Depending on the timetable, an early accident could leave you waiting for days for rescue. Much better would be the ability to call for help at any time. Some areas are inimical to life. Many places have environmental extremes to beware of. A car failure in the desert could find you without shelter from temperature extremes and lacking adequate food or water. A small injury, a simple car problem, a failure of a shoe. Even such little problems may become life-threatening, when you are out of contact.

Radios have been part of science and exploring expeditions since they became available. But for your personal expedition closer to home, isn’t a cell phone enough?

A wildlife photographer needs to go where the wildlife are found. That is usually quite remote. Grant started by hiking alone with a big backpack to carry everything he needed. Then he met and married a hopeful writer. Instead of alone, they got a truck and set it up to be their base station and her writing studio. He would go out to take pictures and she would stay behind to write. They had their cell phones for staying in contact.

On the day he went out to look and wait for a picture and didn’t come back, she found that they were out of reach of cell phone towers and she couldn’t call him, he couldn’t call her and neither of them could call for help. After waiting what seemed to be forever, she drove the truck to town and get help. Her husband was located and rescued, but the new wife decided to make sure it would never happen again.

Other people who needed to wander the wilderness told her that they had been using radios before, and during the cell phone times. To protect her husband the writer researched radio and decided to allow her hubby out of her sight if were carrying a handheld CB radio.

A mobile CB in the truck completed that contact circuit. She also decided that they would often be out of effective CB radio range from population centers, so she got a license for a ‘Ham’ and installed a 10 meter transceiver in the truck as well.

CB radio gave them traffic and weather information while traveling. Road conditions were important to them as they were often going on very marginal roads. The CB also gave her the security of knowing her husband was only a click of the mike away. While he was away, the ‘ham’ radio kept her in touch with the neighboring towns. Now, she didn’t need to be anxious.

Cell phones were their plan for being in touch, but if there are no towers serving your cell phone carrier, then you are out of touch. For something to bet your life on out in the wild, and that is cost free, get a radio.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

A man murdered his mistress and boarded a train to make his escape believing that by the time they caught up to the train he would be long gone. The authorities used the telegraph to send a message ahead and when the train arrived, the police were waiting for him.

He was arrested, tried, convicted and hanged for the crime. The use of the telegraph by law enforcement was now begun. This happened in 1839. But, all the crooks needed to do was cut the telegraph wires.

Alexander Graham Bell, designed a wireless system to send voice messages through a beam of light in 1880. To work, bright daylight was needed, since lasers were a long way in the future. The significance was not seen, and applications were extremely limited. That is why you likely have never heard of it.

Similarly, David Hughes, who invented the telegraph, sent and received radio waves, but what was happening was not clearly understood and his work was not looked at far almost 10 more years. Faraday and Maxwell predicted electromagnetic radiation, but it was 1888 before Hertz conducted experiments and sent and received electromagnetic radiation. He didn’t follow it up, not seeing the significance at the time.

Radio waves and sunlight are both in the electromagnetic radiation spectrum. But Hugh’s and Bell’s work needed to wait for someone else make it work in a practical manner. Radio seemed to be developed by several people at the same time, among them were Tesla, Bose, Braun, and Popov. The one we have all heard of is Marconi.

Near the end of the 19th century, Marconi built equipment guided by the experiments and descriptions of Tesla. He got patents. He was the first to put a radio apparatus on a ship, and communicated across the Atlantic Ocean. Marconi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Braun who was also honored for his work in radio.

Another crime, in 1910, saw a murderer and his mistress fleeing by ship across the ocean. The Captain of the ship was suspicious, because the woman seemed to be disguised as a boy. He used the wireless to contact Scotland Yard and learned of the murder. A police officer boarded a faster ship and beat the fugitives to their destination. The murderer was arrested without setting foot on shore.

The arrest of another murderer with the help of a telegraph, this time wireless fixed radio in the imagination of the public. By this time, people were able to buy and assemble crystal radios that would receive radio signals and it became popular.

After the Second World War The US FCC designated frequencies for the use of the public, while others were reserved for the use of the government, emergency services, commercial broadcasting, and the military. A band for short range use was created. This band became the CB radio band.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

The New York Herald asked him to use his technology to get them the results of the America’s Cup Yacht Race in 1899. He installed his wireless rig on a ship for the first time in history. The report of the race was sent from the SS St Paul over 66 miles to Marconi’s land based station. The Herald had its scoop.

With transmission over water proven possible, a race began to send a signal across the Atlantic Ocean. Marconi supposedly succeeded in 1901 when he sent a message, (a Morse code S), from England to Newfoundland in Canada. Nikola Tesla reacted by saying that the equipment used by Marconi had bee patented many years before.

Tesla began in the US by working for Thomas Edison. He quit because of a money dispute and went on to develop alternating current, in competition with Edison’s direct current electrical system. Eventually, Tesla’s system was the one used and still is. Tesla was responsible for many discoveries.

In 1893 Tesla showed a machine that transmitted and received radio. This was 11 years before Marconi patented his version. Because of this, Marconi patents were turned down at first in the US. In 1904, he was suddenly granted the patents that had been denied. There exists a suspicion that this happened because Edison, who hated Tesla, influenced the patent office to go against Tesla.

The Nobel Prize was given to Marconi in 1909 and the king of Italy gave him a title as a reward. At this time Tesla tried to sue for stealing his patent, but failed for lack of money.
In 1943, after the death of both Tesla and Marconi, The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Marconi had indeed stolen the patents and declared that Tesla invented radio. It was not until 1943, after Tesla’s death that the Supreme Court overturned the earlier patents and declared Tesla the true inventor of radio.

Despite this late decision, there is little doubt that Marconi took an almost working theory and made it happen. He sent the first wireless message from a ship at sea, sent the first communication across the ocean and demonstrated to the world that radio was here and worked.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

The coverage proved to be inadequate. Amateur radio operators joined the effort and helped coordinate the search and evacuate the victims when they were found. Still, the death toll rose to 19.

Also in June, a severe storm struck Ohio, knocking out power and telephone systems. Radio amateurs again provided communication assistance to emergency crews, some staying on the air for many hours.

The above examples are not exceptional. Operators of CB and ham radios have frequently supplied urgently needed assistance in emergency situations. They are most useful because they don’t rely on towers, wires, and work from battery power.

The United States is able to call upon the services of a network of amateur radio operators with up to 650,000 members. Around the world there are another 2 million. Teams fighting fires in California, rescuing tornado victims in Oregon and assisting with the aftermath of storms in Michigan have relied heavily on the reliability of amateur radio and its operators, who offer their services free of charge.

In April, an rescue in the Pacific Ocean hit the news. A ham radio operator who lived in Flagler Beach, Florida, intercepted a distress call from a small sailing vessel 3,300 miles away in the Pacific Ocean. One of the crew members had received a head injury, was unconscious and bleeding badly. The operator on the boat was calling for emergency medical help.

Maintaining the contact with the boat, the operator in Florida phoned the Coast Guard Station in Alameda, California, and connected the radio through the phone. A Coast Guard flight surgeon spoke to the vessel, to advise on appropriate first aid.

Other hams were able to hear this and relayed news to the family of the injured sailor, and also assisted with the coordination of the rescue. Florida’s Bill K14MMZ, was joined by hams in Texas, California, Minnesota, and Hawaii, and the radio operator of a container ship, MV Cap Palmerston.

A parachute drop near the vessel with an inflatable boat allowed the injured person to be transferred to the container ship, which diverted from its destination in Mexico to go towards San Diego. Nearer to land , rescue helicopters moved the victim from the ship to hospital. He recovered.

This rescue could not have taken place using cell phones. There is still an important place in our world for CB and ham radio.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

Often, explanations of radio and other electromagnetic frequencies are referred to as wavelengths in meters. Switching from frequency to wavelength without explaining the connection is confusing.

Let’s simplify it. Light travels at about 3 times ten to the 8th power meters per second or 300,000,000 meters per second. (186,000 miles per hour).

Frequency is the number of waves in a second. The speed of light is the frequency times the wavelength. The frequency is the speed of light divided by the wavelength, and the wavelength is the speed of light divided by the frequency.

Radio is defined as having frequencies below 300 Gigahertz, or 300 billion cycles per second. This is the very lowest end of the electromagnetic spectrum. An alternate, but connected limit is a wavelength longer than one millimeter, (1/1000 of a meter). In the radio spectrum are several bands of wavelengths.

The lowest frequencies have wavelengths longer than 100,000 km, (3 Hz), and so far we don’t use them.

The ELF (Extremely , and the SLF, (Super Low Frequencies), are used to send signals underwater, communicating with deep submarine vehicles. (3 Hz to 3,000 Hz)

VLF, (Very Low Frequency), (3,000 to 30,000 Hz), are easier to use, but only covers to a depth of about 130 feet. Used underwater and inside mines, for heart monitors, and underground beacons.

Low frequency is between 30 KHz and 300 KHz. Here we find the commercial band AM radio, navigation frequencies, and time signals.

Medium wave is next. From 300 KHz to 3,000 KHz, (3MHz).

The 7th band contains the CB and amateur wavebands, 27Mhz or 11 meter for CB radio and wavelengths up to 100 meters for ‘Hams’. In this band are also some of the frequencies used by emergency services.

The VHF (Very High Frequency) band for TV and FM broadcasts comes next.

UHF (Ultra High Frequency) has more TV, mobile phones, wireless networks for computers, Bluetooth and GPS. Microwave ovens use this frequency range.

EHF, 30 to 300 GHz, (Extremely High Frequency), is used by microwave radio relay towers, and radio astronomers.

The last radio band, between 300 GHz and 3 TeraHertz, is still being investigated for uses. It extends up to the lowest range for infrared light.

Now you know where your CB radio falls in the electromagnetic spectrum.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

CB radio is restricted to low power, about 5 watts, and short range communications. Amateur radio is allowed to use up to 1000 watts and unlimited range. CB channels are limited to 40 and in an urban area, they can become very busy. Amateur wavebands are wider and have more space, so it is not as crowded. Amateur operators may use AM, SSB. (Single Side Band), FM teletype, and TV. CB doesn’t need a license or testing. Amateur radio operators must pass examinations and purchase licenses.

There are many types of amateur radio licenses available.

Novice – Permits transmissions by Morse and single sideband voice between 28.3 and 28.5 MHz and radio teletype from 28.1 to 28.3 MHz. Between 222.01 and 223.91 MHz and from 1270 to 1295 MHz, Single side band and FM voice. This band also uses TV. For novice you need to pass an examination on theory.

Technician – you are limited to voice on the same frequencies as the novice license and may also use the VHF and UHF radio frequencies. A theory exam must be passed, including part on FCC rules.

General – A permit for communication by Morse, AM, FM, SSB, slow scan television, and radio teletype on HF, VHF and UHF frequencies. This requires passing an exam on FCC regulations and general radio theory.

Advanced – Gives access to more High Frequency areas. Needs the applicant to hold the General license and pass a more advanced theory examination.

Extra Class – Holders of this license have total access to all HF VHF and UHF frequencies which have been assigned to amateur radio. For this license you must have passed the general and advanced exams, be able to copy Morse code at 20 words per minute and complete an examination on the more complex aspects of radio theory, operations and FCC rules.

The American Radio Relay League will give you information and materials that you need to tale and pass the examinations for the level of license you want to try for.

Don’t like exams? Don’t have time to study and take them? You can still join the radio users group with the exam-free and license -free CB radio. All you need is the equipment.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

Ten meters is normally only used during the day, however it is possible to listen in on Europe in the early morning, the rest of the US in the afternoon, and the Pacific and East Asia in the evening. What makes the 10 meter so attractive, is that it’s possible to communicate over large distances, especially when there is a lot of solar activity. This is because the signal can more easily bounce around in the stratosphere during those times.

The 10 meter wave band is in the shortwave spectrum, where there are a high volume of Morse code transmissions. For those of you more interested in communicating by voice, the SSB, single side band, is available as well. One of the draws to radio is the fact that you can contact people in far away countries, as well as send and receive QSL cards to show off the number of contacts. Think of a grown up version of trading cards, that’s essentially what it is.

Single Side Band was originally called SSC, single side band suppressed carrier, and was patented in 1915. In 1927 a commercial service was started for the use of SSB for transatlantic communication. It was an incredibly expensive service at the time. At $75 for a mere three minutes, which is the same as around $760 today.

It wasn’t until the second world war that radio communications advanced and the SSB was used by amateur radio operators.

The Collins Radio Company launched the KWM-1 transceiver, the first one to use SSB which was mobile, in 1957. Collins Radio put all their stock into developing equipment for SSB rather than the development of AM equipment. The end result was that since 1957 SSB has been the standard service used for long distance voice communication.

Then ten meter band was opened up and licenses became available to radio amateurs in 1987, and by 2007, the requirement to pass a Morse Code test for licensing was officially dropped. It is not part of the CB radio which doesn’t require any testing or licenses to operate. CB is limited to the 11 meter band, and to lower power transceivers.

Because it enables one to communicate over such a long distance, the ten meter radio has quite the fan club. There is even an official club, known as the ten-ten club, which is international and allows amateur radio enthusiasts from all over the world to communicate.

While it may seem a little bit baffling as to why one would go with something as archaic as the radio, in times when we now have the internet, it all boils down to the nostalgia one feels, and the excitement of never quite knowing who you will run into on the air next.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

If you could look at a map of the areas where there is cell phone coverage, you might be surprised to find that there are a lot of areas that are still blank and will likely stay blank until a substantial population enters those areas. In those holes in the coverage, cell phones are useless.

But, no matter where you are you can use a CB or amateur radio transceiver. Plan for your trip with extra food, water, batteries, a source of heat or a means of shelter. Many people do not think of these preparations, and thus invite a small problem to turn into a disaster.

Hal Whiting is a ‘ham’ from Utah who was taking a trip in Arizona with some friends in 2009. He knew the terrain was bleak, and had made appropriate preparations. Another motorist flagged him down to request help when their cell phones wouldn’t work. When he heard of the emergency, that a woman had been hurt when an ATV rolled over, he used his radio to call for the help she needed.

The radio operator who answered the call was about 50 miles away from them. He called 911 and relayed the request to the Sheriff’s department. The Sheriff asked for the GPS location but no-one could give them. The other driver in Whitings party took a handheld radio and drove to the accident site.

By relaying between the handheld and the Sheriff’s office. A helicopter took to the air and was directed into the area of the accident. They picked up the victim and transported her to hospital in Las Vegas. She recovered from her injuries.

A lot of things had to go right at the right time to have a successful outcome to this incident. The accident victim wasn’t alone. When Whiting came along the road to be waved over, he had the equipment to handle the communications to solve the problem. Someone was listening to a radio to answer Whitings call. Whiting had portable handheld radios to use for staying in contact.

The one party relied on cell phones that didn’t have towers in a remote area. Whiting knew the area and made sure he as ready to communicate without cell phones. Radio is still a very useful and fun activity.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

The convenience of the cell phone removed some of the uses of CB radio, not not even close to all of them. Actually its own popularity caused it more damage than cell phones did. Now the CB user group is growing again. Here are some of the reasons.

1. Licensing. CB radio in the USA does not need a license. It is controlled by the FCC and you need a copy of the FCC rules. The CB radios in the US and Canada use Amplitude Modulation to put the voice on the carrier wave. Frequency Modulation is used in Europe and England.

2. Base station, mobile, or handheld? These are the choices for the person wishing to begin using CB radio. The lowest power and shortest range are the handheld units, because of power limitations and a much shorter antenna.

3. Call Signs. The US does not use call signs for CB radio. Users there choose pseudonyms called ‘handles’ Call signs are required in some other countries.

4. CB Channels. The FCC allocated 40 channels in the 27 MHz band for the use of CB radios. The FCC ruled that channel 9 was to be reserved for emergencies. and recommended that the channels on either side not be heavily used to avoid overflow interference on channel 9.

5. Squelch. A squelch actually removes from the signal all of the signal below a certain voltage. Only if the power is greater than the squelch setting will anything be heard. This will make it much more pleasant to listen without all the squeals and crackles that might be there. Too low a squelch setting and you will hear all of the noise. Too high and you will not hear any calls. So, turn it until the noise just disappears and leave it there. You may wish to adjust it periodically, because noise conditions will change with time and as your location changes.

6. Long Distance (skip). CB radio is short range, useful from 5 to 15 miles. However depending on the dryness of the air and the charge on the ionosphere, created by sunspots, the line of sight signals can bounce off the ionosphere and come back to earth hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Of course, one of the FCC rules is that users in the USA are prohibited from talking to people more than 150 miles away by CB radio.

7. Usefulness. AS well as providing on-the-go communications, CB radio base stations can be powered from a battery or a 12 volt direct current power supply. A base station will run for a couple of weeks if needed. This means that even if all the wires are down and the towers have no juice, you can talk to other users and likely the emergency services in your area. The most useful times come in the most disastrous conditions, after hurricanes, or earthquakes for example.

After the overcrowded 80′s and 90′s, the CB radio is again increasing the number of users. After cell phones reached a peak, people realized that there were times when the CB radio would do a better job. Almost always the CB will let you communicate without needing to know numbers.

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.

Since its beginning, radio has been the help in emergencies. Design and development has given us send and receive radios that we can use in our houses and in our cars. If the power is out, those with a radio likely have the only source of communication you can count on.

Cell phones which rely on internal batteries and a tower network is vulnerable to extended periods without an electrical supply. Radio needs only a car battery which has enough power for many days of operation.

If you are in an area where natural disaster can happen, then a radio might be considered a good choice. Disasters can include, ice storms, blizzards, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, electrical storms, and many others.

Is your home area free of all of these? Mine isn’t.

Camping and hiking in wilderness areas can be an enjoyable activity. There are still very large areas with no cell phone coverage. Hand held CB radios will provide a way to communicate with others if you need to. The radio can give warning of predictable events that may be a danger to you, such as bad weather. You will also be able to call for help if you need it. A minor injury in the wrong place could turn into a life-threatening event.

A radio should be a must for anyone venturing into areas where there are few other people. A sudden storm or a landslide, or even a simple fall can become a serious disaster. All pilots get training in operating a radio, and ships have carried radios ever since they became available, saving thousands of lives over the decades.

Traveling can be lonely. Being able to talk with your home or to other people on the CB radio, depending on how far you are from home, can help a lot to avoid boredom and dangerous highway hypnosis. You can’t talk to the cell phone of the car in front of you, unless the car is for sale.

The radio can let you know if there is bad weather forecast, help you find open motels, guide you to a good restaurant that you would never find on your own. The CB radio shares with you, and you can share with others, all of the experiences to make life easier.

If you want to make a difference, CB clubs often are organized to provide observation of walking and bike marathons. A radio in the right place can direct an ambulance or summon the police or fire department, helping these overloaded public servants to be more effective. Training in observation and reporting is a part of being one of these helpers.

CB radio frequencies are monitored for calls for help, whether emergency or just for information. You should be able to find one of these groups if you want to help. Drive around. Watch for trouble late on Halloween, cruise the route of a bike race, or a school hiking trip. Learn first aid and go to help those who need it. You can be a radio hero.

Wouldn’t you like to know more about amateur or CB radio?

You can learn more about different models of 10 Meter Radios and handheld CB radio at 10 Meter Radios.