Citizens Band Radio (CB) - For Preppers?

[modplod]

I keep reading threads on this forum where experienced radio amateurs actively encourage preppers to obtain a government approved and administered radio ham licence - at considerable cost in terms of both money and time.

Quite why I have no idea really because in times of civil unrest and SHTF situations all that is required is a reliable method of short range communications (between 1 and 5 miles or so). Preppers will want to find out what is happening locally to where they live. If a prepper wants to find out what's going on in the wider outside world then there is a simple transister radio for this or perhaps TV it it is still broadcasting. Don't expect the www to last very long either.

Why waste your time and hard earned money on passing your radio ham test and on buying hugely complicated and expensive radio gear? You will need proper training in order to use this stuff?

FACT - A VHF/UHF ham radio will not do much more than a simple CB. A ham radio handheld (4 watt) operating simplex on 144 mhz or 433 mhz will not give you any more range than a CB transmitting with 4 watts of power. Any gain from 35/50 watts of power from a base station set up isn't likely to get you very much further either.

A simple Citizens Band (CB) (27Mhz) radio ticks all the boxes of MOST preppers needs. You don't need any licence to operate a CB.

A CB Radio costs no more than about £60 or so and provides you with a reliable method of communicating with others in a similar position.

A whole family unit can be kitted out with CB's for only a few hundred pounds. All each person needs is a radio, power supply (12 volt car battery) and a simple antenna.

The only advantage of Amateur Radio is access to the re-bro (repeater network) systems which in any case will fail in times of civil unrest.

Many people wrongly think that HF sets give reliable worldwide contact - this isn't so, you actually rely upon propogation to talk these distances. I can't really see the use of worldwide chat in a SHTF situation what you need is upto date local intelligence on the likely threats out there (road conditions, length of queues in shops etc).

My advice to all of you interested in getting the ability to communicate on a local level is to buy a copy of "RADIO USER" from the newsagent, and procure a CB radio.

I remember the good ole days of CB in the early 1980's when the airwaves were conjested. People threw their CB's away after mobile phone networks were established in the early 1990's.

If you look on places like Gumtree, it's quite easy to find CB radios being flogged off for pennies secondhand.

I envisage a time in the not too distant future when the CB airwaves will come alive again and if you have a CB you will be the envy of many of your friends.

I used to be an amateur radio freak myself, I let my old callsign lapse years ago. Now I'm a prepper I have decided to invest in 10 CB Radios for use when the balloon goes up - 5 base stations for local friends and family and 5 handheld sets for mobile use. I envisage spending no more than about £400 on the whole set up (less than the price on ONE new HF Ham Radio).

Of course if you have a genuine interest in radio comms then go right ahead and get yourself a ham radio outfit but don't be mislead into thinking this is the best option for preppers who in most cases will only ever need local comms.

[KalPrep]

Thanks a lot for this modplod, great information and wil certainly be useful for those of us that have been reading a lot of stuff about this. I think I will definitely look into this first. Any tips on what to look for in a CB, say a base station and a couple of mobile units? Any good brands or ones to definitely avoid?

[modplod]

It's hard to buy a useless CB radio because the bad brands went bust years ago.

Any CB radio is very simple in operation. All you need is a power supply, the radio itself and an antenna.

Preppers can use 12 volt car battery as a power source otherwise get a plug in power supply (£50 max). The aerial is also very simple in set up and operation (SWR is not likely to be a problem if you buy a proper CB aerial).

There are only a few makes of CB radio and all are just fine for preppers use.

Get hold of a copy of the RADIO USER magazine from your newsagent, this publication lists all retail outlets where you can get the gear you need.

MIDLAND is a well known make of CB.

The whole set up will cost you no more than about £100 if you pick a simple radio. This will give you a reliable means of comms with a range of upto 10 miles or so in the right conditions.

No training needed as all you really do is press the pressel switch to transmit (talk).

In a SHTF situation I'm sure the CB radio waves will come alive with helpful chat. In any case you can get the whole family on air for much less than an expensive radio ham set up (with the hassle of training, licences etc.).

[munchh]

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5185

you are on the button modplod, there is some good input on this thread also.

I have an amature licence, but i would always have CB aswell, i have a couple of setups ready to go into a couple of cars for an off the cuff convoy.

Its just easy and anyone can use it, good show.

[Ejcb]

I think those living in rural areas may not necessarily be in range of another cb user so ham may be have some benefits ESP if members on here organised a network?

[modplod]

Believe me, once SHTF goes down (national grid, cellphones etc) the CB airwaves will come alive with local chat!

And I include 98% of rural areas in this statement - I remember the CB of the early 1980's. Almost everyone was at it.....

With respect your statement doesn't make much sense - VHF/UHF Ham radio sets will rely upon the repeater networks for medium range comms (upto 30 miles or so) and these things will soon fail alongside the cellphone systems.

As stated elsewhere, HF sets do NOT provide a reliable method of long range comms because you rely upon propogation for long range contacts. In effect with HF you never know where the signal will travel to. I often spoke to people the other side of the world yet at the same time could not hear operators on the same channel living 50 miles from me!

FACT - A VHF/UHF ham radio on simplex doesn't really do much more than a CB radio.

[modplod]

FORGET EXPENSIVE AND COMPLICATED HAM RADIO SETS -

You can buy your CB gear from here -

http://www.alan-uk.com/cb/products_cbradios.shtml

Or packages here - http://www.4x4cb.com/public/menu.cfm?Category=519

I am intending to procure 10 CB radios - 5 x mobile car/base sets and 5 x handheld CB's. Each set costs in the region of £80 but if you look on Ebay or Gumtree you can often find them for less than £30!

£80 will get you an new emergency comms outfit ready for SHTF. After SHTF these things will be like gold buy...

To find out what is going on in the world you will need a good reliable transister radio (don't bother with DRB sets because the whole network will fall quite soon after the balloon goes up).

[23pioneer]

i wonder if some one can help me here, basically i want to be able to talk to my partner from our home up to about 2milesaway the base station must be able to work off a car battery so what exactly do i need for that, sorry if its an stupid question

[modplod]

At last, the holy grail of CB radios -

http://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/cb/cb-radi ... nly-model-

This little gem will do more than a standard ham radio VHF/UHF set (on simplex operation). Unlike ham sets, this baby has full single sideband (USB, LSB). It will boost range by upto 100% giving reliable comms to 20 miles plus (in the right conditions). All this from a single unit without the need to access ham radio re-bro facilities (unreliable ham repeater networks).

It does pretty much everything any CB operator will ever want.

That said, if all you seek is a reliable means of SHTF comms during civil unrest a cheap standard CB set will tick all your boxes.

The UK CB airwaves were very busy until cellphones became the norm. These days the airwaves are more or less dead. The good point now is that if you talk on CB it is very unlikely your transmissions will be listened to. After SHTF these airwaves will once again become live with local chatter. Get yourself a CB now while you can and keep it ready for SHTF.

Lets STOP advising preppers to instead go over to Amateur Radio where the equipment is so advanced you need training to use it properly (and it's a damn more expensive than CB). What lots of people don't seem to comprehend is that without the local re-bro repeater network a ham radio working on simplex channels doesn't really do much more than any standard CB.

Of course if you have a genuine interest in radio then by all means get your ham licence and get on air legally. But most of us here just need a relaible method of contacting local people in time of SHTF.

The fact the airwaves around 27 mhz are currently dead is of no concern to us as we only intend to use it after SHTF.

I am getting enough CB's to give members of my local family and friends one. I intend to put one base station in my control centre (one half of my double garage) and two more handhelds for car use. This will enable me to communicate with everyone within a 10 mile or so range.

Bye the way, I have turned the other half of my brick built double garage (with pitched roof) into a water/food store. Each side measures 12 ft x 19 ft.

[The Ace of Spades]

Thanks for all the information on CB, Modplod. I'm gonna be setting myself up with a CB sometime this year, you have helped a lot already just by this post alone on vital information on this subject.

Ace.