Survival Arts

Tactical Radio Communications, installment 1

A few days ago, I mentioned that I'd be running a serialized version of the forthcoming book "Tactical Radio Communications" by my engineer friend Eric Cartman. Below is the first installment. Readers' feedback, as we post these, would be most welcome. - Editor

Introduction

"Radios can be a very effective tactical or strategic tool. One can coordinate and deploy groups of people, perform surveillance, summon help and keep in touch with others over long distances when other forms of communications are unavailable. However, if used unwisely, a radio can be a security breach, a tactical disaster waiting to happen and even a beacon the enemy uses to discover your location.

Currently available radio equipment runs the gamut of size, power output, frequency, features and cost. Everything from a 50 dollar hand held radio from Radio Shack to a 5000 dollar all band all mode transceiver with 1000 Watts of power can be yours. The introduction of unlicensed FRS (Family Service Radio) has led to an explosion of cheap hand held radios sold in any sporting goods store or catalog. Although these radios at first appear to be a great step forward from the old CB radio, there are several reasons you should avoid them.

To make a reasonable decision on what equipment to buy, you need to understand the basics of how radios and radio waves work. We won’t cover the theory of how radio works in great detail, as this is not really relevant to buying and using a radio. Rather we will cover the behavior of radios and radio waves as they relate to the real world of the radio user.

Many of the ideas and suggestions in this book are based on thousands of hours of field use, trial and error and some hard bought experience by numerous people. There is a lot of stuff out there, some even sold to the military and police departments that simply doesn’t work. Any equipment you buy needs to be set up and used before you ever depend upon it. Imagine the embarrassment when your earphone comes unplugged and the speaker on your radio lets out a nice loud burst of static while the guy with that 7.62mm automatic rifle is standing 10 feet from the bush you are hiding in. Hope you brought your level IV body armor along… Or imagine being stuck out in the desert with a broken transaxle only to find that your antenna came loose and burned out the transmit amplifier in your radio. You can carry 10 gallons of water 100 miles, can’t you?

Finally, when you are buying radios, radio products or researching information, you will inevitably come across nosey people that want to know why. The simplest response is to tell them you are a Ham radio operator or are studying to become one. You can become a licensed ham for under $20 and a few hours study time with a book. The new “No Code” Technician class license is fairly simple to obtain. Nothing more is required than taking a short multiple-choice test and filling out two forms. Many local radio clubs give the tests, no questions asked, though an ID is required as well as a SSN. All the test questions are published and freely available, so you can even pass by simply memorizing all the questions. There are even on-line practice tests on the Internet. Just remember that your license will be mailed to you, so be sure to provide an address where you will actually receive it.

With the license in hand you can buy radios from most places without drawing any attention. Actually, almost no one will ever ask to see your physical license, but many places want to at least know your assigned call sign. You can make one up, though be aware that the call sign databases are available both on-line and in CDROM form for easy crosschecking. If you feel the need to fib on this one, find a legitimate call sign that has expired or is not listed. If asked by anyone you can say that you just received your new license and that it must not be in the database yet.

An added plus to having a license is you gain the ability to legally carry a scanner in your car in some states that prohibit it. It will also shut up officer Snotnose, as he peers into your car and asks why you have all that radio equipment."

[NEXT INSTALLMENT]

Posted by Russell Whitaker at November 19, 2002 03:19 PM | TrackBack