Public Comms SHTF

[Midnitemo]

think i'll take a punt on one of those tecsun's , i have an ancient Grundig Yachtboy in place at the moment but it wont hurt to back it up with another at that price point(i hate spending my hard earned in the Evil Empire but sometimes it's the only way)

[Lightspeed]

(9 August 2021, 07:27)Midnitemo Wrote: think i'll take a punt on one of those tecsun's , i have an ancient Grundig Yachtboy in place at the moment but it wont hurt to back it up with another at that price point(i hate spending my hard earned in the Evil Empire but sometimes it's the only way)

The Yaughtboy should serve you well Midnight.

As al alternative to the Tecsun, keep an eye open in Lidl, Aldi and the likes. From time to time they have special offer general coverage Shrort-wave capable, AA powered radios costing in the region of £10.00

With 10 to 30 ft of scrap wire touched to the antenna, most of these sorts of radios will easily pick up worldwide broadcasts

[bigpaul]

(8 August 2021, 16:15)Mortblanc Wrote: Paul, "post SHTF" you won't get anything local either. You are not going to find any production in your imagined world at all. So you might as well stock up on cheap Chinese stuff now and call it "prepping".

MB I was thinking more in the here and now, I KNOW that everything will shut down post SHTF.
If you cant make it, repair it, breed it or grow it, then you wont have it.
its called self reliance, something that the general public have never heard of along with common sense.

[LAC]

(6 August 2021, 15:45)Lightspeed Wrote:

(10 July 2021, 09:57)LAC Wrote:

(15 June 2021, 17:46)kellys_eye Wrote: Two-way radio is one thing but simply keeping yourself informed is a huge requirement in a SHTF situation.

If you haven't got one already I'd suggest you aim for a multi-band receiver (LW/MW/SW/VHF) covering the main broadcast bands - shortwave is particularly useful as it allows you to hear what's going on across the world, direct from other countries.

I have recently acquired a Sangean ATS-808 (originally bought duff but I have the skills to fix this type of thing so now fully operational) that covers all the aforementioned but for backup - in the case of EMP - I've also found an old VALVE radio that covers all the SW bands too.

The older the equipment the more opportunity there will be to keep it working too - integrated electronic devices will likely have ZERO spares availability so whatever you have make sure you take good care of it.

Thanks KE, I've been looking for a good multi band receiver for a while now, any other suggestions other than the one you mention, or anyone else have any suggestions as to a decent and reasonably price multi band receiver?

LAC: something like this for £15-00 is all you need to pick up worldwide broadcasts: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254702364748?...ondition=3

Thanks LS, coms are an area I've neglected a bit, was actually reading up on some of the files you posted in the files section. Any good informational web sites you recommend?

Also, if I wanted to spend a bit more to get one with a digital display what would you recommend? Say one that also has SSB as well. I've been saving so budget could go to a few hundred quid.

[Lightspeed]

LAC, a half decent SSB receiver will come in at over 100 quid. But you dont need SSB for broadcast reception, just AM.

SSB will primarily be for reception of Amateur radio traffic. The Malachite type SDR radios look to be a good solution with the digital screen you desire.

I've had a play with SDR dongles for lap tops. The low cost ( 30 quid or so) units are very poor compared to a dedicated receiver.

Another alternative for around 170quiid would be the Xiegu G1M. These are self contained SDRs that receive wel on all broadcast bands between 0.6 to 30mhz. They also receive all the Ham bands in that range, and transmit 5 -8 w SSB on 80m 40m 20m and 15m. In addition to the radio, a power supply and antenna will be be required.

A good radio prep resource is Radioprepper who has many useful videos on Youtube.

[LAC]

(13 August 2021, 11:25)Lightspeed Wrote: LAC, a half decent SSB receiver will come in at over 100 quid. But you dont need SSB for broadcast reception, just AM.

SSB will primarily be for reception of Amateur radio traffic. The Malachite type SDR radios look to be a good solution with the digital screen you desire.

I've had a play with SDR dongles for lap tops. The low cost ( 30 quid or so) units are very poor compared to a dedicated receiver.

Another alternative for around 170quiid would be the Xiegu G1M. These are self contained SDRs that receive wel on all broadcast bands between 0.6 to 30mhz. They also receive all the Ham bands in that range, and transmit 5 -8 w SSB on 80m 40m 20m and 15m. In addition to the radio, a power supply and antenna will be be required.

A good radio prep resource is Radioprepper who has many useful videos on Youtube.

Excellent info LS, thanks a lot. Will report back my results.