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It's good advice, but true radio shops are few and far between these days. I live in a city of 2 million people, and we have one proper radio store.
Radio Shack doesn't count. You might get really lucky and have one nearby that employs someone who knows what they're doing, but RS has turned into a cellphone and toy store. It's not the Radio Shack of 30 years ago.
LOL, THAT explains why I had trouble. Yea, it was like a big cell phone store staffed by kids. Not the RS I remembered full of helpful grown men and bins of cool little radio doo-dads.
If you get a radio get a couple of survival modes of powering it. Photo cell, small wind generator and battery would be good ones another would be a generator and battery you can pedal or hand generate with.
Now if its to be stored, I have two that I have packed in silica bags and then put in a vacuum food sealer bag with the bags in the battery compartment of it. I take them out every other year and test them for a few hours.
Does anyone have suggestions for radios? I'd like to get a radio that would pick up more talk radio stations around my region or the country or the world for that matter. I remember back in the 1960s or 70s my mother got my father a Grundig and it picked up international broadcasts I think. I remember he was delighted. Maybe it even picked up Ham radio operators.
It might be nice in a SHTF scenario when you can't rely on the local propaganda news outlets and if you couldn't get on the internet for whatever reason.
Where are good places to buy them?
Thanks in advance.
I basically concur with everything in this thread, more or less, but just want to add that you can break down your survival communications needs into three basic ranges.
Nearby (aka Tactical): What is going on in my town or county.
You can use normal AM and FM for this, and if you have the inclination, add a scanner.
(Scanners today need to be compatible with "digital trunking" and P25 aka Project 25 systems)
Regional (aka Operational): What is going on in my state.
This is what that CB (with SSB) is good for. Learn the jargon those "rambo militia groups" use. Those "nuts" are a great source of information in the worst of times. (although there will always be some misinformation involved, and you have to take everything with a grain of salt)
Worldwide (aka Strategic): what is going on other places around the world.
Here is where you need that SW radio, with Ham band coverage, and SSB. Learn about digital modes, and if you can, get the software to decode (this isn't encryption, just something that allows computers to talk to one another) the stuff they send in digital format on SW. Get in touch with AmRRON after you have done some study on your own, if you need more specific info.
Always remember that it is more important to be able to listen, than to talk.
(In fact, talking in a dangerous situation can attract unwanted attention.)
I'm not into this SHTF scenario stuff but if I was I'd have multiple radio types. In a true SHTF situation where you, maybe, don't care about licensing, ham radio could be one option. If every thing is FUBAR and you need to reach Anybody for help, you want to try where it's most likely to find someone listening, cb radio might be the best choice.
A scanner would help find communications activity on multiple bands.
Anybody interested in this might as well pick up a couple BaoFeng UV-5R, it covers a lot of bands and is cheap, usually under $30.
Back to reality, A great find. I picked up an internet radio at a thrift store, (Logitech Squeezebox). This thing is wonderful, Obviously, needs an internet connection. You can get any kind of programming from anywhere in the world. There's a low power local am talk radio station that I like to listen to that comes in weak here,. It comes in perfect on the internet radio.
There's a simple way to improve the reception of any radio. Find the spot to attach an antenna. Attach a wire by screwing it to the post or by soldering if the post is unmarked. A radio enthusiast can show you where it is and will likely even solder it for you. Make sure that the wire is long. Finally, loop it over the house. If you don't have a line-throwing gun you can tie it to a shoe to throw it over a one story house or set up a mechanism for a higher building. Do not climb onto a roof: that's not safe.
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Anybody interested in this might as well pick up a couple BaoFeng UV-5R, it covers a lot of bands and is cheap, usually under $30.
Cheap and seems fairly reliable.
As with any digital radio, it takes some time to learn and set up.
That is something I didn't stress enough in my previous post. You have to learn to use these things. Except for the off the shelf AM FM radio, they aren't as easy to learn as the radios most of use in our daily lives.
Quote:
Back to reality, A great find. I picked up an internet radio at a thrift store, (Logitech Squeezebox). This thing is wonderful, Obviously, needs an internet connection. You can get any kind of programming from anywhere in the world. There's a low power local am talk radio station that I like to listen to that comes in weak here,. It comes in perfect on the internet radio.
Internet Radio works until the SHTF, then it probably won't. Good for learning and entertainment, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming
There's a simple way to improve the reception of any radio. Find the spot to attach an antenna. Attach a wire by screwing it to the post or by soldering if the post is unmarked. A radio enthusiast can show you where it is and will likely even solder it for you. Make sure that the wire is long. Finally, loop it over the house. If you don't have a line-throwing gun you can tie it to a shoe to throw it over a one story house or set up a mechanism for a higher building. Do not climb onto a roof: that's not safe.
Good advice that works on almost any radio.
I have don't similar things myself.
The best radios play top music from the 70's. Still lookin' for one.
To bad you ain't in the AR side of the Ozarks.
We got that. (Station just southeast of me, in Mountain View)
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