Radios
What if the grid goes down?
I have used US specific terms and laws, but as always you can find the counterparts in your country and the guide will still carry weight.
I sometimes like to hallucinate about SHTF (Shit Hits the Fan) scenarios not because it’s likely, but its a nice exercise anyways. One outcome is of course the internet shutting down.
If you are accustomed to iMessage, Signal, whatsapp or the likes, they need the internet to function so you won’t be able to contact your loved ones when the mobile grid goes down (talk about something not working when you need it the most)
One solution is Briar, just switch on any (mobile) hotspot / Access Point / WiFi Router (even without the internet) and you can communicate through the LAN.
So creating your own mesh networks seems to be the solution here. But having a guide for amateur / HAM Radios for dummies (not possible, but one can try) seems quite essential so here it goes.
What To Do When The Cell Phones Go Down (AT&T) | Ham Radio Crash Course
Walkie Talkie
The first question that comes up is whether a bunch of walkie talkies will suffice because operating a full on radio is somewhat expensive, needs maintenance, a certain skillset and applying for a license will of course leak some info.
Note that the range will depend on Operator experience, Antenna Height, position and orientation, Transmit power, RF gain/loss, Overall quality of equipment, Atmospheric conditions, Surrounding terrain / environment, Frequency/band, Type of antenna so prepare accordingly.
gearhose.com/best-two-way-radios/
General Purpose Radio
If you have to get just one, this one would do. You won’t be able to transmit but in emergencies you will be able to recive comunications of what is hapening.
Radios inside your car’s infotainment system can prob serve as one as well.
CountyComm GP 7 - General Purpose Radio | Ham Radio Crash course
License?
What if, I am doing something illegal? The answer of course depends on your local laws, but in most likelihood its legal to receive communication without a license but not transmit it.
You don’t need license (in US) for Family Radio Service (FRS), Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) and Citizen Band (CB). But for more range you will need a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) license.
reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/pirate/
A new kind of tech recently dropped in the rf world that doesn’t require a license and you could even encrypt it legally. It has a learning curve but its worth a shot atleast.
LoRa Meshtastic Range Test, Portable Relay - Off-Grid Communication
Privacy?
When you apply for a license, your info leaks ( your name, address, registration number (FRN), callsign, license class, felony conviction status and any transactions/admin updates).
For Address, get a PO Box. The exact law can be found here. Name would likely leak so prepare accordingly.
Glossary
73 - Morse for "best regards"
88 - Morse for "Hugs and kisses"
VHF - Very-High Frequency. Between 30 MHz and 300 MHz.
UHF - Ultra-High Frequency. Between 300 MHz and 3 GHz.
Skimmer - Automatically decode Morse code over software defined radios.
MF - Medium Frequency. Between 300 kHz and 3 MHz,
MUF - Maximum Usable Frequency.
HF - High Frequency / “shortwave”. Between 3 MHz and 30 MHz.
Attenuation - opposite of amplification.
Trunked - A trunked radio system is a two-way radio system that uses a control channel to automatically assign frequency channels to groups of user radios.
First Radio?
Field test review of the Yaesu VX6r - Episode 5
reddit.com/r/Baofeng/wiki/faq/
Configuration
- TODO -
Encryption?
Apparently it’s illegal to encrypt radio in USA and the HAM community is against it but I will give you some options anyways.
optiongray.com/is-ham-radio-secure
hamradioplanet.com/how-to-encrypt-ham-radio
Signal Detectors & Jammers
Security is about defense and offense, on the defense side you want to detect signals and hopefully eliminate them.
It’s illegal to jam signals in US and prob in your own jurisdiction.
fcc.gov/general/jammer-enforcement
fcc.gov/general/jamming-cell-phones-and-gps-equipment-against-law
Complaint Portal - fccprod.servicenowservices.com/psix-esix
medium.com/worldsensing-techblog/how-to-build-a-jammer-detector-d4e3dd919faa
Jammer Hardware Example
https://web.archive.org/web/20070616025604/http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4355
https://lynxel.com/en/counter-surveillance/jamming-signal-detectors-for-protecting-property.html
digitpol.com/signal-jammer-detector/
Apps
f-droid.org/packages/cityfreqs.com.pilfershushjammer/
github.com/CellularPrivacy/Android-IMSI-Catcher-Detector
Faraday Bags & Paper
dpl-surveillance-equipment.com/product/wi-fi-rf-cellular-microwave-shielding-wall-paper
SLNT Bag - amzn.to/3ZIFUhe
Can I snoop in to Police/Public Comms?
Yes,
you should check your local laws
but if your intention is not filled with malice you should be fine.
Do I need to become a “Technician”?
There are these
"The Ham Radio Prep Technician Class License Manual (2022 - 2026) " or apps like com.criticalcommunicationsmedia.hamradioprep3.
But these are more focused on becoming a "technician".
I think you should atleast go through them once to get an idea of what this HAM Radio thing is, but best learning is ofcourse playing with your own radios.
Software Defined?
Basically radios are analog machines controlled by dials. Software defined is something that can be controlled by bits and bytes.
GPS
Gear Review: Garmin inReach Mini & Garmin inReach Explorer | GOHUNT
What about my Country?
I have listed US laws as a reference, you can easily find counterparts for your country. Here is a link for your reference.
Leveling up
reddit.com/r/Broadcasting/top/?t=all