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glassuser ago

I'd go with a UV-82 radio instead of a UV-5. There are a few technical details that made it seem better. Make sure you have enough that each group made from your local dependents has at least one - preferably one per person with a couple of spares. The antennas on mobile radios are junk. They're okay for the field, though you probably want to replace them with something better any way. But if you're in a mobile or fixed location (like your home) then you are going to want to run some efficient coax cable (50 ohm, not 75 ohm television/satellite coax) up to an elevated location like the top of the house or a tree and have a decent antenna. A mag-mount mobile antenna with a couple dozen feet of simple coax can help a lot in a house (but make sure you account for the ground plane, if the antenna requires it).

Also make sure you get an amateur operator and/or GMRS license so you can legally test, practice, and train outside of an emergency. An amateur license is cheap but only covers you. A GMRS license is a little more expensive, but covers everyone in your near-extended family (parents, grandparents, siblings, children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews).

You recommend some things (like the radio battery packs) that use AA batteries, and others that use CR123 batteries. There is a huge amount of value in having all of your emergency/prep gear use the same kinds of batteries. A UV-82 (and UV-5r) will run directly off two CR-123 cells (the battery packs are just two lipo cells). It can be better, in a pinch, to have everything run off n-S voltages (i.e. a single lipo/cr-123 cell, or multiples of them) so that if something goes really wrong you can just stick wires together to get some power.

Don't forget a small solar panel to trickle-charge these batteries. An exercise bicycle (or similar contraption) could also help charge things and get exercise, if you're cooped up in the house (but don't bet on using it much if you're on subsistence rations).

lanre ago

One thing to keep in mind is that the range advertised for radios is all bullshit, especially if you introduce hilly terrain and obstructions. The only decent radios I ever used were the Motorola brick radios or the Harris handhelds.

glassuser ago

The blister-pack radios are garbage. The programmable radios like the UV-82 are okay (thought he baofeng radios are on the crappy end of the decent spectrum). The Motorola brick radios and the like are very good, relatively, as you said.

And yes, the ranges quoted are the ideal maximum with line of sight. Point to point, down in the scrub, you're lucky to get half a mile. That's why I was talking about having an elevated higher quality antenna at a "base" station.

fukyboi ago

Thanks a ton for this info. I added your suggestion of UV-82. I also agree (re: batteries); I try to standardize entirely on 123a, but there are still a couple things using AA.