Safety is always your
top priority. Communications is essential to safety. Two way radios can be
your best friend during emergencies.
During
an emergency survival situation, our common methods of communication might not
be available to us. The power may be out, or we might not be located near
enough to a cell phone tower to get signal. Having a pair of 2-way radios is an
excellent survival preparedness measure that will serve you during an emergency.
When selecting electronic equipment for use during emergencies that can last
several weeks without electrical power, there are features an emergency radio
should have.
AM Radio waves
It is possible for AM radio waves to travel around the world even from
relatively low power transmitters. This
makes the AM radio band ideal for providing emergency information to very large
geographic areas using the fewest number of radio stations.
Backup power
You may be without power and cannot operate your television, having a portable
radio that can also receive the sound of non-cable television stations is also
a plus, although you will need to be near these stations to receive their
signals. When
selecting a radio you should consider selecting one that has the capability to
handle both alkaline and Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. DO NOT MIX alkaline
and rechargeable batteries at the same time in your radio. Most manufacturers
have strong warnings about this in the product manuals.
Repeaters and antenna
Features such as repeater capabilities allow for communications over a very
wide area. GMRS radios operate in the UHF (Ultra High
Frequency) spectrum. At UHF frequencies, changes in antenna height are more
significant than higher power levels. External antenna
connections using portable flag poles are commonly used for
gaining additional height in emergencies.
Additional
features
Some radios feature something called SMART technology. This
means that the radio can be set up to only alert you when there is a hazard in
your specific county or city. Choosing a radio with this technology will cut
down of the number of unnecessary alerts you receive.
Which type of radio is the best for emergencies?
You can use ham radio to report
accidents, stalled cars, and fires. Don't assume that people with cell phones
are doing it. It is also important to know how to report an incident quickly
and clearly.
CB radios are cannot prove to be that important communication tool during
emergencies. As most are either large
base station models requiring lots of power which may not be available, or
mobile units permanently mounted in a car or truck which still does not meet
the need for a good quality battery-powered AM band radio in the home.
Owning a high-quality AM radio that can operate long hours on battery
power is the ideal choice for emergency situations.
This particular article was organized by Devang Kakkad who frequently shares
knowledge on the subject areas of technology and communication. He has also
written detailed reviews of the best two way radios
out there. He recently published his review on TriSquare
TSX300 and Cobra
CB Radios.
