Best Ham Radio Transceivers (base station and mobile) for Long Range Communication in case of Disaster by Nature or Human.

[John R Retired]

As described in the Title of this thread, what would be the best Ham Radio gear for general communication if cell phones service
goes out like what happened with AT & T blackout recently? (Talking about Voice communication not Morse Code).

What are the current license theory equirements for such useage, (Technical) and is the range of the radios limited by the level of license
or the radio itself?

What is the general range of lowest power level Ham Radios gear up to more powerful gear?

 

[Bluejets]

Best contact your local ham radio club.

 

[Martaine2005]

In case of disaster by nature or human, apocalypse!
I don’t think anyone would care what method of communication is used as long as it works.
But depending on your country, all the information will be on your government’s website or radio society.
For example, in the UK

UK Amateur Licensing - Radio Society of Great Britain - Main Site : Radio Society of Great Britain – Main Site

rsgb.org

 

[bertus]

Hello,

Have a look at this wiki page for the licences in america:

Amateur radio licensing in the United States - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Bertus

 

[danadak]

As described in the Title of this thread, what would be the best Ham Radio gear for general communication if cell phones service
goes out like what happened with AT & T blackout recently? (Talking about Voice communication not Morse Code).

It depends on your goals, your existing infrastructure (like are there repeaters in your area), local
constraints on antennas, what infrastructure services are you trying to enable.....way too broad a question.

What are the current license theory requirements for such usage, (Technical) and is the range of the radios limited by the level of license
or the radio itself?

Both, FCC regulates this. General limit for top license is 1.5 KW PEP. Top of page applies with exceptions
called out by band.

https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band%20Chart/Band%20Chart%208_5%20X%2011%20Color.pdf

What is the general range of lowest power level Ham Radios gear up to more powerful gear?

Again way too broad a question. Amateur's experiment with low power digital modes, very low data rates,
mili Watt range, up to 1.5 Kw. Range is dependent on band, antenna, power, ionospheric conditions (propagation),
ground (earth, dirt) conditions, frequency (line of sight) or ground wave propagation, building and terrain...........

The Range of Ham Radio: A Guide to How Far You Can Talk

Range of ham radio? How far you can talk on a ham radio depends on the frequency, transmitter output power and the antenna you're using.

hamradioprep.com

How Far Can a Ham Radio Reach? | Hamtronics

Do you know how far your ham radio can reach? Find out what the limits are and explore some of the cutting-edge solutions available with Hamtronics.

www.hamtronics.com

Transceivers come in many varieties, specific band, all band, power level, hand held, battery operated,
line operated, modes, web based...........

And then there are security issues to consider......


Regards, Dana.

 

[kellys_eye]

There is no 'right' answer. There are more variables than it's reasonable to discuss but one major variable is propagation - It has less to do with the actual equipment being used but a lot to do with HOW it is used.

e.g I can communicate globally using 10W given the right conditions. I can also barely get out the county (not country) using 100's watts with the wrong antenna and wrong conditions.

All you really need is enough capability to reach 'the next person' and communications can therefore filter down through a chain of contacts.

 

[John R Retired]

It depends on your goals,


Regards, Dana.

Goals
"Survival" and the necessity of communicaions if cell service is affected, due to increasingly hostile world situations and international conflict which has rapidly escalated in the past 3 years. Maybe things won't reach apocalyptic conditions but looking at the worst case scenario just in case. Who knows what might happen the way events are playing out and it is not looking good, being realistic.

CB Radio is obviously too limited, so HAM radio is the best backup communications mode and I have some electronics knowledge.


And then there are security issues to consider......
What security issues?

 

[John R Retired]

There is no 'right' answer. There are more variables than it's reasonable to discuss but one major variable is propagation - It has less to do with the actual equipment being used but a lot to do with HOW it is used.

e.g I can communicate globally using 10W given the right conditions. I can also barely get out the county (not country) using 100's watts with the wrong antenna and wrong conditions.

All you really need is enough capability to reach 'the next person' and communications can therefore filter down through a chain of contacts.

You must be talking about CW--Morse Code...what type of transmitter and antenna are you using?

 

[kellys_eye]

what type of transmitter and antenna are you using?

Nothing that you would find useful (to know) i.e. a 'vintage' Yaesu FT75 (CW/SSB, QRP set) currently but most of the rest of my stuff is all homebrew.

If you're based in the USA then all you need is to reach the next State (or two) and you could do that very easily with 100W max and a decent antenna.

The key to your requirement would be more knowledge of what's involved and, in particular, knowledge of propagation, antennas and antenna matching BEFORE you settled on specific transmitting equipment to use with them. On an 'immediate' basis any multi-mode capable 100W transceiver would give you a huge advantage over anyone else BUT there's an even simpler means of doing things.

Rather than advertising your presence to all and sundry (good and bad alike) the most practical answer would be to simply LISTEN and all you require is a decent all-band receiver.

On the EOTWAWKI basis I have acquired a number of receivers for this purpose ranging from antique valved receiver to a simple all-transistor all-band receiver and, finally, an SDR-based receiver with appropriate software.

Actually transmitting after the EOTWAWKI event is the last thing on my to-do list. Not something I'd recommend anyone to do.

 

[Delta Prime]

Hello,

Have a look at this wiki page for the licences in america:

Amateur radio licensing in the United States - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Bertus

+1 establish yourself first. everything else will come naturally as far as legal modifications.