Category: Preparedness
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FEMA ICS Courses for Hams: IS-100, 200, 700, and 800 Explained
Served agencies keep asking hams for IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, and IS-800. Here’s what each course covers, which ones actually matter, and why the paperwork is worth a weekend.
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Human Relay Networks: Moving Traffic Across Town on Simplex
When the repeater goes down, your club becomes the repeater. How to set up and run a simplex human relay network before you need one.
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SHTF Scenario: The Road Ends Before the Journey Does
A 140-mile bug-out scenario where trucks stop at 100 miles and two-wheelers at 135. What’s your movement plan, primary, and comms package? Here’s mine.
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What Is CommStat? The Complete Guide to JS8Call’s Group Status Board
What CommStat is, how it works with JS8Call, why StatReps matter for emergency comms, how groups use it, what you need to run it, and how the versions differ.
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Start This Week: 10 SHTF Prep Steps You Can Knock Out in Seven Days
Ten preparedness steps you can finish in seven days, comms first: program and test your radios, charge and stock batteries, store water and food, and set a family plan and code word.
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How Far Can Your VHF/UHF Radio Actually Talk? A Range Map
A stock handheld, a better whip, a J-pole up 20 feet, a 50 watt base and a 2,000 ft repeater, mapped side by side so you can see who actually talks to who.
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The Pentagon Wants Bases to Last 90 Days Off-Grid. What’s Your Plan?
The Pentagon’s FORTRESS initiative reportedly wants bases able to run 90 days without the grid. Here’s what that means for civilians, and why a neighborhood comms plan built on GMRS, VHF/UHF, and HF matters more than another case of MREs.
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My Updated Yaesu FTX-1 Optima Go-Box: What I Changed and Why
My updated FTX-1 Optima go-box: the same watertight case, now with MOLLE pouches on the lid and both sides carrying the antennas, coax, power cables, and speaker.
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Fox Hunting in Ham Radio: How It Works, and How to Be Harder to Find
A deep look at radio fox hunting: what it is, what it isn’t, the gear and techniques hunters use, why HF NVIS is so hard to direction find, and practical EMCON habits that make your station harder to locate.
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Why Ham Radio Matters: A Hobby, a Lifeline, and a Century of Proof
Why ham radio still matters: the hobby, what it does for you, your family, and your town, and a century of times it kept people alive when everything else failed.
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Why HF Radio Matters Most When the Grid Goes Down
Why HF radio is critical when the grid goes down: NVIS keeps you connected to your region, and HF DX lets you poll other states and continents for news.
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Your Repeater Is Not a Plan: Why HF NVIS Matters Just as Much
Without the repeater, VHF/UHF is line of sight. Here’s why HF NVIS matters as much, and how I’d layer both into a real SHTF comms plan.