Off-road communications

Communications noob. Heading back ~60 mi. along the north rim of the Grand Canyon in a week or so. Since there's zero services back there and very few travelers, I'm looking for some kind of communication platform for the truck. CB? UHF v. VHF? Where have you installed your antennas for 2-way communications on your rigs?

I'll hit up the local off-road store this week to see what they recommend, but would love some suggestions.

 

@WileECoyote

 

CB is useless for anything other than short range in sight commas.

Ham is where it's at. Requires an FCC license though.

I've hit a mountain top repeater from my truck while 60 miles away.

 

I'm not a professional with this stuff, but I have and use a number of comms in CO for trips. HAM is a great recommendation - I'd just add a couple of things: As Kyitty said, you'll need an FCC license, but you can operate HAM during an emergency situation without one. That being said, without the training you take to get a license, they are nothing more than a good looking paperweight. SO, if you don't have time for a class you might consider something else.

I would also recommend a device you can teach whoever is going with you to use easily. If you're on a trail and YOU get hurt, what does your passenger know how to operate?

Typically we carry three (electronic) comms methods:

1. A simple GMRS walkie talkie. Channels 1-8 (on low power) work great for most vehicle to vehicle stuff in trail groups. Easy to use, don't have to tune them and most people have them already. If you're in a flat area or high enough you can pick people up pretty far off. Bonus is tons of people have them so you're more likely to be heard. Con is tons of people have them so you'll hear every crazy kid who's parents let them on a radio. Bring extra batteries because most eat them up.

2. HAM for longer range comms, more spread out trail groups, and for emergency comms using repeaters. Have batteries and vehicle charging. In the west there are hundreds of repeaters - if you grab one you will most likely be able to get help.

3. PLB: The one guaranteed thing in comms is that it is going to fail, so this is for those situations when you absolutely need help and everything else is shot. I have a 6oz PLB that goes everywhere I go (hiking, fishing, off-road, etc.) out here. It was around $250 and requires no annual registration (some do). Any PLB needs to be registered, but it takes 10 minutes. Rocky Mountain SAR plucked a guy off a 14er last year in a blizzard, barely 4 hours after he hit his beacon. Inspiring stuff to know talented people like that can find you. Beacons are responsible for a lot of false activations though when people "test" them incorrectly without reading the manual - but when used properly they save SAR a lot of time and resources.

I have a recommendation for you to at least check out: Delorme makes a SATT transmitter that lets you text, etc. and also has a PLB for emergencies. You could get this, and on top of a nice walkie talkie with GMRS you'd be fairly well set.

I think the name is "InReach" - maybe someone will chime in who has one. Several of my friends use them to keep their family updated when they are in the backcountry. It has subscription fees, but it would be a comms device you could buy knowing you'll use it for all kinds of other activities all around the country instead of just this trip.

Notes on CB: In CO, I find CB is almost useless. The two things it does exceptionally well is find you confused groups of jeepers that didn't SWR their radios so they are talking to "no-one" and it also will alert you to every low hanging branch by slapping some part of your truck and rattling around for 30 seconds. In other areas it might be useful?

/Novel

 

Regarding CB, not everyone has HAM and not everyone has CB. Both are actually relatively cheap. A decent complete basic CB setup is right around $100, CB, cable, antenna, and all!!! Within a city environment I was able to, on more than one occasion, talk to someone +4mi. So, in that case, not too bad because power lines, buildings, and such is a pretty good test of environmental impact on comms. I also look at it like this, many truckers use CB as well as, just recently, I saw one of those "wide load" truck service vehicle have an obvious CB setup. So, you'd be surprised.

The downside of CB are the idiots that tend to jam and trash talk on the CB comms and have no life and are just a "waste of skin" of the human species!!! But yeah, CB does not get all of that good of range. But, in my humble opinion, better than nothing when it comes down to it. I'd trust a CB more than "smart phone"/paper weight out in the middle of BFE!!!

Regarding HAM, HIGHLY AGREE that without a license, you're not gonna gain much distance. Although, there are those that have high wattage mobiles that can reach out a few miles. But, that is always up to the person in the end if they want to operate a HAM without a license. Just, most definitely, DO NOT get on a repeater without a license!!! Like someone said, "in case of an emergency...", but even with THAT said, don't be surprised if the FCC does an investigation and wanting to know if there were any other means of getting help? My HAM instructor told us that that actually happened to a non-licensed person... I just don't remember if the guy got fined?! But, again, apparently it could happen and if you are fined, it is a $10,000 hit!!! Plus, possible jail time!!!

Regarding GMRS/FRS radio comms, whether it is made by Midland, Cobra, Motorola, etc all of the channels of 1-22 have the same freq. Meaning, ch1 is the same as ch1 on the other/different manufacturer radio. Ch2 is the same as ch2 and so on. Now, most of your HAM radios are, at the very least, 2-band units. Meaning, 2m/70cm freq band radios or 144-148/420-450MHz freq band (VHF/UHF, respectively). So, here is something to try and use, for example, ch8 on the GMRS/FRS radios is freq 467.5625 and you can communicate by punching in that number into your HAM radio and put the GMRS/FRS radio on ch8. Great for comms for a person that only has those GMRS/FRS units or possible emergency situations.

Regarding VHF vs UHF, first the longer wavelength VHF freq are good to help reach out pretty far, in that sense. ALOT of factors are in play here, but just know that as a quick learn. Then you have UHF, which, in theory, would be great for "tight corners" and/or slot canyon type situations!!! In theory, your signal degradation is much less with a higher freq band because it is able to "travel/bounce" off of tight corners compared to a much longer wavelength freq.

Hope this helps???

 

Aren't satellite phones still available?

 

Yes they are, but they have horrible reception (at least the work ones we use do). Also, pretty expensive per minute to call. I would agree on the HAM. Take the online test over and over until you feel confidant then go into a testing location, pay the $15 to test and get your license. Totally worth it.

 

Who are you wanting to communicate with? Other people in your group? Talk to the wife back home so she knows your safe? Emergencies? Or are you simply trying to "gear up"?

Since you got a week, you're not likely to get a HAM radio set up and licensed in that time, sat phones are extremely expensive, and CBs and handhelds have limited ranges.

If you want to talk with others in your group, a CB is probably the most universal way to go, most guys have them on their rigs. But the handhelds are a good alternative IF others have them too (handhelds and CBs operate differently and can't talk to each other, unless it's an actual handheld CB, which those little motorollas are not CBs).

If you want something for safety/emergencies, consider a SPOT. It's a handheld device that can communicate your position via satellite, and transmit emergency codes for, well, emergencies. Similar to a PLB, just not quite as expensive, and people can log in to a website to track your progress. A friend swam Lake Tahoe (the long way) and you could log in and see her progress. Pretty neat...

But if you want to just talk to people that are dozens or hundreds of miles away, you'll need a HAM or sat phone. Or smoke signals.

 

My exact point I was trying to convey with the CB's, "most universal way to go..." The "little Motorola's" operate on the 70cm freq band whereas the CB is 11m freq band (400MHz vs 27MHz, respectively). But, like I said earlier, it is possible to communicate to those "blister pack" walkie-talkie radios (i.e. Motorola, Cobra, Midland, etc) GMRS/FRS radios with, for example, your typical Boafeng handheld that most people have nowadays.

Yeah, about the only way to talk to someone that is hundreds of miles out is through a HAM license through a repeater type setup.

 

Invest the time to get a minimum of an amateur radio technician class licence and the knowledge & experience in how to use it, if you intend to successfully communicate from the boonies. It's easy now, we used to need 13 words per minute morse to get a ticket, now just some book or online study.
Stay off the ham bands if you are unlicensed!

 

I agree!!! But, there is also a tendency to use 2m commercial band freq range as well. There is definitely a reason to stay off of those freq bands as well mainly because of Fire/Public Safety uses them also. Just my 2cents.

 

Those folks with way more knowledge than I and UHF would be very disappointed in this answer (But given situation possibly the best answer). With the right conditions they can talk across the world.

 

BLUF: Get a DeLorme InReach.

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CB's are useless for comms outside of your immediate offroading group.

2 meter is only as useful as the person operating it and the people listening (if any). If you know the local repeaters (assuming you are in an area and have a radio set up capable of reaching them), you can generally get somebody on the net. However, it is not a popular hobby and many frequencies are not monitored on a day to day basis.

PLB's are great last resort devices, but they only have one setting, and that's "oh shit". The helicopter crew that flies out on a rescue is going to be pissed when your emergency is "I busted my drive shaft". They're also not rechargeable and have a shelf life (5-10 years).

Satellite messengers, like the Delorme InReach, are where it is at. $300 device, $10/month (base plan), rechargeable, and you can text from anywhere in the world through the iridium network of satellites. They are also equipped with a "oh shit" button that will bring the same cavalry a PLB brings. The benefit is that you can communicate the non-emergency situations ("Bent tie rod, stuck on trail") to your friends via text and communicate the true "oh shits" ("rolled truck, broken back) to the rescue coordination center.

Satellite phones are also great, but the cost is prohibitive in comparison to other options.

 

Another option for use in real life or death emergencies is a handheld radio that can transmit on the air bands. Make a call for help on 121.5 or 243.0 and your chance of someone hearing it is pretty high.

 

No one will fault you if you transmit on ham freqs if you are in a true emergency. However, You get a ham radio without a license "just for emergencies" and you'll more than likely be tempted to start using when it's "important", then maybe "occationally", which becomes "pretty much all the time". So just get the license, m'kay?

Ham clubs usually have contests to see who can locate an "illegal" signal, so it's not that hard to figure out who you are, and most clubs make it a point to out the unlicensed peeps. Or so I've been told. I have no personal experience with the ham stuff, but that's the jist from what I've read while researching trail comms.

 

I remember back when training for my pilots license, I forgot to check in with flight following before I landed, and ended up having to call on a land line to cancel my flight plan. The aircraft's radio didn't have crap for range while on the tarmack. I can't see a handheld being better. They are designed to comm with an aircraft overhead.

I personally would not trust a handheld air band to transmit any useful distance on the ground.

Get a HAM radio, or even better (imo) a Spot for true emergencies. I personally like the idea of the Spot, since it uses an integrated gps and communicates via satellite - no need for repeaters or clear line of sight for long distance, or even the need to describe your position. Spot communicates with freakin space! You're not going to relay a message that you forgot your beer, but it will send SAR if you're almost dead. People have been rescued from the middle of the atlantic ocean.

 

I meant using it to talk to any aircraft above you, not to another individual on the ground. The ranges on those handhelds are pretty good when there is no terrain in the way, upwards of 10 miles slant range is very doable. It's not an ideal standalone solution to the problem but the ability to reach out and talk to an aircraft within a roughly 20 mile bubble could be very helpful in an emergency.

 

True, I was mostly envisioning trying to comm with ground stations, but I think I would still take the Spot over waiting for an aircraft to fly over, then having to relay your position enough for someone in the air to relay your situation to SAR. That is a lot to ask, but certainly not impossible.

If that's what you have in your kit, use it, but if designing an emergency comm kit from scratch, I'm not sure air freqs would be my first choice.

Spot is pretty idiot proof. Just push a button. The one weakness is that there is no 2 way comms, so you don't get a voice on the other end telling help is on the way, which has a huge mental boost.

Ideally, you ride in a large enough group, each guy has a different method, and you use EVERYTHING at your disposal.

 

Ok, after reading all of this, please tell me if I understood this correctly.

If I'm out with friends 4 wheeling, GMRS/FRS is good enough to communicate between ourselves.

If I'm going to go on a trip longer than a day, I should probably look into getting licensed and get a HAM radio due to better range and more transmitting options.

If I want to have a badass set up, then get licensed, get a HAM radio and spend the 450 for the Garmin InReach set up because people can track you live, you can text stuff that may not require emergency response AND you have that cool OH SHIT button on the side.

 

Yeah, that about sums it up, lol.

The garmin would assume I have friends that care enough to track me live...

Actually, the garmin is new info to me, that is pretty badass. even the 49 a month expo plan is pretty cheap considering what you're getting. Garmin website has the SE+ for $399...