Communications is the key to safety

In today's world the accepted means of communications is the cell phone, second would be the Internet. But what happens when there's no power to run the cell towers or the data centers for the 'Net? You think this couldn't happen nowadays. Think back to the time when Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and Mississippi and you'll see the cell phones and Internet networks were down due to the loss of power. Even back-up generators began to fail due to lack of fuel, the oddball part here was there wasn't any power to run the pumps at the gas stations so no one could by any gas or fuel for their generators. So it all simply stopped working, people stranded in buildings and on buildings trying to communicate with the rest of the world. But they were unable to do so. Would you want to find yourself in similar circumstances? Bug out bag in one hand, dead cell phone in the other.

What are the alternatives?

Radio, plain and simple. Two-way radio or shortwave radio. Both are good and both are better than the cell phone or Internet connection you have grown so accustomed to using. While shortwave radio is certainly a good choice for survival communications it is limited by its lack of transmitter circuitry. Of the two-radios remaining choices between CB radio and amateur (ham) radio the later would be the best choice. Why? The amateur, or ham radio, offers more bands to operate on while the CB can only transmit and receive on the 11 meter band.

Create a communications plan

Just as you have prepared your bug out bag, your food supply, and yes even your weaponry you should also prepare for your communications needs. While fixed base operation may be a good alternative for those living father out from occupied areas it may not suffice for those on the move. Portable radio operations is likely the best bet between fixed base, mobile, or portable. Basically portable radio setups are nothing more than fixed base radios running into portable antennas. So what 's the difference? Fixed base radios generally have more transmit power than mobile radios. This doesn't mean to say that the lower powered mobile radios can't be used for fixed base or portable use. They can and are used for these two scenarios as well. It is all about personal choice.

In order to formulate your own communication plan you need information and we have found an excellent web site that goes into great detail about radios, antennas, operations, hiding the antennas, and much more. The address for the web site is www.RadioSurvivalist.com, take a few minutes to go through their web site and be sure you have a notepad nearby as you'll learn a good deal of facts about radio communications.

Here is a listing of their information: