Emergency Radios for Survival Kits
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- Опубликовано: 21 май 2019
- I might just reveal another weakness in your Bug Out Kit preparations here! Are you set with your comms? Not 2 way radios; those have high battery demands you cannot meet in your BOK. But transistor short wave-capable radios.
These small portable radios will be your lifeline to the world after a disaster. I recommend you get ones with shortwave and single side band capabilities and I review several high value models here. Brands shown will be Jameson, Tecsun, CountyComm, Tivdio. All are tiny for integration into your BOK and with Lithium AA batteries, very lightweight.
I'll show you how I had the hobby of pulling in long distance ham radio and shortwave frequencies with these radios. It's a fun pastime. But when you have nothing much to do in WROL it can provide entertainment and valuable information on what the heck is going on. All the radios reviewed here are chosen for their performance to value ratio and it's amazing how much quality you get for so little. I paid $225 for the "Yacht Boy" radio shown in the 90s!
CountyComm GP5 James Bond Shortwave radio, shown: countycomm.com/search?q=gp-5
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Patreon member Nancy M-R "I've watched your BOK series three times now and I learn something new every single time. Now I am seeing these wonderful radios. I have been trying to choose among the dozens and dozens of them that I've seen or read this will help! I trust you Lt. Col. Nutn! Thank you for this recommendation!" Thank you Nancy, I appreicate you being here. I do my best to provide no nonsense real info for preparations. I show ya'll the stuff I use and incorporate into my systems. No TPA here!
I have my Tech license. Shortwave is currently fairly empty due to being close to being at solar minimum, but it will eventually come back, solar spots are an 11 year cycle.
2003. Pre iraq invasion and traveling across the country..... our PLT SGT had a little crank radio that we would listen to the BBC when we could. It was a morale booster- and a good source of information.
Patreon member: Todd S "I used to sell consumer electronics at Circuit City in Florida in the late 1990's. We'd sell out of those Grundig shortwave radios before every tropical storm or hurricane. They're excellent."
As a ham operator and SW listener and having been in the professional/broadcast communications industry for 50+ years I can recommend the Tecsun PL880. The main reason, it covers just about everything you may need to cover and it uses a lithium rechargeable battery, the 18650. You can use ANY cell phone charger including a small solar charger designed for a cell phone to keep it charged. Next I do recommend some kind of two way radio system for both short range and long range. The list of gear available is very long, but for short range the TYT UV380 can be had for about $100 per unit. This covers VHF/UHF, uses a rechargeable lithium battery and you can feed any 12 volt DC source to the charger to charge the battery. It also covers 136 thru 174 MHz and 400 thru 480 MHz. This range covers all public service and ham frequencies on VHF/UHF. The radio is also analog and digital (DMR) capable. Programming is not as simple or as easy as many other radios, but once you learn the programming steps or get the radio programmed, there is nothing more to do but use it. Long range communications is where it gets more expensive and complicated. Radios are going to start at about the $500 mark and go up from there. The knowledge needed to use the radio effectively also increases and the knowledge to construct and maintain an antenna system also increases but it can be done with a little work and dedication. Once in place the system only needs a 12 volt power source (solar/battery/dc power supply) of sufficient current capacity and one can communicate with the rest of the world much of the time. Search the web, there are list of SHTF emergency com frequencies circulating to standardize where to listen and talk in such situations. Just search for SHTF frequencies and you'll get plenty of hits. I disagree with you on staying with AA non-rechargable batteries. One of the first things that will disappear from store shelves will be batteries of all types. With a rechargeable setup you do not rely on what you can buy. Get a small portable recharging system (solar panels for 5 volt Lithium and one for a 12 volt system) that is light weight and packable and you will not need to look for or store batteries. Lithium rechargeables will last DECADES if you take care of them. The 18650 is/can be used for just about anything if you know how to built a battery pack out of them for your particular device. Generally you'll only need 5 volts and 12 volts for most everything.
Raider21 Thanks for the info. I love the 18650 battery, and try to get devices that use it. Mostly flashlights. I was not aware of a radio using it, so thank you sir!
@@archigeist84 The Kaito KA500L emergency radio uses an 18650 battery and it has great reception and includes nearly the entire shortwave band. The solar panel will run the radio in the sun even with the battery removed. The regular KA500 has a panel too small to work in the sun but can use AA batteries, unlike the 500L.
I have loads of shortwave radios as well as ham gear (since I am a ham) A great trick I came up with for these small shortwave radios is an external antenna, and you can make one cheap. I get a roll of wire (Smaller roll) and solder an alligator clip on the end. Clip the clip to the partly deployed antenna, and roll out the long wire into a tree or any place you can get it up decently high. Works great and costs pennies.
Cool idea!
Does the wire gauge matter?
@@Roux-AtlasCreation For reception, no.
ROTPS138 "Anyone else find the photos is Amazon absolutely hilarious? Every single person in the stock photos is at least 85 years old! Lesson to learned, "Only old people use radios, not meant for young whipper-snappers"
nutnfancy I agree with this comment 100% I actually tried to
Do some RUclips research and really couldn’t find anything in regards to a beginner starting out maybe I was looking in the wrong places but I definitely want to find out more about this can you recommend any good channels to look for
Johnathen Stommel
Check out Dave Cassler’s channel, he’s a HAM operator. There’s a whole playlist on his channel that’s meant to prepare folks for the technician ham license, a lot of great technical information about how radio works in there. If you’re wondering about gear, you’re not alone. The absolute best multiband receiver that I can recommend is a NooElec SDR with an up-converter. Just download the drivers and the freeware receiving software and you’re good to go. Analogue FM/AM is just scratching the surface of what SDR can do. It’s pretty amazing. Check out TechMinds channel for some more info on that.
I got a shortwave/am/fm/noaa, that is battery/solar/crank powered. Great idea for hearing news about your disaster from afar.
Hurricane michael was a real eye opener I definitely found the holes in my system. Thanks Nutn for the advice and videos!
Living in long island NY iv always said if theres an emergency your not going to be able to evacuate bcs traffic would be so bad. Videos like this and water/food prep are great. Thanks for all you do
Yes. Most often Safer to stay put at home with stuff than risking travel.
Good video. I am a HAM guy, two things to remember, no radio is worth a crap without a VERY good antenna. Expensive HAM radios are very expensive because of the quality of excellent receivers. We can't expect great things out of small units but then again we cant carry 70 and 80 lb radios with us. Everyone needs to consider one of these
I would suggest watching OH8STN's channel on building man portable radio systems that can transfer data over long distances. It can be done, but it will be very specific.
He will go out and test his equipment.
Hes fantastic and very knowledgeable in the communications field. I set up a portable coms and PSK31 kit from fbatteries and solar he recommended. I think that is why Nutn is so big on bugging in and setting up community. Since as a collective we know and can do more.
Julian is the man when it comes to portable long term ops.
Good overlooked topic. Love my kaito voyager, used it for years, have one in every bok.
I still have my Grundig Yacht Boy 400...and yes, it did come with the Shortwave Listening Guide! Man, that takes me back....
I wish more channels would put more importance on communications. To many people want to depend on their phones, but old school frequencies should be the standard for all. Communication should be have just as much attention to your plan as food/water, shelter, and defense
Chris Ramsey ...check out OH8STN and the Radio Prepper channels.
Were talking WROL here. You need a baofeng UV5R and rig it up to charge the batteries with a hand crank and have a few extra batteries hooked to a quality portable roll up solar panel.
During hurricane last year, all but 1 of the fm stations were out, and the final remaining station ran out of diesel for their generators. A.M. was the only option.
Matthew Thomas A big ice storm in Spokane, WA back it 93’-94’ the ice not only pulled down radio station towers, it pulled their backup towers down as well.
I always prefer radios with knobs for tuning. You can pass over a weak station and then slowly back up into it and it sometimes comes in much clearer. Also scanning radios only hit strong stations, passing over weaker ones.
I'm an amateur radio operator, and for my portable, I have an Anytone AT-D878UV radio. It does analog and digital. It can transceive all the 2 meter and 70 cm bands, along with receiving FM (87.5 - 108 MHz), the FMS/GMRS, MARS, Marine, and some local law/fire frequencies. Excellent radio for the price.
Been thinking about buying a receiver for a long time. Good suggestions here spurred me to finally pull the trigger.
Anyone knows where I can get a radio exactly like the one they had on Gilligan's island? It was robust, got great reception and lasted 3 seasons! Lol
Great vid
Normally don’t comment. County Comm is fantastic. I’ve bought many things from them and have been on the fence with radio. Perfect review/video for me. Thanks TNP!
Thanks for pokin your head out!
I have 3 of the County Comm GP-5 SSB radios.
EXCELLENT video, Nut'n! I have several SW radios, but the County Comm is my go-to for emergencies. SSB feature is a real bonus on HF ham bands, in particular 40 meters. Range during the day is roughly 300 miles, so you can pick up emergency nets for "local"updates. Beginners may find tuning SSB a little difficult, but it is easy to learn. Very good info here, and enjoying your bunker vids!
It's all about HF. We got the ionosphere, it's free, and excells in daytime. Low-signature, and you can make many different types of field expedient antennas using just about anything. I've gator-clipped an ejection port cover on a M4 to turn the rifle into an antenna, but claymore wire is easiest and works well. MRE spoons, transistors, and 550 cord and you can make it happen if you know what you're doing.
In Afghan I'd weave coax cable in the molle of my plate carrier, and with a PRC148 I could get some reach. Lots of things are possible, good video.
Guess I'll have to rethink some things. I still have my "Prepper Rdio" and still can't figure it out. This really makes sense. Loving this Series . Thank you Lt.Col. NF
Ham radio is the ultimate prepper communication mode. Hams build QRP systems that fit in Altoid tins. Someone below recommended a prepper ham operator, another guy I recommend is the radio prepper here on RUclips. Get a ham ticket then you can transmmit ARRL.org is the place to go at first. Also most counties and or cities have ham clubs that have classes for free or cheap.
Why are you ignoring DC charging options? portable solar, wind/hydro generators, thermoelectric.... that along with a portable lithium battery bank is a very viable option... been using them for years for emergency field ops. I agree with not using devices with internal proprietary batteries but saying "you will not have recharge capabilities" is frankly pretty outdated at this points... for less than $100 one could have a portable solar panel with at least 20k mAh bank... pleanty portable and affordable.
Turn off your power for 30 days and tell us all how your solar power back up works.
@@NDSMD Done it.... Spent three weeks this past winter without power... done dozens of field ops with same kit the past 6 years, works fine.
@@NDSMD The point is that you're not running 50 billion devices off a small solar panel back. The solar system is mainly for recharging small critical electronics. A small solar bank or a hydro system is perfect for that task.
Who said he is ignoring them?
@@BilgePump I addressed that in my reply... I was referring to a specific comment he made about not having the ability to recharge things. I say "ignoring" because this isn't the first time he's stated that opinion and im genuinely curious why.
Patreon member:
TheTopMostDog "Are you kidding me? I was looking at radios YESTERDAY and decided it's all too hard, and gave up my search."
Love the Grundig FR200. Bought four used on eBay. My new purchase was the compact Tecsun you reviewed here. All work great.
Excellent review. I have a couple of TECSUNs. I really like the TECSUN PL-380. Small capable package, AM/FM/SW/MW/LW with digital keypad. Uses 3 AAs.
vikingnavy007 Exactly and you can get the Tecsun PL-380 which is the same as the GP5 gray radio he spoke about for under $40
Check out the PL-365 or GP5
Great as always Nuttn. I had been on the fence with radios for a while. Picked one up from Countycom. Great website!
*Thank you! Its about time you make a video on this cause this is what most preppers forget about!*
Thank you Nutn for doing a video on this kinda gear.
And as a family we ALL need to practice using this equipment to.
I would have bet the farm that a BaoFeng ham radio was part of this review...
Nutn, I’m kind of a radio geek and I’m obliged to mention “RTL” Software Defined Radio here. Despite the name it is actually very affordable. All it takes is plugging a tuner with antenna into your laptop, download some freeware real quick (it’s all very safe, created by enthusiasts) and you can receive 30MHz-1.7GHz. “SDR Sharp” is a virtual radio program That allows you to listen to anywhere in that freq range in NFM, WFM, AM, LSB, USB, DSB, CW, and raw modes. What’s more, there is a host of software available capable of decoding data burst transmissions as well and digital voice and 4FSK pager Tones. Computer speak stuff that would be unintelligible noise on any analoge receiver. I can decode pager traffic, listen to digital uhf radio (unencrypted police/fire), downlink from NOAA satellites, and receive data from IoT devices like home weather stations and car fobs. And the software for doing so is ALL free. There’s a bit of a learning curve, so I recommend checking out RTL-SDR on reddit, as well as TechMinds RUclips channel. The hardware for SDR is well under $50, like this one: www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR-Smart-Bundle-R820T2-Based/dp/B01GDN1T4S
One major drawback with this system is that the lowest the R820 chip can go on its own is 30MHz but you can get an up-converter to listen to shortwave for about 50 bucks. Now you not only have a shortwave to millimeter wave capable radio, but you have a free software suite to monitor all kinds of analogue AND digital transmissions, all for under $100. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Hay Nutn, I live in Puerto Rico, proud TNPr, i lived the natural phenomena of Hurricane Maria ( cat 4-5 hurricane), we had no power for about 3 months months, we had generators diesel and propane ( reserves were key), no cell towers for about 2 months, no internet for about 2 months, food was scarce, Gasoline was scarce (imagine miles of cars waiting to just get 20$ of gas) there was basically no bugout option... let me tell you your spot on on on what to do, comms relied on radios (am,fm, cb), gas relied on reserve tanks prepared before the hit, and food also relied on prep before the hit... key note, be prepared guys, you never know when dodo will hit your fan.
It shouldn't be this refreshing to see bug-out kit videos that focus on real disasters, and don't frame it as "how to survive the zombie apocalypse" or some nonsense.
Used to hear radio Moscow, voice of America, and more. Brings back memories!
Anyone can use ham radios during an emergency and you can also monitor and listen on a ham anytime. The only thing the FCC doesn’t allow is broadcasting on the Ham waves during non emergencies.
Byron Langley yep, so get your license and practice so you know when not to talk.
forgetyourlife I hold a General license KG5ZNR
Byron Langley your comment simply sounded like another Boafeng owner who figures when the SHTF they are going to open up the box and know how to direct an emergency net etc. Knowing when not to talk and when to listen is the biggest part of an emergency on he air and keeps the waves free for directed traffic. Btw, your original comment hit my inbox before you edited here. You would fit right in on 3.840 with that type of language.. 73
forgetyourlife I’m not gonna lie I was a little heated but I caught myself and edited my comment. You are right I don’t know how to do a lot as I’m new to the Ham world but some people may not want to get registered with the FCC but still don’t understand the laws around game radios so I was sharing some knowledge. Your comment came off very condescending and rude but I apologize for the original comment it was not professional and equally rude.
Dont have the time to watch right now. Added it to my watch later. Thanks nutn
Extra Class ham operator here: all of those radios looked good for what they are. I would look at building a foxhole radio though, you can only listen to AM but it does not require batteries at all. SSB/shortwave are nice to have but I think there are enough of the big powerhouse AM stations that goto high-power at night to get info.
I can't remember who it was that popped the idea of bugging out. They focus on a get home bag, and the ability to secure their home for extended periods of time. But I agree that being able to leave your home during a natural disaster is important IF you live in an area that is prone to them. I live in an area where the worst thing that can happen is you lose power we don't really have extreme weather in the Northeast (away from the coast).
Edit: I definitely see what you are talking about, when we lost power during a major snowstorm I stuck by a crank radio for most of the duration. It was entertainment as well as a way to get updates on what was going on in the area.
Off topic but I finally get to check out Gunnies today. On a family road trip from California!
I still believe in having two way radio communication, I use the Boafeng UV5R dual band and the tri band BFF8, were you can communicate via FRS, GMRS and Ham, also having the capabilities to listen to AM and FM radio frequencies. That batteries have long power capacity especially in standby mode, and with a small solar cell panel, have means of recharging the batteries in the unit.
while technically its not legal to use the UV5R on FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies......in a bugout/WROL situation I am not going push the issue ;)
@@yurimodin7333 you can use them in FRS, GMRS you require a license, in which I have, and as for Ham take your test wallah, as for all of them, in a emergency situation, you can use all that you mentioned.
@@biteme19671 read the rules again, FRS requires 1/2watt IRRC and a non-detachable antenna. GMRS requires FCC Part95 certified radios. Baofeng is part79 unless you get the few that are Part90 commercial certified but is still not Part95. In life threatening emergency all that nonsense goes out the window anyway. Not flexing but I do hold an Extra Class Amateur license. Do I think the rules are dumb, yes but I just wanted to clarify.
Nicely timed, boss o7
Ive carried a hand crack am/fm radio in my kit for years, but my bugout van is coming along nicely and I just started looking into adding a s/wave receiver.
I really pondered the question on how this would affect my family during a disaster. So my wife and I went and earned our Ham license through the FCC and bought a couple Hand held Radios and receiver location book.
Get your Ham radio license the Tec is easy and you have access to the repeaters
Amateur radio is where it’s at...don’t stop at Tech, get the General and you will have regional and global comms at your disposal using the HF bands!
Ghost Rider Tech can already talk around the world in CW mode. but they never do.
If you dont have a license, at the very least have long range cobra radios, CBs, and have the hams as a last resort.
forgetyourlife ...true, that is an option; however, most techs don’t know CW...I have my extra class license and am trying to learn CW
Ghost Rider pretty much what I meant. Good luck with the code practice.
Great subject and video!
Amateur (Ham) radio is where it’s at y’all if you are serious about having emergency comms capabilities. Like everything else worth doing it takes a commitment to learn, but the rewards are great abt it could save your life or the lives of others...73.
I run my Elecraft KX3 portable. It will run indefinitely with solar. My crew regularly practices in the field. It's so nice to have 2 way ability. A lot of shortwave broadcast stations have gone off the air due to the internet. You'll end up getting alot of your news listening to us hams. Better have single side band capability. Using digital modes, we have amazing range with very little power.
How about a video on two way comms, for those of us "bugging in"?
When SHTF, we(our neighbors) will man two road blocks, guns blazing. Nobody giving us *beep*.
Cool man. But idk, The Baofeng UV-5RTP is 8w and like $30. The battery lasts a long ass time, but also I have a USB charger and a solar USB charger. 2way! I do also have a crank radio as well. But.. 2way is cheap these days and easy to charge with the sun.
These are lipo.. not like "AAs" or something..
Shit antennas you running on portables? LOS limits me severely in my suburban environment but I do know dudes in Afghanistan were getting out upwards of 6miles
@@arkanraznatovic1690 Any size we want.
6mils isn't really that far... since we have repeaters. Also, using some wire and pvc, we can go full country.
@@GF_Burke you can get the AA converters for Baofeng tho.
My 2ways, which I have 4 of them, are USB rechargeable. All my spare batteries are also usb rechargeable. The reason I choose usb rechargeable items for my BOK is i can charge them with solar. I also have solar powered power banks as well for storage of power to charge all my things. Even my flashlights are recharged via usb and even my headlamps are directly recharged with usb. My EDC watch is a casio pathfinder with solar power. That thing has been running nonstop since 2005 when I bought it. Invest your money in solar and usb rechargeable devices.
I would get both; one of those RECEIVERS (it's simple to operate), AND a ham HT radio programed for the local repeater stations and local emergency stations. Plus a small PV charger.
Never buggin. Live next to no active fault limes, 700 miles from ocean, next to 60% of the worlds fresh water and at 800 feet of sea level. Only thing to worry about is a trister
Love it! I bought a Sony 7600 similiar to this Grundig in 2001. I listened to a lot of interesting stuff, especially HAM guys around the East...even got the late Art Bell on 3853khz, upper side band, after he had signed off from his commercial AM program one night.
WBCQ is also interestin, BBC, Radio Japan, etc.
Only problem is the volume control has went haywire on it.
Dude awesome I've been waiting for this vid!
I have the exact same radio, bought in '99, and it still works perfectly - no reason to dispose of it.
CCrane makes good stuff...have the Retekess for at work out in the field...My old Grundig100 is wrapped up and stashed away for major emergency...looking to get a tecsun to add to the stable now...clipping on some long copper wire, like speaker cable works really well, especially if elevated...good stuff...don't listen as often anymore, but it's a world of communication essential in a crisis...great video.
Great vid nutnfancy!
FYI; the GP-5/SSB is almost a direct copy of a tecsun PL-365. Google has more info...
I had a ghetto blaster with a cassette tape deck in the 90s, and it also had shortwave on it as well as am/fm radio....I could pull in England, France, Australia even a few times......even Russia...and this is from San Diego....shortwave is really amazing...
Couple things: first, I think writing off two way radio comms completely isn’t always the way to go, there are ways now to charge handhelds via usb and a little solar panel. If that becomes too heavy, pitch it. Second, if you do not want transmit capabilities, having at least one person among your community who can is definitely an asset, especially if they have their general or amateur extra license. Lastly, I think a basic education for your team or community on how radio works is important in case your radio man isn’t available. I have listened to your high quality content for a long time and would love to see you delve into comms. Thank you
Great vid as usual, and yes the CountyCom GP5SSB is awesome! I'd recommend a radio with weather band as it could be helpful especially if you're bugging out due to ongoing severe weather. The Retekess PR15 is a good pocket am/fm radio which also has weather band & costs about $20 on Amazon.
Once again another great video thank you so much for all your time and effort. Also thank you for the reminder in previous videos to listen at 1.5 speed if time is a concern it's a great future keep up the great work
Dang-it, Nut'n. Haven't been able to follow you for awhile and the first vid I watch you make me get the Maratac radio! It's just too expensive watching your stuff! Seriously, I got several Baofeng radios but wanted a good shortwave and looks like Maratac has improved their portable model. Thanks for the vids!
Tecsun PL606 is also very awesome in a small package
I like my Sangean (sp?) about the size of the first radio you showed. That's my portable unit. Takes AA cells, but it uses them quickly. So, it's rechargeables or lithium on the rode. It was especially good for astronomy trips if we got clouded out. I'd lay in the tiny tent and listen to news from Vietnam or Australia (relayed). It has a reel-in wire antenna. The speaker is all right, but head phones are better. Also have a Grundig Sat. 800 I got for a reduced price because they were discontinued. It's harder to use SW now without the annual Passport station guide, but there are phone applications now that can provide station information.
I want to add my recommendation to check out CCrane for radios I recently purchased 3 different radios from them. One small pocket radio, one medium, light weight radio that has battery, plug in, solar and crank re-charge capabilities, and a larger table sized model. They have SW, Ham, Weather, AM/FM, etc. Really good quality and lots of accessories available. Great reception.
An interesting point might be too have one or two of the smaller radios available to replace broken systems or even for use in bartering. Small units in an extended WROL scenario would be worth their weight in gold.
Ear bud/headphones help make battery last longer.
Very good video pretty informative
I love to see a vid from you talking about the military coms and how to go about listening to what’s going on in case if an emergency
What another Nutn video about emergency comms. Love to the west.
I’ve been getting back into ham radio lately..love my grundig...
One important aspect of a SWR is whether the tuning is digital or analog. Digital tuning will last longer and is more precise than analog without signal drift. Also, don't get confused with an analog tuner that has a digital display... this is not a digital tuner just because it has a digital display. A radio with a digital tuner will specify whether it has this capability or not.
Taking a local CERT class is good and free. Program is switching a more community focus. Getting know ARES and AMRON operators is essential. AMRON has their channel 3 program. Having transcevier radioes CHIRPed with common local frequiencies.
Nutn covers the basics to monitor broadcast audio signals
. In unstable times having vhf/ uhf and hf radios for monitoring all those ham frequencies is great...covering different local or regional distances of individual communications...given various band antennas...
....frs, gmrs really for neighbor hoods....Cb also shorter range coverage of person to person monitoring
Could you please make a up to date USK video. I would greatly appreciate it. There are so much new gear since your last video. Thanks for everything you do
Love the videos mate
I saw an obviously broken shortwave radio in a Dollar Store in 1992 and offered them five bucks for it. I took it home and fixed it then started getting better and better ones. I have a Tecsun PL-660 now for SSB and a lot of other regular shortwave radios including the 310et.
A very good and very inexpensive shortwave radio is the tiny Tecsun R-9012. Very good AM and shortwave reception but FM sucks. It`s a true analog radio (no DSP chip) with great battery life and it covers the good parts of the shortwave band. Amazing value. Everybody should have one of these.
The little Sony ICF-P26 AM/FM radio is also true non DSP analog with over 100 hour battery life. Most of the cheap "analog" radios sold now are DSP and battery life is bad and they`re subject to damage from static discharge. DSP makes for a better FM tuner but is usually terrible for AM and shortwave for a variety of reasons related to tuning and reception.
The best regular AM/FM radio for power outages? The Sony ICF-19. Excellent reception on both bands, loud speaker, and it runs 400+ hours on three D-cell batteries.
I like that GP5 for size, features, and on-the-move carry-ability, but I hate the push button power switch. Guaranteed to be dead when you need it because it turned on when you didn’t know (unless protected...more weight/complexity).
keep your portable radios and batts stored in a metal trash can with metal lid. Makes a great Faraday Cage so that an EMP can't take them out.
Love the CountyCom.. CutleryLover turned me on to them loooong ago. Picked up a good watch and a bunch of other stuff at a good price.
Kevin Hartman They don’t have the best prices.
I feel like another angle on the information topic would be good LOCAL information. I'd be interested to know your opinion on local information sources, perhaps like CB. I know it kind of carries a geek rap, but I think there's a lot of potential there for good, up to the minute information there that also reaches if you have to bug out to another area. No phone, no frequency information, just local real time information. What do your think?
Really all you need is AM band. In Germany we would skip AM across the ocean to USA. AM can travel very far at times. AM is all over and the easiest to transmit and receive.
grabir01 ...AM is OK, bus single-side band (SSB) is much more efficient because the signal power is contained in a narrower frequency range...about 2.4khz for voice vs. 6 kHz for AM. Most ham operators use SSB on the HF bands for both voice and data because of this characteristic.
@@GhostRider1974 AM is simply the modulation type. It is very simple. I was speaking from the receiver end . ITs all good.
Believe it or not, there are still some Radio Shacks around. I also heard back in the 90's that Sangean radios were supposed to be the shiz and they also had one that was wind-up powered with no batteries required. I see some on Amazon and they're rated really good.
Sangean is good! I have a Sony 7600 but inherited a Sangean several years ago. It is actually easier to operate. I think it was purchased from C Crane.
“Nut n fancy yacht boy” I like the cadence
Thanks Nutn! But why no radio with a hand crank? You’d be totally free from batteries. Not sure if it exists with short wave, but I think so.
Got a little crank power radio awhile back from goodwill. Just checked and it’s a Grundig. I know that’s not cool, just kinda funny.
Great video that open to my eyes to having a receive only Radio. How do these radios do when they get wet. Being from Florida I haven't had a simulated bug out event where I did not get Wet.
store them in a zip-loc freezer bag. wait till your inside or sheltered to use it if raining.
That Jameson is the radio equivalent of a Jennings pistol.
ETON has a multi-band that has both internal rechargeable and 3 AA’s. It also has a crank dyno handle to recharge it. It was like $50 back in the day.
all the Eton "emergency radios" I have ever bought just fall apart with any use at all. I am talking minimal usage like pulling it out of the bug out kit for a day and cranking the dyno handle 3-4 times or less. Thy just aren't durable radios that I would depend on in a crisis.
myname is private I guess it’s just a ymmv time thing, I’ve had the same one in my kit for about 10 years. Other than breaking the antenna once, it’s been flawless.
Everyone with any intention of being prepared should at least look into amatuer radio and getting a license. Great knowledge, can even grab a baofeng UV5R and an additional AA battery pack for $30. - KD9MUW.
You should get your General Class Ham ticket, I know your in a time crunch but it’s easy. Every year we have something called Field Day, it is about emergency prep. It is really fun and gives great experience in Comms. Here is a great little radio that is stingy on battery power.
Look it up and if set up right and under the right conditions you can get almost anywhere in the world. Yaesu FT-818ND.
Sony ICF-S10MK2 is a great portable radio.
for a long term thing a basic portable ham kit might be a choice - a qrp (low power) cw (morse code) rig, straight key, a couple 7 amp hour batteries, and a 35 watt solar panel - the whole set up for a couple hundred bucks. You can listen, and talk, around the world. Will be plenty of wire laying around to make antennas, just learn how prior to the event. A well tuned and thus effectively radiating antenna is essential and the most complicated part of the equation. And don't worry about cw speed, with a long term thing, plenty of time to plod along at 10 words a minute. Best to learn how to do it yourself, cause if zombies are chasing me around I intend for a 20 word message to charge two roasting chickens or a decent sized hog.
Also, some .mil traffic is still in the clear. But you MUST get sideband capability.
No reference to crank radios? I did have to use a crank radio (AM station) and extensive usage of HAM radio in the wildfires because the power was out for a week, didn't want to use disposable batteries for a radio when they were used for lighting.
In Washington state, my Grundig could get short wave radio from Cuba with just the built in antenna.
I barely have any person I want to talk to now, would be nice to have an EMP blast or something to stop it from ringing all together 🤔🤣 lol Do have few of those radios left over from my dad, plus the whole Ham setup and with the big att. up on the roof too. Really need to list that stuff up on Craiglist, just been sitting there for 10+ years now.