What’s the best Ham Radio or CB Radio (not sure if they’re the same or not) to buy in case of an emergency or communications blackout? I’m not real familiar with this type of equipment.
Thanks. Much appreciated!
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It is worth spending a bit of time researching which frequencies are used by hams for which purposes. There are more than a dozen different bands of frequencies, ranging from down near AM commercial radio, through shortwave, and higher frequencies above commercial FM, and on up into microwave frequencies. The latter are good for line of sight or across town communications, the shortwave freqs can dependably reach world wide.
Many rush out and buy cheap chinese hand held units, then are disappointed to learn they only handle line of sight frequencies, and rather poorly at that.
The shortwave frequencies require physically larger antennas and somewhat larger equipment generally in the few hundred to few thousand price range, depending on features. There are lots of books, magazines, and websites discussing all aspects of the hobby, including satellite communication, building and repairing equipment, making antennas, mixing computers and ham radio, the various transmission modes and protocols used, etc. Many areas have local clubs that meet regularly and are great local sources for answering questions and getting started.