Ok, I want to address the constant admonition to get an Amateur Radio license if you want to use effective radio communications. I've seen it mentioned on Facebook groups many times and the apparent reasoning is that, if you want longer distance communication via radio, you must use ham radio frequencies.
First, I will add my voice to the proponents of ham Radio licenses but for slightly different reasons, as Ham Radio did NOT meet my radio communications goals. The best reason for an Amateur license is to be able to practice and learn about how radios really work.
Here's the thing. I envisioned being able to use ham radios to communicate with friends and family if the telephone, both cell and landline, system fails, which we all know is likely at some point. How do I check on my family in other cities and states? How do I keep in close contact with my local support system? Even keeping in contact with friends and family in neighboring communities. How about being able to keep in touch with home when I am off hunting and gathering? Also, being able to make contact with people in other regions to learn their news and situation. I figured that I'd have my Ham license and could go to certain frequencies where everyone listened, as with CB channel 19, and could listen in, make contacts if I wanted to and we all would know where to listen.
Those were my basic goals and expectations. Ham radio, in general, doesn't cut it. Actually, absent using a repeater or the internet, no radio system does.
So, what do we get with our Amateur License?
Well, we can use the 2meter band, 144 MHz to 148 MHz, at a maximum of 1500 watts. That's a very good thing. There is a frequency on 2m; 146.52Mhz, that is designated as a "call" frequency. Kind of like CB channel 19. Most 2m radios transmit at a maximum of 50 watts, some much less. You can add an amplifier to the system if you want the full 1500 watts. Using 2m radios, each at 50w, car to car, you can expect probably 20-30 miles, line of sight, no repeater. This is called "Simplex". Simplex comms using 2m on a Handie talkie (HT) radio will be between 2 and 5 miles. The good news is that there is almost always a repeater available, if you know the frequencies and codes for it. (https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=none) Depending on the repeater location and the local terrain, you might be able to get 100 miles or so with your little hand held (HT) 2m radio. 2m, in my opinion, is the most useful Ham Radio band available for SHTF situations and local comms. For long distance comms, I don't have much more faith in the repeater systems staying up than the cell towers. Absent available repeaters, you have just simplex distances.
I often travel on US 287, from Townsend, MT to West Yellowstone, MT. Cell phone signals are good until I cross I90, ok from there to Ennis and unreliable from Ennis to West. But, I'm within easy reach of a 2m repeater on the entire trip, except for about a mile of canyon along the Madison River. If I run into trouble; and I have, and the phone doesn't work, I can probably talk with SOMEbody. I came on an accident in a phone dead zone. I called out on my radio, got somebody in Salt Lake City who called the local Sheriff for me and sent help. Without my radio, those folks would have been in a lot more trouble than they were.
Without repeaters, though, 2m is only line of sight...out to maybe 30 miles with a good radio system.
Now, if you don't want to have to pass a knowledge test in order to license, Uncle Sam has just the thing for you. You can get a "family" license; good for you and your immediate family, for GMRS radio, with a maximum transmit power of 50watts. No testing required, just bring your checkbook. I think it's still only $85 for a family license. Here's a surprise for many of you. Those hand held radios you bought a Walmart? The ones in the blister pack that have 22 channels? If you read the fine print on the packaging, you'll find that you are supposed to get your GMRS license before using them! You have to use the GMRS channels, which are in the UHF spectrum, 462-468 Mhz. GMRS does have repeaters but they aren't as prolific as 2m repeaters and you must have your license to use them. Also, you need radios that CAN be programmed for repeater use and you didn't get that in a blister pack from Amazon. The range for those blister pack HTs is usually about 2-3 miles, line of sight. If you are licensed and have 50 watt radios, you can get about the same simplex performance as 2m.
(UPDATE 2-22-24: As long as you are using the blister pack radios, you should be ok without the GMRS license. FRS and GMRS frequencies are the same but the transmit power is different. FRS has a maximum of 2.5 watts while GMRS is 5 watts and up. Those blister pack radios are transmitting at 2.5W so you are within the FRS guidelines.)
So, what about this "around the world" radio that we keep hearing about? Ok. That is in the
High Frequency (HF) radio spectrum, from 3 to 30 Mhz and primarily involves a thing called "propagation". Propagation is where your radio transmission "bounces" off the ionosphere and returns to earth...somewhere. What CBers call "skip". But (and here's the fun part) each group of frequencies has different propagation properties and these groups are divided up into "bands", designated by the length of the actual radio wave. This is where it all becomes somewhat complicated and part of why there is a knowledge test in order to get a license and my purpose here is not to instruct you in all that. Get
a book. Do some study. Pass the test and get your license. I'm not trying to be a prima donna here, I just don't want to WRITE that book, since much smarter people already have.
In regards to more local communication, HF radios are similar in performance to a CB. It's line of sight, except for some limited bands. I find that HF essentially does NOT meet my goals and expectations, as enumerated earlier.
If you get a General license or above, you can use the (HF) bands and "they" make you think
that will give you worldwide comms. IF you spend a couple of thousand on a radio and another thousand on an antenna, then get that antenna mounted more than 35 feet in the air, then you will get worldwide contacts...sometimes...or maybe not. Oh, and one antenna doesn't really work well on all those frequencies. That's why you spend an exorbitant amount for an antenna, because, with a tuner (sometimes an added expense), one antenna will work well for one band, ok on a couple more and not at all for others. Get a SECOND antenna and switch between the two!
Then, what frequency do you call out on? Just pick one and call, hoping that someone will happen to scroll past that freq at the same time you are calling and hear you. Out of hundreds of possible frequencies!
Outside of the normal line of sight communication, you can't really target any particular area far away. For instance, if you have a friend 100 miles away, there is no guarantee that you will be able to talk with them, no matter how much of a system you have. If the "conditions" aren't right; forget it. But, at the same time that you are fruitlessly trying to contact your friend 100 miles away, you may be able to talk with someone 2000 miles away. That's the way propagation works.
Just because you can hear someone, doesn't mean they can hear you. Usually, yes, but, the ionosphere may be bouncing their signal to you and sending your signal over them or around them or just not TO them.
I will admit that being able to play with these radios and antennas has taught me how to get around some of these limitations. for instance, I am in Montana. My friend lives in Helena and I live in Townsend, about 35 miles away. But there are hills between us. I can use a repeater on 2m with no problem. But, if the repeaters aren't working? How about HF? Here's where the
learning curve comes in. Lower frequencies, such as the 75 meter band at 3.8MHZ-4Mhz, with an antenna, mounted LOWER in height than my "worldwide" system, I can probably (note: PROBABLY) talk with him using what is called "ground wave" or "surface wave", where the signal actually travels close to the ground instead of going out into the ionosphere. Another aspect of the lower antenna and lower frequency is that it will bounce off the ground and go nearly vertically into the air, coming back down close by..."Near Vertical Incidence Sky Wave". NVIS really isn't that great for the short distance between Helena and Townsend, though. It's more likely to work if I want to talk with Bozeman or Missoula. I don't know anybody in Bozeman or Missoula.
Time of day matters. Higher frequencies work better in the daytime and then the lower frequencies at night. 10 Meter, one of the best for really long distance comms, works in the daytime and works best in the summer. But, for local comms, it's line of sight. Your 1500 watt amplifier (another $1000, at least) will help but will only work well if you are on an antenna tuned for the frequency you are using. If your antenna isn't tuned properly, the add on tuner will automatically reduce the amount of power going out in order to safeguard the radio and antenna.
Bottom line. Absent a repeater system, I have found no reliable radio comms for outside line of sight. It's a "good luck" system at best. the same applies for trying to get someone with whom to talk. Once again, good luck to you in finding a frequency that someone else might be listening to.
Now, my own practical scenario. My girlfriend lived on a ranch, about 14 road miles and
probably ten crow flight miles from my house in Townsend, up on a mountain and the house down in a canyon. Back in the 70s and 80s, they used CBs up there extensively, between the house and tractors, combines, pickups and so on. CB comms worked very well for them. Cell phones still won't work at the main house as it's in a canyon. They work ok up above the main house, so we can call the landline phone from our cells so the radio comms have been abandoned over the years.
Joann and I experimented with radio comms for a while. We tried blister pack GMRS Handhelds but they just couldn't get out of the canyon and give the same reliability that CBs used to. However, they are a lot easier to carry on horseback than CB walkie talkies and actually provide more clear and reliable signals than CB walkie talkies. If we were working cows on horseback, we'd carry those and they worked ok. But, I can talk with the main house CB base or Joann's car radio from my CB base in town. We can talk car to car almost everywhere on the ranch with CBs and usually we could at least understand each other using car to car from town to the main house.
Here in the valley, we got good comms for about 10 miles with my CB base to her car. 15+ if we used Single Side Band (SSB). GMRS hand helds, even using an external antenna at the house, we could only get about 6 miles. The CB walkie talkies gave us about two or three miles from the house and they really eat batteries.
2m simplex (no repeater) we had good comms car to car almost anywhere we wanted to go, within about 20 miles. 2m handhelds were a little better than the GMRS, mostly because I have better antennas and my HTs are about 8 watts. Still, 4-6 miles. In the mountains, a little less. But for car to car on a trip, my little Baofeng HTs gave us acceptable comms; like when we took two cars to West Yellowstone and Joann's car didn't have a CB. CBs in the cars would actually have been better, I think, but the HTs worked for us.
Other than close in comms, I can't recommend the "blister pack" FRS/GMRS radios that are sold in sporting good stores or Walmart. They are ok to keep track of your kids at the park or for hunters to keep in contact, probably, but not for more robust applications. However, if you are in a situation where you need a handheld radio, at reasonable cost and short distances they are a good way to go.
If you are at all comfortable with programming the Baofeng handhelds (and not overly worried about strict FCC compliance) then they are really the best option for line of sight handheld use, such as on horseback or on foot in the mountains. Disclaimer: programming and then transmitting on Baofeng or similar radios with frequencies outside their FCC rating is illegal!!! But, they will work on the same frequencies as those blister pack radios and are a little more powerful, have better antennas available and are reasonably priced.
Long story short...I know. Too late...an Amateur radio license gives you the option of 2m radios, including 50 watt car radios and 8 watt hand helds, which will give you effective local comms. 2m car radios aren't much more expensive than a CB and installation is the same. There are inexpensive HTs available for 2m programming. There is very likely a 2m repeater available that covers your area which will give you even better distance.
If you are looking for the same power and reliability for your family comms, a GMRS license is inexpensive, with no testing involved and the radios are basically the same as 2m radios. They will legally work with the blister pack hand helds.
If you want to bypass licensing and need radios primarily for local comms , CBs are still a viable and useful option. Incidentally, the CB radio band, 11meter, is an extremely good propagation band. Get CBs with SSB capability. You'll get better performance locally on SSB and you can use them to reach far off stations, just as you would with Ham radio HF frequencies. In May of 2018, the FCC removed the restrictions on the distance you could talk on CBs. Since thousands of people have been doing "DX" (distance) "skip" talking since CBs came out, it was about time. You are still legally limited to 4watts AM and 12watts SSB but that is all you need for local comms and "skip" will still often work. You'll have better skip or "propagation" on SSB though so spring a few extra $ for a CB radio with SSB capability. You'll also be able to listen to what's going on around the country by just monitoring those other guys skip conversations.
Basically, for local comms, between family and friends, I still lean towards CBs. Even good quality SSB CBs with good antennas will be less than $400 per vehicle. Installation is easy and line of sight with them seems to be clear and with reasonable distance, with the added utility of listening and even talking all over the country and no licensing issues.
A more overall local, family and friends option is still the Ham Radio license and 2m system, both car radios and HTs or, skip the testing and just shell out your fee for a GMRS license. The more powerful radios are no more expensive than 2m car radios and the HTs are much less expensive, unless you actually go for the more powerful GMRS licensed HTs.
HF radio is fun, interesting and a great learning tool. It also is the best way to monitor what's going on in the rest of the world, by simply scrolling through the frequencies and listening in on all the conversations. That's what you will want to do in a grid-down situation anyway. Excessive transmitting can lead bad guys right to you. The HF radio you get will most likely also receive many military and aircraft frequencies so you can listen to those as well.
So, although CB radios very well might be all you and your family/group needs, getting a Ham license and investing in some radios and antennas is definitely worth the effort. Just don't expect communication miracles.
