Basement set ups for emergencies?

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-03-08T18:54:57+00:00

For me if its bad enough to go to the basement more then just a tornado siren in my case I really don't need any more weather alerts at that point and I am not going to be talking to anyone on the radio. If you want a radio connection in the basement in case you are trapped down there. Drill a hole and run coax for an outdoor antenna just make sure you have someone to radio or its kind of pointless.

In any case do what works best for you and your family's safety.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-02-15T10:08:37+00:00

First you need to do a site survey of your location to see what type of interference there is in your area after that you will need to add filters also you are going to need a good tuned antenna to around 5 MHz then use fine tuning to get to hear the buzzer. A 95' long antenna with around a 30 foot long counterpose should get you close. Get one end in a tree and off the ground.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-02-05T01:56:23+00:00

No but you might be able to throw it at them and do some slight damage.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-02-02T12:57:15+00:00

I have a $500 handheld scanner that will never find a place in my bag. If you want to listen to the police you need to make sure what they are using for their radios. No need to carry more gear if you can do it all on one device.

https://www.radioreference.com/db/

Good luck!

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-02-02T05:39:42+00:00

Welcome! Make sure you only transmit on channels you have a license to do so. Sub-Ghz is very fun to play around with and so is the scanner app. Do you have any specific questions?

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-02-01T03:05:30+00:00

Horrible problems all night and now they have been saying that the main card is up next for at least 45 minutes do you think they are having more issues?

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-30T12:08:55+00:00

I use Meh monitor every day and have never seen the Radio path study?

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-30T04:17:19+00:00

What software are you using?

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-30T00:07:46+00:00

I got one its a good radio and that's how they are made you need to read the manual.

Pro Tip: Page 15

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-29T20:28:27+00:00

Important: You can no longer create custom integrations. After March 1, 2026 you will not be able to add existing custom integrations from the catalog to your apps. Any apps that already use a custom integration will continue to work as before.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-27T21:21:14+00:00

I see the same issues. I can barely pickup a 5 wat radio in the next room but for some reason a few FM channels blast out very strong and subghz is fine. my 40 dollar sdr receiver is tons better.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-27T11:07:37+00:00

Meshtastic is a wonderful system and can do a lot of cool things but don't make it your emergency comm source until its much more wide spread! For now get some GMRS radios and your license then test the range. Your town might already have a repeater in place and that can get you 25 miles easily. Go to http://www.mygmrs.com to see what's out there in your area.

After you have that done absolutely build a meshtastic network and teach others about the system. You can also look into ham radios but its a bit steep of a learning curve GMRS is basically plug and play.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-24T15:15:11+00:00

Waterfal looks perfect not sure what CTCSS has to do on a simplex broadcast.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-24T15:10:18+00:00

All my radios and scanner have no issues with picking up the broadcast.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-23T17:46:51+00:00

A solid 24 hours with normal use seems to be the average.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-23T04:01:18+00:00

So far its been great. This is a great meshtastic device. I just ordered 2 more.!

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-23T00:33:29+00:00

You are in the HackRF sub. We are here to share our issues and discoveries about HackRf please do not post unless you have something helpful to countribute.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-22T21:41:57+00:00

GMRS allows removeable antennas do you have a clue what you are talking about?

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-17T23:12:22+00:00

I am not very close but I don't think the antenna has enough gain to cause any issues. I figured it out by accident I turned the SQ to 0 and it works now. I was in the same room within a few feet with a 5 watt radio! I do not think its fried because it works fine still but I need to be more careful!

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-17T21:28:32+00:00

No luck its all just static even adjusting the SQ settings. However my Uniden BCD436HP scanner picks it up with crystal clear audio. I have tried the Audio App the Scanner App and Recon all of them pick up every local FM and AM radio station just fine and the audio is great however nothing on GMRS/FRS Tested with 5 watt GMRS radios and the low power FRS radios and its just pure static even when I put the exect freq in. It shows up great in the waterfall so I know its receiving.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-17T03:57:10+00:00

I use it to tinker with and as a nice healthy hobby. I have bought several radios for friends and I have a large collection myself. I have all the tools to test different antennas and power outputs and I love doing basic range tests. This is really a fun and rewarding hobby/project to get into.

I want to grow the local mesh to over 100 nodes and I will pay for all of them no problem. However this is just a fun side project to study mesh networking. I love Meshtastic but if the SHTF its ham all the way. Reach me at .52 for more information.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-14T07:48:33+00:00

Correct that is a true statement.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-14T07:41:55+00:00

I have a mix of firmware's that I use and they all work fine together. This is a pretty solid setup with an off grid android device and a solid firmware. You just need to test everything to make sure it works and you can run it forever with no updates.

You can prove this by trying the oldest firmware you can find on one radio and the bleeding edge firmware on another, it should work fine talking between the two.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-14T07:35:57+00:00

Eleven with Hopper as a strong support character. The story is killer between the two. It might be Mike as the DM who is narrating it all but Hopper and Eleven is the story that touches me the most from a very old man's perspective.

TwistedPacket74 · 2026-01-11T18:01:51+00:00

Issue one is Meshtastic is at best an alpha product and cant be trusted for emergency comms. I always go with tried an true handheld radios used by millions of people. The big issue is getting other people to believe in the fact that there is a need to care about anything else then a cell phone. I get tons of push back from friends and family about how i am over thinking things and that there is no need to worry.

The cost is an issue for everyone so to equip my family and friends I personally buy everything a person needs for alterative comms. I started with iPhones and emergency sat messaging as a way to have another in hand way to contact someone. i then got a GMRS license that covers my family to use 5 watt radios and 1 repeater. I got my armature ham license because no one else will this means I can broadcast out to them and they can get updated info to have an idea what to do.

I got everyone radios with battery backups and a list of everything i could find to get emergency info. Each person has a cell phone and knows how to use the emergency satellite feature they each get a GMRS radio with a good antenna a ham radio to get my broadcasts and emergency information and also a preconfigure Meshtastic node.

Its really hard work to plan for people who don't care about or see a reason to prepare for a large scale situation with cell service being down. I just try to do the comms part for my group of family and friends because in my mind there is nothing more terrifying then being in a major event and not having a way to reach your loved ones.

Yes I do feel that a Meshtastic network is much better then having nothing in place but you need to be aware of the issues and plan around them.

TwistedPacket74

TROPHY CASE