Hi,

I am looking to be a handheld CB radio for use in emergency situations
in the United States (such as hurricane evacuations). I would need
something rugged, rain-proof (or better, really water-resistant or
water-proof), with the main set of channels (including the channels
monitored by the police). While I absolutely need a handheld battery
operated model, it would be best if I could also plug it in my car
lighter and snap an antenna on the roof if I am in a car.

Since I have a separate weather-radio I do not need the CB to include
this option.

Can you point me to a good model?

Thanks!

Andrei

If you want a license free handheld, you will be much better served with
either a MURS unit or (in a city) perhaps an FRS unit. MURS offers much
higher power (2 watts) than FRS and the antennas of either MURS or FRS are
*far* more efficient than a handheld 27 MHz unit. Check out google group
MURS_OPEN and ask them.

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim


"andrei" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I am looking to be a handheld CB radio for use in emergency situations
in the United States (such as hurricane evacuations). I would need
something rugged, rain-proof (or better, really water-resistant or
water-proof), with the main set of channels (including the channels
monitored by the police). While I absolutely need a handheld battery
operated model, it would be best if I could also plug it in my car
lighter and snap an antenna on the roof if I am in a car.

Since I have a separate weather-radio I do not need the CB to include
this option.

Can you point me to a good model?

Thanks!

Andrei


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Hi,

I have a Motorola FRS (I am very happy with it) but it would not be
what I want in case of emergencies: I would need something which the
police would monitor so I could call for rescue if needed, I would
need something which would, for example, make it possible for me to
ask for the road conditions ahead, or simply monitor the channels used
by trucks and other to be aware of what is going on. The situation I
am most concerned about would be a massive evacuation of the Florida
coast in preparation for a hurricane.

Even the NOAA hurricane evacuation kit suggest the purchase of a
handheld & battery operated radio!

what do you think about these two models: the Cherokee AH-27F and, in
particular, the Midland 75-822 - both found he
http://www.alfoutdoors.com/cbs/handheld_cbs.htm

Can you think of better models?

Thanks!


"Jim Hampton" wrote in message ...
If you want a license free handheld, you will be much better served with
either a MURS unit or (in a city) perhaps an FRS unit. MURS offers much
higher power (2 watts) than FRS and the antennas of either MURS or FRS are
*far* more efficient than a handheld 27 MHz unit. Check out google group
MURS_OPEN and ask them.

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim

"andrei" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I have a Motorola FRS (I am very happy with it) but it would not be
what I want in case of emergencies: I would need something which the
police would monitor so I could call for rescue if needed

Good luck. There may, or may not be someone listening to channel 9.
Since it's usually quite busy with non-emergency traffic (at least around
here) it's most likely that nobody's listening that would be useful to you.
For example, our county EOC has a CB set, it's been powered up in tests a
few times in the last few years, but nobody listens to it routinely.

Our police don't monitor CB at all. Highway patrol MAY monitor, but I
wouldn't bet on it.

I would need something which would, for example, make it possible for me
to
ask for the road conditions ahead, or simply monitor the channels used
by trucks and other to be aware of what is going on. The situation I
am most concerned about would be a massive evacuation of the Florida
coast in preparation for a hurricane.

You might come by road info on channel 19, but that info may or may not be
reliable.
I've heard bad and deliberately misleading info passed from time to time.
I put one in the car on long trips just for that reason.

Even the NOAA hurricane evacuation kit suggest the purchase of a
handheld & battery operated radio!

They are talking about AM/FM receivers, for official information broadcasts.

I would think that a few weatherproof FRS radios, with a good block of spare
batteries would serve well.

A long range radio, with just a few channels, is going to find very
congested conditions.
A short range radio, with fewer channels, is likely to be very usable.

My error. I meant to check out Yahoo group (sheesh, I can't tell the
difference between Google and Yahoo?) MURS_OPEN.

Thanks,
Jim

"Jim Hampton" wrote in message
...
If you want a license free handheld, you will be much better served with
either a MURS unit or (in a city) perhaps an FRS unit. MURS offers much
higher power (2 watts) than FRS and the antennas of either MURS or FRS are
*far* more efficient than a handheld 27 MHz unit. Check out google group
MURS_OPEN and ask them.

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim


"andrei" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I am looking to be a handheld CB radio for use in emergency situations
in the United States (such as hurricane evacuations). I would need
something rugged, rain-proof (or better, really water-resistant or
water-proof), with the main set of channels (including the channels
monitored by the police). While I absolutely need a handheld battery
operated model, it would be best if I could also plug it in my car
lighter and snap an antenna on the roof if I am in a car.

Since I have a separate weather-radio I do not need the CB to include
this option.

Can you point me to a good model?

Thanks!

Andrei


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"Jim Hampton" wrote:
My error. I meant to check out Yahoo group (sheesh, I can't tell the
difference between Google and Yahoo?) MURS_OPEN.

Too much RF. Please resume using the led.

--
GO# 40

"andrei" wrote in message
om...
A long range radio, with just a few channels, is going to find very
congested conditions.
A short range radio, with fewer channels, is likely to be very usable.

OK, but can you reccommend a model? What are we taking about here?
Surely not an FRS radio? Then what?

FRS will allow you to keep your group in contact over short ranges.
I would expect 1-2 miles.

Look at what happened during the backout in New York: cellphones had a
very time working because of powerfailures and saturated circuits. So
I would not count on cell phones too much in case of problems.

Absolutely.

Which channels do would make it possible to call the police or the
coast guard? Are there other, non CB, emergency radios out there?

Ham radio solves my needs, with bands from 2MHz through 24GHz.
The 2 meter band is the most popular, and is supported by repeaters with
large coverage areas (10 - 50 mile diameter coverage into a handheld
depending on antenna and terrain)
You need a licence to play though, and that seems to upset people,
especially in CB land.

We use ham radio here in conjunction with Skywarn, to warn of severe
weather, like tornadoes.
Cell phones flake out immediately, as the network overloads with everyone
calling everyone else to see if they are ok too, and the first hit of bad
weather usually takes the sites offline entirely when the power drops. Our
repeater has battery backup, and we have an alternate repeater site a few
miles away that we can activate in case our primary is taken out by
lightning.

Starter radios can be had on ebay for $50 and up, with reasonable features.

As for calling police, that's still an iffy proposition. In our county, when
severe weather hits, or some other widespread problem is happening, our
people are in at the county EOC, and a call on our repeater for any
emergency services will result in a note passed down the hall to the 911
dispatchers. Many counties have similar groups in place, and the more urban
you are, the more I would expect that to be the case. One of the most
active groups in the country is in Orange county California
http://www.ocraces.org/ We're not that big here

Calling ham radio an "emergency radio" is doing it a dis-service though. I
use it almost every day, mostly just to chat with others in our group while
driving, and keep up on current events.

My particular vice is called Slow Scan TV, which allows me to send a picture
in about 30 seconds, over a range of about 20 miles with simple low cost
equipment on the 2 meter band, and worldwide on HF like 14.230 MHz
http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/in...teur/vch1.html is what I use in
the car, and at the EOC we have a computer running MMSSTV, a sound card
program to send and receive SSTV pictures. It's freeware, which is nice, and
any laptop with a sound card can play. Simple interface cable required, but
that's easy

We also can do conventional TV on the higher bands (we call it "fast scan
TV") but the power and equipment requirements are much higher to get any
real range, that's just the nature of the mode.

Handheld 27 MHz cb transceivers have two problems:
1) horribly inefficient antennas (very small compared to a quarter wave whip
which would be around 9 feet long)
2) even less efficient grounds (simply the capacitance between the handheld
and your hand. You act as the ground. Exceedingly inefficient. Range
would likely be no more than FRS and very likely less.
There is a possible 3rd problem. If BPL becomes a reality, expect your
range to be maybe 500 feet at most. I'm not kidding.

For license free, MURS would offer a detachable antenna and you would likely
have a 5 mile range to another handheld.

For real range, I don't see a real alternative to getting an amateur
license. The repeaters make up for the lack of height of your antenna.
I've taken my handheld to work here in Rochester, NY, and chatted during
lunch with hams in Toronto via a repeater. That is quite a few miles (check
a map). My reliable range is 30 miles to a repeater; from there I can
expect another 20 miles or so to another handheld and up to 60 additional
miles to a mobile. I have, when up on a high-rise locally, used repeaters
directly in Buffalo (60 miles) and opened a repeater in Pennsylvania
(probably over 100 miles away). Most repeaters have backup and will not
fail during a blackout. We have repeaters that are not even connected to
the mains (solar and wind powered). Although a test and license are
required, you can't touch that kind of distance nor reliability any other
way.

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim


"andrei" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I have a Motorola FRS (I am very happy with it) but it would not be
what I want in case of emergencies: I would need something which the
police would monitor so I could call for rescue if needed, I would
need something which would, for example, make it possible for me to
ask for the road conditions ahead, or simply monitor the channels used
by trucks and other to be aware of what is going on. The situation I
am most concerned about would be a massive evacuation of the Florida
coast in preparation for a hurricane.

Even the NOAA hurricane evacuation kit suggest the purchase of a
handheld & battery operated radio!

what do you think about these two models: the Cherokee AH-27F and, in
particular, the Midland 75-822 - both found he
http://www.alfoutdoors.com/cbs/handheld_cbs.htm

Can you think of better models?

Thanks!


"Jim Hampton" wrote in message
...
If you want a license free handheld, you will be much better served with
either a MURS unit or (in a city) perhaps an FRS unit. MURS offers much
higher power (2 watts) than FRS and the antennas of either MURS or FRS
are
*far* more efficient than a handheld 27 MHz unit. Check out google
group
MURS_OPEN and ask them.

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim




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