So what's your plan?

Started by Frosty, September 06, 2012, 10:30:18 PM

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Frosty

Along the lines of Jonas' "A question for all prepper hams" thread, assume it's a couple weeks later now and things are worse.  No particular scenario, just that the normal communication infrastructure no longer works or isn't reliable, and the ROL is breaking down.   The lawlessness you watched on TV last week is happening outside your window or down the street now.  There's a very real, very local, safety concern.

Are you planning on handing out HT's to the neighbors for a neighborhood watch?  Heading to the woods with a manpack?   Remote controlled security devices?  Wireless cams?   Contact distant group members for everyone to meet at the BOL?  Help restore order as a member of group like RACES or ARES? 

What's your plan for using the frequency spectrum to increase your survival odds if the SHTF?

gil

Listening to establish the best plan...

Gil.

MIA

My wife and I reside at the family's primary BOL. In this rural area, there is very little chance that the lawlessness would be happening here, so the primary concern would be to get our son and daughter here.

In the event of a situation where normal lines of communication are down, my son and daughter, who both live in different adjacent states have worked out a communication plan for their BO to this location. They are both Amateur Radio operators, but our primary plan is to use Sat phones. Should that not be available, we will fall back on the Ham radios.

We have a communications plan that we have tried several times during their trips back home. Basically it involves using HF for coordination of their travel plans. They both have Kenwood 706MKIIG HF/VHF/UHF radios and "screwdriver" (motorized multi-frequency) type antennas. We have a rotating frequency schedule, in the case of atmospheric and/or propagation problems on our initial contact band. If we are concerned that others may be attempting to listen in for nefarious purposes, we also have coordinated book codes that we can use over the air (technically not legal, but this is for an absence of ROL). Should they be able to follow their primary and/or secondary planned routes, then codes should not be needed as we never discuss the actual highways or other landmarks during their travel. It may sound a bit complicated to a lot of people, but it is the one way that we can be fairly sure to communicate in a SHTF situation. It was worth the time, effort, and expense to be able to communicate during the BO and to try to ensure that they arrive safely.

For use around our property, which is in a rural setting and is the primary BOL for the family, we have have multiple plans. As Hams, we of course have that option, but we also have CB, Marine, FRS/GMRS/eXRS, as well as a few others.

On the property we mainly use eXRS radios due to their inherent security. Most of the other radio services are for backup, to be able to coordinate with others in our areas, to keep in contact should we have to travel off of the property, and to be able to know what is happening elsewhere.

KC5OTL

The plan here is to leave the area when the angry crowds get close.  There is nothing in my house, including the house, that is worth the live of my wife and my own.

The plan is to head out to the BOL before things get so bad that we become trapped in the chaos. We watched the Ciincinnati riots several years ago, with great concern.  It would be only a matter of grabing the BOB and start driving to safety.  I am already 50 miles removed from the nearest city.  We yould make an 80 mile back road country drive and than a 20 mile trek to the BOL which is deep in remote woods.  Been planning this for years and already have supplies cached all along the way.

There are no plans for including any of our neighbors into any of our plans as, they are habitual partiers and the neighborhood will become a very unkind place in very short order, once the SHTF!

gil

It's great to have a Bug-Out-Location, I wish I did... Not everyone owns property in the boonies. I still wonder what the hell I would do if the town went apes--t..

Gil.

Frosty

Nice setup MIA, we also run a "BOL Hotel" for family too - but none have any interest in radio or I'd be looking at your solution.  All I can do is urge them to store gasoline, and provide them details on alternate routes to get here.

We're in a fairly remote area, northern midwest, off-grid, and surrounded by public land. We don't own a lot of acreage, but we have enough that we can't look out our windows and see everything either.  As some background, I'm not a radio enthusiast that saw the need for preps, but a prep enthusiast that saw the need for radio.  No interest in radio as a hobby, it's just another piece of the preparedness puzzle for me.  That changes your perspective somewhat I think.  Gil, you mentioned in another thread that you didn't see the need to "go all tactical", but that is exactly what I want.

To answer my own thread question, first, all emergencies are local or it isn't an emergency.  OK, maybe there could be fallout or military troops heading your direction from a hundred miles away - but in general, if it isn't affecting your immediate area then it isn't an immediate threat.  It's the local threats I need to know about, and in real time if possible.  I want to know what calls the police are responding to, or if they're showing up for work at all.  Are fire/rescue services still functioning?  Has the National Guard been called out, and if so what are they doing?  Have the Feds descended on the area?  How is the public handling the situation, are they pulling together or ripping each other apart?  So #1, I need radio to gather intelligence so I can anticipate threats and make informed decisions.

Cell phone coverage isn't 100% reliable around here normally, so radio is convenient to have even without an emergency.  We also have good, part-time, neighbors so we'll equip them with GMRS/FRS radios to stay in touch if the SHTF.  For use within our family group, I also wanted a more secure solution for tactical use, if necessary.  So reason #2 for radio is that I need reliable short range 2-way communication with some secure capability.

Reason #3, we have outbuildings scattered around our property, so I needed a way to keep an eye on them now against B&E/theft.  The dogs help, but they aren't perfect.  If the SHTF, we'll really need to know if anyone is trespassing, or even if anything is approaching.  So we need wireless monitoring of some areas to provide security and act as force multipliers.

The solution I put together was VHF radios with MURS motion sensors.  The radios (1 mobile, 1 base, 4 HT's) are all cloned with respect to their channel freqs/tones.  The motion sensors are positioned at the gates, and inside the outbuildings.  We've practiced the response plan in the event of a break-in, although thankfully we've never had a real one occur.  Public safety is still using VHF here, so I've programmed different scan groups for law enforcement (repeater in and out groups), ham, commerical, and fire/ems. I'll scan these when driving or out walking around, but normally the base just sits on our 'home channel' which is monitoring the MURS motion sensors 24X7.  We don't key up much, and only to talk to our own group, we mostly just listen.  If the SHTF we'll probably be talking less, not more.  I may make it known that I might be able to assist if needed, depends on the situation.  If I decide to, then I'll probably just play the role of a newb ham from a distant area that got stuck here when the disaster struck.  I've tested this capability, clandestinely.  For normal use now, we have a simple code system to indicate urgent/non-urgent messages (handy when reception is poor), status, location, channel shift, and duress.  Really, it's just to help keep the transmissions short, and it's friendly sounding because we don't want to draw any attention.  A second code system simulates itinerate business traffic, but we rarely use it and never in our local area, just when travelling.  For tactical SHTF use, the HT's have voice inversion scrambling.  Not very secure I know, but defeats most casual eavesdroppers.  The MARS/CAP mods for 136-174Mhz xmit provides some interesting post-SHTF communication options in our area as well, and I've spent a lot of time researching that in case it's necessary. 

Been building and expanding this system for a couple years now, and there's still some pieces I need to add.  Specifically, remote (DTMF coded) switch/relay control because the possibilities there are almost limitless, and need at least one scanner with APCO-25 coverage.   Anyway, this is our "Plan A".

gil

QuoteVHF radios with MURS motion sensors.

Hello Frosty, sounds like you are awesomely prepared.. What are those motion sensors, you have a link?

Gil.

Frosty

#7
Hey Gil.  Thanks, I like it.  Dakota Alert (www.murs-radio.com), check their MURS products, no affiliation.  I left out a MURS 'base' and HT we got from them originally.  Standard MURS 5 channel/2w type accepted stuff, but the base has a BNC antenna connection, and the HT uses AA NiMh batts and has a smart charger that doesn't fry the batts if left plugged in.  I leave the HT constantly charging and give it to the kids when they go exploring in the woods.  Expensive in terms of capabilities, but a lot more rugged than the other HT's.  Kids / newbs also can't get us in any trouble no matter what they do with it either.

edit: correct bad link

Genken

Bug out to another family members  :Phome, even if they don't know it yet. Working on the manpack setup to stay in contact with my buddy who is also a ham. I've already assessed the location, and while its not the best spot, its the best currently available to me right now. Preferebly we can make it by vehicle, but alternate is by foot. Sucks for household 6 and her bad back, but that's why I'm lugging most of the stuff.

Jim Boswell

     We live out in the country, about 100 miles from a major city. Our plan is to use CB and scanner to see what is happening near us and the SW to hear what is going on in the world. I have power back up for the radio gear.
     At the house we have dogs that sleep inside and their function is to wake up me and Mr. Remington if someone comes around.   73'S  KA5SIW

Geek

Quote from: gil on September 08, 2012, 04:19:46 PM
It's great to have a Bug-Out-Location, I wish I did... Not everyone owns property in the boonies. I still wonder what the hell I would do if the town went apes--t..

Gil.
You don't need to own the BOL, you just need to know where you are going to go if your place becomes unsafe.  In my case I have a cousin who lives a considerable distance away.  If either of us ever needed to bug out, we'd go to the other's place.

You could even decide that your bug out location is a campground and appropriate distance away.

The point is to know so that you won't waste time trying to figure it out in the middle of a crisis and to be able to pre-position some amount of supplies.

If you own a place in the boonies, that's convenient, but the task is to make a decision.  That doesn't cost a dime.

Gramaton550

This for me was my final part of my prepping square which is food/ water, shelter,security,and communication. I have not a place to bug out to as of yet but working on it. So for now I just plan on bugging in however, I want to be able to listen to whats going on around me hence the Amature Radio seemed like my best option

RadioRay

#12
With us, it's basically one land route in / out, down a 70 mile long peninsula, crossing the very few bridges that span river, and swamps on one road to reach all the way here.  There is NO throughway - nobody comes here by accident, because this peninsula ends in the Chesapeake Bay with nowhere to go. The high ground for entry to my immediate home area is controlled by a local farm family.  Preliminary range carding makes it clear that defenders with scoped rifles would have a TREMENDOUS advantage against anything other than armor or air assets. If anything happens, we are not planning on leaving.  If we are forced to leave, it will mean becoming refugees, which places us only slightly above 'good as dead'.  If I am forced to, to feed my family, I can always go back to exotic dancing for a living.       :o


Let's hope that it never comes to that.


>de RadioRay ..._ ._
"When we cannot do the good we would, we must be ready to do the good we can."  ~ Matthew Henry

Geek

Quote from: gil on September 08, 2012, 04:19:46 PM
It's great to have a Bug-Out-Location, I wish I did... Not everyone owns property in the boonies. I still wonder what the hell I would do if the town went apes--t..

Gil.

You can solve this.  Do you have any relatives living some distance away?  Make an agreement to be each other's mutual BOLs.  If all your relatives are in poor locations, or oblivious, move down the list to friends.  That doesn't work?  Do you have a favorite vacation spot?

Ownership is going to be meaningless.  The point is to have a plan on where to go. 

Geek

Quote from: Frosty on September 09, 2012, 11:57:41 AM
Nice setup MIA, we also run a "BOL Hotel" for family too - but none have any interest in radio or I'd be looking at your solution.  All I can do is urge them to store gasoline, and provide them details on alternate routes to get here.

We're in a fairly remote area, northern midwest, off-grid, and surrounded by public land. We don't own a lot of acreage, but we have enough that we can't look out our windows and see everything either.  As some background, I'm not a radio enthusiast that saw the need for preps, but a prep enthusiast that saw the need for radio.  No interest in radio as a hobby, it's just another piece of the preparedness puzzle for me.  That changes your perspective somewhat I think.  Gil, you mentioned in another thread that you didn't see the need to "go all tactical", but that is exactly what I want.

To answer my own thread question, first, all emergencies are local or it isn't an emergency.  OK, maybe there could be fallout or military troops heading your direction from a hundred miles away - but in general, if it isn't affecting your immediate area then it isn't an immediate threat.  It's the local threats I need to know about, and in real time if possible.  I want to know what calls the police are responding to, or if they're showing up for work at all.  Are fire/rescue services still functioning?  Has the National Guard been called out, and if so what are they doing?  Have the Feds descended on the area?  How is the public handling the situation, are they pulling together or ripping each other apart?  So #1, I need radio to gather intelligence so I can anticipate threats and make informed decisions.

Cell phone coverage isn't 100% reliable around here normally, so radio is convenient to have even without an emergency.  We also have good, part-time, neighbors so we'll equip them with GMRS/FRS radios to stay in touch if the SHTF.  For use within our family group, I also wanted a more secure solution for tactical use, if necessary.  So reason #2 for radio is that I need reliable short range 2-way communication with some secure capability.

Reason #3, we have outbuildings scattered around our property, so I needed a way to keep an eye on them now against B&E/theft.  The dogs help, but they aren't perfect.  If the SHTF, we'll really need to know if anyone is trespassing, or even if anything is approaching.  So we need wireless monitoring of some areas to provide security and act as force multipliers.

The solution I put together was VHF radios with MURS motion sensors.  The radios (1 mobile, 1 base, 4 HT's) are all cloned with respect to their channel freqs/tones.  The motion sensors are positioned at the gates, and inside the outbuildings.  We've practiced the response plan in the event of a break-in, although thankfully we've never had a real one occur.  Public safety is still using VHF here, so I've programmed different scan groups for law enforcement (repeater in and out groups), ham, commerical, and fire/ems. I'll scan these when driving or out walking around, but normally the base just sits on our 'home channel' which is monitoring the MURS motion sensors 24X7.  We don't key up much, and only to talk to our own group, we mostly just listen.  If the SHTF we'll probably be talking less, not more.  I may make it known that I might be able to assist if needed, depends on the situation.  If I decide to, then I'll probably just play the role of a newb ham from a distant area that got stuck here when the disaster struck.  I've tested this capability, clandestinely.  For normal use now, we have a simple code system to indicate urgent/non-urgent messages (handy when reception is poor), status, location, channel shift, and duress.  Really, it's just to help keep the transmissions short, and it's friendly sounding because we don't want to draw any attention.  A second code system simulates itinerate business traffic, but we rarely use it and never in our local area, just when travelling.  For tactical SHTF use, the HT's have voice inversion scrambling.  Not very secure I know, but defeats most casual eavesdroppers.  The MARS/CAP mods for 136-174Mhz xmit provides some interesting post-SHTF communication options in our area as well, and I've spent a lot of time researching that in case it's necessary. 

Been building and expanding this system for a couple years now, and there's still some pieces I need to add.  Specifically, remote (DTMF coded) switch/relay control because the possibilities there are almost limitless, and need at least one scanner with APCO-25 coverage.   Anyway, this is our "Plan A".
What is "voice inverstion scrambling" and what is "APCO-25 coverage"?