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By Root 730 0

headphone jack and power-cable connections, and always carry the radio and accessories in a sturdy, well-padded, preferably waterproof case. (I find that a small Pelican brand case with “pluck-and-chuck” gray foam inserts proves ideal for my needs.) One low-cost alternative is to cut closed-cell foam inserts to fit inside a .30 caliber United States Government Issue (USGI) ammo can. GI ammo cans are a very sturdy, inexpensive (often less than ten dollars each at gun shows) alternative, and they provide very good protection from nuclear EMP effects.

At auto wrecking yards, you can sometimes find a Becker or Blaupunkt brand Europa, Mexico, or similar model AM/FM/ shortwave radio pulled from a European car such as a Mercedes-Benz, for less than fifty dollars. These are not only very reliable radios but will also give you the opportunity to get time signals from the WWV and WWVH radio stations operated by the NIST, and some international broadcasts.

Transceivers

Your first transceivers should probably be a pair of MURS band walkie-talkies.

CB Radio

Next, an SSB-capable CB radio, such as the time-proven Cobra 148GTL.

Field Telephones

You’ll also want a pair of military-surplus field telephones, for coordinating retreat security. To someone who was first trained on the older-generation TA-1 and TA-312 simplex-only mode field phones, like I was, the current TA-1042 DNVT-generation phones seem very Buck Rogers. It is a great design. Having reliable field telephones is essential to coordinate retreat security in a post-TEOTWAWKI world. For semipermanent installation, it is best to buy cable that is rated for underground burial (UB), to conceal and protect all of your lines. For TA-1042s you will need four conductor cables (or two parallel runs of two conductor cables). Burying your lines will prevent both intentional and unintentional line cuts and breaks. Don’t overlook getting a few extra field phones, so that you can run commo wire to your neighbors and coordinate with them as well. Watch eBay for a circuit switch (AN/TTC-39D). The TA-1042 DNVT field telephones themselves are currently available from Ready Made Resources. They sell these field phones in pairs, with a free civilian photovoltaic panel included.

Table Radio

Then, you may want to get a relatively EMP-proof vacuum-tube-technology table radio, preferably one with shortwave bands. Something like a Zenith TransOceanic H500 would be a good choice. Tabletop vacuum-tube radios can often be found on eBay. It is wise to purchase redundant commo gear. There is certain logic in buying three, four, or even five older, used Radio Shack receivers for around nine hundred dollars rather than spending the same amount on just one shiny new Drake R8B.

Two-Way Radio Communications

Amateur radio is a very do-it-yourself hobby. I would strongly recommend that you get a ham operator license no matter what. In the United States, it is illegal to transmit on the ham bands without an FCC-issued license and call sign.

I have long been an advocate of using field telephones and relatively low-power handheld transceivers for most retreat communications. Why unnecessarily blast out forty to fifty watts with a 2 meter rig when a few watts with a MURS radio will suffice? Save the higher-power transmitters for longer-range communication, and then use them only when needed.

My favorite band for walkie-talkies is the Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) band, since most MURS radios can be programmed to operate in the 2 meter band, and they have much better range than FRS radios. But like FRS, they are unregulated in most private use. (No license required!) It is also important to note that the CB channels, FRS channels, and 2 meter band frequencies will likely be very crowded WTSHTF, particularly in the suburbs, but the less well-known and less populated MURS frequencies will probably be largely available at any given time.

Once you’ve mastered short-range communications and public-service band monitoring, the next step is to join your local ARRL affiliate club