Is a handheld unit even worth it for me ?

[RickTBay]

I live in Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario. From the amount of traffic I hear on my scanner I guesstimate that the local amateur radio crowd is dedicated but quite small. I would be interested in Ham radio mainly for emergency situations and not so much for socializing and chit chat. My understanding is that even with a good handheld unit in ideal conditions the range of such a unit may be not much more than 2 miles or so. So if I am at a greater distance than that from another amateur radio operator/repeater station is my unit of any use ?
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[Hit_Factor]

For emergencies the satellite communication units will be more effective. Look at something like Garmin Inreach.

Hoping there is a ham radio operator monitoring your frequency is not a good strategy.

Look to see if there is a local amateur radio club. If there is, go to one of their meetings and talk with them about the radios used in your area. They will be able to provide practical data on what works and how far it carries.

 

[mmckenna]

I would be interested in Ham radio mainly for emergency situations and not so much for socializing and chit chat.

Clarify that, and we can probably give you a better answer. What kind of "emergency situations" do you have in mind?

If you want to be able to get help from professional first responders in an emergency, your #1 choice is to dial 911.
If you are out of cell phone range, your next best option is to get the satellite device that Hit_Factor recommended.

Ham radio can be useful, and with a decent radio and a repeater, you can get much more than 2 miles of range. But relying on hobbyists in any sort of emergency is not a good plan. There is no requirement that anyone be listening to any amateur radio frequency or repeater. There is no requirement that any ham radio operator provide assistance in an emergency. Ham radio operators themselves may be unable to help you in a large scale emergency.

I've been a ham for 30+ years. I've tried to use it in a couple of emergencies, and had zero luck with it. There is no way I'd rely on amateur radio for emergencies. As a "last ditch effort", I'd absolutely give it a try, but it would be my last choice.

I carry a Garmin InReach Mini when I'm wandering outside cell phone coverage.

 

[k6cpo]

I'm part of a group that does public service communications for events such as bicycle rides, marathons and triathlons. Some of our events have 100 mile routs that are spread over half the county and through varying terrain. Some of the people that work with us try to work the events using handheld radios and communications suffer because of it. I try to encourage people to get at least a 50W dual band mobile radio to improve their individual communications.

 

[RickTBay]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. Yes I was thinking in terms of reaching emergency services when things like natural disasters, cyber attacks etc disrupt cell, internet and landlines.
Do you need a licence for your Garmin Inreach ?

 

[AK9R]

Do you need a licence for your Garmin Inreach ?

No.

 

[GlobalNorth]

Emergency comms on Amateur radio require two primary variables:

1. Someone else must be listening.
2. Someone else must be willing to intervene on your behalf - calling FD/EMS/Police/etc.

If one or both variables are not met, you must have another plan.

Mmckenna is right. I wouldn't rely on amateur radio for reliable idle conversation, much less lifesaving.

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. Yes I was thinking in terms of reaching emergency services when things like natural disasters, cyber attacks etc disrupt cell, internet and landlines.

Not a good application for amateur radio.

Natural Disasters: Every ham is going to be looking after their own family and probably not playing on the radio initially. Eventually there will be hams, but they are NOT first responders. They are hobbyists.

Cyber Attacks: More and more ham radio repeaters rely on internet linking. There is no guarantee that the ham radio repeaters will reach anyone. If you want some level of reliability, have a real wired phone (not voip service), a cell phone, etc.

Do you need a licence for your Garmin Inreach ?

No. You buy the device and you sign up for service. Wait for a sale. My InReach Mini was about $250USD.
The service levels vary. I pay $11USD/mo for my service, and I've never needed more. I can send a large amount of precanned messages to a set list of people. Plus you have the "SOS" button that will put you in contact with a dedicated center that will get you the help you need. Bluetooth connection to your phone gives you more options...

I wouldn't rely on amateur radio for reliable idle conversation, much less lifesaving.

I know hams don't like me saying that, but it's from experience. Hobbyists/volunteers are not the guys you want to rely on in an emergency when someones life is on the line. Get the right tool for the job. Leave the hobby radio to talking about your bunions or latest colonoscopy results.

 

[lamarrsy]

Don’t forget that a cellphone like the iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 can reach 911 when there’s no cell coverage, the function is called emergency text via satellite. It’s free for 2 years upon activation of one of these models.
Not many people know that. I’ve had someone from my extended family using it recently, out in the boonies outside cell coverage and civilisation, and it worked as expected.

 

[robertmac]

I would say it depends on area and how active they are. As mentioned previously, a 50 w mobile/base radio is much better than an HH. Even without repeaters the range is much better. InReach, SPOT, are good for dire emergencies when out in the bush, mountains without cellphone coverage. If going into areas that do have amateur radio coverage, amateur radio could work. In my area, there are a number of repeaters that work in the bush and mountain areas where there is no cell coverage. It is surprising how well the repeaters work down through mountain valleys. Around here, amateurs have responded to others in need of help via amateur radio. Although the repeaters seem to have no activity at certain times, I know there are often more than 1 person monitoring repeaters. There may be a few hours between midnight and 0600 when few monitor but there are a number monitoring at other times. But you would have to determine this for your area.

 

[ladn]

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Lots of good information in this thread.

I think amateur radio has a place in emergencies, not as a primary notification tool, but as a tool or pathway for situational awareness.

Think scenarios such as power outages, major storms, earthquakes or fires. Amateur radio may help you ascertain the scope of the situation and help you get more localized information such as the location of a functioning gas station or open roadway.

A handheld radio offers the benefit of self-contained power (consider one that offers both a LiOn rechargeable battery AND a battery pack that takes conventional AA or AAA batteries) and portability. The downside is that the power output is pretty much limited to about 5-7W. You can offset that a bit with a better antenna, but it's still no match for a 50W dual band mobile.

Another advantage of either a handheld or a mobile amateur radio, at least for situational awareness, is that many amateur radios have very wide receiver coverage, well beyond the amateur bands. I'm not familiar with your area or local infrastructure, but you may be able to monitor a variety of local communications (emergency responders, utility companies, weather radio stations, news media, aircraft, ships, and the Canadian equivalents of GMRS/FRS and MURS).

 

[K6GBW]

There are likely repeaters in the area of Thunder Bay so a handheld radio would be useable. If a disaster you'd likely be able to reach somebody and that somebody might be able to get you help. There are numerous options ranging from good old CB radio to ham to buying a satphone or satellite communicion device. I guess you need to look at your real life situation and ask yourself what your needs our. For me, I have ham radio, but it's not really for emergencies. I also have cheap little FRS radios and I have an arrangement with my neighbors. If we have an earthquake and we loose our phones we all keep in touch with those. They only work for about a block but thats enough for our needs.

 

[Ramjet555]

I live in Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario. From the amount of traffic I hear on my scanner I guesstimate that the local amateur radio crowd is dedicated but quite small. I would be interested in Ham radio mainly for emergency situations and not so much for socializing and chit chat. My understanding is that even with a good handheld unit in ideal conditions the range of such a unit may be not much more than 2 miles or so. So if I am at a greater distance than that from another amateur radio operator/repeater station is my unit of any use ?
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Hi Rick, Even 30 years ago, amateur radio on NW Ontario was quiet, most hams are getting on in age and now you need to connect your handheld to a repeater that has access to the internet via say echolink, this way you can have hundreds of people on one channel all over the world. Amateur is not the end, you have Marine Frequencies, boaties chat, you have the 22 UHF bubble pak radio freqs . You also have all the Trucker vhf channels you might have a connection with. Then there is Zello, where you can build your own interface , connect to the internet and use your handheld with your own base antenna. To take it a step further, you could put a 27Mhz Am or even FM up and and connect that via the internet with Zello or similar and have all those european stations trying to work it. I love the UV5R and also run have Kenwood TK880H and TK8180s plus the Kenwood 900Mhz radios which can convert to the Amateur band or even the old UK 934 band that still has the odd traffic on it but thats getting rarer. I've used the 900 mhz motorola radios, that are basically a cell phone and talk cell phone to cell phone without a valid sim, I've put calls out and got replies on that in Ottawa, but it needs mounting up high and providing a Zello style link. 900 is a much more line of sight band.

 

[W8KIC]

Not a good application for amateur radio.

Natural Disasters: Every ham is going to be looking after their own family and probably not playing on the radio initially. Eventually there will be hams, but they are NOT first responders. They are hobbyists.

Cyber Attacks: More and more ham radio repeaters rely on internet linking. There is no guarantee that the ham radio repeaters will reach anyone. If you want some level of reliability, have a real wired phone (not voip service), a cell phone, etc.



No. You buy the device and you sign up for service. Wait for a sale. My InReach Mini was about $250USD.
The service levels vary. I pay $11USD/mo for my service, and I've never needed more. I can send a large amount of precanned messages to a set list of people. Plus you have the "SOS" button that will put you in contact with a dedicated center that will get you the help you need. Bluetooth connection to your phone gives you more options...



I know hams don't like me saying that, but it's from experience. Hobbyists/volunteers are not the guys you want to rely on in an emergency when someones life is on the line. Get the right tool for the job. Leave the hobby radio to talking about your bunions or latest colonoscopy results.

I operate primarily high speed CW as there's very limited intelligent life on sideband. Lol! Every once in a while, you'll run across an interesting conversation that won't put you to sleep on SSB but I can only take so much of the Geritol net, where the participants inform you of what medications they're currently taking. Talk about a sleeper! Agree with you on passing on amateur radio as a primary source of communication where life and death matters are the name of the game. A case could be made for radio hams many years back when we didn't have cell phone technology and or high end commercial radio equipment but those days are long gone. Granted, I operate below 30MHz about 98% of the time and again, CW is pretty much my world as far as the hobby goes. Here in Northeastern Ohio, we used to have a lot of repeater activity on 2 and 440 but these days, it's like visiting a mausoleum. Time marches right along and much in this world technology wise fades right along with it.

 

[MUTNAV]

There are likely repeaters in the area of Thunder Bay so a handheld radio would be useable. If a disaster you'd likely be able to reach somebody and that somebody might be able to get you help. There are numerous options ranging from good old CB radio to ham to buying a satphone or satellite communicion device. I guess you need to look at your real life situation and ask yourself what your needs our. For me, I have ham radio, but it's not really for emergencies. I also have cheap little FRS radios and I have an arrangement with my neighbors. If we have an earthquake and we loose our phones we all keep in touch with those. They only work for about a block but thats enough for our needs.

You bring up an important idea... In Ham radio, relationships matter, if you want information about what is oging on, or have information to provide, it's helpful for everyone to have at least passing knowledge of the other person ( from a club or other social network). For 911 and emergency sat-com, maybe not so important.

Thanks
Joel

 

[mmckenna]

I Agree with you on passing on amateur radio as a primary source of communication where life and death matters are the name of the game.

I've only been a ham for 30+ years, but at one time it was a good resource and actually used a 2 meter repeater phone patch to call in an emergency. That was 30 years ago, and the last time I was able to get any sort of help via ham radio.
Since that time, I've probably tried 3 separate occasions to get assistance via ham radio. All of them failed. Too many that "Don't want to get involved" (as I was actually told once).
Even tried GMRS once, using an established REACT repeater, no answer from anyone on that.

Working in the industry, I have several options at my disposal. I have access to trunked systems as well as conventional systems. Even with that, #1 choice is —always— to call 911. The 911 system is set up to get help needed as quickly as possible. They'll not only have direct connection to first responders, but they'll almost always get a dispatchable location for you without your input.
When I'm out in the wilderness, I carry the Garmin InReach mini, as it gives me almost the same features as 911, connection to a human, as well as a GPS location. Two way radio would be pretty low on my list of options.

 

[belvdr]

I've only been a ham for 30+ years, but at one time it was a good resource and actually used a 2 meter repeater phone patch to call in an emergency. That was 30 years ago, and the last time I was able to get any sort of help via ham radio.
Since that time, I've probably tried 3 separate occasions to get assistance via ham radio. All of them failed. Too many that "Don't want to get involved" (as I was actually told once).
Even tried GMRS once, using an established REACT repeater, no answer from anyone on that.

Working in the industry, I have several options at my disposal. I have access to trunked systems as well as conventional systems. Even with that, #1 choice is —always— to call 911. The 911 system is set up to get help needed as quickly as possible. They'll not only have direct connection to first responders, but they'll almost always get a dispatchable location for you without your input.
When I'm out in the wilderness, I carry the Garmin InReach mini, as it gives me almost the same features as 911, connection to a human, as well as a GPS location. Two way radio would be pretty low on my list of options.

Hey, when you're out and about, and have a careless fall, the best thing you can do is to call repeatedly only to locate someone willing to trade RST reports. Might as well break out FT8 for an emergency.

 

[mmckenna]

Hey, when you're out and about, and have a careless fall, the best thing you can do is to call repeatedly only to locate someone willing to trade RST reports. Might as well break out FT8 for an emergency.

Yeah, setting up an HF wire antenna isn't something I want to rely on if I'm hurt.
My life has value (to me, at least), so spending the $11/mo on the Garmin Inreach service is worth it.

 

[jwt873]

There's not much to buying a handheld.. The hard part is getting your license. You can't use it on the ham bands without one. (Even in emergencies).

As others have stated above.. Ham radio isn't the best resource for emergencies. A cell phone would be your best bet.

 

[jeepsandradios]

You can't use it on the ham bands without one. (Even in emergencies).

Wait I'm confused here....We go around and around on Hams using my public safety frequencies for an emergency but a non ham can't use a ham channel in an emergency ? Surely your confused..

Seriously though get an Inreach or something like mentioned above if this is for emergencies.