I apologize in advance if this is a completely ridiculous question. I had some experience with amateur radio many years ago, and am considering getting licensed and back into the hobby again - partly for fun, and partly to be prepared for emergency situations, etc.
I have some limited understanding of how ham radios work and have been reading up more on it - but I'm having trouble figuring out if it would be able to serve this purpose.
I work in Manhattan and live approximately 22 miles north in one of the suburbs. I am wondering if purchasing a set of hand held ham radios would be helpful for my wife and I to communicate in an emergency scenario if cell phones, and land lines were unavailable.
How would we use the radios in a situation like this? Would it be as simple as agreeing on an emergency frequency beforehand, and then clicking transmit - as if it were a long range walkie-talkie?
Secondly, would a handheld radio be able to communicate over a range such as this or would I need extra equipment? Does the fact that I'm in a densely populated area mean that there are more repeaters and does that extend the signal range I could achieve?
I first want to understand if this type of radio would suit my needs for this situation. If yes, I'm willing to invest the time in learning how to use it properly and getting both my wife and I licensed.
Thanks in advance,
~NYFREQ
I have some limited understanding of how ham radios work and have been reading up more on it - but I'm having trouble figuring out if it would be able to serve this purpose.
I work in Manhattan and live approximately 22 miles north in one of the suburbs. I am wondering if purchasing a set of hand held ham radios would be helpful for my wife and I to communicate in an emergency scenario if cell phones, and land lines were unavailable.
How would we use the radios in a situation like this? Would it be as simple as agreeing on an emergency frequency beforehand, and then clicking transmit - as if it were a long range walkie-talkie?
Secondly, would a handheld radio be able to communicate over a range such as this or would I need extra equipment? Does the fact that I'm in a densely populated area mean that there are more repeaters and does that extend the signal range I could achieve?
I first want to understand if this type of radio would suit my needs for this situation. If yes, I'm willing to invest the time in learning how to use it properly and getting both my wife and I licensed.
Thanks in advance,
~NYFREQ