# Coms



## bocosurvivor (Mar 25, 2012)

It's time for me to start coms. prep. I have a G.H.B in both my wife's car and my own. Buggin in is my choice, with the option to roll out to ? If possible. I need to contact my wife, and son at school should I need to. Also some sort of mobile home base to stay in the know.


----------



## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Welcome to the group!

What type of distances are you needing to cover? Also, is your son old enough to have a vehicle? A hand held radio that could be carried in a back pack is not going to have too great of a coverage area. What is the terrain like? A flat open area, like say parts of Kansas, makes it easier to cover a larger area instead of densely packed city or hilly/mountainous areas. Provide a few more specifics and someone here will be glad to assist you in forming a comms plan.


----------



## bocosurvivor (Mar 25, 2012)

My son is 8 so no on the driving. I live in the foothills in Colorado. Not in the mountains. Only blockage of line of sight is houses, buildings, and such. I like the idea of handheld because I /my wife would be able to use mobile if vehicle rendered useless. Also I would like AA battery usage ability so I have no need to make sure something is charged.


----------



## bocosurvivor (Mar 25, 2012)

bocosurvivor said:


> My son is 8 so no on the driving. I live in the foothills in Colorado. Not in the mountains. Only blockage of line of sight is houses, buildings, and such. I like the idea of handheld because I /my wife would be able to use mobile if vehicle rendered useless. Also I would like AA battery usage ability so I have no need to make sure something is charged.


City to directly answer you question. As far as distance, as far as possible.


----------



## bocosurvivor (Mar 25, 2012)

At times we may be 30 miles plus from the house( wife and I). The school is about 1.5 miles away from home.


----------



## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Ok, the bad news is a handheld will not get you thirty miles without a repeater, so that makes Amateur Radio your only possible way to cover thirty miles with a hand held as there is probably a repeater in your area. Amateur Radio requires passing a test, and may be a bit tough for an 8 year old, although there have been some that have done it.

Don't believe the range claims of of GMRS hand held radio, they are completely bogus in real world use. I've used "20 mile" versions that struggled to cover a mile in very lightly rolling hills and with trees. Still they _may_ be your best bet, but they too require a license for _legal_ use (really just a fee, with no test is involved and it is good for 5 years and covers your entire immediate family). There are models that I've seen that claim a 40 mile range, it would be interesting to put them through their paces and see what they can really do.

If you are worried about security, I'd recommend the eXRS radios by TriSquare. They are relatively inexpensive, use spread spectrum frequency hopping, and are secure from casual eavesdropping. Unfortunately their coverage is only a few miles, at best.


----------



## artman556 (May 2, 2012)

Ham radio,gmrs,or cb radio


----------



## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

I've been reading up on the GMRS radio service and one possibility that I am considering to beef of that area of my comms is commercial radios. There are several models of commercial mobile radios that can be re-programmed to work on GMRS channels. When combined with a decent external antenna, they may give you the range that you are looking for, at least between home and a car. Since the school is only 1.5 miles from home, one of the better hand held radios should cover that distance with no problem.

Used commercial radios can be purchased online (eBay for instance) for very reasonable prices, and a lot of sellers offer reprogramming services. Of course, being able to reprogram them yourself would be desirable. It may be a way to get the coverage that you are looking for. Although GMRS is just one of my back-up plans, I will certainly be considering adding reprogrammed commercial mobile radios for myself.


----------

