Jorene,
I realize that you haven’t had your license very long; I can tell because they are issued in a sequence. I see that you hold a Technician license (actually since Nov 6, 2009 and you’re in the south SJ valley foothills). I also realize that you are intending to do some good and I give you credit for that.
I stand by my statement. LEGAL CB is limited to 5 watts output on AM and 12 watts SSB in the
Yes CB can cover some hundreds of miles, even thousands *IF* and only if the band is open (common during the summertime). But do you really expect it to be a reliable and viable communication method with the things that can be heard there on ANY given day?
I was raised in a firehouse and the language was often rough. What you hear on CB would make a Navy Chief blush. That band has been given up on by almost all countries (thanks to a great extent by our FCC not cleaning it up in the 70’s) and it is simply a toilet.
If you want to use more power, move up in frequency to the ham bands and get the proper license. The ten meter band (28-29.7 MHz) also allows repeaters in the upper portion which can better extend coverage areas with reliable saturation, not childish noises and crude gutter talk. Your current Tech license allows you to be there using the FM repeaters, take a listen.
Crossing state lines isn’t a great accomplishment, particularly in the Northeast because there is a greater concentration of states. Neither is crossing a country boundary (I’ve worked some 180 countries, mostly in the last 20 months alone using a variety of different bands and modes).
There are two basic levels of communication required at any major event; one for local (think county/parish/borough) and one for communicating out of the area (think state to state or even Federal ranges). Even if the CB toilet was flushed and cleaned, at best (with a legal radio) it is only good for a few miles of consistent range and a two meter handheld radio (ham) easily has that covered PLUS it can use a repeater or talk to a mobile repeater (I have several of those in the form of dual band radios) or can legally run significantly more power (anything up to 1500 watts which is ~25 db better than the best legal CB radio). It is also possible to set up an Internet link to extend ham coverage anywhere in the world provided there is Internet (I have two of those; Google ‘IRLP’).
If you require interstate communication, there are FAR better bands that provide consistent coverage. These would include 80/75 meters, 60, 40, 30 and even 20 meters depending on the time of day and range needed. If you don’t operate on HF, you don’t understand. If you think that it can’t be done well in a mobile fashion, you’re mistaken and I can prove it. I have a full 80-10 meter station in my house, truck AND RV (yes, three complete HF stations, two of them are very much mobile) and I can set up a portable station with what other pieces I have laying around (it doesn’t take much) should the need arise. I’ve planned for it and have what I need should the need arise.
Most ham repeaters are on commercial sites which usually have at least a one week supply of fuel for the site generator. Most repeaters (ham or commercial) are also backed up by battery (helps to provide cleaner power sources). Some are solar as well. I have a generator here and keep enough fuel for a few days of operations; longer if the need arises. It isn’t rocket science, it’s simple planning. Most major events are essentially over in a couple weeks but if the preppers are right, you’ll need ammunition more than radios.
I’ve been licensed as a ham for over 40 years now and I won’t ever consider CB a viable resource. It is a wasteland of infantile potty mouthed imbeciles and is best ignored. Even the trucking industry has given up on it while the number of truckers on the ham bands is steadily increasing. That isn’t emergency planning, it’s practicality.
If you want reliable communications; ignore CB. Even without the vulgar language here in the
CB is a sewer badly in need of flushing; look elsewhere. FRS isn’t much better but the radios are cheaper (3 for $50 on sale) with even better local range than CB. Some CERT groups advocate these for local teams (I say whatever but I’d call hams first if reliable communications were required and that is what I taught in CERT classes). There’s something about those two radio systems that seems to bring out the child in what are normally rational people; stupid abounds.
And while we’re on the topic, training is needed to be an effective communicator, no matter what the radio band (cops, firefighters, ambulance jockeys, hams or anyone else). There are numerous training resources for hams (ARES, RACES are only two; I’m a member of both) and other than the defunct REACT or clubs of the old days, there is nothing useful for CB, because it isn’t a useful place. CB is an international toxic waste dump.
73,
Rick WA6NHC
From: Jorene Downs
Rick, you might want to read some reviews of the more powerful contemporary CB radios, where users are reporting viable and fairly reliable communications hundreds of miles away, even across multiple state lines. Regardless, if the power grid is down long term many ham repeaters won't last long on backup power, or repeater access may be restricted to only authorized ham users such as ARES or RACES. So relying on ham repeaters for personal use may not be a good plan in case local personal communications are limited to more line of sight and pre-organized relays.
I'm not saying I think CB is a better choice than ham radio, just an option to consider. I'm sharing that some serious disaster preppers are choosing to go with stout CB because they think it is a better option for *long* term incident survival radio communications. They are thinking months or even years in their disaster prepping. And yes, some of those preppers with CBs are also ham operators experienced at regularly communicating thousands of miles away.
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Jorene Downs
KJ6JCD
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