BOB SIGINT/Communications bag

I am currently putting together a Bug Out Bag communications package (everything to fit into a laptop bag) which can acquire SIGINT (signals intelligence) including DVB-T and DVB-S and DAB/DAB+ radio and be able to communicate using electronic means (various cost effective wireless and landline)

Funcube Dongle Pro + (not yet released due for release in October but is a wideband USB SDR radio receiver front end 150kHz-240MHz and 420MHz-1.9GHz)

PowerTraveller Power Gorilla Portable Power Device.

Brunton 26 Watt Foldable Solar Array.

Samsung 305U 11.6 inch Netbook - Silver (AMD E450 1.65GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, LAN, WLAN, BT, Webcam, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit)
Installed Software - X-lite VOIP Softphone, Wouxun KG-UVD1P programming software and SDR-Radio.

BT GPS receiver.

ZTE MF60 UMTS / HSPA+ 21Mbit/s - 21Mbps Mobile Hotspot Network Router 2G / 3G / HSUPA / HSDPA / UMTS / WLAN / MiFi

A pair of Wouxun KG-UVD1P 144 / 440 MHz Dual band VHF/UHF Handheld Transceivers + 12v charger etc,

ClimaxDigital DTV300 TV DVB-T USB 2.0 Tuner/Receiver/Adapter/Dongle/Stick Freeview with Aerial, Remote Control for PC and Laptop (supports XP / Vista 32bit/64bit/Windows 7 32bit/64bit) with FM and DAB/DAB+ Digital Audio

PSTN corded telephone - BT Duet 210 Corded Telephone + NTE5 faceplate.

Various – Ethernet, USB cables etc, SDHC cards etc.

Flyye MID Notebook Bag Laptop Case MOLLE Khaki

I’m now currently looking for an portable DVB-S USB dongle i.e. TechnoTrend S-2400 DVB-S USB 2.0 adapter or TeVii S660 and a folding Satellite dish antenna. (any recommendations)
Although a satellite dish could probably be acquired quite easily in any UK urban environment.

Any other ideas, especially if low cost alternatives?

AFLM... I'll admit I'm way behind on the computer gizmos, so a little help please... at one time I had a pretty good background in SIGINT collection and analysis....mostly Morse (CW) on HF , and VHF voice...we had some pretty sophisticated antennas, especially for the lower frequencies...how does the dongle gizmo receive the lower freqs that would require a longer antenna...do you have access to the AN-FLR9 at RAF Chicksands...

weather radio, am/fm, frms radio, spare cell phone () and variety of chargers, wif antenna

Maybe you have this covered, but I don't see a small multi-band conventional portable radio with good HF coverage. I have an ancient Zenith Trans-Oceanic that is huge, soaks up lots of power and weighs a ton, and a Grundig mini-world 100 that fits in my shirt pocket that gives almost the same frequency coverage, though it does lack the Zenith's BFO for receiving Morse code and a input for an external HF antenna (e.g. that AN/FLR-9 or just a plain old long wire).

IMO, when "bugging out" a simple multi-band radio is really one of the first things to look to in gaining situational awareness.

My approach is somewhat different. My primary amateur radio HT is a Kenwood TH-F6A, which in addition to transmitting on 2m/1.25m/70cm also has wideband receive. SDRs are pretty awesome, but my HT has ridiculously long battery life in a very small package(*), and is much easier to listen to on the move.

My wife and one of my daughters have the same Wouxun unit you have. It receives FM broadcast and NOAA weather radio, so it's very good for gathering information even thought it can't pick up the AM, shortwave broadcast and HF ham bands that my TH-F6A can.

(* - as in a full day of participating in an EMCOMM net and finding my first battery still reading "full" without recharging)

Holy smokes! I have a set of FRS walkie talkies I can reach my neighbor with that has all the comm gear.

Thats one subject that is just waaaaay beyond me,I consider myself novice at best with computer,then it goes downhill from there.....

Maybe I should get a CB in the truck(that sure was handy when we traveled a lot) might work if stranded in vehicle on mtn in weather,but beyond that,wow,too techy for me,I just cant grasp it. Am I alone?

my stuff is relatively old and not very high tech...

my radio is an old Grundig FR200 without solar, but has crank dynamo that charges NiMH, and runs on AAs... did well in the O4/05 hurricane season...

my weather alert radio is a Midland W300 that also runs on AAs

digital Insignia portable TV...picks up only 5 stations locally on single antenna, but they have very good weather... but has cable input for rest of the channels...12v adapter

cell phone is old Motorola RAZR that can charge from 120v, 12v, USB mini... plan on using the Guide 10 pack for a single charge.. dedicated 120v/12v cell chargers that don't do double duty

I guess the heart of my system is the Goal Zero 7w panel and Guide 10 pack to keep a dozen Sanyo AA Eneloops charged... I have an additional 120v/12v controller charger

I do have a peaked CB in the car with a tuned roof mount antenna, that is good for about 3miles..I would not rely on it in an emergency

Unfortunately, an AN-FLR9 won't fit in to the Laptop Bag so no SLF or ULF etc frequency reception. The setup is is really just a small laptop Windows 7 PC running software that emulates a radio receiver (Software Defined Radio SDR) with a number of RF adapter dongles attached to the USB computer port, which will tune to HF, VHF, UHF and the majority part of the microwave L band.

This allows the reception of Digital TV/radio broadcasts (DVB-T) and Digital TV Satellite broadcasts (DVB-S) and also Digital Radio Broadcasts called DAB/DAB+, which were seen as a replacement for conventional FM Broadcasts.

The Funcube Dongle Pro+ is a wide band SDR front end receiver, which can receive wideband frequencies from HF, VHF, UHF and microwave L Band signals. i.e. the ability to listen to HAM SW (AM and VHF+UHF FM), Commercial SW, MW, LW and FM broadcasts. SDR greatest benefit is to be able to demodulated broadcasts signals whether it is CW, SSB, LSB, conventional AM, conventional FM and a whole host of other carrier modulations used in digital data broadcasts such as telemetry such as NOAA 18 satellite photography.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCn_rk2Dr7Y

or INMARSAT, UHF MIL SATCOM and a whole host of other Transponders such as amateur satellite such as Funcube. Even EME (Earth Moon Earth) is possible etc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30IHW5I-sKQ

using a homemade INMARSAT antenna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=Xcaco7awiqg&NR=1

The software SDR-RADIO V1.5 also allows you to access other SDR front end receivers and antenna's via the Internet for short periods of time to allow you listen into SW radio broadcasts all over the world through a network of localised SDR-IQ receiver front ends.

http://sdr-radio.com/Download/tabid/178/language/en-GB/Default.aspx

The other kit is for a Solar Power PV and Lithium Battery power supply and the ability to maintain an Internet connection, when power and infrastructure fails.

So I should also really include an ADSL modem and microfilter such as the Speedtouch 330 'frog'ADSL modem and a USB dial up V.92 modem all of which can be powered from a USB computer port.

Other functions such as Instant Messenger, Email, FTP, VOIP etc are well known Internet protocols for worldwide communications.

The pair of Wouxun dual bander transceivers can be useful for local radio communications especially if they are programmed for local repeaters. They can also be programmed to TX/RX local PMR446 radio frequencies but not limited to the 500mW power i.e. the equivalent of US FRS etc. The 4 W UHF TX on the Wouxan compared to the 0.5W would probably make for the FRS/PRM446 range promises on the packaging/box actually seem realistic.

I have a small Tecsun PL-360 SW/LW/MW/FM commercial broadcast radio receiver, which is very compact and will quickly scan all frequencies. It will not readily pick up CW/SSB/USB or Air Band FM though. It uses digital IF signal processing so gives very reasonable sensitivity and high speed tuning for its size. It would be useful though as a backup for conventional radio being quite compact and can use conventional AA batteries. The AA cells can even be recharged though its USB power port.

Power requirements are one of the downsides to a PC based SDR setup, hence the El cheapo handheld Wouxuns HTs/Walkie Talkies.

The PC based solution does have its upsides though, such as the ability to record and playback video/audio from TV/radio broadcast via terrestrial and Satellite broadcasts. In an emergency situation, the lack of power is probably the main reason normal communications infrastructure is non functioning such as landline (PSTN or POTS, ADSL Broadband, Fibre etc) and cellular access. (2.5G, 3G and 4G).

Has there been any official analysis of just what exactly has the highest failure risk for communication technical failures and what backups or additional resources can be brought to bare to resolve the communications outage ASAP. In the UK PSTN/POTS telephone exchanges can fail, underground trucking node points can catch fire or be flooded, Internet Routers can be stolen, cables can be dug up accidentally and wide area power outages can happen leading to radio/tv broadcast transmissions ceasing.

Then there is the reliability of any information resource, which will usually be driven by a human intelligence (TV and Radio journalistic standards/psychological operations, gossip and propaganda propagation) i.e. especially from National SW broadcasters.

Then there is the unrelenting information deficit that happens to todays folks (which is probably a modern phenomenon) that cannot bare to left not knowing what is going on in an emergency situation and can become highly stressed when folks are not informed as to what is happening in something as simple as a power outage let alone if their Internet has gone down and cannot carry out their gossip on Facebook for example.

Unfortunately, tuning into a HAM operator talking about his radio propagation problems in the SW AM probably wouldn't be able to satisfy the information comforter (news broadcast entertainment/gossip) required by folks today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZGNTw1uQbU