Does anyone know of any talk-radio stations that are easy to pick up on I guess A.M. radio? I just was given "crank radio". I think that's what they're called. If your battery goes dead you just turn the crank for a certain amount of time to recharge it. I'd seen one before and though they are pretty neat to have if the electricity goes out, especially for emergency info. This is so cool and I just got mine today! It has a Solar panel, flashlight, Motion Detector, SOS, AM/FM radio, and more! I'm picking up the local station we have, but I haven't really searched a.m. and f.m. thoroughly yet. I so hope I can find something like we had back in the day. It's funny that we were offered these free from the Area 1 Agency on Aging, and I had got to use one from a neighbor during the power outage. And now I have one of my own! Does anyone else still get into listening to radio? I don't want news, or political crap, but was hoping someone might have found a station, maybe with old-timey stuff on it. The last programs I remember listening to were like Paul Harvey. I'm also interested in learning about the little radios where you can find other people to talk to on, not the big ones I think are called HAM radios, but saw a guy with one that looked like a little walkie talkie. He even tried to get me to take a free class so I could use one. Are they called Citizen Band Radios?? After this scare with the big fire, I really started thinking more about being somewhat prepared, especially since we do have power outages often here. This was the worst though with the Smith River Complex fire. Anyway, hope some of you might know more about radios, and any kind of preparation for what's to come is welcome here.
here's pics of my new little radio! I feel like I did when I got my first transistor radio Oops both too big, be back soon Here's my little transistor type radio:
Those hand-held radios work through their equivalent of cell towers, Denise. They may also have direct radio-to-radio communications...I'm not sure. You have to have a license to operate them. I believe there are different types of licenses depending on which bands you use.
There are so many radios available now, it will make your head spin. AM radio is sometimes best in a local disaster as AM skips farther than FM and if everything is down in your area, you may need to receive info from far away. The are FRS and GMRS radios and the explanation is here if you are interested. Of course there is HAM radio, and that is very versatile. With HAM, you might want to get a Technician license to connect with the community around you. there is probably a HAM radio club near you and they can keep you informed, plus most of the HAMs are in our age group so you might meet people you have stuff in common with. The other HAM licenses General and Extra allow you to do things legally that you might not be interested in or financially capable of doing. You can check those out here. You can also just get a short wave radio (SWL) and just listen to broadcasts around the world. Some HAM radios with general coverage allow you to listen to commercial stuff as well, like BBC, VOA and others. It is too bad @Faye Fox is not onboard any more. She was a great reference source for all things radio.
Oh thanks @John Brunner !! I found the phone number for the guy that gives the classes, they started already, just one so far, so I can go, but waiting for a call-back. Yes, I need the class to get my license and they are HAM radios I found out as well. But hand-held like your pic I believe. I haven't priced them but I'll learn more about what to buy in the class, and even if I can pass the class. The guy said a 74 year old lady just got hers, and it will be neat to be in touch with folks, and be able to just listen. I guess the batteries last up to 36 hours of talking, and 3 weeks if you are just listening
I have one of those, but I use it mostly to listen to ambulance and fire frequency. Another upside to these is that you CAN talk on the ambulance and Fire frequencies. In normal times, it is illegal to do so even with a license, but if there is a real emergency and you cannot for some reason use normal means to contact emergency services, call on the radio and consequences be damned. It is also recommended by preppers to have the "ordinary" numbers for police fire and ambulance (if different from the others) as many 911/999 services have been crashing lately and you don't want to be searching for emergency numbers in the event of a 911/999 collapse. You can program the emergency frequencies in this radio for your area from the internet if you choose to do so.
Thank you Don, yes, and the instructor dude is named Don as well The classes are Tuesday nights on Zoom, but they are folks mostly in Curry, Del Norte (my county) and Humboldt so will get to eventually, maybe, meet some in person. It is for a HAM Radio license, the class. I figured @Faye Fox would know about the whole radio thing I was just talking to one of my more sane neighbors and we talked a lot about being self-sustaining because this emergency we've had has shown us we are on our own here. May be a good thing we saw the reality in that and we'll be preparing a bit more. That fire is still burning and 21% contained of the 86000 -87000 acres. So many canyons and mountainous areas they can't get fire-fighters in there on the ground, and can't really imagine how hard it is for those in the air as well. Their looking clear up to December 1st as their goal to end it, hoping and praying the rains will come and eventually be what puts it out
I bought a couple of them when a model was being closed out. I was looking at classes, but then COVID hit. The popular manufacturer is BaoFeng. For example, Amazon has one for $40 with an extra battery, a high-end antenna, and other accessories. I should search for a class before the next shutdown happens. I have the ham radio manual that's used in the classes. Also at Amazon.
I bookmarked the sites you shared, thanks again Don, I'm especially interested in the license one, it might give me a clue what I'm getting into, costs, etc.
ohmygosh you guys The things I'd have to learn look very scary Ohm's Law How to calculate power What are schematic diagrams and identify the component symbols on them??
2 stories... Our mother as friends with a British couple outside of DC. The husband was a HAM operator. She would go to their house every once in a while so he could call a fellow HAM in England who would tie his radio into a land line and call her siblings. Our mother could chat all day with them for free...that was when international calls were $5/minute in 1960s dollars! Regarding the BBC...I've had a few multi-band console radios. Sometimes I would tune one into the BBC to listen to their old-time story programs.
If you take those courses I linked, they will give you the info you need to pass the tests. If you contact the local HAM club, they can get you going with the practical side of things. I have encountered HAMs who are not pleasant people and try to make your life miserable by criticizing everyone. Just ignore them and enjoy what you wan to do, albeit just listen or carry on conversations. If you are really adventurous, you can learn code and carry on CW (Morse Code) conversations with Russians!
I didn't see the courses, I only looked at the one site, the one where I read what type of Questions there are for Technician class.
Search on "internet archive bbc radio drama" There will be a ton of hits from Archive.org where you can download free broadcasts.