PICKING L.O.S. COMMS GEAR
HT RADIOS AND ACCESSORIES FOR SHTF
What follows is my suggestions for a SHTF handheld transceiver. There are a ton of radios on the market that could fill this role, even “blister pack” FRS/GMRS radios will get the job done if Line of Sight (LOS) communications is all you are looking for, but there are a few things I’ll mention that are going to exclude certain models from the list.
In normal times, HTs are a secondary means of communications when our phones are not receiving a signal, like when we are camping. Kids and adults see them as novelty toys, not as the emergency comms they will be in SHTF.
In SHTF, they will be our primary form of communications and having something that is robust, easily recharged, and easy to use is what we are looking for.
Be it your first radio or just looking for the best bang for buck, there are a lot of “cheap” Chinese HAM Radio HTs on the market to choose from these days, some good and some not. Most have the same feature sets and menu layout.
Ten years ago, it was a choice between the Baofeng UV-5R or a “real radio” from the “Big-3” (Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu) like the Yaesu FT-60R.
Matter of fact, the Yaesu VX-6R (waterproof version of FT-60R) was my first “real” HT that I bought after getting my Technician’s License, upgrading from a Chinese TYT-UVF1.
I bought the TYT after watching a guy on YouTube (Guerilla Geek) do a step-by-step setup of them. I knew nothing about radio, and I figured if I bought what he had and followed his tutorials, I would at least have a working setup and I did.
There were few YouTubers out there doing such videos at the time, now everyone and their brother is making a video as soon as a new UV-5R clone hits the market.
Long story short, the Yaesu died after taking a 3ft drop, the TYT-UVF1 radios have taken several harder drops over the years and are still working.
Don’t believe everything you hear about the Big-3 radios being the best. They often have nicer features and are easier to program off the keypad but are not always the best choice for SHTF.
Of course, in 2024 there are a lot more options out there in the budget realm and while my favorite HT from a purely operational standpoint is the FT-70D from Yaesu, it’s not what I carry on patrol nor is it my “one and done” concerning LOS comms.
The downfall of the FT-70D is that of many, too ergonomically small and crap accessories. The microphone is not something I consider field worthy and having at least a mic that can be placed near the ear is the bare minimum when looking at a tactical radio setup in my opinion.
The only other acceptable method for me is to mount the radio up within hearing distance and operate the PTT on it directly, but I find the remote mic to be the best option as it can be worn center mass and the old Kenwood two prong design that all Chinese radios come with has proven its robustness over its decades of service.
I’ve used commercial radios with this of style mic connection in an industrial setting for over 20 years and they can take a beating. The original Kenwood KMC-17 is what I have on all my two-prong radios as I was able to get scrap passes for them as we upgraded so while I got them at no cost to me although I would still purchase them myself if needed, as they are mics of excellent quality. The replacement Kenwood KMC-45 is roughly $80.00 new but built solid. I suggest finding a used ORIGINAL, if possible, most listings on eBay or Amazon are fakes so read carefully. Otherwise buy from a dealer like the one linked to above.
The mic is an inherent weak point, you get what you pay for, buy once cry once!
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Having a remote speaker mic is a must if you are using a radio on any kind of patrol gear as you don’t have time to dig a radio out of a pocket to talk and you want to sure you hear any incoming on the first attempt.
Keep the mic centered on your body!
I’ve worn a radio this way every day at work for 30+ years working while climbing over equipment and have had an accidental XMITs in this position less than any other.
Compare that to being worn on my shoulder or an H-Harness the number increases substantially. You will have negligent XMITs often in these areas, and as you can see in the images above, the natural tendency when concentrating on speaking into a mic is to avert your eyes off a potential threat in front of you. Here is an excellent video about it.
More important than mic placement is that you protect the PTT on the radio itself as that is the biggest culprit of accidental transmissions IME. I have disabled mine on the work radios and would not have a field radio that didn’t have an exoskeleton that prevented such.
JUST SAY NO!
Using electronic earmuffs with an audio patch cable is a popular option for many these days but I feel it’s more a case of people emulating the .MIL than choosing such equipment based off an actual need.
It’s also very, very, expensive for quality gear if you NEED to go this route. None of which anyone reading this blog is likely willing to pay for nor should, even if they have money to throw around.
So, you will likely buy Air-Soft quality gear if you do go this route and look cool but lesson your effectiveness greatly. JUST SAY NO!
I have amplified earmuffs (Howard Leight) and have used $1000.00 Motorola models at work in 120db+ environments where they really shine, but to use them in anticipation of suppressing shots fired that may or may not be coming while trying to hear what’s happening in a very low noise environment with a slim chance that someone is going to transmit to you (SIGSEC, keep XMIT to a minimum at all time) is not a good idea if you ask me. They make your ears sweat like crazy also, LOL.
All amplification is unnatural when compared to the human ear left to work on its own.
Active ear-pro is cool if you are in a tank or doing multi-man CQB in close proximity, but it is terrible if you are creeping through the woods or making a property / community patrol.
When every bit of NATURAL hearing is needed, and the likelihood of shooting is not immanent it makes no sense to wear amplified ear pro.
A good reason to have a suppressor on your rifle!
Even if shooting was immanent, I would prefer to use a mechanical clipping molded ear plug. I’ve worn several models since 1995 and the “DB Blockers” are my current and favorite model ever. I have worn them for 10 hour stretches many times, without discomfort, and you lose very little listening power while wearing them.
Save your money on the Air-Soft cool guy stuff and buy some good, molded plugs with that money instead.
WHAT ABOUT WATER PROOFING?
Simple answer is you don’t need it and the accessories will be limited and often proprietary. A one-gallon zip lock with a hole in it with keep your radio perfectly operational. You will also notice that the majority of IP 67+ radios do not have openings like a USB-C charging port for field recharging, something that is an absolute must on a field radio IMO.
WHAT ABOUT CHARGING IN THE FIELD?
The ability to charge off an economical power bank that you are likely already packing to supply other gadgets with power is a MUST. The days of only having a cradle to charge from and usually (Chinese Models) at an odd voltage of 10VDC are gone!
WHAT ABOUT DIGITAL (DMR, FUSION, ETC)?
Will all the people you want to talk to have DMR or Fusion radios? If you have a dedicated team, then yes, by all means get them but don’t think that encryption is hiding you. The moment you key-up you are known and traceable.
For 99% of Preppers in a SHTF situation, a standard analog radio is the way to go. The coolest radio that nobody can talk to is not that cool really.
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND THEN?
Well, if you have looked around on the site already, you know I like and use the Baofeng AR-152 for reasons I describe in the dedicated post for that radio below.
Are there others that can do the job? Of course, but the main point of this post was to get people thinking in terms of “what do I need my comms to do?” and how to “Keep It Simple Stupid”, when the LARPERATORS are trying to drag you into the cool guy stuff, ya should stop and think it through.
You don’t need it and my argument is that it makes you less effective for SHTF, especially on Patrols where hearing them before they see you can be life or death.
Let me hear what ya think in the comments.
