Category: Communications & Receivers

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Without suitable commo, an extended and layered defense is less possible, or less effective. Lacking the ability to coordinate with a small community diminishes the ability to perform job number one: security. While Ham radio is a good thing when we need to talk far and wide, it is commo with our neighbors will be more important to us. At the very least, buy a Slim Jim (not a j-pole) from KB9VBR, or any omnidirectional antenna that is tuned for GMRS, or 464.500 Mhz. With that, you can for sure talk to …

(Continued from Part 1.) Broad-banded antennas are very useful. However, if forced to fabricate an expedient antenna, and we only had an antenna capable of 462 to 463 Mhz, we would be in business as the channels that come in the commercial radios are 1-7, and 15 to 22, are GMRS and are within the 462 Mhz to 463 Mhz range. FRS channels are 8 thru 14 and are between 467 and 468 Mhz. Material requirements are much less for a J-pole, and these antennas can be made to be nearly indestructible. A larger-in-diameter radiator will typically have broader bandwidths. …

Antennas are the underappreciated other half of a transceiver. Back in the day, Hams strove to make their own homemade transceivers. But with the advent of cheap stuff from Asia, we have been spoiled. Now we tend to just buy it. It is time to refresh our skills. While continuing to build antennas for friends and neighbors, and other low-power community radio networks, I’d like to share some of my trade secrets. Secret number one. It is so easy, a guerilla can do it, but only after some trial and error. A cheap radio on a good antenna is a …

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) TACTICS FOR DELIVERING A DROP To place a drop without someone noticing that is what you are doing takes practice. You will need to practice like mentioned prior, as sleight of hand skill goes a long way to placing a drop. Gently setting a rolled-up newspaper into a trash can where another person picks it up just walking by might work when everyone’s head is buried in their phones, but certainly will get you found out if someone is observing you. Here are some cardinal rules for prioritizing drop tactics, if you …

(Continued from Part 1.) Option 4: The live drop: A person-to-person message drop can be performed as well, but it has the highest level of risk for someone to intercept or notice. You have probably seen a live drop in movies where a briefcase changes hands in a crowded terminal or something, very observable for those paying attention and not overly discrete. It is absolutely critical that, if it can be avoided, the two individuals performing a live drop have no discernable connection with each other or readily identifiable groups! If known club member A passes by known club member …

Today, we see a growing vulnerability of our communications and how they impact our short term, and long-term lives. With hacking on the rise, electronic protection systems growing more and more complex, Social media nannies, and increased reliance on foreign components (that may have embedded spyware) …Americans are starting to wake up to the thought “maybe what I am saying isn’t private anymore”. You would be correct, and this would hint that a total loss of freedoms of speech and of security of your person has occurred or isn’t far away. Our liberties are eroding around us in America, and …

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) A friend of mine suggested that I include some discussion of less costly MURS radios for those prepping on a modest budget. There are not nearly as many options for MURS radios as there are for GMRS. A bit of research reveals that a Hong Kong-based firm called Retevis offers Chinese-made radios that it markets for MURS use. Their model RT21V is available in a two-pack for $44.99. They are CTCSS capable, but they do not come with any tones already set up. The Retevis units have the five MURS channels ordered …

(Continued form Part 2.) General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) GMRS is a personal radio service that uses the same frequencies and channels as FRS, but more power is allowed, and there are greater equipment options. The FCC defines GMRS as “A mobile two-way voice communication service, with limited data applications, for facilitating activities of individual licensees and their family members, including, but not limited to, voluntary provision of assistance to the public during emergencies and natural disasters.” 47 CFR 95.1703. Note that unlike FRS or CB, GMRS requires a license. 47 CFR 95.1705. There is no test, and the license …

(Continued from Part 1.) Back to the matter of radio spectrum: It is regulated by the government, and it pretty much has to be. No matter how libertarian you lean and no matter how dim your view of government power, somebody has to regulate the spectrum, or it would be completely useless, with would-be users interfering with each other left and right. Every developed nation has a government agency that allocates radio spectrum to different uses, and in turn countries cooperate internationally via various treaties and agreements. In the United States, this responsibility has been delegated by Congress to the …