What To Do If C*%mun$ca#io@ Goes Down

[Twigg]

If they shut down the internet, they might as well shut down the banking system too, as an example.

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[weekendracer]

Stop me if my tinfoil is wrapped to tight but this could be a real concern to every one of us. I also wonder about planning on a public forum. Any Google search will bring up forum discussions using the title and a couple of sentences of the text body.

Your tinfoil might be tight , but I had family in Katrina and Rita. It would have been nice if they had a Ham or similiar setup to be able to communicate with them. They eventually left the area, but didn't contact me and then phones went offline. If they had stayed things would have been sketchy in getting information out of the area.

For the record, I don't this this is overboard thinking (before someone jumps me.). I've lived through a good 1/2 dozen hurricanes. Up here it's more likely an ice storm taking down power/telcom for a number of days. I can think of 3 or 4 legitimate reasons you'd be left without communications with little notice. Ice storm, solar flare, something similiar to the blackout in the NE a couple years back, just off the top of my head. In a previous life, I had to come up with solutions for such events. Being able to communicate with family and whatnot makes dealing with emergencies a lot easier.

I've personally been looking at a short wave radio reciever. I don't know if they cover Ham freqs or if it's just another band that's less regulated than the AM/FM/VHF/UHF bands. I'm just getting started with the project and might end up going Ham now that the license is easier to get.

 

[Jamie]

In this scenario with no communication other than ham radio how does information get relayed to us sheeple aimlessly wandering around? I understand hams can communicate back and forth with valuable information but If the SHTF tomorrow I personally wouldn't know any ham operators nor where to go to find out what the hell was going on. Skip the government as this scenario also states it would be they who took communications away. Remember the emergency may be created by us. They obviously have their own plan for this. What is ours? I must read up on ham radio communication for one.

The entire concept of this being posted in the Survival Forum is to make you think "preparedness". The "Hams" aren't worried about you. They will continue to communicate with each other. They also hold no responsibility to convey information to you. It's a choice you have made to be one of the "sheeple", not be prepared or informed should the fecal matter hit the rotary oscillator. You might consider getting your license and practice a wee bit. I just got mine and am looking for equipment now. I'm also not too worried about groups of people converging on my location. They'll have plenty to think about should they get too close.

 

[Twigg]

Some good points and opinions. Question for a ham operator. Would it be unreasonable to locate and introduce yourself to nearby ham operators? Maybe even offer help if needed?

I would not reccomend this action. I for one would not take kindly to finding people unknown to me sitting around my house waiting for me to arrive home or worse, knocking on my door offering "help".

 

[deadhead133]

If you type your zip code into http://www.qrz.com/ you'll get a list of all the licensed hams in your area, just fyi. Once you get licensed you give up a bit of privacy in that regard, unless you associate your callsign with a P.O. box instead of a street address.

Thanks for the link. There are 32 in my little town. One is two houses away.

 

[SecondAmdFirst]

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Definitely a weird expression on that cat's face.

 

[Turbocharged]

I can reach all of MA and NH, most of VT and RI, and some of NY and CT, on Ham Radio equipment I own.
As for relaying information to the general public, chances are, if the information is important enough to be relayed through Ham radio operators, it's important enough to expend the required resources to ensure the message reaches its destination.

And you can't "shut down" the internet. The internet is not a centralized infrastructure. You may be able to temporarily disconnect most of the servers and users, but in less than a month an alternative method of connecting computers will pop up. Could be something using packet radio, or some other means of communication.

 

[codenamepaul]

Explain packet radio for me.

 

[ChevyGuy91]

Explain packet radio for me.

I think it has something to do with using radios like a modem.

 

[AKman]

Thanks for all the honest opinions and great information. I'm finding that each topic covered in a SHTF scenario requires more research and more money and lots of both. It's better to ask and know than to sit around and wished you asked.

 

[Turbocharged]

Explain packet radio for me.

Packet radio is is essentially a system of sending packets of data over the air.