Everyone’s got a cell phone these day’s. They have ingrained themselves so deep into society that most people couldn’t live without their phone. They are a status symbol like the pager before them. But what happens if there is an emergency? Well, as we found out during 9/11 and the Louisiana, phones can’t be relied upon in an emergency. This is also true for when you’re hiking, Jeeping or just camping in the mountains. So what can you do?
As many Jeepers already know, Citizen Band or CB is cheap and works for fairly well. CB does have a limit due to the 4.5w power limit placed on the hardware. If you happen to be on top of a hill and have an unobstructed view, you can send (TX) and receive (RX) long distances. 100 miles isn’t unheard of but in most situations you’re going to be limited to a few miles. Gone are the day’s when anyone and everyone had a CB in their car, truck and home though. Truckers still use them as well as a limited number of die hard CB users.
The new ‘CB’ has to be the Family Radio Service or FRS radios and it seems to have taken off since its inception. You see just about everyone using these little radios. The biggest advantage is that they’re size. They are limited to a mile or so in range but are very cheap and pretty handy. Families and businesses use them alike. From Disneyland to the local mall, you’ll see them in use. They still have a limited use because of their range though. In an emergency, you‘ll need be able to TX and RX a good distance if you need help.
This is where Amateur Band comes in. Amateur Band or HAM radio has been around long before CB. The biggest advantage of HAM is that it’s not limited by range. A basic stationary or mobile unit will be able to TX and RX 100 miles with a clear line of sight. In a valley, it will still be able to get 30-50 mile range. Range can also be supplemented with Relay stations. These are radio towers that will receive your signal, amplify the signal and resend it. Since the relay towers are usually on strategic high points, they will easily broadcast 200 miles in all directions. What does that mean for you? There is a high chance you will be heard. Many HAM operators monitor local repeaters, too.
HAM radios have reduced in size quite a bit since the early days. You still have operations sitting in their basements with a wall of equipment but that’s not necessary. Now you can have a radio as small as your cell phone. It will have limited range by itself but with a repeater, there should be no problems being heard.
But there is a catch with HAM. You need to be licensed. The test is not very hard for the basic license though. What people might not realize is that many towns have local Ham operations helping out behind the scene in case land or cell communication goes down. This happened during 9/11 and in Louisiana. Volunteer HAM operations were sent out to strategic locals to help with communication.
So, what do I have? Well, one of each of course! They all have slightly different uses and I pack differently for each situation. Although the HAM and the Cell phone do have priority.
