- Ready Nutrition Official Website For Natural Living, Sustainable Lifestyle Tips, Health Food Recipes, Family Preparedness and More - https://readynutrition.com -

Communicating During A Disaster: Emergency Radios And Frequencies Guide

Posted By Jacob On In Family Preparedness,Featured,General,News and Commentary,Opinions and Commentary,Preparedness | No Comments

[1]

By Tara Dodrill

If your spouse and children are away from home when disaster strikes, would you be able to communicate with them and help guide them home? Many folks have become far to reliant upon cell phone and the Internet to communicate and reach loves ones quickly in our modern world. Purchasing at least one type of emergency communications device could help reunite and aid loves ones during either a short or long-term disaster.

Cell phone signals and Internet access are typically the first “services” to cease operating during either a natural or man-made disaster, and landlines may not be far behind. The GPS gadgets so many people rely upon to get to point B from point A will not be helpful if they are built into your vehicle and roads are clogged or something like an EMP attack has rendered the big hunks of metal useless.

Communicating during an emergency may be essential not only for survival, but to help locate loved ones and garner news about an unfolding scenario. Buying an emergency radio and communications devices is just the first step in being prepared for disaster. Learning how to use the device is the logical second step, but building a Faraday cage to keep the device (or devices) in will help ensure the tool remain in functional order should a solar fare or EMP attack occur. Before turning on a radio frequency and chatting, make sure to refer to usage requirements to avoid hefty fines for law enforcement and first responder only channels.

Citizens Band Radios

CB radios can allow you to contact folks living many miles away, depending upon the quality of the device. Despite all the modern technology now available at our fingertips, the vast majority of truck drivers still have CB radios in their tractor-trailers – just like in the cult classic Smokey and the Bandit. Using a Citizens Band radio to find out what is going on not only in the extended region, but on the road you travel home, will help you avoid getting mired down in any traffic that is still moving and to avoid problem areas.

 CB Radio Tips From TruckerCountry.com:

“The squelch is the control gate for incoming signals. This control cuts off or eliminates receiver background noise [white noise] when you’re not receiving an incoming signal. You can either set the squelch so that you receive all signals within your range, or so that you can only receive the strongest signals, usually those signals closest to you. Turn the squelch control clockwise to close the gate and only allow the strongest signals to enter. Turn the control counterclockwise to open the gate and allow all signals to enter. The desired squelch setting [DSS] is achieved by turning the control counterclockwise until you hear background noise, then turn the control clockwise just until the noise disappears. This is a good listening level.”

2-Meter and 10-Meter Radios

The 2-meter radios offer the ability to contact local law enforcement authorities and first responders. Monitoring rescue and recovery efforts, and any evolving unrest, will likely also be beneficial to the family’s survival. Some claim that 10-meter radios have allowed them to speak to others living several hundred miles away, but such ability would likely vary dependent upon location and terrain around the home.

FRS and GMRS Radios

The Family Radio Service (FRS) was enacted in 1996. During the past decade or so multiple businesses have also begun using the radio frequencies for communications throughout the workday. FRS radios were an improvement on standard walkie-talkie and allowed frequencies to be “channelized.” Both FRS and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) radios utilize ultra-high frequencies, or UHF. Most versions of the radio come with squelch codes known as DCS CTCSS. This attribute permits users to squelch out most unwanted transmissions from transmitting radio traffic, which conserves the life of the battery. FRS radios must have a permanent antenna to function and are restricted to 500-milliwatts. The typical range for such a radio is about one-fourth to one and a half miles – depending upon the surrounding terrain. GMRS radios can have an extended transmission range, also still dependent upon the geographic area.

FRS/GMRS Channels

HAM radios

The HAM radio has played an integral role in every disaster this nation has faced for over 100 years. HAM will remain functional even when modern communication devices become worthless. The seemingly old-fashioned devices are extremely reliable and allow users to connect with the outside world when Internet access, cell towers, and phone land lines are no longer functional.

HAM radio codes

Weather Radios

NOAA weather radios are also an important item to consider. The broadcasts by the agency share weather and related emergency information designed for specific listening areas. There are approximately 425 NOAA transmitters currently active in America, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and Guam. Canada has its own version of the weather alert system, one which can be reached via the Internet.

Each NOAA transmitter covers roughly 40 miles from the device site. About 80 percent of the United States is included in the NOAA transmitter area. Typically, the weather alert agency’s broadcasts are on air 24-hours a day and updated when special warnings or hazards become apparent. During times of severe weather, amateur HAM radio operators contact the NOAA weather system on specific radio frequencies to offer local updates.

NOAA operates on seven different frequencies outside of the typical AM/FM radio bands:

 CB Channel  Frequencies

Prepper Freeband and CB Radio Frequencies

 FREQ MODE LOCATION