Preppers Guide to Radio Comms eBook

Congratulations to Essex-based Paul G7BHE, who this month has published a new book aimed at the UK’s prepper and bushcraft community, on the subject of radio comms.

The book’s called: PrepComms UK: A Practical Guide to Radio Communications for the Bushcraft, Prepper and Wild Camping Community

… and it does just what it says on the EMP-hardened tin. In this electronic book (available for the Amazon Kindle), preppers will find:

• The importance of radio comms
• OPSEC (Privacy / security)
• Making your own antenna
• How to get a ham radio licence
• Your radio “Go” bag
• Protecting your radio kit from various EMP events
• A glossary of radio terms
• A very handy table of frequencies for PMR, CB radio, ham radio (VHF/UHF), marine and air band
  Plus Phonetic Alphabet and Morse code reference tables

As Paul is both a radio ham and a personal friend, any review I give will obviously be biased, but a book like this is likely to be of interest to all sorts of radio users, I’ll give a basic overview on the content of PrepComms UK:

The book covers many of the bases that you’ll find on an amateur radio Foundation course, including a look at radio frequencies vs. wavelength, some of the common radio terms and a basic overview of propagation. There’s a good introduction to several basic handheld and mobile radios and accessories, handy for buying a suitable radio, as well as a handy comparison of common RF connectors. Also mentioned is the subject of handset programming (using Chirp), repeaters, digital voice systems, plus information on offsets and CTCSS tones.

An entire chapter is dedicated to making a Slim Jim, in plain English, as an easy walkthough together with drawings and measurements.

Also covered, the “Go” bag – ready to be grabbed in case of emergency and full of much of the stuff that radio hams carry with them on a typical field day. There are lots of sensible suggestions, and Paul’s also suggested the inclusion of a ‘burner phone’, but for reasons other than as a replacement for radio comms.

Radio amateurs reading our summary will be pleased to note that amateur radio is portrayed in a positive light, covers the basics of getting an amateur radio licence, and even mentions RAYNET.

Towards the close of the main content of the book, there’s a look at the risks and mitigation involved with various types of EMP bursts on radio equipment and other electronic devices – presumably a common concern for some preppers. As well as explaining the various types of event, there’s discussion of screening and improvising a Faraday cage.

At the back of the eBook is a very handy reference section, with detailed frequency lists for PMR, CB radio, ham radio (VHF/UHF), marine and air band, as well as a Phonetic alphabet, Morse crib sheet and a basic glossary.

For us ‘radio hams’, much of the content is pretty basic and is covered off at Foundation, but it’s been presented by Paul in such a way as to be accessible to anyone with a passing interest in making use of radio comms either in an emergency, or whilst away from home in the wild.

Well done to Paul G7BHE on putting together such a comprehensive book which will hopefully draw amateur radio to the attention of a new audience – something that’s currently the focus of the RSGB’s 2022 strategy.