Anonymous
7/13/2025, 4:04:51 PM
No.63977892
>>63977793
Same reason why I don't use those modes like winlink or FT8. Their capabilities are insane and irrefutable, but the amount of people that run those modes in emergency situations I don't believe it will be worthwhile. I'm probably not the best person to ask about this. For ARES and MARS, using Winlink to send casualty reports and other large datasets like that across counties to a regional HQ, sure it will be the best solution. But I just need to know if a particular highway 150 miles away is deadlocked with traffic or not, so I'd rather focus on having a good reliable HF manpack with a simple NVIS antenna that I can easily take with me. If I can make SSB contacts from a backpack, that is good enough for me. you don't have to get into digital. It certainly has its technical merits, but I'm not too convinced those merits carry over into a disaster situation
So now, what to with CB. It has its merits and certainly should deserve an infograph by itself. There is nothing wrong with focusing on shortwave reception only (AM/SSB) and getting a CB for long-distance comms in lieu of HF stuff. If you have a farm or live in a rural area, and are not bothered with a large 1/4 or 5/8 CB antenna, go for it. It is cheap and will go far, just not everyday or even one day every week. Just know the caveats, such as that skip does not happen all the time, and that there will be a considerable dead zone beyond your line of sight propagation until the skip comes back down after bouncing off the ionosphere.
Even if there is no skip, on a farm having a base CB and some handheld CB radios, and a CB rig in your truck can be lifesaving comms, even if it is "only" 5 miles of coverage. Having a variable power amp is important, you don't always need 100+ watts. I would recommend a small amp for working CB skip, 100-200 watts should be plenty. Now why CB over VHF? because it's legal (besides the amp), don't have to deal with MURS or business licenses, AND you get skip WHEN it happens.
Same reason why I don't use those modes like winlink or FT8. Their capabilities are insane and irrefutable, but the amount of people that run those modes in emergency situations I don't believe it will be worthwhile. I'm probably not the best person to ask about this. For ARES and MARS, using Winlink to send casualty reports and other large datasets like that across counties to a regional HQ, sure it will be the best solution. But I just need to know if a particular highway 150 miles away is deadlocked with traffic or not, so I'd rather focus on having a good reliable HF manpack with a simple NVIS antenna that I can easily take with me. If I can make SSB contacts from a backpack, that is good enough for me. you don't have to get into digital. It certainly has its technical merits, but I'm not too convinced those merits carry over into a disaster situation
So now, what to with CB. It has its merits and certainly should deserve an infograph by itself. There is nothing wrong with focusing on shortwave reception only (AM/SSB) and getting a CB for long-distance comms in lieu of HF stuff. If you have a farm or live in a rural area, and are not bothered with a large 1/4 or 5/8 CB antenna, go for it. It is cheap and will go far, just not everyday or even one day every week. Just know the caveats, such as that skip does not happen all the time, and that there will be a considerable dead zone beyond your line of sight propagation until the skip comes back down after bouncing off the ionosphere.
Even if there is no skip, on a farm having a base CB and some handheld CB radios, and a CB rig in your truck can be lifesaving comms, even if it is "only" 5 miles of coverage. Having a variable power amp is important, you don't always need 100+ watts. I would recommend a small amp for working CB skip, 100-200 watts should be plenty. Now why CB over VHF? because it's legal (besides the amp), don't have to deal with MURS or business licenses, AND you get skip WHEN it happens.