5 Reasons Why a Survivalist Should Become a Ham Radio Operator

ham radio

Communication in a large-scale survival scenario is vital to almost everyone and also one of the first tools of survival to go down.

Think about it.

If the grid goes down or even partially goes down, your lines of communication to the outside world become very narrow, very quickly.

Phone lines are the most obvious casualty, but if you have no power, it is highly unlikely you will have cable, internet and possibly even cell coverage.

If the situation was dire enough, all those might be down for the foreseeable future and you would be basically living in the early 1800's in terms of communications capabilities.

Unless, that is, you had a method of communication that is international, separate from the grid and dependable as long as you have a way to power it.

That would be ham radio and on the next page, we cover why you should consider becoming a licensed operator.

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12 Comments

  1. Marc Carlsen said:

    It is a positive thing to learn. My father has been a ham radio operator for years. I recently got a technician license. I can honestly say that it is pointless to have anything less than a general license. Cell phones are too prevalent these days the only thing i ever hear is the repeator in my area. I would recommend you find a local club to become associated with its not so much about getting the license as it is about learning the fundamentals of operating the radio and learning how to cummunicate in the jargen of radio. You also need to understand how wave lengths work. And how to manipulate what you have to extend your signal to suit your purposes. When a shtf situation happens it wont matter if you have a license. But you must be prepared for that and getting your license is the first step to preparing for that moment.

  2. Sonny Jobe said:

    You better off doing the passive listening. Leave the transmitting to the big boys anyway. Collect intel and leave it at that.

  3. Arctodus Simus said:

    Terry, do you have a ham license?
    I had a really nice rig and a mobile side band radio way back in the day, but it’s all gone now.

  4. Terry Fitzgerald said:

    I do not, my twin brother does. When we were kids we belonged to the club up in Carthage, MO W0LF, learned Morse, attended field days, etc. My life got busy, his did not. I have since vowed to get them (Tech, General and Extra) but my life is still busy. This will irritate those licensed but the reality is in a SHTF scenario, no one is going to be enforcing that are they? I keep a pair of very inexpensive rigs for two bags.

  5. Terry Fitzgerald said:

    That said, one of these days I will get licensed anyway and set up a shack here where we are now which is at a high elevation or perhaps by that time, another location even higher and more remote. I have studied off and on but I would really need to dedicate a few weeks to the effort. The ADF offers testing here and I understand they are stepping that up.

  6. Terry Fitzgerald said:

    This is a pretty good tool that will refresh you or help you re-learn Morse. I don’t recall what it cost me but it wasn’t too much and it comes with audio files. I keep it on my laptop for when I travel and put the audio files on an iPod so I can listen when I fly or drive. One of these days I will get it done.

  7. James Burrell said:

    So let’s pretend that I’m not that electronically or radio-knowledgeable. Can someone explain to me like you would tell a 6 year old how this stuff works? Is it standard radio? Or is it the oddball click code that I have heard of?

  8. Walter Campbell II said:

    It’s a standard radio, the new standards for an entry level they took away the code portion

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