CB emergency frequency

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spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#205614 19-Nov-2016 17:24

Hi,

Can someone advise a VHF/UHF frequency that I can call in case of emergency (call for a help or something like when mobile/phone line is down)?

The only one that I'm thinking about is a marine channel 16.

I'm in WLG.

Cheers,

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902 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1701073 10-Jan-2017 18:07

UHF CB Channel 5 is considered an emergency channel. Sometimes used duplex with channel 35 (for input)

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

sbiddle

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#1701088 10-Jan-2017 18:56

Simple answer is there isn't one. A UHF CB freq relies on a random person listening at the time.

Oblivian

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#1701132 10-Jan-2017 21:16

Someone asked this in our local PRS facey just recently

Best bet would be a dual/tri bander on CH11 AM and hope a trucky was a. near b. listening c. not swapped out his CB for Teamtalk/Fleetlink

Aussies rely on UHF for the distance over AM, so the do use them a lot more religiously than here in kiwiland. Theres PRS repeater in wellington we can sometimes hit from here you should jump on and have a natter to the lads with

http://prswellington.wixsite.com/prs-wellington

Geektastic

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#1701314 11-Jan-2017 11:31

PRS facey

What now?

Paparangi

166 posts

Master Geek

#1701322 11-Jan-2017 11:37

Geektastic:

PRS facey

What now?

PRS facebook group.

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#1702898 13-Jan-2017 20:20

Nice to have some feedback on my post finally :-).

So, the answer is NO.

That sounds quite disappointing. Especially in NZ, where earthquakes are not unusual and tsunamis are possible.

What communication should be used by regular people in case if mobile network is not functioning and no electricity at your house? Smoke signals, I presume...

It looks like HAM folks are manly busy with protecting their frequencies from regular people and some of them are saying that even PRS channel 8 is for "radio enthusiasts" and shouldn't be used by anyone else...

Wouldn't it be great if HAM folks dedicate some of their many repeaters (that are silent 99.9% of time) for the purposes of emergency communications with regular 'non ham' operators?

Rikkitic

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#1702899 13-Jan-2017 20:26

spoonboy:

Nice to have some feedback on my post finally :-).

So, the answer is NO.

That sounds quite disappointing. Especially in NZ, where earthquakes are not unusual and tsunamis are possible.

What communication should be used by regular people in case if mobile network is not functioning and no electricity at your house? Smoke signals, I presume...

It looks like HAM folks are manly busy with protecting their frequencies from regular people and some of them are saying that even PRS channel 8 is for "radio enthusiasts" and shouldn't be used by anyone else...

Wouldn't it be great if HAM folks dedicate some of their many repeaters (that are silent 99.9% of time) for the purposes of emergency communications with regular 'non ham' operators?

Not sure about the rules in this country but elsewhere it is not even legal for a licensed ham to communicate with an unlicensed operator.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

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Jase2985

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#1702902 13-Jan-2017 20:41

well if your cell phone network is down you can still make emergency calls on another providers network

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#1702916 13-Jan-2017 21:54

Not sure about the rules in this country but elsewhere it is not even legal for a licensed ham to communicate with an unlicensed operator.

I think that this is applicable to the HAM frequencies only.

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#1702921 13-Jan-2017 22:11

Jase2985:

well if your cell phone network is down you can still make emergency calls on another providers network

This is true. But you should take into account that not all mobiles can work with all nz operators as they are using different standards.

As well, some operators are sharing equipment, so, that if one base station is down you can loose more than one operator.

vpsnine

17 posts

Geek

#1702955 13-Jan-2017 22:36

if earthquakes and tsunamis are you concern, if things are that bad that you need help, I am not sure there is going to be anyone to talk to in range of a CB radio and repeaters could easy be down too

Best to get a satellite phone then or qualify as a ham radio operator where you can use enough power to get more range

Aredwood

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1702983 13-Jan-2017 23:14

Only other option would be one of those personal locator beacons like what mountaineers use. As they use satellites. And even that should only be used if you are unable to make a 111 call. The HAM frequencies, CB ect are not monitored by the emergency services. So should only be a last resort.

If you are that worried then get a backup power system so you will still have working internet / VOIP during a power cut. (Constant Vigil Lite if you want an off the shelf solution). A means of charging your cellphone during a power cut (car charger). And a cellphone that is capable of being used on all 3 networks.

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#1703012 14-Jan-2017 00:01

Aredwood:

Only other option would be one of those personal locator beacons like what mountaineers use. As they use satellites. And even that should only be used if you are unable to make a 111 call. The HAM frequencies, CB ect are not monitored by the emergency services. So should only be a last resort.

If you are that worried then get a backup power system so you will still have working internet / VOIP during a power cut. (Constant Vigil Lite if you want an off the shelf solution). A means of charging your cellphone during a power cut (car charger). And a cellphone that is capable of being used on all 3 networks.

I've considered the beacons as well. They are not quite designed for the purpose. They can inform your location, but you're not getting a response/confirmation and can't talk to describe your situation and what kind of help you need. Emergency services will be heavily overloaded and working based on a priority . What would be your priority if they don't know your condition?

Now, regarding the reliability of landline services.

At the last year 7.8 earthquake I monitored both the geonet and chorus web sites in a real time and there was quite an obvious correlation between the earthquake affected areas and network failures. You could effectively see the earthquake location on the chorus site.

spoonboy

126 posts

Master Geek

#1703014 14-Jan-2017 00:12

vpsnine:

if earthquakes and tsunamis are you concern, if things are that bad that you need help, I am not sure there is going to be anyone to talk to in range of a CB radio and repeaters could easy be down too

Best to get a satellite phone then or qualify as a ham radio operator where you can use enough power to get more range

NZ ham repeaters are actually part of the AREC framework and probably prepared for situations . But the advantage of the 2 way radio is that you can actually communicate even if repeater is down.

kiwirock

685 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1703019 14-Jan-2017 03:22

Sorry finding it hard to read these messages, video ads take up 1/4 of the screen in Firefox with Geekzone again. Hard to read on a 1024x768 monitor the two to three lines that squeeze under the ads.

I use PRS gear. Some enthusiasts have radios that jump to an active channel when strong enough. That's how I got in to a conversation with a guy only minutes after I bought some 2 Watt handhelds. I keep one at home and the other in the car, both within range of each other. In hindsight I should have bought a 5W handheld however the price jump is a lot higher, and for the most part I only bought them to communicate when up a transmission tower or on the road in convoy.

There is no official emergency channel like in Australia. I find it a bit silly the emergency channel is separate from their calling channel. It's kind of pointless unless you monitor both at the same time. At least with marine the emergency channel can be used for brief calling before switching channels so at least others nearby are listening for calls and emergencies on channel 16.

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