{"id":1685,"date":"2020-12-10T14:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T22:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/offgridsurvival.com\/?p=1685"},"modified":"2026-02-10T23:32:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T07:32:55","slug":"hamradio-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offgridsurvival.com\/hamradio-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ham Radio – Emergency Communications"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I received my first Ham radio license when I was\nabout 10 years old; the old-timers in the room thought it was pretty amusing to\nsee some young kid coming in to take the tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I guess I wasn\u2019t your ordinary ten-year-old kid,\neven back then I was into survival. I would order Cabelas\u2019 catalogs and fishing\nmagazines, making sure to circle all the gear that I needed to make my great\ngetaway into the wild!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ham<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While I never trekked off and escaped into the\nwilderness, well, not at that age, HAM radio allowed me to take all sorts of wild\nadventures around the world. I stayed up until the wee hours of the night,\nusing my Grandfather\u2019s radios to talk to and listen to people from around the\nglobe. It was amazing to be able to pick up the mic and talk to someone on the\nother side of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may not seem like a big deal to today\u2019s generation who grew up with the internet and iPhones, but when it comes to preparedness Ham Radio is still very relevant and something I would argue is a skill every preparedness-minded person needs to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Become a Ham Radio Operator?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ham<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to Survival Communications, Amateur\nRadio (known affectionally as Ham Radio) is the way to go. It has a number of\nreal-world survival advantages over cell phones, the internet, CB, GMRS, FRS,\nand other radios or forms of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To begin with, the knowledge that you will gain as a licensed ham radio operator will allow you to listen to and communicate with people throughout the world. While that might not sound important as you are starting at this article on the internet, during a disaster situation where the internet goes down and all other forms of communication fail, do you have a plan for gathering relevant survival-related information or making contact with those in your group or family?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

In a survival situation, knowledge is a very valuable asset<\/strong>. The ability to know what\u2019s going on around you will be extremely important in just about any survival situation you might find yourself in. Having this knowledge will definitely give you a leg up in a survival situation. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

With little power, and a minimal amount of\nequipment, Ham Radio allows you to communicate with other Hams, receive radio\nbroadcasts from around the world, and gather important intel during times of\ncrisis \u2013 even when cell towers and other forms of communication have failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an emergency situation, you will be able to\nstay informed on what\u2019s going on locally, nationally, and worldwide. Even in\ntoday\u2019s modern age of high-tech gadgets, cell phones, and email, when the grid\ngoes down it\u2019s often HAM Radio operators who still provide emergency communications\nuntil things return to normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During almost every major disaster, local\nofficials rely heavily on Hams to coordinate rescues and organize search and\nrescue missions throughout the affected areas. In fact, when regular\ncommunications systems like cellular networks, Internet access points, and\npublic safety radio systems are compromised, ham radio can act as a substitute until\nnormal communications have been repaired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FCC allows Hams to assist agencies like FEMA, the National Weather Service, and the military during times of\ncrisis. Their ability to communicate when the grid goes down is one of the\nmajor reasons I advise our readers to look into Ham Radio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Requirements to become a Ham Radio Operator:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unlike when I got my license, The FCC\u2019s new\nlicensing requirements have been simplified and now only require you to pass a\nsingle 35-question written exam; no Morse code required (although I do advise\nyou learn it, as it has a number of advantages in an emergency situation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tests are made up of questions relating to things like standard operating procedures, identifying radio frequencies, understanding radio propagation, electronic circuits, and electrical principles, antenna theory, equipment repair, non-voice communications, and emergency preparedness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why you need to be Licensed:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often have people ask me if they really need to go through the hassle of becoming a licensed Amateur Radio Operator. Some people argue that during a SHTF situation having a License is meaningless. While this may be true, the knowledge that you\u2019ll obtain while studying to get your license is well worth the time and the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will learn things like the:<\/p>\n\n\n\n