I had a friend ask me this question, knowing that I am into communications and HAM radio. How do I communicate with you as we are over 1500 miles apart without power, cell, or Internet? This is not as difficult as you think.
There are several ways to approach this. One is messaging via email using HAM radio, either HF or VHF/UHF using Winlink. And of course, there is CW or Morse Code. The other approach, that my friend was looking for, is by voice.
I have heard so many snake oil salesmen trying to sell me long distance communication systems that work well in situations where there are grid outages and what not. They all work for a brief moment (while the cell tower backup systems are up) but none of them stay up if there is a prolonged outage. So, I have this expensive hardware with limited number of people using this (my family and close friends) that works for about 3 days and unless I have physically moved to a location that doesn’t have grid outage that kills all cell towers, this radio is useless. I won’t say who the vendor is but PoC is Push to talk over Cell. Keyword there is Cell. When there are no cell towers with power near you, it will not work.
The other option is HF (high frequency HAM radio) bands to communicate between a significant distance. I have used 40m band and reached places quite far away (several thousand miles) which was unreal, but it does happen, and I have used 20m band and reached over 1500 miles in ideal conditions.
We can use either 40m or 20m bands depending on conditions and time of day, and we can communicate based on a plan. That plan is when we are going to check in and what specific frequency. Amateur radio license comes in three different levels, Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. You will need a General class license to be able to communicate legally on these bands via SSB (voice).
What do both sides need to communicate? Here is the breakdown.
- You both need Amateur Radio General class FCC license
- You both need a HAM radio that does both 40m and 20m HF bands – the watts is not as important as the antenna – 5-20watts is more than sufficient
- You both need an antenna that can transmit efficient enough to provide for SSB phone operation on both 40m and 20m HF bands
- You need to select a frequency for both bands (40m band SSB phone operation is between 7.175MHz and 7.300MHz, 20m band SSB phone operation is between 14.225MHz and 14.350MHz)
- You need to agree on dates/times of day for check-in
It’s as simple as that, but keep in mind the conversation can be heard by anyone listening to the same frequencies you have agreed on.
You will both need to practice using the gear by checking in on the dates and times you agreed on so that this is not a difficult process during an emergency. Keep in mind, you should be able to use this gear without grid power. A battery capable of powering the radio equipment and a solar system to charge that battery is required to communicate in an emergency with no power.
If there is enough interest, I could recommend radios and antenna that can support this, or you can use Internet search for days or weeks to derive at your own conclusion. Just let me know and I can recommend some gear.
If you already have the gear and the license, start practicing and communicating first, then buy additional gear later (maybe one for the home base station, one for the vehicle, and one that is completely mobile.)
Hope this helps.
