was available on the K1. I haven't played with the memory, scanning and other more complex functions.. That's why I do not want a KX3 or K3, too complicated. Even the K2 could be a bit simpler in my opinion. One thing I didn't like is how later modifications were added to the board without a redesign. Truth be told, the availability of through-hole components is becoming a problem. The K2 is probably on it's last leg. It came out in January 1999, almost 14 years ago! Incredibly, it still holds it's ground with modern rigs. The other problem I see for a QRP, emergency radio, is that the K2 is everything but waterproof. I would even dare to say "water inviting!" It would be totally unusable with the lightest of rain. That's when a good Pelican case is a must.

For a prepping radio, I would rather suggest a K1 or KX1, if you are willing to learn Morse code. The K2 however would be great for anyone wanting to bug-in. Add a solar panel with charge controller, and you're good to go. Always consider that you might have to relocate, and will have more important things to carry than a radio and the associated gear.

Have a great day  :)

Gil.

Hello Rah,

Thanks.

No, a friend of mine did.. She does great work, it just takes forever.. I think it looks good  :)

Gil.

Hello,

Now you can view the Radio Preppers forums on your mobile devices using the Tapatalk application!
I would also like your feedback on the new logo, thanks!

Gil.

Interesting, thanks. For the price, I might get one myself. It would be a nice gift idea for friends you would want to drag into prepping and Ham radio, and get a hold of during an emergency. Also great to give to family members in the same town..

Gil.