I'll try and set up a poll to see if we can move things forward cos some ( ok me) are totally confused ( cos I'm thick)
Lets try this and the mods can tweek it as they see fit
WHAT TYPE OF 2 WAY RADIO SYSTEM SHOULD WE START / SETTLE FOR or HAVE AS A BASIC FOUNDATION COMMS SYSTEM TO BUILD UPON?
I just know what works for me in my little world and that's CB.
I live in the UK so UKCB it will be. The law says FM only in the UK. Fine by me.
As long as I can get Channel 9 and 19 come SHTF time I'm going to be happy.
Anything else is just adding to the fun.
I voted CB 80 ch UK / CEPT 4w FM as this is license free and legal. I think everything being discussed is relevent and useful. I have other rigs but, if we want people who are not interested in the hobby aspect of radio to join in on a Prepper wide network it's got to be legal, easy and relatively cheap to purchase and easy to use.
As Paul has pointed out you can buy a kit including rig and antenna for small amounts. As Paul has pointed out it's good for his set up and I concur that it is good for 'some' aspects of mine with the caveat that I require longer distance comms but which, I already have in place.
PMR 446 is very useful too and I have it but, it will be very hard to set up a prepper net on PMR 446 because it's really just line of sight.
I am enjoying the comms discussion but sometimes i'm still left wondering whether this Preppers Net is going to be for communicating with ourselves i.e those on this forum ( and others on other prepping forums) who wish to contact each other pshtf or if it's just a matter of comms for idividual preppers to keep in touch with their own group / family???
I can see it is useful for both things, maybe others 'not into radio' cannot and the waters have become quite muddied by debate.
What is this Prepper Net going to be used for EXACTLY? I think more people might engage with the subject if they could apply this alien thing called 'comms' to their own prepping plans in a more tangiable way maybe?
I have mine set to keep tabs on me and mine. I will use my set up to gain insight into what is happening locally, regionally, globally in an effort to stay ahead of the game.
i dont have a clue what ever you guys think is best !
Well first of all you need to decide what you want from it. What do you want to do and then pick the kit for that. In my case it is all of the above.
The comms guys are defining what we need now and are making recommendations. for each area. When they are finished all you have to do is decide what you want it for and then get the recommended kit.
Running down at tangents because the comms guys are not going fast enough is why you are confused. These guys are pending their own time helping us and we push them to go faster because they are not looking at what we want quick enough. I've asked them to finish off the HF first before they move on as if we don't it'll never get done.
Be patient.
Transceivers are changing and evolving all the time , as are the myriad frequencies they work on.
A standard we agree on today , will be supercede by another , more efficient system in 6 months if not sooner.
Already there are plans to legalise 4W on AM and 12W on SSB to add onto the already legal FM frequencies we already have...they expect this to possibly go through around 2013.
We should be agreeing on set frequencies that we can use to contact each other - how we achieve that will differ from individual to individual.
My vote - easiest setup for novice comms - basic UKFM CB starter kit.
Build from there.
you can pick up a ham /cb combined and the stuff you need for £150 not to bad and you get best of both worlds
confused
Not sure of the tech speak.. but potentially willing to throw some cash at something if it gets off the ground.