Emergency comms

I was recently involved in an emergency situation with no cell service, I feel if I had some other form of communication it could have helped. I dont see a dedicated thread for this. I dont want to deal with satellite or HAM and I'm normally no further than 5 or 10 miles from some form off civilization. Can anyone recommend a cb/scanner and antenna that may help. I've messed around with cb's and scanners in the past but my knowledge is limited. Thanks.

 

I think this might work better in an emergency than any cb radio
Garmin inreach mini
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/592606

 

CB is the easiest emergency comm system to implement and use, but the least effective. Most here just rely on CB for on-trail comms between trucks.

I don't have anything to add to the wealth of recommendations on other threads. This is a recent thread that may give you inspiration:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/clean-vhf-cb-radio-installs.415584/

 

CB isn't going to help you. There's lots of stories of SPOTs and InReach rescues, that's exactly what they're designed for. Ham can also work. A club member just recently used his to call in help when a snow storm blew in unexpectedly quick and stranded him hunting.

 

Yup. OP, you say you dont want to mess around with satellite.. What do you mean by that, and why?
A variation of the Garmin InReach is going to be the most reliable means of comms, anywhere in the world. CB might only be good for a mile or two given certain terrain, and even then theres no guarantee anyone will be on channel to hear you (or even take you seriously)

 

This is the critical piece. The range limitation of CB is one thing but for any communication to work there has to be someone listening and that person needs to be in a position to do something to help.

 

I dont know what I mean. Activation and fees and shit. I dont know. I'm retarded

 

I know you said you didn't want to mess with Ham radio, but it's the easiest and least expensive option. You can spend one afternoon taking the technition practice exam on the web and pass the tech test easy. The test will cost $15 and take a couple of hours on a Saturday morning. A decent hand held radio can be had for $100 or less.

 

ahah thats why the forums are here!
Cheapest & most limited option: CB
Most expensive but 100% coverage all the time (according to them): The Garmin InReach thing
Something in between: GMRS or even HAM (licensing, radio setups, and local repeater knowledge required)

 

Simple solution - get your HAM ticket (Technician license) and get/install an inexpensive VHF radio. At 25-50 watts you'd be surprised at how many repeaters you can hit where someone is almost always listening. The ARRL's motto "When all else fails...Amateur Radio".

 

I carry a SpotX with me whenever I go on a trip. Haven't had to use it but the piece of mind having it is a life saver.

I carry a baofeng radio with me in the car always and I have a dedicated ham in the truck. The hand held is $40 and works really well for what it is. You don't need a license to use a ham for emergencys or listening, but if you want to talk you need the license.

You shouldn't shy away from satellite and ham because that will save your life faster then a CB.

 

This shit is true.

I live in ventura and we lost cell service/internet/cable/landlines this past week because of the wooley fire for a day. Was nice getting updates on that ham. It was the only thing that worked for 24 hrs.

 

The last thing I need is another hobby. I know if I go to ham I will go hard . I will try inreach. It seems like a great option.

 

Unless there is a repeater within range and you know the freqs, a ham radio won't do you much good. Any of the sat comm systems are your best bet. I carry a Spot Gen3 as I do a lot of motorcycle adventures/racing in some very desolate areas. My racing team used our Spot to summon help in Baja and it worked really well. A buddy borrowed my Spot for a motorcycle tour of Northern Thailand and he lost his tank bag with the Spot inside. I was able to send him directions to recover the bag while I was sitting in a coffee shop in California.

 

The CB is a great option if you need to summon help from someone that is no further than 50 ft away.

 

Fuck it. Where do I take this test?

 

'Tis true. Ham isn't a fire and forget thing, you have to make it a hobby to the extent that you use it periodically. But the flip side is there are thousands of repeaters and 750,000 hams out there. It's the default comm system for many volunteer SAR organizations. One is the Colorado 4x4 Rescue and Recovery guys here. Which helped a club member who got caught in an expectedly fast moving snow storm a couple of weeks ago out hunting. He knew how to use his radio and the state-wide linked repeaters system he used was the one the Co4x4R&R guys use, so a ham was listening and coordinated to get the gears turning and help to him.

Also agreed. I have a SPOT Gen 3 I carry for tracking and an SOS if necessary. I don't always have my ham radio while cycling like I do in the truck. Either way, 10 minute beacons let the people watching me know where I am without any intervention. In a situation I would fall through the options, cell phone, ham if available and SPOT message and finally up to SOS as the last step.

 

I use ham radio and APRS for tracking. Works well and the ham community is really good here.

 

Finding the details on a repeater is pretty easy these days. There are apps that you can use that don't require a signal and just find the repeaters close to you based off of GPS location. There is also other frequencies to really reach out there.

 

Home made yagi, 2m mobile rig, and a phone. You can literally post a Twitter SOS, or more sensibly just text an emergency contacts phone with APRS. Just know which way to point towards a digipeater. Part of good planning

@LeeVanChief are you a Droid phone user or IPhone?


Btw it varies by region, but even when 146.520 isn't active, there's tons of people monitoring it up here.

I double down on the Garmin inreach.