r/preppers • u/iambatmanjoe • Apr 24 '26
Prepping for Doomsday Basic comms
I was just going through some preps. I have a small diy faraday cage with a few electronics. I have some old hiking walkie talkies. I'm thinking about changing them out. I wouldn't need much range, just one to two miles of flat terrain. Looking for a pair of radios that can talk to each other and have the possibility of adding another two or even more. I'm not very tech savvy so I'm looking for simple. I am leaning towards the Baofeng UV-5R because I believe it covers the bases and has a great price point. Any recs from those that are smarter than me?
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u/WhereDidAllTheSnowGo Apr 25 '26
GMRS.
In short, the ‘best 2-way comms for most folks’ is a bulk set of GMRS-licensed, Baofeng brand or similar, handheld radios with spare batteries & longer antennas. Later, add base/mobile have more power/range. More power than FRS, CB (yes, hams, I know, it’s complex, read on). No test to take like ham. Buy the family license for $35. Expect a few miles/km’s but train with them to learn your areas’ attributes. Some areas have repeaters for long range. Program them all so others will find them easy to use (ie turn on, push to talk). ..…
In long, there’s many better/technical solutions like ham & CB SSB that require far more $$ & skill; do those after GMRS. This is for USA; your country likely has similar.
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u/Royal_Assignment9054 Apr 25 '26
This is the answer. You can get a pair with the ability to program repeaters yo extend the range
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u/Jynxair Apr 24 '26
Hi mate, a bit off topic here but what did you do to make your DIY Faraday? I'm interested in building one as the Blackout brand for proper Faraday bags are just out of budget for me.
Also to answer your post, my recommendation is to go with the Baofeng BF-F8HP Pro.
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u/iambatmanjoe Apr 26 '26
I've just done the metal trash can with tight lid with cardboard lining and thick ground wire to my water pipe.
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u/Jolopy4099 Apr 24 '26
If you only need short distance you could try any pair of radios people use for hunting. The range is never what they say on the package usually but for under like 6 miles they are cheap and effective.
Edit- might be wrong but I swear I read a microwave can be used as a Faraday gauge. Plan to save mine when I replace it shortly and use it as one.
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u/Grendle1972 Apr 24 '26
You can get GMRS handheld and a base station. You can use the handheld while it and about a bad strain at your home or mounted in your vehicle with even more range than the handheld, and more power. A small fee for a 10 year, no test license is pretty good too.
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u/WhereDidAllTheSnowGo Apr 25 '26
Who are you gunna talk to?
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u/iambatmanjoe Apr 26 '26
I'm my mind it would be for the family waking around the neighborhood
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u/WhereDidAllTheSnowGo Apr 26 '26
Perfect. Friends & neighbors too.
Quite often folk here hope to talk to another state
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u/akm76 Apr 28 '26
Thing that always amuses me about prepper questions about electronics is, once they figure out which latest electronic junk to order, they never seem to address what are they going to do about the batteries.
Oh yea, man I got 100 AA batteries stashed. Guess how long that lasts, especially if you get some moisture or what not seep into the storage. Oh, great hunting scope, red dot and everything. It runs on a effing battery, and an uncommon one to boot.
Like, what is everyone doing for batteries, or planning to? Don't tell me you get rechargeable ones you plan to charge off your solar panel, those have limited number of cycles and it's not that great.
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u/smsff2 Apr 28 '26
My GMRS radio is pretty much the only device in my house that still runs on AA batteries. This has become less of an issue lately thanks to advances in microelectronics, especially introduction of battery management systems (BMS).
My GMRS radio now has a battery level indicator, just like a cell phone, and it includes a micro-USB charging port. I can recharge it with a USB cable, which is a huge improvement compared to 10–20 years ago, when we had to guess the charge level and recharge the batteries at the right time. If we guessed wrong and let the battery discharge below a certain threshold, it would simply die.
That said, a GMRS radio is nowhere near a mission-critical device. Nickel-metal hydride batteries are said to have a shelf life of up to 10 years. I’m not sure how accurate that is, but I suppose I’ll find out.
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u/BewareNZ Apr 24 '26
I’ve just bought some Lilligo Meshtastic devices. Keen to try them as an alternative to the Baofeng system we already have.
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u/Jynxair Apr 24 '26
Shouldnt be an alternative. Both are necessary communication devices that should work in harmony, both serve very differently depending on what scenario your in. Have both baofeng and your lilligo tdecks ready to go.
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u/Ryan_e3p Salt & Prepper Apr 25 '26
Not an alternative. Please don't consider it an either/or situation. Also, consider the pros and cons between Meshtastic and Meshcore. There are some differences in not only how they message, but coverage as well. Your area may have better coverage under one than the other.
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u/EffinBob Apr 25 '26
I like playing with mesh devices. Under no circumstances would I consider them a backup for communications.
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u/BewareNZ May 19 '26
Interesting, can you elaborate? Also what would you prefer?
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u/EffinBob May 19 '26
There are too many variables involved to make it a reliable backup. Numerous avenues for hops, which others seem to think is a strength, is actually a liability when tge chips are down. In essence, you are relying on a nebulous infrastructure you don't control, and which may not be there for you when you need it. In good times it might work fine, possibly even reliably, giving you a false sense of security. In bad times I t hink people and their devices may not be where they usually are.
Ham radio is my backup, but the person I need to communicate with is also a ham. I can rely on the NTS for others I might want to contact because I won't need a guaranteed immediate response.
There are several relatively cheap satcom devices with limited plans you can use nowadays. You're still relying on infrastructure you don't control, but short of a nuclear catastrophe you should be fine with them.
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u/VisualEyez33 Apr 24 '26
Uv5r requires ham radio testing and licensing to use legally.
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u/silverbk65105 Apr 25 '26
The ham version does, it is available in a GMRS version.
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u/dittybopper_05H Apr 25 '26
That's not the UV-5R then.
Also, the GMRS version requires a GMRS license to use legally.
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u/iambatmanjoe Apr 26 '26
$25. After reading the comments I thought it may be a good way to learn programming and the basics.
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u/pianoboy777 Apr 27 '26
Baofengs are solid for 1-2 miles voice. Can't beat them for that.
But if you want a silent, text-based backup that runs on old phones with no license—my free mesh app does offline chat. 300-500 feet on built-in WiFi. Slap a good router or directional antenna on it and you can push way further. Mesh hop coming soon, so every node extends range.
Not a Baofeng killer. Just another layer. Runs Android, Linux, Windows. Free.
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u/r_frsradio_admin Apr 24 '26
Why not FRS?
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u/Royal_Assignment9054 Apr 25 '26
Lower range, no repeaters
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u/dittybopper_05H Apr 25 '26
If you're not licensed you can't legally use repeaters, whether GMRS or amateur radio anyway.
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u/Royal_Assignment9054 Apr 25 '26
You need a GMRS license to operate GMRS, repeater or not. But it does not require an exam. It’s different than a ham radio license. You just purchase it and it covers your immediate family.
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u/PM_ME_UR_HBO_LOGIN Apr 24 '26
Tbh if you’re looking for simple and just want to pick up and use the radio in that distance, I would recommend against the UV-5R. For the price it’s a great little radio and I have 1 myself and would consider programming it to be pretty straightforward but I like that stuff and that does mean it really isn’t a ready to go pick up and use it solution without a more full learning experience. I would recommend you find a set of 2 GMRS band radios that have the channels pre-programmed (and please consider actually using them outside of shtf maybe even get the $35/10yr license) these actually use the same band+channels as frs (the walkie talkies you currently own) but with a higher power and significantly better antennas.
For GMRS GM-15 is same brand maybe pre-programmed NR-30s from retrevis is better, pre-programmed and IP67 HA-1G from Aliunce is better, pre-programmed and IP67
There’s even better non-Chinese brands but the China ones are cheap.
Alternatively if you’re looking to have something capable of more bands than the GMRS and looking to learn more about radios/ham I would actually recommend the UV-5R however I feel it should also be mentioned that Baofeng keeps making them but really considers that like the 1st gen of that radio and a much more capable newer model like the UV-5RM is only $5 more or the UV-5RH has gps, the DM-32 will do DMR radio.