Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

https://plannedemergency.com/best-radios-for-emergency-use/

by dennalp • 4 years ago

72 102 4 years ago

curiousfab• 4 years ago

The list is appears to be a random mix of AM/FM radios (receiver only), walkie talkies for different frequency bands, etc. Without any context, this list is not helpful at all - or outright confusing.

It's also noteworthy that different countries have different allowed frequency bands and usage restrictions.

I suppose those who have an interest in emergency communication may want to have a look at what their national amateur radio society has to offer.

defrost• 4 years ago

In an extreme emergancy (eg: captured in a POW camp) you might just have to build your own:

Queensland Prisoners secret radio revealed

> Two Queensland brothers, Ernest and Charles Hildebrandt, built a secret wireless radio receiver which they operated in the camp near Bandoeng in Java which was overran by Japanese soldiers in 1942.
> Constructed of parts scrounged from the internment camp where they were held prisoner in Java during the war, the transmitter was built into a Dutch gas-mask container and hidden under a square of concrete measuring 12 by 7 inches.

[*] https://blog.qm.qld.gov.au/2019/11/12/on-this-day-queensland...

HillBates2• 4 years ago

Coverage of earth by earth sensing satellites in visible spectrum is so high, that you can literally write different message into sand / earth every hour. No radio construction necessary XD

junon• 4 years ago

Someone needs to be looking, though.

grendelt2• 4 years ago

Scanning that article I was blown away to see it said "the transmitter..." - then I realized the author is play fast and loose with the terms transmitter and receiver (surprise! They aren't interchangeable!). It looks like a tube-based regen receiver.

In Europe, Allied POWs would build "foxhole radios" which had no selectivity and you'd hear the strongest signals best - and during WW2, that was the BBC.

user3939382• 4 years ago

which had no selectivity

All of the foxhole radio designs I've seen actually do have an (albeit very crude) way to select a frequency. Maybe all the designs I've seen aren't faithful to the ww2 versions?

aosmith5• 4 years ago

And not a single mention of the BaoFeng UV5R, what a shame.

iasay6• 4 years ago

Probably because it’s illegal to use one without a license.

logopop• 4 years ago

... and it's also crap.

gorgoiler2• 4 years ago

This is not technically true. These radios can — and most commonly do — use the unlicensed UHF bands (PMR446 in the EU, FRS 462Mhz in the US.)

aosmith5• 4 years ago

Nobody cares in an emergency...

Yeahsureok• 4 years ago

The great thing about the ubiquitous cheap Baofengs is that they operate on frequencies that regular legit radios generally won't let you receive and transmit on due to local laws.

For an unknown emergency situation at that price point they seem ideal. You never know what band you might need to communicate on and CB has its own limitations.

jimnotgym• 4 years ago

The technical (rather than legal) problem with the baofeng is the lack of input filtering. This means if you are near a strong transmitter on any nearby band you won't hear anything!

Since in the UK it is common to put radio masts on a hill top this can make them useless on adjacent hill tops. Adding a decent antenna makes it worse. In fact the only way to get clear receive is to use an input notch filter or a narrow band and highly directional aerial like a yagi

Edit: if you really want to use it on 2m or 70cm amatuer spend another £40 and get a yaesu

bityard3• 4 years ago

For an unknown emergency situation at that price point they seem ideal.

No, they are the worst thing you can buy "for an emergency."

Sometimes people buy them with no intention of transmitting, they see the Baofengs as cheap VHF/UHF scanners. But they make terrible scanners. Their frequency range is very limited, their scanning is very slow, their selectivity is poor, and they are missing almost all of the bells and whistles that come with modern hand-held scanners.

If you think you might want to transmit during an emergency, then just grabbing a Baofeng or three off the jungle site and hoping for the best is a TERRIBLE plan.

A popular line of thinking is, "but during an emergency, you can use any radio and frequency necessary." Yes, that is logically true but those who say it are conveniently ignoring several aspects of reality: Unless you have a business license or an amateur radio license, you are not allowed push the Transmit button on a Baofeng. If you cannot transmit with the radio, then you cannot practice using it. If you cannot practice using it, you are NOT PREPARED to use it in an emergency and your own incompetence with it could lead to loss of life.

You also have to consider what kind of emergency you are likely to face. If you're out in the back country where there is no cell service, then a VHF/UHF radio is very unlikely to do you any good either. You need something with satellite capability in this case.

If you want to be prepared for an urban emergency (tornado, flooding, terrorist attack, war) then you want TWO radios: a scanner for receiving weather, listening in on emergency services (if not encrypted), and listening to others on various services. To communicate: a CB, FRS, or MURS radio. A $25 Baofeng CANNOT be used as any of these.

Potentially the best option is to learn about radio, get an amateur radio license, AND THEN purchase a Baofeng or higher-quality amateur radio. Then you will have the skills and license to actually operate the thing correctly when needed and legally when not.

Disclaimer: I own a Baofeng and use it legally.

nonrandomstring2• 4 years ago

Whether or not this is a good list, I find the topic very interesting. For more exercise I've started to increase the range of my usual hikes, from just mooching around a 10 mile radius of home to some much more ambitious yomps out into wilderness. Being alone out there obviously raises thoughts about safety.

Everyone knows I hate "smartphones" with a passion. For possible emergencies I carry a powered-down (battery flipped) Nokia wax-sealed in a dry-sack. Regardless, the cell coverage can't be relied upon and I don't fully trust it.

Lately I started looking at alternatives, and considering the fascinating array of features some devices have.

Stand alone GPS devices with loadable OSM maps seem really useful. Emergency beacons seem to fill a need for the bad case where you really need rescue. But there's also powerful handheld radios and sat phones. The landscape of affordable civilian RF gear seems to be changing fast.

What kit do people pack for hiking? Or what gadgets do you wish existed?

valiant-comma• 4 years ago

Garmin’s InReach products are great for this. Emergency button, two-way texts, all satellite based, so basically full global coverage. They can also allow you to share your semi real-time location with friends and family, if that’s useful to you.

nonrandomstring2• 4 years ago

Yes the Garmin stuff looks great. For some of those features you seem to need a renewable monthly subscription. I'm looking for products that build the connection cost into the one-off price, not out of cheapness but for more reliability/security than a subscription. Would be awful to finally need an emergency device and find the data plan had expired (as is now the case with phone networks that destroy your number when it goes unused regardless of how much credit you've charged it with). That's specifically one of the cost models I want to move away from. The only thing I should need to pack is some spare batteries.

noughtme• 4 years ago

I prefer a standalone PLB (personal locator beacon) when backcountry skiing. Smaller, lighter, more reliable, no subscription fee.

linsomniac2• 4 years ago

That's what I got as well: ACR ResQLink -- you register it with NOAA every 2 years, I can't find anywhere listing the price, I think it's $50 or $75. It then talks to NOAA satellites to send out your distress call and location. The device itself when I got it was $250, looks like they are $350ish now.

The downside is there is basically nothing other than "I need rescue" that you can do with the device. You turn it on and a rescue team shows up.

qbasic_forever2• 4 years ago

Get a Garmin inReach mini: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/592606 The key feature of the Garmin is that it has two way communication (on the cheap model you can use a slow character at a time typing, or link to your smartphone with BLE for a proper keyboard).

Two way communication with rescuers is an absolute game-changer in real emergencies. You can tell rescuers exactly what happened and the conditions of people, the environment, etc. to expect. Without two way comms rescuers only see a ping from a beacon and have to first send out a small team to recon the area and find you, then they have to radio back to get a proper rescue going. With two way comms you can short circuit that recon and tell them exactly how many people are injured, if you need a helicopter right now, if you're safe to spend a night, etc. Rescuers can keep you in the loop of progress too like if they're delayed from weather, etc.

I listen to a great podcast about climbing accidents (the sharp end: https://www.thesharpendpodcast.com/2022 ) and every single episode that involves a rescue mentions that having two way communication with the search and rescue team was critical in getting a fast and safe rescue. Don't bother with anything else beside a satellite communication device that can talk both ways IMHO.

eternityforest2• 4 years ago

I'm amazed that people willingly go on multi day hikes or sailing trips, regularly, without satellite communication.

Some of them might be wearing multiple hundred dollar jackets and boots and can probably afford them without even needing to think of the cost.

I can only assume they either don't know they exist or don't particularly want them? Do they enjoy the extra adrenaline of not having one?

zmj• 4 years ago

Two-way communication is great even outside of emergencies. A couple times, I’ve used it to tell my check-in person that I was going to miss my scheduled return time, but didn’t need help. Another time, I used it when I was at home to text my partner about a flash flood warning in their area (backcountry).

GekkePrutser2• 4 years ago

Another vote for the InReach here.

I'm a ham operator but I don't bring my radio for emergency purposes. In Europe ham usage is so low it's hard to find someone to talk to at the best of times. Not something I'd rely on in an emergency.

Perhaps in the US things are better. But here no. The InReach is a better option and it didn't even require a license (most 400Mhz PLBs do over here!)

WrtCdEvrydy2• 4 years ago

Honestly... Baofeng UV-5R is still my go-to for emergency usage... program in GMRS/FRS/Coast Guard frequencies as well as the simplex HAM frequencies.

Sadly the new generation ones and the GT-5R which is cleaner spectrum-wise are all software limited to only HAM frequencies so in case of an emergency that one would less useful.

ja27• 4 years ago

While I still prefer more expensive, weatherproof ham handhelds, the UV-5R is almost throw-away cheap, making it easy to keep a couple on hand to hand out. Also program in at least any local NOAA weather stations.

A bonus is FM broadcast reception. Was a real help keeping my mother-in-law occupied once we lost power and internet during a tropical storm.

vitaflo3• 4 years ago

It’s illegal to have a radio that transmits on both FRS/GMRS as well as the ham bands. FCC Part 95 (GMRS) & Part 97 (Amateur) spell this out quite well. Baofeng has played fast and loose with these requirements in the past. The newer radios just fall in line with FCC rules.

HillBates2• 4 years ago

The biggest flaw of all prepper radio lists is that they do not contain knowledge about how easy it is to locate a radio transmitter. Every radio user should do at least one "radio fox hunt" to understand how to locate other people and / or how easy it is to be located.

You can do that even with radios on this list, no special equipment needed.

buescher2• 4 years ago

The problem with prepper anything is that preppers tend to be out to justify buying cool stuff they don't need based on exciting fantasies. I am not personally that different, just self-aware.

The short preparedness lists prepared by the Red Cross, FEMA, local government, etc will have you ready for actually likely disaster scenarios.

mabbo3• 4 years ago

I woke up yesterday to: no home internet; no mobile connection. I own no broadcast tv service. (Why yes, I am a Canadian Rogers customer).

I literally started searching through my junk to see if I owned a radio of any kind, just to try to hear news of what the hell was going on.

Eventually I gave up and walked to the library instead, discovering 500 other people in the same situation sharing the wifi.

Time to invest in a nice radio for emergencies.

dorfsmay• 4 years ago

No car with a radio?

Foivos• 4 years ago

Since he walked to the library, I am going to guess "no car at all".

mabbo3• 4 years ago

.... Dammit.

The car is in the basement garage of the condo and basically "out of sight, out of mind". It literally never occurred to me.

walterbell• 4 years ago

Eventually I gave up and walked to the library instead, discovering 500 other people in the same situation sharing the wifi.

Hopefully librarians can use this incident to lobby for funding, as "community internet access of last resort".

bobowzki• 4 years ago

If you really want to be prepared to use a radio in an emergency you need to know how to use it well. Being able to construct an improvised antenna and knowing the basics of RF and propagation will make all the difference.

The US MCRP 8-10b.11 Antenna Handbook is a great starting point.

Forge363• 4 years ago

Thanks, found a copy and read a good chunk of it today.

jason-phillips• 4 years ago

I have an assortment of Icom handhelds that I collected dirt-cheap on Craigslist a decade ago. They seem to have appreciated quite a bit since then. They're extremely well made kit.

O__________O• 4 years ago

Emergency types & context vary and the appropriate radio will depend on the situation. Sometimes it’s not just about the hardware, but knowing where & when to get a signal — and the best way to use the signal while you have access to it.

Beyond that, having apps, systems and data that are available offline and have appropriate plans for powering them without grid power is also critical.

nimbius• 4 years ago

the answer IMO as an amateur radio enthusiast is a portable shortwave.

you get FM for local stations to rebroadcast EAS, am for longer distance in the event the emergency affects multiple counties or provinces, and shortwave if your dumpster fire communications monopoly just wrecked the country.

you also have antennae options that can be spooled from most cheap household wire to boost the signal

rsync• 4 years ago

There are one or two competing and/or converging standards for texting over ham radios and I find them very interesting…

But as I have said again and again - the handsets are missing.

I’m not going to take a laptop with a serial link to a yaesu into the woods, nor am I going to 9key in my texts on one of the two models that support it.

Where is a teenage engineering for radio handhelds ?

Where is a qwerty ham handheld ?

EL_Loco5• 4 years ago

Spot on. I don't know why we can't have an HT with a Blackberry-like hardware keyboard to send text. Or maybe something Psion-like (90's micro laptop thing made by Sony). I'd be very satisfied with Blackberry dimensions, as Psion would add bulk.

gh02t• 4 years ago

I'd take a rugged HT with a sleek and intuitive UI. The companies that make ham gear seem obsessed with complex and cryptic UIs. My Yaesu FT-3D is a good radio and isn't that hard to use, but its UI is still pretty clunky and the imprecise resistive touch screen feels like it's stuck in Y2K.

joshz404• 4 years ago

PicoAPRS, Moblinkd, likely some others I believe will Bluetooth pair to your phone. As will the icom 705 with wifi I think.

I’ve sent messages just fine with the built in pad on a th-d72 and d710g.

EL_Loco5• 4 years ago

If you hike, camp, backpack, this is from a very experienced Search and Rescue leader who I took course from:

-First, have a Personal Locator Beacon. If funds allow, have one with two-way messaging (there's a monthly subscription fee). Needless to say, be mindful of battery condition.

-Second, have a GPS with maps from your area, or the equivalent smartphone app. Learn basic map reading, a good Youtube video about it will do.

-Third, take 3 hours to study for a ham license. Pass the easy exam and get a reliable, easy to use HT (Amateur radio's name for walkie talkie). Learn to use the repeaters in your area.

You're good to go.

P.S. this is concerning a getting lost scenario. He also recommended taking a First-Aid course.

edit: My recommendation for an HT is still, after 10 years, the Yaesu FT-60r. Pros: Very solid build, easy to learn and operate (compared to others), reliable. Cons: Bigger and heavier than newer models, battery not as good but can be upgraded. Also, analog only, but to me this is a plus as I want simple, reliable comms and don't want to invest time in zillion other features.

runjake• 4 years ago

I think you meant this for point #2 but its important to clarify: you should be carrying PAPER maps —- preferably laminated if your environment calls or at least stuffed in a gallon zip lock bag.

So many things can and do go wrong with gadgets.

This comment posted while on a remote backpacking trip with somehow just enough coverage to load HN.

EL_Loco5• 4 years ago

The person I mentioned actually meant just digital maps installed on the gps/smartphone. He completely agreed with you on how important it was to have paper maps, but he said most people either didn't see the point, or thought he was recommending them (paper maps and compasses) because he was old.

teeray• 4 years ago

Third, take 3 hours to study for a ham license.

Yep, Technician is pretty easy. With privileges available to techs, I was able to get into a repeater 70 miles away with 5 watts on an HT (Yaesu FT-70D) using Fusion (a digital voice mode). This is in an area with precisely zero cell coverage, but plenty of elevation. Also, because it was digital voice, it was as clear as a phone call.

EL_Loco5• 4 years ago

If anyone is thinking about buying a two-way radio and you see something like "35-mile range!" on the package, know that this is pure marketing. Yes, if you have a clear, as in unobstructed, as in "I can see you from my binoculars" view of the other person you want to talk to, then yes, you can do it. If there are trees, hills or anything else, forget about it. Invest the time to learn basic ham radio operation, learn to use repeaters, and with a handheld you can reach longer distances than that.

ianpenney2• 4 years ago

If you’re going to use a radio in an emergency, the radio is less important than the skill of the operator. So, if you’re serious, go do the test and get the license so that you can practice.

Radios don’t work like in the movies. There’s a lot to know. You’re not likely to get help in a timely manner by slapping 146.52 into that shitty Baofeng spurious emissions potato.

thcipriani• 4 years ago

You’re not likely to get help in a timely manner by slapping 146.52 into that shitty Baofeng spurious emissions potato.

Why not? What should you do instead?

mbrameld• 4 years ago

Not a ham operator and this definitely isn't the correct answer, but if you find yourself in an emergency with a radio you don't know how to use, 121.5 mhz is monitored by almost every airliner and a lot of general aviation aircraft.

Forge363• 4 years ago

Having no experience and some quick googling.

1. It depends where you are and who's monitoring.

2. If you're near a city or busy highway this may be "good enough" but the range can the big limit (One number thrown out was ~10 miles)

I'm guessing from the parent that they wanted immediate help and this frequency would not get you directly to emergency services

ianpenney2• 4 years ago

Get an amateur radio license (or, in Canada - it's a "Certificate of Proficiency"), and then spend a couple of years participating in exercises with a local club.

That way you'll learn about propagation, what makes a good radio cost 10x as much as a Baofeng, antenna systems, signalling modes, communication protocols, handheld channel programming, what local repeater systems are around and what their capabilities are.... You'll also learn who are the other hams around you, and where and what time they tend to be listening.

Or, assuming a 911 call from your cellphone isn't an option, you could pay for a Garmin InReach device.

Forge363• 4 years ago

~430 questions and tested on 35 of them.

If you're going to buy a radio "just in case" Make sure you know how to use and maintain

AlbertCory2• 4 years ago

I have a windup radio (receive-only). Being not all that serious about prepping, I just got interested in GMRS. Yeah, go ahead, make fun of me. I live in a developed area, so I think it'll be pretty easy to find help, and I do know a lot of the neighbors.

Since the GMRS radios are reasonably cheap, I was thinking of getting one and just trying it out, to see who's normally on. Also so I don't have a panicky read-the-manual moment in a real emergency. Thoughts?

hotpotamus• 4 years ago

You can always just get a Baofeng to scan around UHF and VHF. I recently got some basically just for fun. They’re $25ish so basically a toy but pretty capable and programmable. They’re technically fairy illegal to actually broadcast with but as an emergency system I think they’d be fine.

buescher2• 4 years ago

Good discussion point but the list is a little weak. You can probably google up better. My power was out for a week earlier this summer, so here's my hot take:

Once cell coverage was restored I was charging my phone and calling in to meetings in my air-conditioned car. Not too long after that I was able to borrow a generator and keep my freezer from defrosting. I would rank the generator and a good cooler over fancy radios even though I am the sort of person who occasionally buys radios he doesn't need.

You probably don't need anything more than a decent portable AM/FM radio: one with a speaker and conventional analog dial controls and that runs on batteries. You'll want a good supply of batteries, which are another topic. You will possibly benefit from a way of telling time that doesn't plug into the wall so you can turn the radio on for scheduled broadcasts to save batteries. A wall supply for normal use of the radio is also nice. You will want to listen to the station that broadcasts baseball games in the summer and high school football games in the fall and agricultural commodity prices at 5:00AM.

If you need a weather radio, you probably know it already and already have one. Otherwise they are merely nice to have, and inexpensive enough. If you want one you should get one. A dedicated weather radio with alerts that plugs in the wall and has a battery backup is ideal. I don't own one, though I would have to stop to count the radios I own that can receive weather band. I tuned in to the weather band maybe once while the power was out. We got weather alerts on our phones during the actual storm.

FRS/GMRS radios beat shouting by at least a quarter mile. You probably don't need a set. Some people get irritated, upset, tired, offended, or embarassed by shouting though, and they do let you avoid that. I like mine, which live in my toolbox and allow me to say "is it on now?" in a normal tone of voice. They're also nice for comms on multiple-car road trips and have a number of other use cases. I did not use mine while the power was out.

Scanners: mine are outdated and not much use. Useful ones that will cover digital modes and trunked systems are kind of expensive. I have found scanners nice on occasion for situational awareness beyond CB on road trips. I would have liked to have had a handheld one ready but I didn't suffer for not having one.

Ham radio: I am licensed but don't operate. I did not find my HT useful. It's a nice hobby and if you are interested at all in it you should get licensed and get a cheap radio and have fun.

CB: I have a portable CB and mag mount antenna for road trips. Great for finding out from truckers why the interstate is backed up and the best local road detour to take. It was not useful while the power was out.

Shortwave: hahah. Just not what it was since the big international broadcasters have mostly shut down. I like mine, but I don't listen to SW on it much. I cannot imagine the catastrophe that would bring back SW broadcasting in the USA. It's my favorite FM radio though so it did technically see use.

t6jvcereio• 4 years ago

It is a common conception or misconception that the more moving parts that something has the more it may unreliable that something could be. This is true (...)

Is not a great start when the second line contradicts the first one...

Best radios to use in an emergency (2021)

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