Govt Interference (Think About Who is Really TYRANICAL ) Votes Count

[LeoG]

I have a plan with the family.  We have the repeater that we would go through picked out and a simplex channel that we would use when closer.  Plus when I get my repeater up to snuff the plan will change to that.  I'm not worried about me or the wife at all.  The rest of the family doesn't practice at all.

My son and DIL told me to go to Lowes because I have the truck in the family.  I brought a talkie and my mobile.  I went into the store looking for them and no luck.  I texted and got nothing.  I called and it went to VM, meaning no signal for them.  Mine was pretty poor.  If they had the talkie it would have been simple.

On the way back to their house I gave them the talkie so they could keep in contact and keep an eye out on the load in the truck as we went back to their place.  She seemed to enjoy it.  But she was the one who put them away immediately because they had no room to keep the 2 talkies out.

Like anything, training is key.

[SteveShannon]

37 minutes ago, LeoG said:

I have a plan with the family.  We have the repeater that we would go through picked out and a simplex channel that we would use when closer.  Plus when I get my repeater up to snuff the plan will change to that.  I'm not worried about me or the wife at all.  The rest of the family doesn't practice at all.

My son and DIL told me to go to Lowes because I have the truck in the family.  I brought a talkie and my mobile.  I went into the store looking for them and no luck.  I texted and got nothing.  I called and it went to VM, meaning no signal for them.  Mine was pretty poor.  If they had the talkie it would have been simple.

On the way back to their house I gave them the talkie so they could keep in contact and keep an eye out on the load in the truck as we went back to their place.  She seemed to enjoy it.  But she was the one who put them away immediately because they had no room to keep the 2 talkies out.

Like anything, training is key.

I think you and I are in complete agreement then. You obviously don’t fit in the category of the people I mentioned earlier.

1 hour ago, SteveShannon said:

Having a bunch of people who know nothing about GMRS (or any other service) suddenly start using the service, without knowing anything about the channels, the limitations, and the capabilities, will only serve as an impediment to effective communication.

[LeoG]

But the rest of my family fits into that category, minus my BIL because he uses radio in his trade for pulling wires.  I don't think any of them know how to set up the radio.  I handed them preprogrammed radios and told them what stations to use and a basic use of the talkie.

Not going to be my fault if they end up stranded because I tried to get them involved.  I wanted to have a small monthly time to chat on them just so they'd be familiar.  No one is interested because the world is a bowl of cherries and nothing will ever go wrong.

[SteveShannon]

13 minutes ago, LeoG said:

But the rest of my family fits into that category, minus my BIL because he uses radio in his trade for pulling wires.  I don't think any of them know how to set up the radio.  I handed them preprogrammed radios and told them what stations to use and a basic use of the talkie.

Not going to be my fault if they end up stranded because I tried to get them involved.  I wanted to have a small monthly time to chat on them just so they'd be familiar.  No one is interested because the world is a bowl of cherries and nothing will ever go wrong.

Which just further makes my point.  At least your family has you to help teach them about radios if SHTF, most don’t have anyone.  They’ll be trying to learn at the worst possible time.  It’s like trying to teach a drowning person how to swim.

Similarly, you talked about how you would pick up a ham radio and use it. At least you start with an understanding of how simplex and repeater communications work on UHF.  
HF is a bit of a different animal.  Without some level of HF experience, even as basic as knowing that different bands are active in the morning, afternoon, and evening, or about the different types of antennas needed for the various bands, your chances of success are lower.

[GreggInFL]

23 minutes ago, LeoG said:

No one is interested because the world is a bowl of cherries and nothing will ever go wrong.

Send them a hurricane.  That will change their mind.

[LeoG]

10 minutes ago, GreggInFL said:

Send them a hurricane.  That will change their mind.

No thank you.  Sending it to them is sending it to me.

[WRXB215]

51 minutes ago, LeoG said:

No one is interested because the world is a bowl of cherries and nothing will ever go wrong.

I fight this same battle and it can be quiet frustrating. Especially since we just recently went through a hurricane and two-way radios were all that worked.

[GreggInFL]

3 hours ago, WRXB215 said:

I fight this same battle and it can be quiet frustrating. Especially since we just recently went through a hurricane and two-way radios were all that worked.

Just curious: Did the repeaters stay up and running?

[808Beachbum]

Its not just about how to "operate" a radio. If you do not know where, on the bands, and what mode, actual "help" might be found, you can end up just barking at the moon. What good is a random neighbor likely to be, if what you need is critical trauma care, or heavy equipment to get a tree off of your kid's bed, or someone to de-energize downed power lines laying on your car?

Fed/State/County/Muni Emergency Management groups have predetermined freqs, chain of command, and protocols in place. They have, and practice, fundamental "messaging" techniques to ensure accuracy. Other Agencies that coordinate with and/or serve those EM groups have their own freqs and practice many of the same protocols. Digital messaging can be FAR more effective in some locales, IF you know where and how to send it.

Knowing where to "find" these varied groups on the radio dial, and how to clearly, concisely, and effectively communicate with them, could be the difference between life and death. Sure, an unlicensed person can grab an injured cop's radio and call for help, with great success no doubt. But an unlicensed person jabbering half incoherently on a freq that no one useful is listening to will not. A licensed, practiced, and reasonably knowledgeable of the local freqs and radio groups absolutely can pass "traffic" to the appropriate agency for action. Even so, it is no like dialing 911 and having EMS show up in 15 minutes. Everything slows way down in a real SHTF scenario, but at least you can get on "the list" for whatever limited resources ARE available.

[808Beachbum]

Just to add, "standby power" varies from one locale to another, and one organization to another. Any competent govt agency (is that an oxy moron?) has backup power for critical, and especially their "plan B and C" backup plans. We have repeaters totally off the grid 34/7/365, and others have solar/battery long term auto switching. Sure, there are many without too, but generally not those used by EM.

[WRXB215]

3 hours ago, GreggInFL said:

Just curious: Did the repeaters stay up and running?

Some did, some did not. Some had backup power that lasted long enough for mains to come back online, some never lost mains. Some lost antennas, some did not. I had one ham repeater and one GMRS repeater I could still use. Also had some ham friends just close enough for simplex.