Wilderness Survival Forum

As you begin to implement your plans for survival preparedness and self-sufficiency, you will probably discover -- as I have -- that certain bonuses accrue over and above your goal of being better able to cope with an extended crisis in the future. You will find that you have increasing control over unexpected events in your everyday life, and some of the preparations which you have made against the possibility of a future breakdown in the system may save your life on an ordinary morning in the heart of the city, when the sun is shining and children are on their way to school. When we were still living in Los Angeles, my wife and I had reason to be grateful for our own preparedness.

It was a typical Monday morning for us. My wife was searching for her handbag before leaving to do some errands at the neighborhood shopping center and I was dawdling over my third cup of coffee hoping that my typewriter ribbon needed changing, some pencils needed sharpening or that the phone would ring -- anything to delay the little death that writers feel when starting a new piece. About ten minutes after Nancy had left, I. heard the police helicopter hovering almost directly overhead and I switched on my scanner, tuning to the local air-tactical frequency. A 211 (armed robbery) was in progress and the helicopter was deploying patrol cars to block anticipated escape routes. Enough to keep me from the typewriter for a few minutes longer, but nothing out of the ordinary in a large city -- or so I thought until I discovered that the location of the robbery was the bank, only a few blocks from our home, where my wife had gone to cash a check before beginning her shopping chores. More details were being relayed on the tactical frequency: At least two men... well armed with shotguns and autopistols ... hostages being taken as they entered the bank...

People tend to relax security measures when nothing happens for a while after they have begun to practice them and Nancy was no exception. Several times she had forgotten to turn on the car's CB radio to the prearranged frequency which we had agreed to monitor whenever one of us was away from home. I called her three times before she responded, "Wait a minute, I'm just parking in front of the bank." I told her to pull away and return home without asking any questions. There was no response. Seconds later a voice from the scanner announced that shots had been fired and that the felons were escaping with a woman hostage. A chase ensued, the getaway car was wrecked, one of the bank robbers and the hostage were killed.

Nancy was unharmed because her response to the emergency code word I used was so immediate she had not even delayed to answer my instructions. Whatever its value in a future crisis, the radio monitoring and communications equipment we have acquired as part of our survival preparedness program has already proved its worth to my satisfaction.

This incident is by no means isolated. The CB magazines are overflowing with reports on the use of personal two-way communications gear in emergency situations. Less dramatic, perhaps, but still valid are a number of situations related to me by clients in which their electronic survival gear has played an important role. One family was able to avoid a violent demonstration in an unfamiliar city because the scanner in their car gave them warning. In another case, a businessman escaped a devastating potential loss because he heard an important news story on shortwave hours before it was reported by the U.S. media.

I am emphasizing the immediate usefulness of these items because they can be relatively expensive to purchase and I have found that those I counsel often relegate them to the bottom of their lists for that reason, not fully realizing their importance. A safe place, arms for food gathering and protection, a water supply and storable food are obvious survival requirements, but after those provisions have been made, priorities are less easily defined, and those which seem expensive or esoteric tend to be neglected. Under long-term survival conditions these devices may be your only source of information as well as communication, and without them you may never reach your retreat or be able to use the food you have stored or the arms you have acquired.

Just what you may need in the way of emergency radio equipment will vary according to your individual circumstances. A couple without children living in a small town or rural area near their retreat might require nothing more than a portable, multiband radio receiver and a pair of CB walkie-talkies.

One of my clients, on the other hand, lives in a large city where he plans to stay as long as possible, and he has three married sons living in other cities around the country. This geographically scattered but close-knit family has established a common retreat in the Pacific Northwest where it plans to meet in the event of an emergency. They keep in touch through regular "family roundtables" via ham radio, and each household has an escape vehicle prepared with elaborate communications and monitoring gear including programmable scanners, both amateur and CB transceivers, as well as enough gasoline and food rations to last until they rendezvous. All of their equipment can be battery-operated and, in addition, each escape vehicle carries a small, suitcase-sized generator.

Only a careful analysis of your own needs -- location, population density in your area, size and location of your family -- and your own assessment of the kinds of emergencies which you anticipate can determine the optimum equipment for you. But you may find the following guidelines helpful in determining some of the specific survival uses for current state-of-the-art radio equipment.

At the very least you should have a reliable, sensitive radio receiver capable of battery operation, preferably with a self-contained antenna, which provides good coverage of the standard AM broadcast band. One of the better multiband portables offering FM, several international shortwave bands, CB, public service, weather and whatever specialized frequencies you might need would be close to ideal. The AM band will offer official emergency information and weather reports -- assuming that the stations are capable of broadcasting during the emergency -- but you may profit from additional information. For example, it could be useful to know what foreign nations are saying -- hence the shortwave and it may be critical that you be able to hear police, civil defense and fire broadcasts directly.

In rural communities, small towns and other sparsely populated areas, the high and low VHF band on your communications receiver may do for this purpose, since the frequencies used are ordinarily widely separated and easy to tune; but in metropolitan areas there is so much radio activity from police, sheriff, fire, hospital, ambulance and other public service broadcasters that most tunable receivers cannot separate the signals, and crystal controlled or synthesized scanning monitors are needed. Most of these units can be programmed for a number of specific frequencies that you want to hear and they will either "scan" for activity or continuously monitor a selected station as you direct. If you were caught in a city during a riot or a natural disaster, being able to know where roadblocks, trouble spots or rescuers were -- firsthand -- might save your life.

Two-way radio equipment, although designed for getting your message out as well as receiving traffic from others, is still quite valuable as an intelligence-gathering tool, even if you never transmit. During the gasoline crisis I had to travel extensively but I never had trouble finding a station with open pumps, simply because I listened to the exchanges from other motorists on my mobile CB. Two-meter FM amateur gear will also allow you to place telephone calls from your car or a pocket-sized portable transceiver, and many hams have their cars or vans equipped with gear capable of giving them worldwide communications.

The uses for such items during a crisis are virtually endless and often critical. Even now they can provide greater convenience, safety and personal control of your life -- and they can be a great deal of fun besides.

A case in point. Not too long ago New York City suffered its second power failure in twelve years. Nothing more than a few hours without electricity triggered a nightmare of violence there that should serve to remind us vividly that we live on the verge of chaos.

International banking establishments were closed, the major national securities exchanges failed to open, more than 3,000 arrests were made for looting, 400 policemen were reported injured, 500 fires broke out (many by arson), more than 25,000 emergency calls were placed and four times the usual number of hospital emergency cases were admitted -- all because of nothing more sinister than a power outage caused by lightning striking transmission lines.

Shortly after this preview of coming attractions had transpired, I received calls from three of my clients who live in New York. Thanks to their survival preparations their lives were very little disrupted. High-efficiency kerosene Aladdin lamps provided ample illumination for both security and reading; propane camp stoves cooked their meals, and dehydrated foods from their storage closets substituted for the perishables in their refrigerators.

In each case, the families involved were also able to assess the seriousness of the situation by means of battery-powered monitor and scanner radios. They knew where the areas of violence were, they were saved the inconvenience -- and dangers -- of trying to evacuate as many others were not, and they knew that businesses were to be closed the following day, as thousands who tried to report for work did not. All three of my callers independently commented to the effect that the firsthand intelligence they were able to gain from their radio equipment had helped them cope with the emergency reasonably and without panic. Had the situation grown more serious, they would have had an edge, knowing when to leave the city for a safer place and which areas to avoid when planning their escape routes.

The most immediate intelligence during a crisis will usually be found on the so-called public service bands. These are FM frequencies allocated by the FCC to police, sheriffs and fire departments, hospitals, ambulance services, paramedics, rescue, disaster relief, the press, taxicabs, various government agencies and the like. Within this spectrum, several other important services are also included, such as: mobile telephones (152.480-152.840), the forty-five-channel marine band (156.275-157.425), the two-meter ham band (146.000-148.000) and the continuous broadcasts of the National Weather Service (162.55, 162.475, 162.40).

Five frequency ranges are presently in widespread use: low band, 32-50 MHz; high band, 146-174 MHz; UHF, 450-470 MHz; UHF "T," 470-512; and government UHF, 416-450. Although some multiband tunable radios include one or more of these frequency ranges, you may find them to be of limited value because the active channels are often so close together-particularly in metropolitan areas -- that an ordinary tuner cannot separate them and all you will hear is urgent confusion. Further, you cannot move quickly back and forth between, say, the police dispatcher, a radio car and a helicopter, all of which may be broadcasting a segment of the action that you are trying to follow. These problems have brought about the development of the scanning monitor radio or "scanner," which is one of the most useful pieces of equipment a survivalist can acquire.

Briefly, a scanner is an FM receiver capable of being precisely tuned to required frequencies by means of individual crystals or a crystal synthesizer, and it can be set up to scan a number of channels quickly and repeatedly, stopping only on those which are broadcasting. There are pocket models that operate on penlite batteries and are capable of covering four channels or so. Larger units designed to scan twelve or more frequencies can be had for either AC use or operation from an automobile battery.

The first scanners were crystal-controlled, as are most of the presently available hand-held units. Such radios may be the cheapest to buy initially and they function well enough, but in many ways they are the least satisfactory for survival use. Each channel requires a separate crystal cut for an individual frequency and the cost of these is usually between $5 and $10 each. A ten-channel $150 scanner could cost as much as $250 when all of the crystals have been added. Further, if you travel and take your scanner with you, or if you move to a new area, you will almost certainly need all new crystals. Finally, if one of the services you wish to monitor adopts a new frequency -- as they often do -- or your interests change and you want to listen to a different service, you will again need new crystals.

The convenience of a hand-held unit may sometimes outweigh these disadvantages, especially if it is used as a backup to a larger, more flexible model, and if you want one, those made by Bearcat and Fanon/Courier are excellent, in my opinion. Bearcat has just introduced a new hand-held model, the BC-100, which is "synthesized," meaning that it needs no crystals. You punch in the frequencies you want to monitor on a calculator-type keyboard and they are displayed on an LCD. The BC-100 has eight bands, search auto lockout and sixteen channels, and is a small three by seven by one-and-one-half inches. As you would expect, it is expensive.

Bearcat, which claims the honor of having invented scanners, has just introduced a state-of-the-art model that I have been testing extensively for several weeks. An eighteen-channel AC/DC unit, the Bearcat BC-210XL is programmed simply by punching in the desired frequencies by means of a front-panel-mounted keyboard much like that on a touchtone telephone. A digital readout displays the actual frequency being monitored and a large, front-mounted speaker provides high-quality sound. The scan rate is very high -- all eighteen channels are sampled in half a second -- offering an excellent probability of catching even brief transmissions. All three bands are covered with a single supplied antenna, which is electronically shortened or lengthened as required. If that were not enough, the BC-210XL will actually search out unknown frequencies for activity -- an extremely important feature if you should find yourself in an area where you do not know which channels are being used, or if sudden changes were made during an emergency, as they often are. Whatever scanner you finally select, don't buy until you have seen the BC-210XL.

Most stores that carry scanners will know the most active frequencies in their areas, but you should also have the inexpensive call books which are sold for various geographic areas of the U.S. In particular, you should know all of the police, highway patrol and emergency frequencies for your residence; your retreat and the jurisdictions in between.

New York's night of violence underlines the suddenness with which a survival emergency can surface, and for that reason I suggest that you consider the value of adding a scanner to your survival equipment without delay. One word of warning, however. Once you have sampled one of these fascinating devices, your sober, practical investment in this piece of survival gear may soon turn into a fascinating new hobby.

As the editor of a survival-oriented newsletter, it's part of my job to be well informed about significant news events and trends around the world, and as I pursue this data, I am constantly amazed at how little of the really important information is even mentioned in the U.S. media, much less reported there in depth.

I am not suggesting that this state of affairs smacks of conspiracy or even that it is anything new. An afternoon in the library browsing through leading newspapers for the month preceding the crash of 1929 should convince you that the popular press may not be a sufficient early-warning vehicle for impending crises. You may even find the headlines disturbingly similar to those in your current morning paper -- no dire warnings, business as usual, some areas of the economy lagging but government officials and economists in agreement that things are under control with the strong measures being taken by Congress and the administration to bring about a full recovery...

Short of making news gathering a career, one of the most efficient ways I know to find out for yourself what is really happening in the world is through systematic listening to a wide range of shortwave news broadcasts. If you are inclined to doubt the importance of this recommendation or its validity, try an interesting experiment. Rent a shortwave receiver for a month and listen to the English news broadcasts of at least ten foreign radio services daily, such as the BBC from London, Radio Australia, RSA from South Africa, Radio Nederland from Holland, Deutsche Welle from West Germany, HCJB from Ecuador, Radio Japan -- and don't overlook the propaganda broadcasts from radios Moscow, Peking and Havana. Make a list of the dozen or so items which you consider most significant and then see how many of them you can find covered satisfactorily by your favorite domestic news source. I predict that you will never again be without a shortwave receiver willingly, and you will probably gain a new sense of urgency in making your survival preparations. At the very least, you will know a great deal more about certain far-reaching events that mag dramatically affect your life, and you will have access to that information usually hours before it is reported on U.S. television, radio or in the print media.

The equipment you need for this kind of shortwave listening does not have to be very expensive, and the time required is minimal. An hour or two a day is enough once you have learned where to listen and what to listen for, but be prepared to become hooked. International shortwave DXing is one of the most interesting pursuits you are likely to encounter.

Many cheap portables purport to offer shortwave as an added feature, but usually only one small segment of the band is available or else sensitivity is poor and tuning is inadequate. A general-coverage receiver, quality multiband portable is what you will need for serious SWL. Since this receiver will be part of your survival equipment, make certain that it can be conveniently operated by batteries as well as AC current. Ideally, the radio you select should provide continuous coverage from 500 kHz to 30 MHz and have provision for receiving single sideband and CW (Morse code) signals, as well as AM and perhaps FM.

About the least expensive general-coverage receiver with most of these features, plus good sensitivity, is Yaesu's FRG-7, which requires an external antenna and includes a battery and car cord for DC operation. This "Volkswagen" of receivers provides better performance than some models costing twice as much.

The Panasonic RF-2000 or Sony's ICF 5900W are exceptionally good portables. They are easy on batteries and although neither features digital readout, both have dial calibration schemes that will put you within 5 kHz or better of the shortwave frequency you want. A middle-of-the-road portable that does feature digital readout is Panasonic's RF-2900. Although the reception is equal to that of the other portables, this set allows exact tuning via the electronic frequency display.


TWO-WAY RADIO

Whatever your decision about shortwave listening equipment, your minimum emergency communications gear should include at least a two-way radio of some sort and a receiver capable of monitoring broadcasts from the U.S. National Weather Service, even if your interest in survival preparedness is nothing more than that of a casual outdoorsman who enjoys an occasional overnight or weekend camping, hunting, or fishing trip. Both ham and CB radio gear might be included if cost is not a factor, but I would select CB for survival use if forced to make a choice.

A mobile unit for your car is probably the most flexible single selection, since, with accessories, it can also be used as a base station or a battery-operated portable. I consider single sideband capability a must because of its greater range and power; fortunately, most mobile sets today have this feature. All popular SSB units provide full AM service as well as the considerable advantage of sideband when it is needed.

FCC regulations covering the forty-channel radios are so stringent that the transmitter portions of these transceivers offer virtually identical performance. There are considerable differences in the quality of the receiver sections, however, in terms of sensitivity and rejection of unwanted signals. In order to make a useful comparison, you should listen to a number of sets fed from the same antenna and played through the same extension speaker. Quality is so good, generally, among the latest forty-channel models that you can hardly make a serious blunder in selecting a mobile unit, but you will probably like the features and convenience of some more than others. The President Grant makes an excellent standard for comparison; it is reasonably priced and its quality is good.

Convenient as that arrangement may be for some, others may want to consider separate hand-held transceivers, and there are two which merit particular attention for survival use. The inexpensive, 100-milliwatt Pocket Coms are undoubtedly the most convenient and most compact CB transceivers yet devised. Their range is limited to about a one-mile line-of-sight in open country, but that limitation could be a blessing if you wanted to remain undetected outside your immediate area while making necessary communications. Battery life on standby is exceptional and the units are equipped to transmit a "beep" tone for paging.

The Midland 77-861 is another widely used portable. It comes equipped with its own leather battery case and telescoping antenna as well as automobile mounting brackets and connectors. Although capable of transmitting the maximum legal power, this compact forty-channel unit has a switch permitting reduced power, when required, to save batteries or to limit transmission range.

A number of interesting accessories are now on the market which extends the CB's usefulness in an emergency, such as telephone patches that allow calls to be placed to or received from any telephone in the world, and scramblers that make transmissions unintelligible to all but similarly equipped and coded units.