N0IU
Member
Go out and get a microwave oven big enough to hold your equipment. It doesn't even have to work! Remember, they are built to keep the radiation inside the oven and they would also work by not letting harmful radiation into the oven,
Solar Flares and Radio Operation
- Thread starter ewetstone
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Go out and get a microwave oven big enough to hold your equipment. It doesn't even have to work! Remember, they are built to keep the radiation inside the oven and they would also work by not letting harmful radiation into the oven,
That would be overkill. Wrapping your radio in aluminum foil will be a lot cheaper and just as effective. Generally turning the gear off and removing the antenna will be more than sufficient. The electronics in most Ham radios are inside metal cages already, especially HF gear, so unplugging them from the power supply and the antennas should be fine.
Many cheap VHF radios are encased in plastic, of course, not metal. I bought a nice little metal carpenter's tool box at the local Canadian Tire and keep my backup emergency HT in it. Not so much for the Faraday cage (though it would be a nice effective one) but to protect the gear from stuff falling on it during earthquakes. The toolbox cost about fifteen bucks and has a handy carrying handle.
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
All of these effects - blackouts, etc. - are very temporary. There were two or three X-class flares last weekend, yet the CQWW contest was not disrupted or blotted out for the weekend.
For the ultra paranoid, simply disconnecting the antenna after a major CME event would be sufficient. But the reality is, the chances of a solar event permanently hurting your radio are slim to none. Spacecraft can face a real genuine risk. The event in 1859 was an anomaly, but could happen again. But really... must you really worry about it? I wouldn't.
Um... what's a "normal emergency frequency"?
Yes, solar events can wreak havoc on radio communications. It generally lasts a few hours, then starts to go back to normal. It's a minor inconvenience.
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
Re the Carrington event - would you believe that we had a near miss of yet another similar event just over 2 years ago...
Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012 - NASA Science
Mike
Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012 - NASA Science
Mike
The effects are very short lived if there is no CME that hits the earth. If there is one then the ionosphere can be messed up for days making long range communication next to impossible for that time.
This event was nowhere near the Carrington event in severity. It would have given us G5 storming for days, but that's happened a number of times over the years and civilization is still here along with, some might say unfortunately, television.
We only know about it because one of the "Stereo" spacecraft was hit by the CME. These satellites are crammed full of sensitive electronic gear, yet they survived nicely. They are out in space and have none of the protection from the atmosphere that we have, and they are also closer to the sun than Earth. Yet they held up fine and it is only because they did that we even know about the event.
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k9rzz
Member
If I may add, geomagnetic storms can actually HELP AM BCB reception by blocking reception of northern stations that are normally heard, allowing southern stations, such as South and Central America, to be heard instead! I guess this effect is delayed slightly, or perhaps extended to the next day as well as the day of the Aurora.
I think that your sensitive electronics are much more at risk of being damaged from being dropped on the floor while being wrapped in aluminum foil than from a possible "Carrington II". Save your aluminum foil for the Thanksgiving turkey.
ewetstone
Member
Well....to sum much of my original question...I am certainly not a "prepper". What I do want is the ability to communicate, for whatever reason, if all the "normal" forms of communication goes down, again for whatever reason.
I think of "normal" communications as ....cell phones, land lines and internet.
I purchased my handheld Yaesu VX-6R because I was under the impression that should something....anything whether it be a major solar event or earthquake or hurricane or meteor/comet hitting the earth or all of the above, I wanted something that still worked. I read that when all other modern communication fails, HAM operators would still be able to communicate and find out whats going on and possibly even call for help if I need it.
While I don't plan on building a bunker....I do own a modest amount of weapons and ammo. Just trying to get the communication angle covered a bit better.
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Your best bet backup may be a VHF/UHF handheld with lots of extra batteries. It's cheaper than the alternatives and will communicate over simplex for a good few miles. If your local repeater is still up and working then you'll have reliable communications for a hundred miles or more, though it may be in heavy use during an emergency of course.
Also if you have a car a VHF/UHF mobile radio, while more expensive, would have more power and range and would last longer since it runs off your car battery which you can always recharge by running the engine.
Find out if you have an emergency communications team in your area. Where I live there is a volunteer organization of Hams and every small town nearby has a VHF ham radio in their town halls or firehalls. We have regular communications exercise every week. You could do worse than joining your local crew.
ewetstone
Member
I have two handheld radios...a Yaesu VX-6R with a Diamond SRH789 10w antenna and a Comet M-24S 80w 146/440mhz base antenna. I also have a Baofeng BF-F8HP with a Nagoya 144/430mhz 10w antenna.
I purchased these knowing next to nothing about radios just to have for emergencies and hope they will serve that purpose for myself and my fiancé who lives a few towns over...maybe about 5 miles.
What is smack in the middle of both of us is the ARRL in Newington, CT. if that is any help to me and my needs.
I will be taking a class to get my technician license in the coming months.
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
Generally, when the ham and other shortwave frequencies are trashed by a solar event, cellphones and V/UHF radio systems work just fine.
If everything electronic gets wiped out, your ability to talk to anyone in the world will be the least of your worries.
If everything electronic gets wiped out, your ability to talk to anyone in the world will be the least of your worries.
ewetstone
Member
I was under the impression that when all regular communications are wiped out, HAM will still be able to operate...at least that's what the "preppers" would have you believe.
Are they referring to loss of all satellite relayed communication??
The advantage that amateur radio has over some other telecommunications modes is that many amateur radio operators strive to build communications networks that have little reliance on fixed infrastructure.
Let's say I want to communicate with someone 10 miles away. I could use my cellphone. But, if the cellphone towers are off the air, I won't be able to complete the call. On the other hand, I could use my amateur radio equipment to communicate via 2m (VHF) simplex. In other words, I'd be able to talk the other station directly without relying on any equipment other than my own and the other station's.
Now, let's say I want to communicate with someone 1000 miles away. I could use my Skype or Vonage account to communicate using the Internet. But, if the Internet is down (most likely scenario would be that the "last mile" to my house or the other guy's house would be non-functional), I won't be able to make the connection. On the other hand, I could fire up my amateur radio HF rig and communicate using 20m or 40m in the HF bands with no reliance on fixed infrastructure.
As Dave says, a major solar event or an EMP is going to affect all telecommunications. Amateur radio will not be immune. However, a major incident that destroys the cellphone towers or the Internet connections may leave amateur radio working just fine because the fixed infrastructure will be the first to go.
Let's say I want to communicate with someone 10 miles away. I could use my cellphone. But, if the cellphone towers are off the air, I won't be able to complete the call. On the other hand, I could use my amateur radio equipment to communicate via 2m (VHF) simplex. In other words, I'd be able to talk the other station directly without relying on any equipment other than my own and the other station's.
Now, let's say I want to communicate with someone 1000 miles away. I could use my Skype or Vonage account to communicate using the Internet. But, if the Internet is down (most likely scenario would be that the "last mile" to my house or the other guy's house would be non-functional), I won't be able to make the connection. On the other hand, I could fire up my amateur radio HF rig and communicate using 20m or 40m in the HF bands with no reliance on fixed infrastructure.
As Dave says, a major solar event or an EMP is going to affect all telecommunications. Amateur radio will not be immune. However, a major incident that destroys the cellphone towers or the Internet connections may leave amateur radio working just fine because the fixed infrastructure will be the first to go.
ewetstone
Member
Thank you...other than the part about a EMP type of event, that's pretty much what I thought.
Assuming you read above of the two radios I picked up, should those be sufficient for my limited purposes?
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Ok.
I think I understand what you're wanting to do. It sounds more than a little like being a "prepper" to me. I don't mean that as a criticism, it's your money. But there are a few misconceptions that the prepper community has about ham radio.
The idea that ham radio can work when all else fails is predicated on the fact that ham radios are capable of functioning without a fixed infrastructure. That's IT.
Beyond that simple concept, it can get quite complicated. You need to decide who you want to talk to when the **** hits the fan, and how far you want to talk. A few miles to your fiance? Well, depending on what's in between those few miles, a couple of portable radios might not make it without the help of a repeater. That's infrastructure. That repeater might be down, or it might be really busy with people trying to help with all that **** that's hitting the fan.
The biggest fallacy of ham radio helping out in a situation such as yours is the fact that the basic utility and survivability of ham radio owes EVERYTHING to the operator who is familiar with his radio, familiar with radio theory and propagation, and has enough technical skill to put things together when they break. Without that knowledge and skill, that radio is little more than an expensive brick. Or in the case of a Baofeng or similar, it's little more than a cheap brick.
Ham radio is a hobby unto itself. It's utility can only be realized if you use the radio frequently, become part of the ham radio community, learn about the various resources, frequencies, repeaters, modes, etc. etc. etc. that are available to you, and learn the ones that interest you. You need to know what frequencies are appropriate for what you want to do. Just turning on the radios and selecting a "channel" isn't sufficient. You need to be sure you're not transmitting on some repeater input, or on some emergency net, or in some "forbidden" piece of spectrum like the satellite uplink band segments.
If a pair of radios to store in a box "just in case" is what you need, I'd suggest GMRS. If enjoying the full utility of ham radio, and being able to actually make use of it in an emergency is what you actually really need, I'd suggest you get involved in one or more of the local clubs and learn all you can.
You DO realize that your fiance will have to get her ham license, too... right??
ewetstone
Member
Thanx...excellent education.
So a radio that operated on the GMRS frequencies is what I should be looking at.... and yes my fiancé will be getting her technician license as well.
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
Bear in mind that the "EMP event" is likely to take place with no warning at any time of day or night. The only way to fully protect electronics from such an unpredictable event is to keep them turned off and disconnected from anything (power leads, antennae, peripheral cables, phone lines, etc.) that could allow a strong electromagnetic pulse to reach the components.
Kind of takes the fun out of owning a radio.
Kind of takes the fun out of owning a radio.
In fact there will almost certainly be at least several hours (and likely at least a full day) warning, and you can probably get an app for your smartphone that will tell you about an impending event in plenty of time (though I haven't actually checked).
A mid priced two meter Handheld rig would likely be perfectly useable after the event. The cheapest ones might have a problem due to lack of shielding. I have an Icom T70 and that has it's electronics encased in a metal shield. My Wouxun KG-UV6D I bought for the Co-op likewise has a metal case underneath the plastic. My Baofeng UV54 does appear to be all plastic.
If you are really worried spend fifteen bucks on a carpenter's toolbox and put your handheld inside it.
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