Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Family Emergency Communications Kit



Family Emergency Communications Kit

Recently, I posted an article on the Survival Skillcraft blog on creating an emergency communications kit. This is a great kit if you are by yourself but the reality is that many people have family members that they need to communicate with during a crisis. This article will focus on an emergency communications kit for the family. For demonstration purposes we will assume a family of four. You can adjust items to fit your family size.  Please keep in mind, as with any kit, it is important to design the kit to your particular needs so feel free to add or remove items as necessary.

This article will not discuss the use of cell phones. It will be assumed that the cell phone networks will be overwhelmed during a crisis and that the networks will either be so busy or completely offline that you will not be able to send or receive either phone calls or send text messages.

Platform:

The platform for my Family Emergency Communications Kit is the LA Police Gear Jumbo Bail Out Bag which costs $29.99. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on this bag because I know it is not going to get much use to justify spending $150.00 plus on a bag. Yet, I needed a bag durable enough to survive a crisis and large enough to hold all of my communications equipment. After doing a lot of research on different bags I decided on the LA Police Gear Jumbo Bail Out Bag. While it isn’t a top of the line bag it fits my needs perfectly and should hold up to any abuse that I will put it through. Keep in mind that the majority of the time this bag is going to be sitting in a closet so there is no need to spend a lot of money on the bag. It is a much wiser decision to spend your money on the communication equipment you will be using. 



A Word on Amateur Radio:
Before getting into the actual radio equipment I want to stress the importance of having at least one family member who is an FCC licensed amateur radio operator. This will increase your communications ability tremendously especially during an emergency. There are many free resources available on the Internet that will completely prepare you for the Technician’s test which is the first level of being a licensed ham radio operator. Additionally, a good book that I highly recommend is The Ham Whisperer's Technician Class License Course by Andy Vellenga which is available from Amazon.com. The fee for getting your Technician’s class license is $15 for 10 years. With some studying and time commitment you can easily be ready in one month to take your test. This will greatly increase your capabilities.

Communication Equipment:

The communications equipment in my set up included the following items:
1 – Yaesu FT-60R Handy Talkie Amateur Radio (Primary ham radio)
1 – Baofeng UV-B6 Amateur Radio (Secondary ham radio)
1 – Baofeng UV-B5 Amateur Radio (Back-up ham radio)
1 – Baofeng UV-5R+ Amateur Radio (Back-up ham radio)
2 – Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios 
2 – Motorola MT352R Giant FRS/GMRS Weatherproof Two-Way Radios

Other Equipment Includes: 


 Radio Equipment Observations:

Yaesu FT-60R Handy Talkie Amateur Radio

The Yaesu FT-60R DualBand Handheld 5W VHF/UHF Amateur Radio Transceiver - Dual Band is an excellent radio especially for new ham radio operators. Whether you are looking for a handy talkie (HT) for a hobby, emergency communications (EMCOMM), or for those times when cell phone service is not reliable the FT-60R is an excellent choice. At 5 watts it is also a good option when hiking, backpacking, or camping. Preppers will find this to be a useful form of communications and a great radio for a go bag or emergency communications kit.

Pros:

+ 5 Watts of Power
+ 1000 Memory Channels
+ Dual band VHF/UHF for 2M and 70cm bands
+ NOAA Weather Alerts
+ User manual is well written
+ High quality; durable product
+ Decent battery life (the battery is good for approximately 300 charges)
+ Sound clarity is very good
+ Lots of accessories are available
+ The radio has a lot of options and functions to change different settings to your preference
+ Easy to program although I do recommend using Yaesu ADMS-1J Programming Software which is simple, fast, and effective to program all of your frequencies
+ With a cloning cable it is easy to clone another FT-60R to transfer all of your frequencies

Cons:

- A bit heavy and bulky compared to newer radios
- The charger does not indicate that the radio is charging or when the charge is complete.
- If you are not using WIRES then turn it off otherwise you will have a delay when pressing the PTT which can cut off what you are saying. Press the "0" (zero) button to disable WIRES.

Recommendations:

1. I recommend upgrading the antenna. I am using a Diamond SRH77CA and notice a significant difference in performance compared to the standard rubber duck antenna.

2. I also recommend getting the Vertex Standard Alkaline Battery Case (FBA-25) which will allow you to use 6 AA alkaline batteries for power should your NiMH battery lose its power. Yaesu does not recommend using rechargeable batteries and claim that only alkaline batteries should be used. I have spoken with numerous people who use rechargeable batteries without incident. Use rechargeable batteries at your own risk.

Overall Assessment:

While this radio doesn't have all of the latest and greatest gadgetry such as GPS the FT-60R is a very popular radio that has been around for quite some time and has a proven track record. Many experienced ham operators own one and this is a great first radio. Also, many Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) use this radio. The FT-60R is often used as a great basic emergency communications (EMCOMM) radio. Keep in mind that during a crisis such as 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing cell phone service failed yet ham radio operators where still able to communicate with ease!

Radio performance has a lot of different variables that will affect how well the radio performs. Your location, type of antenna, battery level, radio settings, etc. can influence radio performance. Yaesu is a well-known brand in the amateur radio world. They make solid reliable radios that will perform well and last for years. I did a lot of research before purchasing this radio and I have no regrets at all. I would buy this radio again. If you are new to ham radio and don't want to spend a lot of money to get into this hobby the FT-60R is a great radio at a solid price. I purchased mine at Ham Radio Outlet for $149.00.

A Note on Baofeng Radios:

It seems that Baofeng radios are becoming very popular radios based on their very affordable price.  When talking about emergency communications it is my belief that one must never sacrifice quality for price. Yet, this is exactly what is happening with the Baofeng radios. People claim how great they are based on price alone and minimize or overlook the flaws of the radio. This is a mistake. Be cautious of Baofeng reviews that are based on price and not product attributes. I own three Baofeng radios that are included in my Family Emergency Communications kit. This was not by design. The reality is that each radio that I received has a quality control issue. I ended up buying the lasted model hoping that the issues would get resolved but they have not. These radios are made in China and the standards are definitely subpar. During a crisis or emergency I need a radio that is reliable which is why my main radio is the Yaesu FT-60R. Now, despite the quality control issues, the Baofeng’s are not useless. They are my backup radios and cheap enough to give to someone else during a crisis who may be helpful to me or my family. If Baofeng can tighten up their QC issues they will be a force to be reckoned with. As of right now, if you are looking for a quality handy talkie ham radio I recommend either Yaesu, Kenwood, or Icom for your primary radio, not Baofeng.

Baofeng UV-B6, UV-B5, and UV-5R+ Amateur Radios
These Baofeng radios are low cost radios that have a lot of potential to be a great radio. Unfortunately they fail in this respect. The biggest issue that seems to impact all Baofeng radios is one of quality control. Every Baofeng radio I own seems to have issues that detract from the quality of the radio. For under $50 you are getting a good deal on a low cost ham radio. Unfortunately, quality control seems to be the tradeoff. This is well documented by many Baofeng users.

The Baofeng radios have the potential of being a very good radio but there are two problems that really detract from this radio:

1. There are significant quality control problems with these radios. Essentially, you may end up with a good radio or a bad radio. It can be a crap shoot. Until the quality control issues are fixed you are at the mercy of luck. I do know people who own Baofeng radio’s with no issues and they are very happy with their radio. Again, it is the luck of the draw. I just happen to end up with three radio’s that have issues.

2. Programming this radio is not user friendly. Yes, you can do it but there are a lot of steps involved which increases your chances of making an error. The "user manual" for these radios are horrible. Go to the Miklor website for good information on this radio.

Pros:

+ 4 to 5 watts depending on the model (although not convinced that it truly is 5 watts)
+ Very small, compact, and portable
+ Has the ability to name channels
+ Voice assisted which is nice for the hearing impaired
+ Ability to listen to and program FM radio stations (UV-5R+ does not store FM stations)
+ Stores between 99-128 channels depending on the model (not the most but enough)
+ Comes with Automatic Number Identification (ANI) which can be a very useful function depending on your needs (Not on the UV-5R+)
+ The flashlight is surprising bright for short distances
+ Good volume control and sound quality
+ Excellent battery life
+ Accessories are inexpensive
+ Can program FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies to both receive and transmit (Note: this is an illegal function to transmit on these frequencies with this particular radio. Also, GMRS requires a license from the FCC which currently costs $85 for a five year period.)

Cons:

- Programming is not user friendly and requires a lot of keystrokes. I recommend using Chirp software to program the radio. The Chirp software is free and easy to use. Spend the extra money and get the following programming cable: Kenwood 2-Pin USB Radio Programming Cable FTDI Chipset KPG-22. This cable is FTDI and will work without problems as opposed to all the counterfeit cables on the market that will just frustrate you.
- User manual is a poor translation from Chinese to English. Some of the translations do not make sense.
- The radio does not automatically know the offset so you end up having to enter both transmit and receive frequencies. With radios such as Yaesu, Kenwood, or Icom you do not have to do this which makes programming much simpler and error free.
- The charger that came with my radio does not work properly, the flashlight work intermittently, one of the buttons works intermittently.
- The volume cannot be turned down all the way. Even when turned to the lowest setting you can still hear the radio.
- The channel display tags can be difficult to read
- In order to have the channel names appear if you use Chirp programming software you need to go to either menu 18 or 19 and change the setting to "name" otherwise it will continue to show the frequency and not the name (UV-B6 and UV-B5)

The main purpose of this radio should be as a backup radio to your primary radio. Unless Baofeng makes some changes and improves quality I would never recommend this as a primary radio. If you decide to go with this radio be very patient with the programming until you get it down. There are a lot of steps and a lot of room for error.

Overall Assessment:

If Baofeng were to fix the following three issues this radio would easily be a great radio:

1. Eliminate quality control issues as there is too much variance from radio to radio
2. Make programming easier so that both Tx, Rx, and offset frequencies do not have to be entered
3. While the user manual is improved over prior models it still has a way to go.

I would only recommend the Baofeng as a backup to another radio.

Side Note:

I compared performance of the Baofeng UV-B6, UV-B5 and UV-5R Plus with a Yaesu FT-60R DualBand Handheld 5W VHF/UHF Amateur Radio Transceiver - Dual Band. The Yaesu significantly outperformed all of the Baofeng models. It was able to receive signals from a further distance and the sound clarity was much better. Yes, the Yaesu costs three times as much as the Baofeng models but it is a much better radio. The Yaesu is a basic model that doesn't have all of the same features as the Baofeng's such as FM radio or a flashlight. The UV-5R Plus is a 4 watt radio and the UV-B6 & UV-B5 are 5 watt radios. I suspect that they may not be putting out the amount of watts that they claim. Again, as a backup radio the Baofeng's will be fine but I would not recommend them as a primary radio. If you are a new ham radio operator looking for a high quality, low cost radio I recommend the Yaesu FT-60 which costs about $149.00 but you are getting a high quality radio.

Note on FRS/GMRS Radios:

To use GMRS frequencies you need a FCC license which costs $85 for a 5 year period.  Yes, I am well aware that most people forgo this requirement which is a mistake. Using the radios without the FCC license is opening the door for legal problems. While this issue is beyond the scope of this article it is just wise and prudent to not let a licensing issue potentially lead to bigger problems.

Do not expect much more than 1.5 miles for a realistic communications distance. This is a real world number and not the “best case scenario” of the 36 to 50 miles distance that is advertised.  Even though 1.5 miles is not far it is still adequate during a crisis or emergency because you want your family close.

There is absolutely no privacy on these radios. Do not let the term “privacy codes” lead you to believe that your conversations are private…they are not.

MidlandGXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios 

When it comes to two-way radios I always keep my expectations low to start. There are so many factors that influence radio performance and as we all know they never provide the advertised "best case" range. After receiving these radios I put them through my unofficial test to see how they will perform for me and my needs. To my delight the Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios performed very well and are one of the better consumer radios available (although all of the consumer models can be significantly improved.)

My goals for using this radio include:

1. Use when hiking in a desert or mountain environment
2. Use in an urban residential neighborhood
3. As a backup form of communications for disaster preparedness

Following are the tests I conducted:

Test 1: ½ mile line of sight, flat ground with no obstructions
Performance: Extremely loud and clear

Test 2: One mile line of sight, flat ground with no obstructions
Performance: Extremely loud and clear

Test 3: Half mile in residential neighborhood with many obstructions
Performance: Extremely loud and clear

Test 4: Drove in my vehicle 1.5 miles in an urban environment with many obstructions
Performance: Was able to hear with some static. I did notice that the vehicle had a negative impact on radio performance. I stopped to exit my vehicle and the radio performed significantly better where I was able to hear the transmission loud and relatively clear although there was static.

For my needs this radio performed flawlessly. Granted, I am not asking for a lot of range but I don't need them to perform over a long range. I also did not expect the radios to perform well in an urban residential neighborhood with a lot of obstructions such as numerous one and two story homes. The ½ mile residential distance with obstructions still provided crystal clear clarity.

Pros:

+ Has a lot of functionality
+ Comes with 50 channels
+ Great sound clarity and very loud
+ Has direct call and dual monitor functionality
+ Good size and feel
+ Excellent battery life
+ Excellent belt clip
+ The "Whisper" function works very well
+ Ability to use AA batteries when the NiMH rechargeable battery pack runs out of juice
+ Accessories are available such as a speaker mic and headset
+ Backlight is bright
+ Icons are easy to see
+ Can scan weather channels from NOAA and has a NOAA weather alert function
+ Has scanning function although it does scan very slowly

Cons:

- Instructions are printed in a very small font
- The battery charger does not indicate when the battery is completely charged
- The headset that comes with the radio does not work well or stay in place
- Setting up the Group Mode has a lot of steps

Keep in mind that this radio has 50 channels of which some are GMRS and require a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Overall Assessment:

I researched just about every consumer FRS/GMRS radio from Midland, Motorola, and Uniden and find this Midland radio to be one of the better consumer radios available on the market. All of the radios have some benefits as well as some flaws. The key is finding one that works for your needs and will function within your expectations. There is definitely a significant difference between consumer radios and professional radios and I would like to see these companies upgrade their radios to a more professional level for the consumer market. Even if the cost increased I think this would be a benefit to end users. A more rugged case and stronger buttons would be very nice. A rugged 5 watt GMRS only radio would also be a nice option to have. There is an open market for two way radios that are between the consumer and professional level radio that is wide open for a company to come in and dominate. Even if they only had one or two choices of radios at this level it would be nice to see. Note: Midland does have a professional grade FRS/GMRS radio but the cost is more than the Yaesu FT-60R.

The Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios fit my needs very well and performed to my requirements. Keep in mind that radio performance is impacted by a host of factors. Overall, I am very satisfied with these radios and will purchase an extra set.

Motorola  MT352R Giant FRS Weatherproof Two-Way - 35 Mile Radios

Again, when it comes to two-way radios I always keep my expectations low. After receiving these radios I put them through my unofficial test as listed above to see how they would perform for me and my needs. The Motorola MT352R Giant FRS Weatherproof Two-Way radios also performed very well.

Pros:

+ Easy to set up and use
+ Has a lot of functionality
+ Great sound clarity
+ Excellent 15 hour battery life
+ Ability to use three AA batteries when the NiMH rechargeable battery pack runs out of juice
+ Can use the Goal Zero 19010 Guide 10 Plus Small Adventure Kit as another power source
+ Accessories are available such as a speaker mic and headset
+ Has a Power Boost function on the PTT for added power
+ Backlight is bright
+ Icons are easy to see
+ Has a flashlight feature on the bottom of the radio which is very handy
+ Can scan weather channels from NOAA
+ Has scanning functions
+ IP-54 rating. If you need waterproof radios consider the Motorola MS350R 35-Mile Talkabout Waterproof 2-Way Radio (Pair)

Cons:

- Instructions are printed in a very small font
- The belt clip does not seem durable and is poorly designed (I can see this being a significant problem)
- The radios are a bit bulky

Overall Assessment:

The Motorola MT352R Giant FRS Weatherproof Two-Way radios fit my needs very well and performed to my requirements. Keep in mind that radio performance is impacted by a host of factors. Overall, I am very satisfied with these radios and may purchase an extra set.

Conclusion:

During a crisis, disaster, or emergency you cannot count on cell phone service. It is imperative to have alternate forms of communications that will keep you in touch with your loved ones or others. Additionally, I can’t stress the importance of having a written emergency communications plan in your kit. Your plan must be inclusive and practiced for it to be effective. Your plan must have emergency phone numbers, meeting locations, evacuation points with back up locations, radio frequencies, out of town contacts, etc. You do not want to learn of your plans weakness during a crisis. 

As you can see this kit only contains communications equipment. I also have a go bag that has other equipment that I will need in time of a crisis. Redundancy is built into my communications kit by having backup radios and backup power sources consisting of electrical, battery, and solar. In another bag I also have a small radio capable of receiving shortwave radio. During an emergency information is power. Having communications provides peace of mind knowing that I will be able to communicate during a crisis.

Remember the adage:  Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

Stay safe.

TC
© 2013


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