Pages: 1 [2]   Go Down

Author Topic: question about VHF/UHF for hiker emergency comm  (Read 638 times)

N1YFA

  • Posts: 9
    • HomeURL
Re: question about VHF/UHF for hiker emergency comm
« Reply #15 on: January 08, 2023, 05:06:51 AM »

Its been said in this thread already - Someone has to be on the other end listening. Sadly, many Hams think Ham Radio will save the day in any situation and while that theory is true, Its still a theory. Radio of any sort is a two-way street! That means, you are on one end of that transmission and someone else is answering you on the other end. You can have all the radios and technology on your belt that you want, if no one is on the other end, as I have found in all of my years of  hiking, your radio is about as useful as the rocks you are walking over on the trails.

I always carry a radio when I hike but I always carry something that rarely goes dead on me, even in Maine - My cell phone. Satellite phone is another that has been mentioned and lets face it, no one likes to rely on technology, but the reality is, unless you are allowed on public safety frequencies, Your cell or satellite phone is your primary means of communications and your radio is secondary. The sad reality is that in the radio world, the popular mode of operation is HF. Barely anyone monitors VHF and UHF. I live in Central Maine and while it isn't in the boonies but not in the city, we have a lot of woods and people who hike. The one most boring thing I do is monitor all 22 UHF channels (GMRS/FRS) on one radio and 146.52 on the other radio. More Hams need to get back into doing this, even if it means setting up a scanner with just those frequencies. It might mean someone's life one day.

Best advice, GPS tracker and a Sat phone or cell phone, whichever works best.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2023, 05:19:04 AM by N1YFA »
Logged

AI5BC

  • Posts: 456
    • HomeURL
Re: question about VHF/UHF for hiker emergency comm
« Reply #16 on: January 08, 2023, 07:36:31 AM »

Pretty simple really, when you need emergency help, who do you want on the other end? Some old fool pretending to be a boy scout or a professional with the technology and skills to help.
Logged

W1MOW

  • Member
  • Posts: 269
Re: question about VHF/UHF for hiker emergency comm
« Reply #17 on: January 08, 2023, 08:54:18 AM »

Pretty simple really, when you need emergency help, who do you want on the other end? Some old fool pretending to be a boy scout or a professional with the technology and skills to help.

I will take an "old fool playing boy scout" who has a phone, over no one at all.

Gary W1MOW
Logged
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt - Bertram Russell (1935)

So not much has changed in almost 90 years!

AI5BC

  • Posts: 456
    • HomeURL
Re: question about VHF/UHF for hiker emergency comm
« Reply #18 on: January 08, 2023, 09:29:19 AM »

I will take an "old fool playing boy scout" who has a phone, over no one at all.

Gary W1MOW
Have it your way, I will take my cellphone.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2023, 09:39:18 AM by AI5BC »
Logged

N1YFA

  • Posts: 9
    • HomeURL
Re: question about VHF/UHF for hiker emergency comm
« Reply #19 on: January 08, 2023, 11:53:34 AM »

Quote
I will take an "old fool playing boy scout" who has a phone, over no one at all.

I would take an an old fool playing boy scout also. However, radio is a two way street. That old fool has to be on the other end of the radio when I call. Emergencies happen quickly. They don't wait for people to wander into their shack to turn the radio on to listen for someone. Hams need to make 146.52 MHz a key part of their radios, a key part of their scanner.............like they used to. I am sure there are some Hams out there that monitor it, but not enough do, especially in areas where people go hiking.
Logged
Pages: 1 [2]   Go Up