Frood you had mentioned in another thread about Comms during a grid down being my biggest vulnerability

and you are right. Other than starlink and heavily modified routers that I built myself this is my weakest area

I am specifically looking for something that will allow a 2 way radio type of connection that operates completely independent of cell service, 5G etc etc

I want a system where I can hand my son who lives nearly 600 mils away a unit and be able to speak with him consistently while everything is down. I need this so that if I need to get my ass up to him to bring him back down to me I know where he is at any given time in the journey

any recommendations? I was looking at https://rapidradios.com/?gc_id=21135357586&g_special_campaign=true&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21510960609&gclid=Cj0KCQiA49XMBhDRARIsAOOKJHaRr6F1g1TKUjq6roxqPk7VrIEI9Wbz_nYDVsRTPj2r7_uib7LB404aAs9GEALw_wcB

but I am not sure this will deliver what I need

Quote from: Biggie Smiles on February 18, 2026, 04:41:53 PMFrood you had mentioned in another thread about Comms during a grid down being my biggest vulnerability

and you are right. Other than starlink and heavily modified routers that I built myself this is my weakest area

I am specifically looking for something that will allow a 2 way radio type of connection that operates completely independent of cell service, 5G etc etc

I want a system where I can hand my son who lives nearly 600 mils away a unit and be able to speak with him consistently while everything is down. I need this so that if I need to get my ass up to him to bring him back down to me I know where he is at any given time in the journey

any recommendations? I was looking at https://rapidradios.com/?gc_id=21135357586&g_special_campaign=true&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21510960609&gclid=Cj0KCQiA49XMBhDRARIsAOOKJHaRr6F1g1TKUjq6roxqPk7VrIEI9Wbz_nYDVsRTPj2r7_uib7LB404aAs9GEALw_wcB

but I am not sure this will deliver what I need

Just have a pre-agreed plan for him to come down by you if and when the shit hits the fan.  My family cohort (me, my brother and cousins) always had agreed to make our way to one of the family farms if shit ever went sideways.  Of course we're all old fucks now and some of us are gone ...

Or you could both get short wave radio transceivers and have an agreed upon frequency to monitor in emergencies.

Quote from: Biggie Smiles on February 18, 2026, 04:41:53 PMFrood you had mentioned in another thread about Comms during a grid down being my biggest vulnerability

and you are right. Other than starlink and heavily modified routers that I built myself this is my weakest area

I am specifically looking for something that will allow a 2 way radio type of connection that operates completely independent of cell service, 5G etc etc

I want a system where I can hand my son who lives nearly 600 mils away a unit and be able to speak with him consistently while everything is down. I need this so that if I need to get my ass up to him to bring him back down to me I know where he is at any given time in the journey

any recommendations? I was looking at https://rapidradios.com/?gc_id=21135357586&g_special_campaign=true&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21510960609&gclid=Cj0KCQiA49XMBhDRARIsAOOKJHaRr6F1g1TKUjq6roxqPk7VrIEI9Wbz_nYDVsRTPj2r7_uib7LB404aAs9GEALw_wcB

but I am not sure this will deliver what I need

A friend tried to tell me that they work anywhere and don't need cell towers. It's basically encrypted Push to Talk walkie talkies that MUST have any LTE (ie 4G Cellular) tower that is functioning nearby. So if AT&T is down, it piggybacks off Verizon or whatever.

You pay a yearly subscription fee despite being told no monthly costs and no obligations. No fee renewal, they're bricks.

They would be worthless in a real disaster or emergency. Cell phone towers only stay powered for hours or a day or so, when they go to backup batteries after a blackout.

They might be handy in smaller emergencies, assuming there is at least one functioning LTE tower within range.

You'll need a HF radio if you want to talk to your kid.

GoTenna Mesh is discontinued (I have 4 units), but they moved onto longer range tactical mesh networking for texting (no voice).

https://gotennapro.com/pages/products

I don't know if it can do 600 miles worth of skips. I saw a mention of 100 miles, but there is bound to be a way to relay with.



Elevated relays on solar might be the go...

But a ham radio is a lot cheaper and easier....

Quote from: Reggie Essent on February 18, 2026, 05:26:27 PMJust have a pre-agreed plan for him to come down by you if and when the shit hits the fan.  My family cohort (me, my brother and cousins) always had agreed to make our way to one of the family farms if shit ever went sideways.  Of course we're all old fucks now and some of us are gone ...

Or you could both get short wave radio transceivers and have an agreed upon frequency to monitor in emergencies.

Another thing came to mind, but would require starting an emergency transmission  group of direct to sight cb/uhf radio enthusiasts. He'd probably need 15 hard-core members on elevations to relay voice messages (in personal code) but if they're on handheld or low or hilly environments, hundreds of members and no guarantee it would get through.

Without an agreement of a group, it would just be a message in a airwave bottle. No telling if it hits the intended recipient.

Again, a hf radio is cheaper and easier...

Quote from: Frood on February 18, 2026, 05:58:02 PMAnother thing came to mind, but would require starting an emergency transmission  group of direct to sight cb/uhf radio enthusiasts. He'd probably need 15 hard-core members on elevations to relay voice messages (in personal code) but if they're on handheld or low or hilly environments, hundreds of members and no guarantee it would get through.

Without an agreement of a group, it would just be a message in a airwave bottle. No telling if it hits the intended recipient.

Again, a hf radio is cheaper and easier...

Yeah, a ham radio. 600 miles isn't that far, and if a frequency was pre-agreed to be monitored, it should work well.

Quote from: Reggie Essent on February 18, 2026, 06:14:06 PMYeah, a ham radio. 600 miles isn't that far, and if a frequency was pre-agreed to be monitored, it should work well.

It would work ok if one had good prepper friends on every available elevation point who agreed to relay messages, but in a world gone bad situation, each person is also a potential risk.

I looked into gotenna's other products...

This is a watertight relay station with mains power and a solar panel. Product sheet says 100 miles at line to sight.





Biggie would need at 5 of them but probably 6.... plus the elevated real estate reserved for it.

Big bucks just in hardware alone.

Yeah, HF radio is just easier....agreed upon channels... a personal code between the two recipients, and ham radio operators are pretty friendly folks who will help if you also have a licence... and sign... lol

Quote from: Reggie Essent on February 18, 2026, 06:14:06 PMYeah, a ham radio. 600 miles isn't that far, and if a frequency was pre-agreed to be monitored, it should work well.

Got any exact model recommendations? Amazon link?

thanks

Quote from: Frood on February 18, 2026, 05:34:57 PMA friend tried to tell me that they work anywhere and don't need cell towers. It's basically encrypted Push to Talk walkie talkies that MUST have any LTE (ie 4G Cellular) tower that is functioning nearby. So if AT&T is down, it piggybacks off Verizon or whatever.

You pay a yearly subscription fee despite being told no monthly costs and no obligations. No fee renewal, they're bricks.

They would be worthless in a real disaster or emergency. Cell phone towers only stay powered for hours or a day or so, when they go to backup batteries after a blackout.

They might be handy in smaller emergencies, assuming there is at least one functioning LTE tower within range.

You'll need a HF radio if you want to talk to your kid.

GoTenna Mesh is discontinued (I have 4 units), but they moved onto longer range tactical mesh networking for texting (no voice).

https://gotennapro.com/pages/products

I don't know if it can do 600 miles worth of skips. I saw a mention of 100 miles, but there is bound to be a way to relay with.



Elevated relays on solar might be the go...

But a ham radio is a lot cheaper and easier....

yep.. this is exactly what I was worried about.. an ultimate reliance on existing infrastructure. I'm making the assumption that the infrastructure is completely down and need something that will continue to operate just until I can either get to my son or till my son gets to me.

Quote from: Reggie Essent on February 18, 2026, 05:26:27 PMJust have a pre-agreed plan for him to come down by you if and when the shit hits the fan.  My family cohort (me, my brother and cousins) always had agreed to make our way to one of the family farms if shit ever went sideways.  Of course we're all old fucks now and some of us are gone ...

Or you could both get short wave radio transceivers and have an agreed upon frequency to monitor in emergencies.

I do have agreed upon routes and spots and even have maps already printed to paper as GPS will be a thing of better times at that point but it's a long route down 95 and the highway will probably be littered with all kinds of issues. I've already told him that if the crisis is still fresh he can get on the highway but if we're already a few hours in avoid them like the plague as they will be death traps.


I make sure he's stocked with at least 10 gallons of extra gas and he does own a pickup truck.

But if he's stranded and runs out of gas anywhere along that route I want to be able to grab my guns, my extra gas -- hop in my pickup and go get him. wherever he is.

I've never been this way before but then again, in my 30 years of experience doing what I do I've never heard government sponsored agencies so intensely worried about a grid down even that is expected to last months if not years.

Cloud services went down yesterday for the 5th time this year.

Something is coming old friend.

Quote from: Biggie Smiles on February 18, 2026, 07:32:06 PMGot any exact model recommendations? Amazon link?

thanks

Dude, I say my goodbyes (in a way), every time I speak to a loved or cherished one.

My recommendation is to buy an analog or digital station that isn't all beat up and you've had tested to work... buy a few of them, then wrap them up tightly..

I don't have one myself. Played with them a few times though. It's more about the antenna and elevation. Doesn't matter how powerful they are, if the antenna is short, they don't work very well.

Quote from: Biggie Smiles on February 18, 2026, 07:32:06 PMGot any exact model recommendations? Amazon link?

thanks

Ha!  No, man, but I could ask an old buddy.  He's a big Ham Radio guy.  Got a license and the whole schmeer.  I ain't talked to him in years. Used to jam together.  Big Bluegrass guy.

Quote from: Biggie Smiles on February 18, 2026, 07:41:14 PMI do have agreed upon routes and spots and even have maps already printed to paper as GPS will be a thing of better times at that point but it's a long route down 95 and the highway will probably be littered with all kinds of issues. I've already told him that if the crisis is still fresh he can get on the highway but if we're already a few hours in avoid them like the plague as they will be death traps.


I make sure he's stocked with at least 10 gallons of extra gas and he does own a pickup truck.

But if he's stranded and runs out of gas anywhere along that route I want to be able to grab my guns, my extra gas -- hop in my pickup and go get him. wherever he is.

I've never been this way before but then again, in my 30 years of experience doing what I do I've never heard government sponsored agencies so intensely worried about a grid down even that is expected to last months if not years.

Cloud services went down yesterday for the 5th time this year.

Something is coming old friend.

Dude! You're overthinking it. As long as you have an agreed upon plan, you just have to trust in Providence that all will go well.

And it's funny you mention GPS. I've never used it. Last year I drove out west to Idaho, taking all kinds of side routes to see shit and stuff, and I used a good old Rand McNally paper atlas, even though I have one of those dashboard touchscreen GPS hold-your-goddamned-hand-because-you're-a-pussy thingies in my car.

I don't fucking need that!  I got a map!

But I digress, the important thing is you have The Plan. Comms are important, but not guaranteed. If everyone important knows exactly where to go in case of Sideways, you always have Hope.

Any way to bounce a signal off a satellite or something like that?

Quote from: Biggie Smiles on February 18, 2026, 07:41:14 PMI do have agreed upon routes and spots and even have maps already printed to paper as GPS will be a thing of better times at that point but it's a long route down 95 and the highway will probably be littered with all kinds of issues. I've already told him that if the crisis is still fresh he can get on the highway but if we're already a few hours in avoid them like the plague as they will be death traps.


I make sure he's stocked with at least 10 gallons of extra gas and he does own a pickup truck.

But if he's stranded and runs out of gas anywhere along that route I want to be able to grab my guns, my extra gas -- hop in my pickup and go get him. wherever he is.

I've never been this way before but then again, in my 30 years of experience doing what I do I've never heard government sponsored agencies so intensely worried about a grid down even that is expected to last months if not years.

Cloud services went down yesterday for the 5th time this year.

Something is coming old friend.

Take a chill pill. Something is coming. It always does come and people are stunned, shocked, furious, when it does... As long as you raised your kids with common sense, they'll likely prevail.

Just last evening my 13 year old was walking around the yard with an open knife looking for a tree branch to whittle. She thought nothing of it. That was her birthday gift at 9 yo, and she's very crafty. I suggested to her that Australian cops would see that, walk up to her with a hand on their service arm and shoot if she freaked out.... then spin it in the state run media.

I should have said that to her far earlier. Taught her knife skills but forgot to mention authoritarian socialist pigs. Kids grow up so fast, eh? 

She was shocked and said, "but it's our property!?", and I'm like yeah and no.. we're American, but we're NOT in America. The pigs here are even piggier than in the worst run Democrat city. 

Something is coming....eventually. We prepare for our lineage. I don't ultimately care now if I live or die. I'm generally surrounded by fuckwits unless I'm in my home. The younger guys at work randomly say the most ignorant shit about the US in my presence and I don't pull them up. At best, I just make myself scarce. Stuff that even American leftists had to eat crow about years ago..

But there are good wholesome people here in the interior. Connections made and offers made. We're going there.... as the capital cities full of fair weather migrants and dumb socialist Australians (which is about 85-90% of them) kill each other..then fan out and try to kill and/or steal from those of us outside of the CBD's.

But I had an instinct early on to get as far away from the US as I could, and I don't regret that. I am a through and through Libertarian American. If I have to suffer here so my kids survive, well be it.

I still think the US is going to get knocked to its knees in my lifetime. Maybe I jumped the gun... dunno...

Quote from: Oliver the Second on February 18, 2026, 08:22:18 PMAny way to bounce a signal off a satellite or something like that?

He's got Starlink.... and if he has the money for a couple high altitude balloons carrying Gotenna Mesh relays, he's got a sizeable portion of Florida and up the East Coast.

Sorry, that sounded sarcastic... wasn't meant to be.

Quote from: Reggie Essent on February 18, 2026, 08:02:34 PMHa!  No, man, but I could ask an old buddy.  He's a big Ham Radio guy.  Got a license and the whole schmeer.  I ain't talked to him in years. Used to jam together.  Big Bluegrass guy.

Dude! You're overthinking it. As long as you have an agreed upon plan, you just have to trust in Providence that all will go well.

And it's funny you mention GPS. I've never used it. Last year I drove out west to Idaho, taking all kinds of side routes to see shit and stuff, and I used a good old Rand McNally paper atlas, even though I have one of those dashboard touchscreen GPS hold-your-goddamned-hand-because-you're-a-pussy thingies in my car.

I don't fucking need that!  I got a map!

But I digress, the important thing is you have The Plan. Comms are important, but not guaranteed. If everyone important knows exactly where to go in case of Sideways, you always have Hope.

Overthinking is part of my core function in what I do for a living. Preparing for the worst case scenario of a disaster and cybersecurity

so I probably just cant help myself

I even have spare parts for my generators and replaceable parts for my car and truck. My well pump pressure switch can go bad 9 times during the apocalypse and I still wont have to show up to a hardware store to buy another -- kinda helps that I get them for free though 

my deep analytical & meticulous thought process comes from being a virgo I guess -- I try to leave nothing to chance. From a years supply of the spices I cook with to old school DVD players that still connect with those audio video cable thinggies