Quote Originally Posted by PA_PB&J View Post
I agree, plan then tools.

For me this is mostly for family communication. I have some FRS coming in to see if the family gets interested, else just another off grid tool which might not come in handy unless the community gets in the habit of moving to gmrs during emergencies.
I have a good friend started the same way. Wanted to talk to his wife from work (19 miles straight line) in case of emergency. Found out that even putting up his own repeater, it was lousy reception (terrain, obsticles, etc). he wound up getting his HAM ticket, and has become very active in the comms community. Disregard the guys saying the license is useless, they're the same ones who won't buy their LCTF because the 2A is their license. People who don't start learning and using their tools will be in trouble when the SHTF because they will have no one trusted to talk to, and be unable to troubleshoot the problems when they occur.

When working comms remember it's 2x as important to LISTEN as it is to talk, that's how you gather information. Also think three rings, immediate tactical (think squad level) which is where GMRS/ FRS resides, Regional (think Company/ Battalion), then there is Strategic (the rest of the world so to speak). The Tactical and Regional gives you information and resources that will impact you directly and near immediately, the strategic lets you know what's happening in the rest of the world.

Based on your location I would have been happy to link you up with a guy, unfortunately, he became a silent key (ham talk for passed on) earlier this summer, he could have talked the tech of this with you for a week without taking a breath. I would suggest talking to a local radio club that specializes in emergency communications, I'm talking the guys who are communicators with ham licenses, not hams who play emergency. They can talk to you, listen and help you come up with an informed plan of action that will minimize your expenditures and maximize your capabilities.