Backup Communications

I have written about a variety of topics. Sometimes I write about prepping and sometimes I write articles with political or religious themes. As time ticks on into the future, the world continues to change. I try not to worry about what the future will look like but I do what I can to influence and shape what goes on in my little corner of the universe, while simultaneously taking steps to mitigate whatever comes my way.

One of those steps has been to make sure I have multiple ways to communicate both on and off the grid. That’s what this article is about. I will share with you some of the things I have done to try to have multiple layers of communication and the reasons why. I will also outline some forms of communication that others use as part of their backup communications plan. I hope that the totality of this article covers the basics, gives people some ideas to use and motivates everyone reading this to implement some form of backup communications. I won’t be diving very deep into technical aspects of communications and there is information related to radio that I won’t cover. It’s simply impossible to cover everything with one article and not everyone reading this is ready or willing to dive into super technical details. If you seek additional information after reading this article or have questions, please reach out by leaving a comment and I will do my best to respond. You may also find additional assistance by locating and contacting your local ham radio group.

Why Have Backup Comms?

Before I get into the different types of communication devices, I want to discuss why I have chosen to have them in the first place. Back in 2008, when I was prepping for the zombie apocalypse, I purchased a set of walkie talkies. At the time I thought to myself, “this will be good to have when the stuff really hits the fan.” About a year later, I purchased a handheld ham radio, called a HandyTalkie or HT. Then I set the radios aside and focussed on firearms, forgetting mostly about the radios for 8 more years.

Then, in 2016, I was traveling with my entire immediate family in a remote part of northwestern Colorado and we hit a deer on the highway. (The deer population in this part of the country is remarkably high.) The impact disabled the vehicle we were in. It was winter time and the sun was setting. The temperature was already dropping and it was only 16 degrees Fahrenheit. We safely pulled to the shoulder of the highway and I immediately went into survival mode, making sure we all stayed inside the vehicle with our seatbelts on and blankets deployed. The next thing we all did was check our cell phone service. We were lucky enough to have service and we called for help. Long story short and with many details removed, we made it out of the situation okay. The vehicle was eventually fully restored and repaired. I later found out that had we been up or down the road just a little ways, we wouldn’t have had cell phone service and we would not have been able to call for help. God was certainly in control that day.

After the deer incident, I began thinking about backup communications. I should mention too, that I have a friend who had just got his ham radio license that year. So I focussed my attention, initially, on ham radio, breaking out and dusting off my radios. What would we have done if our phones didn’t work during that trip to Colorado? Is it possible to have used an alternate means of communication to call for help? Yes. During a trip to the same location a year or so later, I successfully tested the ability to use ham radio in conjunction with repeaters in the area. I concluded that there was a need to have backup communications capabilities, especially for travel.

Since that time, I have given some additional thought to having backup communications for other things. I have come to the conclusion that there are a lot of reasons to have backup communications, including but not limited to natural disasters, train accidents, terrorist attacks and power grid blackouts. Power grid blackouts in particular are something to which I have begun to pay close attention. The media’s predictive programming has been ramping up on this specific topic. According to an article published December 5, 2023, by the Guardian, the UK government is telling people to prepare. “People should stock up on battery-powered radios and torches, as well as candles and first aid kits in order to prepare for power cuts or digital communications going down, the deputy prime minister reportedly said.”

Think about what the government of the United Kingdom is telling its citizens. It is officially telling them to prepare for an outage of the power grid and thus, digital communications as well. The same messaging is in the media of the United States and several other Western countries. Are they telling us that they plan to take down the power grid in the future?

Regardless, it is a good idea to be prepared. I have worked continually to refine my communication abilities. I have added a lot of pieces of equipment to my arsenal as well. I have conducted relentless testing, conducting radio experiments with my equipment using various modes and configurations. I have done all this for a few different reasons. First, I realized that I could have all the ammo and food in the world, but without the ability to make well informed decisions, none of that mattered. Having the capability to gather and collect information is crucial. To gather information, I want to have the ability to communicate on a global level, national level and local level. The gear I have assembled and tested serves me to that end.

Second, testing requires me to practice diminishable communication skills and allows me to practice concise communication. It also requires the use of the equipment, during which time I can encounter any problems that may arise from use. I would much rather deal with equipment failures now than during a SHTF event. Third, testing the equipment under “normal” conditions without the stress of a situation is the best time to figure out what works best and for what.

The ultimate and final reason for having backup communications though, is so that when the cell phone towers and internet servers cease to function, communication can still take place. Without critical information about the world around you, you cannot make informed decisions and that could be detrimental to the health and safety of yourself and others, such as your family members.

Types of Communication Devices

Phones:

Cell Phones

There are a lot of different ways to communicate both on and off the grid. The majority of people use a palm sized computer with a cell phone app and built-in radio to communicate. These cell phones offer a variety of ways to use applications to communicate but are dependent on terrestrial based technologies such as wifi networks or cellular towers. They are convenient, portable and offer many different features like voice, text and internet access. I have multiple cell phones and being the oddball that I am, I use open-source operating systems on my phones. I like my privacy and therefore do what I can to block the “big tech” companies from using my phone as a way to mine information about me.

Pros: Portable, versatile, and small. Cons: Requires terrestrial based technologies that are dependent on the power grid. Big Brother and Big Tech mine your location and user data. They invade your privacy and use the information they gather against you. Service contracts, monthly costs and the out of pocket costs for most phones are ridiculous.

Landlines

The traditional landline is no more. Modern “landlines” are now VOIP telephones. They use an internet connection to make and connect calls. I also have a VOIP phone as a backup to my cell phone and prefer using it.

Pros: I don’t have to expose myself to harmful cellular radiation when I use it. Cons: Tied to terrestrial based internet connection and power grid.

Satellite Devices and Phones

Satellite communications can be a great way to communicate when there are no other ways to communicate. If two people have a satellite phone, a call can be made from one phone to another by using a satellite to connect the call. The same can be done with satellite messaging devices. These devices can tether to cell phones using Bluetooth and messages can be typed out using an app on the phone.

Pros: Great for use in remote locations or when other terrestrial based communications are unavailable for use. Communication satellites are critical military infrastructure and will therefore be protected by the military during emergencies.

Cons: Satellite phones are expensive to purchase and usage plans can be costly. Satellites are not immune from space weather and electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. Communication satellites connecting to terrestrial based systems rely on those ground based systems being tied to the electrical grid. Since communication satellites are critical to the military infrastructure, they may be considered to be military targets by foreign entities.

Radio:

GMRS/FRS

According to the Federal Communications Commission, General Mobile Radio Service, “is a licensed service that uses channels around 462 MHz and 467 MHz. The most common use of GMRS channels is for short-distance, two-way voice communications using hand-held radios, mobile radios, and repeater systems.” Family Radio Service is, “The Family Radio Service (FRS) is a private, two-way, short-distance voice and data communications service for facilitating family and group activities. The most common use for FRS channels is short-distance, two-way voice communications using small hand-held radios that are similar to walkie-talkies,” according to the FCC.

Both GMRS and FRS are forms of radio that operate in what is called “line of sight.” In other words, the antennas of the radios have to be able to see each other over the distance between them. FRS does not require a license to operate so long as the operator of the radio does not exceed the rules of operation while transmitting. In simple terms, the power setting of the radio cannot exceed a certain limit set by the FCC for each channel. This will either be 2 watts or 0.5 watts depending on which channel is being used. There are also 22 predesignated channels for use on FRS frequencies.

GMRS, on the other hand, requires a license to operate but there is no test requirement to obtain the license. There are GMRS 30 channels that have been designated for use. The power rating for each of these channels varies from 5 watts, 0.5 watts and 50 watts. Radio Reference Wiki has a useful chart that illustrates the power settings for both modes and it also shows the frequencies that overlap between the two. Being able to transmit with higher power on certain channels improves the ability to talk over longer distances.

One of the benefits of using GMRS is that operators can set up and use repeaters. Repeaters are radios, usually with antennas that are set up on top of radio towers or mountain tops, that receive radio transmissions and then rebroadcast those transmissions over a large coverage area. They can drastically improve the ability to communicate over large areas.

GMRS Pros: Improved communication distance with the use of a repeater and higher power. The license does not require a test, is good for 10 years and covers the immediate family. Some radios can operate on higher power, which improves the ability to communicate over larger distances. No service plans. No monthly costs.

GMRS Cons: Repeaters might be reliant on power from the power grid. High power is not allowed on all frequencies. GMRS is line of sight. The cost of radios is a little higher.

FRS Pros: No license required. The cost of radios is relatively low. Good for short range communications. No Service Plans.

FRS Cons: Limited range. Radios must operate on low power and are therefore not good for use over larger distances. FRS Line of sight.

In an urban environment, low power radios of either kind will limit the range of use to under a mile.

Citizens Band Radio Service (CB)

CB radio is another form of line of sight radio communication. Transmit power is limited to 4 watts. It does not require a license in order to operate. It has been a popular mode of communication in the past and still gets used today.

Pros: Still used by commercial truckers on the highways. Listening to their transmissions may be a way to gather information about the highways.

Cons: Limited to low power. Users lack licenses and as a result, may not have the ability to communicate concisely. The range is limited to the ability of the antennas to see each other.

Amateur Radio

Amateur Radio, or ham radio, is defined as follows by the FCC: “The amateur and amateur-satellite services are for qualified persons of any age who are interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. These services present an opportunity for self-training, intercommunication, and technical investigations. Twenty-nine small frequency bands throughout the spectrum are allocated to this service internationally. Some 1,300 digital, analog, pulse, and spread-spectrum emission types may be transmitted.”

For the scope of this article, I will only touch the surface of amateur radio, just like I did with the other forms of communication. There is a vast sea of information regarding amateur radio and I won’t be able to include it all here. Heck, I haven’t even learned all of it. It seems I am still learning as time ticks by. Regardless, there are some things that I should mention. First off, amateur radio operation requires a license. To obtain a license, a test must be taken. Different license levels allow operators certain privileges when operating a radio. The higher the license, the more privileges there are to be had. There is a separate test for each license. The tests are not as difficult as one may think, but a person should know the general operating rules while transmitting, have a basic understanding of how radios function and be able to transmit safely. Testing ensures that operators have a baseline understanding of these fundamental principles.

Once an operator has a license, the operator can operate legally on the air within the privileges of the license. Many operators choose to use high-frequency bands because their license gives them the privilege to do so. The use of the HF bands allows operators to communicate over larger distances, sometimes even around the world. My license allows me privileges on the HF bands and I have tested my capabilities. There was one night I was listening to a frequency on 40 meters and I happened to hear a station operating out of Moscow. I heard other operators from around the country make contact with him, but I was not able to make contact myself. The reason I couldn’t make contact had to do with the orientation of my antenna. It simply wasn’t set up so I could reach out that far. Had I changed the height of my antenna, I might have been able to make contact with the Russian station. My antenna is set up too close to the ground for that to be possible. I have since made contacts in New Jersey, San Diego, Las Vegas, South Carolina, Wyoming and many more!

When an HF antenna, such as mine, is low to the ground, the range of the transmissions becomes limited to about 300-400 miles. I have deliberately lowered my endfed antenna for this reason. I have been concentrating on emergency communications for my state, meeting up on a predetermined frequency with other ham operators so that we have a predesignated place to meet if the world goes sideways. That frequency is 7.275 MHz. The principle I am using with my antenna is called, NVIS or Near Verticle Incident Skywave. Essentially, what I am doing is reflecting the radio frequency radiation straight up and bouncing it back down off of the D layer of the ionosphere. Did I lose you? I hope not but if I did, don’t worry. Just know that lowering the antenna on hf helps to limit the range. Raising the antenna will help increase the range.

HF transmissions can skip around the world, go up, come down and do all kinds of things. The key is with the antenna. Different types of antennas produce different results. You simply have to get the antenna up and try it out. Keep trying if success isn’t forthcoming right away. There are also different kinds of radios and when choosing a radio think about what you want to do. Choose a radio that does what you seek to accomplish.

The reason I like HF, in particular, is because my information gathering can take place with a much broader radius. I can potentially talk to people around the world, around the country and in my state. I can ask people from all over about what’s going on in their neck of the woods and paint a broader picture while filling in finer details about my immediate locality.

One of the ways I have chosen to communicate locally is to use VHF and UHF. Very High Frequency and Ultra High Frequency use a higher part of the radio spectrum and both are part of the amateur radio service. The RF radiation decays faster than HF, limiting the range of these frequencies, but with the help of several linked repeaters in my area, I can be heard on the radio for hundreds of miles. Unfortunately, most of the repeaters in my area get their power from the grid, so if the grid goes down, they will too. A few have diesel backup generators but those will eventually shut down unless they are refueled. So, I have tested my ability to communicate with a line of sight to other ham radio operators. This is called Simplex Mode. Using 50 watts and a directional antenna called a Yagi, I have been able to talk to everyone I need to talk to, reaching almost 15 miles in an urban and semi-urban environment.

UHF and VHF are very commonly used with repeaters in the world of amateur radio. There are repeaters that use battery backup power, which are recharged by solar panels. These repeaters are few and far between, but it is important to identify these repeaters and to have their frequencies programmed into your radio so you can use them during an emergency. UHF and VHF radios used in Simplex mode in an urban environment can also give your family or group an advantage over others who do not have radios. Radios that are used for these bands can operate on higher power than FRS, giving them better range.

Pros: Amateur radio operators developed a better understanding of radio operation, communication range can be extended worldwide, and opportunities to practice emergency communications with ham clubs. No monthly service plans. UHF/VHF radios are not very expensive

Cons: A license is required and the cost of HF radios and equipment can exceed the cost of a new cell phone.

Mesh Devices

Mesh devices enable users to send text messages on a mesh network. There are two types. One type of mesh device utilizes a wifi router or wifi dish that has been reprogrammed with mesh network operating software. They are line of sight devices, but once connected, they form a network. Once they form a network, they can operate almost like their own internet. Some of the apps support video chat, file sharing, text messages, VOIP phones and more.

Another type of mesh device is called meshtastic. A meshtastic device is small enough to fit into the palm of someone’s hand. It’s a small circuit board with a CPU and meshtastic software. It connects to a phone using Bluetooth and after downloading the meshtastic software on the phone, messages can be composed in the app and sent through the devices to another mesh device connected via RF some distance away. The 900MHz meshtastic devices do not require a license to operate, operate on battery power and are capable of sending encrypted text messages. I managed to use mine to connect to another mesh device nearly 20 miles away using only 200 milliwatts of power!

Pros: No service plans, equipment is relatively cheap, no license needed!

Cons: Programming the equipment is a real challenge. Find someone who has a mesh node and ask them for help.

Here are some other options to consider:

Shortwave Radio

Shortwave radios are a good way to gather information from a listen only standpoint. However, don’t expect to bust out a shortwave radio during an emergency and expect to get the information you need if you have never used it. You need to know ahead of time which frequencies to use. You also need to develop an ear for listening. Radio conditions are always changing and you might have to be able to listen to a weak signal with a lot of static. Get out your radio and practice listening.

AM/FM Radio

Vehicles used to come with built in AM/FM radios. This is not the case anymore. Buy one and make sure you have batteries for it or get one with a hand crank. Emergency information is still broadcast on the emergency broadcast system on AM and FM radio stations. These stations will have backup power and will transmit important information relating to emergencies.

Scanners

Scanners are still around and they are a very good way to listen to the local fire or police department. There are still a lot of public safety agencies using analog communications and their radio frequencies can be programmed into a scanner and monitored. If your local fire or police department has switched to a digital, trunked system, this option won’t work. You can look on Broadcastify to see which type of system your local PD or FD is using.

Discussion

I hope your eyes are not glossed over by this point. If they are though, that is okay! When I first started diving deep into radio, my eyes glossed over a few times. Don’t give up! Take baby steps until you lay a good solid foundation of knowledge. Once you do, you will be operating and on your way to a treasure trove of knowledge about radio operation. It will be like second nature and you will function like a pro during an emergency.

One of the things that will help you to function like a pro is a communications plan. This should be written down. Figure out ahead of time how you plan to communicate with family, friends or whoever is in your group. Decide which radios and their frequencies to use and when. Then practice, practice, practice. Radio Communication is a diminishable skill that requires constant practice. Then, begin thinking about how to power radios and how to keep them powered. Consider backup power options. I recently wrote an article discussing the different options available for off-grid power. You can read that article titled, "Backup Power Overview" and get some ideas for powering electronics, like radios, off-grid. In the event that critical infrastructure suddenly becomes unreliable or noticeably absent from daily life, the communications gear in your possession at the time will become your own primary critical infrastructure. It will be decentralized, independent, grid-free and highly desirable.

Having a way to talk to family to make sure they are safe will go a long way to help one’s own mental state. Plus, information gathering will be important for making informed decisions. If you’re like me, then you like to be diversified. Having multiple layers and multiple ways to communicate will help to make sure there’s at least one way to get a message in or out. That’s what all the different types of radio equipment have to offer me. The only one on the list that I don’t have personally is a satellite device and the reason I don’t have one is because I do not need one to reach my family or friends. I can reach everyone I need to talk to with a radio.

Small radios can be handed out to neighbors and used to coordinate a community response. But don’t wait! If you haven’t already, consider acting on the information provided in this article so that you aren’t caught without a means to communicate.

Below are some useful links if you would like to learn more:

https://www.arrl.org/

https://m.broadcastify.com/

https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service

https://hamradiocrashcourse.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@HamRadioCrashCourse

https://swling.com/QuickStart.htm

https://www.arednmesh.org/

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