Hello I do not know to much about radios technical other than the basics I was wondering what would be a good radio for after a natural disaster or events to contact outside parties or listen into different frequencies kinda like a doomsday thing I live in the least suspected place for anything to happen and would like to know what would be the best 2 way radio with contacting help or listen. if I got this totally wrong please correct me
Hey Chris welcome to the forum. While this is a 2way radio forum and the use of two way radios is discussed here and encouraged it may not be the best use for every situation. Any two way radio weather it be a CB, FRS/GMRS, ham, or some other radio service is only of any use when there is someone to respond to your transmission. Relying on a consumer radio during an emergency is not your best choice, being as there may not be anyone to answer your call and they may just be too busy handling their own problems to help with yours. There is no central dispatch that is monitoring all consumer radio services listening for a call for help (thank you Hollywood for that misconception). If you are part of a radio group (ham or GMRS radio club) then that may prove more helpful but keep in mind those radio users aren’t emergency services. A better alternative is a cellphone with satellite text and talk capability so you can actually reach emergency services should you need them.
As for monitoring local emergency services, its always helpful to know what is going on in your area weather it be a storm that has knocked out power in your neighborhood or something more severe. Monitoring local Fire/EMS, Police/Sheriff/Highway Patrol, and pubic works channels as well as county and state DOT road crews will tell you a lot about what is going on near you. Do not buy into the preprogrammed radios that are sold as “SHTF” radios, most of the frequencies may be of little or no use to you depending on your location. Before buying a radio it is best to find out what types of radio systems are being utilized near you. Radioreference dot com would be a good place to start, and then once you find out what types of radio systems are in place you can make a decision to buy a two way radio or just a scanner (reciever only).
There really is no foolproof way to get help with a two way radio as there are no services that have dedicated emergency frequencies.
Howdy Chris and Welcome… Great question but the answer is broad and would cover so much information you could fill a book ~ a large book … My suggestion for an intelligent new to the emergency radio preparedness arena would be to get a Scanner… A decent scanner would allow you to listen to a much broader frequency range for information… Once you have conquered how to operate and tune in frequencies while you read up on which radios do what that would help you make a better decision for your particular wants and needs… What WROQ359 offered was excellent… Scanners, like 2 way radios are available for every budget and technical level… Plus they are considered a must have for the Preparedness folks also known as Preppers… There are many Preppar Groups everywhere and they would be an excellent source for information in your location… I learned quickly I had much to learn before I started spending… I bought some courses at Ham Radio Prep ( a school of sorts) and started learning… They have excellent Sales or Introductory Offers for their courses that do not cost that much to begin with…I had been spending my time watching Youtube videos and reading articles trying to learn everything but it was a slow process…After a week and a half of studying at hamradioprep.com I got my Ham Technician License however it was all the other things I learned besides the Ham world that was just as valuable like what GMRS is plus all the other radio services… I considered a decent scanner to be a must have so that was my first purchase and then after a few courses at HRP I knew which direction I wanted to go… Hope this helps a little… Advice and opinions are always great for those that live where they live doing what they want or they need to do… Everyone is different requiring different wants and needs… Learn as much as you can about everything before you get out credit cards… Welcome To The World Of Radio ~ We’re Glad You’re Here… See You Around.
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