Emergency Frequencies in Idaho

[mtriney75]

Hello Everyone,

My mother has recently moved to Idaho. The area she is in has no cell service and only online calling. I am looking into getting her some UHF/VHF radios so she could call for help if she got stuck or the internet goes down. Does anyone know if there are frequencies allocated for this? I was going to get her a scanner too so she could listen for wildfires and other dangers.

Thank you!

 

[n3obl]

There are no such emergency frequencies for public use. As some might post you can not just come up on public safety frequency.

If you are in a dead zone i would look into getting a satellite cell phone.

 

[mtriney75]

Not on citizens ban nothing?

 

[n3obl]

In a life threatening situation you could try but i would rather have something that would work.

 

[mtriney75]

Have any suggestions on sat phones since our radio infrastructure is useless?

 

[KevinC]

I would look into one of these...

How to Choose PLBs and Satellite Messengers | REI Co-op

Learn the differences between a personal locator beacon (PLB) and satellite messenger. Discusses signals, GPS, messaging and subscription fees.

www.rei.com

 

[IAmSixNine]

How far outside of coverage is she? Have you looked at all cellular carriers?
If she is not to far outside perhaps a cellular repeater, using antenna on roof thru magical box to antenna in home. IF she is close enough in coverage.
If things are that bad off out there might be time to move her closer to civilization.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

What about the good old fashioned landline phone for home use? I would never rely primarily on a radio of any kind in the event of an emergency. There's no guarantee someone will be there when she keys up

 

[Golay]

My suggestion is, if you want to go on the cheap, find a used ham handheld for her. And program it with the closest ham repeaters.
I know some on here may pee their pants about me making such a suggestion.
But if she is only going to transmit in an emergency, I think the trustees of whatever repeater she uses would not have a problem with it.

 

[chief21]

You could be creating a false sense of security by using CB or ham frequencies (or ANY hobby radio) and expecting someone to be listening and in a position to assist. Depending on local circumstances, signal propagation, time of day or other factors, you might get a response - or you might not.

Technical devices which are intended to be used only in emergencies can be unreliable, both from user-familiarity (or a lack of same), procedural issues, or equipment failure (lack of maintenance, lack of testing, power outage, etc.) How will Mom react to all those buttons and knobs if she hasn't touched that radio in years? Have squirrels chewed through the coax? Are the back-up batteries depleted? Is that frequency you programmed several years ago still in use?

...just sayin'