Communications Equipment for Your Bug Out Bag - Gear Tasting Radio 109

[@democratpro]

Battery tip. Stick a piece of electrical tape between contacts....severing the complete circuit. Mine last for years like this.

[@edwardyanceyjr]

I have 2 Yaesu FT-3D radios. 1 is MARS/CAP modified and the other isn't. I have a Wouxun KG-UV9P and last but not least i have a 36,000 mAh solar powered battery bank. The Yaesu is capable of monitoring CB channels because of it's wide receive capabilities. Yaesu lets me do APRS with beaconing and has GPS if i need to give out my location. I have the Wouxun for it's higher power output, which is around 10 watts on VHF and 8 watts on UHF. All 3 radios have excellent battery life. I have 2 additional batteries for each radio and a USB charging cable for each radio as well. I have GMRS radios, but if we're dealing with a SHTF scenario, the MARS/CAP Yaesu will fill that void. That set up there has me pretty much covered. That isn't the complete list of items, but it gives you some idea of the thought i put into my comms.

[@tomrobinson7817]

Boafeng with caatail antenna and extended lithium battery. For a ptt check disco 32 allows you to route your boafeng to ear pro.

[@sebaglock]

Frs,gmrs,murs, and don't forget marine channels near coast or lakes. WEATHER CHANNELS can be programmed in baofeng radios .and fm broadcasts band comes programmed from factory in the baofeng and similar Chinese radios

[@seanconlin8712]

If this is your bug out / go bag you should be checking it at least monthly if you are storing batteries and food and water to ensure that items are with in date and ready for use

[@aprilk141]

I have been planning on setting up a charger and battery shelf and a bi-annual calendar appointment. Additionally, any batteries I use in normal life should come out of the BOB battery bag and not my normal stock of batteries, that way the BOB batteries are rotated out with newer stock before being used.

[@sleeplezznightz]

16:59 "It depends." Right? The mobile infrastructure is very robust and not likely to "go down" any faster than anything else. Last year, Hurricane Dorian split the Bahamas in half, and sat over Freeport for three days. People were driven from their homes, airports flooded, and power gone. My aunt, however, was still messaging us from a shelter in the dark on Whatsapp through the whole ordeal. While others, with a different carrier, had no service. As far as I know, they all use the same towers, so it never really went down. It just depended on who choose their carrier wisely lol.

[@flyoverkid55]

I have taken an infantry platoon type approach to comms. Have 2 frs type radios for intra team comms, 2 gmrs types for scanning the area/ unknown resources, and 2 Baofeng uv5r for the " I am Legend " scenarios. All have their uses and limitations, but none were so expensive as to be prohibitive.

[@kimlathan1]

For those 'rubberized' types of coatings on electronics/umbrella handles(lol), etc. that become gunky, I used a cloth with regular rubbing alcohol with success.

[@apocosy]

C crane used to have some good emergency radios, haven't looked recently. I try to carry topo maps of wherever I am. Easily downloaded and printed. I've used a kaito voyager for years, many power/freq options. Good cheap option. I will be looking into that transmitter though. Thanks for the info, preciate ya.

[@bam480v9]

Where can I find fee topo maps? Thanks.

[@aprilk141]

Baofengs can Rx AM and FM radio and can Rx and Tx on weather channels. Mind that you never ever EVER press the talk button while listenening to the weather stations!

[@stevewarner8880]

For long distance low power (QRP) communications nothing beats CW (Morse Code). As a Amateur Radio operator I’ve had many contacts with CW operators all over North America running low power (5 watts or less) and field expedient wire antennas in a tree.

[@seancolgan933]

What is a good pack is elberstock worth it

[@glennverkerk545]

Regarding the FRS radio you can ask your local ARS about the 20/22 channel idea, its like channel 9 on the cb band. Not implemented everywhere yet but we are working on it in our area.

[@SempFi007]

What was the GPS device that you said you had all the topo maps on and where'd you get the maps from?

[@DindoNuffin-e2x]

BUREAU OF LAND management has maps that are current for your are. You can walk in and. BUy them .

[@toml.8210]

Alkaline or carbon-zinc cells have ACID in them, just like a car battery; it's not as strong, but it will eventually eat through the cell casing, if it's cheap. I have thrown away several flashlights and FRS radios because the DollarTree cells leaked and corroded the inside. Get GOOD quality disposable cells, like RayOvac or Energizer, which are (guaranteed) to last 10 years in storage, and recycle them after about 5 years, unless you use them up before that. Don't just put lithium cells in storage. They need to be charged or cycles every 4-6 months, or they will swell or even blow up (with fire!)

[@BoeingJetTech]

Good video. A hardware or software audio compressor is needed to keep your dialog from spooking too loud and going to low.

[@TheDombrowSKISKI]

Everyone knocks the baofengs but when your on a road trip with multiple cars and no service, pretty great

[@0101lam]

I have one query. I have baofeng uv5r model. Do I require liscense to operate in India. I am asking specifically for this model only. What I understand that my model have the ability to change frequency or feed frequency accordingly and this feature mandates the liscensing. Please advise.

[@TheDarkestOne37]

Lots of good info and choices. The Baofeng radios are no longer legal to use on anything but the amateur bands. The FCC released an advisory notice about this last September (2018). They probably won't care if you use it on MURS/FRS/GMRS, but there were too many unlicensed people interfering with Business Band and Public Safety. I wish the FCC would change those restrictions so we could use them legally.

[@marcusalancate1782]

I've heard coffee called battery acid before but i really hoped you didn't take a drink from your coffee cup after dangling that bag of battery corrosion dust over your cup.

[@tracyrreed]

Never been a fan of crank radios. I'll take solar any day. A small USB solar panel can charge multiple things. I've never known anyone who has cranked a few hours on a crank radio. Most people never crank it more than a few minutes the entire time they own it.

[@TrevorSpencer]

Tracy Reed few minutes, then they break.

[@0101lam]

Magnificent idea.

[@go9ro367]

NiCad batteries? I don’t think so. Try lithium ion, perhaps.

[@RubiconV]

Roger that. Over and out. LOL

[@aprilk141]

Never say 'over and out'. Over means you are done talking and expect a reply, and out means you are done and do not expect a reply.

[@jshmickelshmack4474]

The earth is flat Broziff! ... 😆

[@goatmoag]

One radio to rule them all? TYT TH-9800 Plus

[@Edward2092009]

You can Skip radio waves bouncing off the ionosphere.

[@wilcoxtactical3716]

In almost all conditions if you manage to skip cb its very brief. You need more watts, an extensive antenna and even if you manage to do it its likely not going to be repeatable nor long enough to carry on a conversation. Its almost impossible with 4 watts on CB...and using more is illegal. If youre going to break the law you'd still be better off on ham.

[@Edward2092009]

Solar

[@barrykelly2722]

III 😉

[@moisesdelapuente2911]

Hello