If you folks had to choose one for a emergency car bag, would you want a GMRS/FRS radio or 40 ch. C.B. handheld?

do you want to have secure comms or make contact with others for help?.... you might get some "E" layer skip under certain conditions (600 or so miles)with the 27MHz CB... the 462MHz GMRS will have a lot of security channels if you want more secure comms, but both are sold as line of sight communications.. probably 1/2 mile or so reliably...I'm old school, and have a "peaked up" CB in the car with a tuned base loaded magnetic mount antenna, cigarette lighter power tap... I don't have any proof, but think you would more likely make a contact with a trucker (if near interstate) or old school REACT group with the CB, rather than the GMRS which I don't perceive as being "monitored" ... the number of GMRS units turned on in an "incident" would probably increase your chances

In my vehicle's center console I keep a hand-held CB radio. This gets used for day-to-day stuff (such as figuring out the cause of the traffic up ahead on the highway). Otherwise, CB isn't that great of communication method. It's a very wide AM signal with a maximum of 4 watts for a typical CB. This means, in order to get the best performance, you need a very large antenna, and even then you pick up a lot of garbage interference. Other than with truckers, it's basically a dying communication method.

In my kit, I keep an FRS/GMRS radio. This is a much better communication method, as you can easily get 5-watt GMRS radios that operate with a lot less interference. IIRC, you're allowed up to 50 watts of transmitting power on GMRS. (Remember though, that a license is required for GMRS.) It's also a much more common communication method, specifically with people on foot.

With that in mind, FRS/GMRS works fine for general communication among small groups and it's good to have because of commonality, but it's still really not ideal. If you really need the ability to communicate, a HAM radio is the way to go. A basic Technician Class license is easy enough to get and allows for a wide array of communication options. Much more-so than CB or GMRS.

Good point, I was mainly thinking of contacting others for/to help.

I've got a lot of background in CB, even volunteering to monitor channel 9.

I've been away from CB for awhile, and wasn't sure if maybe GMRS/FRS hadn't replaced it and would be a better choice now???

as Paul810 commented the GMRS/FRS are more prevalent...I live near the Gulf of Mexico so there are still a few old timers that monitor CB....(in a former life I was a USAFSS radio traffic analyst, so have more familiarity with the monitoring side)

I would like to tag this question on... I tried to on the cell phone antenna thread, but did not get any response..

there is a walking stick called the CI Gulo Gulo (sold by Wilderness Geek) that is billed as a cell phone gain antenna... I could not find any dB gain information about it... does anyone have any familiarity with this product?

That's closer to what I was intending, this bag will be kept in my car, in fact, "Bug Out Bag" may have been a poor choice of words on my part, "Get Home Bag" is probably better.

Emergency gear to get home, or if stranded to be OK until I can get home.

Southern Illinois is an odd mix, major towns tend to be 15-25 miles apart, with small communities mixed in between, with state routes and interstates connecting them. I know business' use GMRS/FRS a lot, and I even used them myself for the first time last fall deer hunting, but am not sure how much help they would be as an emergency comm.??

I think it comes down to the situation.

I mean, if your car breaks down or something and you're just trying to just get in touch with someone along the highway that can call the police for you or give you a ride, than yea, a CB makes more sense.

If it's a wide-scale emergency in your area (say, something like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina) then you're going to get a lot more communication over GMRS. I mean, it's pretty much the next most common method of group communication after cell-phones.


All in all, if you really want to cover all bases, might as well have both available to you. A set of repeater capable 5-watt FRS/GMRS radios (like the Motorola MR355/6) can be purchased for about $70. A 4-watt hand-held CB radio can be purchased for under $50 if you search around. At that point you're covered either way. With that, plus a good cell phone, you should be able to reach somebody in all but the most remote areas.

The question of emergency BOB communications is a tough one. If you wish to broadcast an SOS message, then someone has to be listening to firstly pick up the message then to pass that message on the appropriate authorities to initiate a rescue. This might be difficult if the emergency is wide spread. But if the emergency is very widespread then it may be best to look into the resiliency of what is out there already. GMRS/FRS has limited range for broadcast and limited power RF capability for what is a UHF frequency line of sight system as hand held sets are typically rated 5W for GMRS and 0.5W for FRS. If the communications system is to kept within a vehicle then portable power requirements are not a problem, but as soon as the vehicle is left behind then power requirements for transmission and reception of a radio signal now become pretty crucial.

I would look to use the current infrastructure that is already in place i.e. the cellular phone network and the fixed line POTS. The probability of making contact with a cell phone tower over a GMRS/FRS user will probably be much higher. Once you have established the hand shake with the tower you will then have access to contact billions of users worldwide. If you contact another GMRS/FRS user the problem of passing the message you want to send to the end user you want to send the message to will most likely have failed as well unless the other GMRS/FRS user has direct access to the already currently installed infrastructure of cellular and POTS telephone systems. You also will then have access to SMS messaging and potentially email and Internet services as well.

The same issues apply to Citizens Band Radio on the 27MHz but radio propagation on the 27Mhz CB system has the potential to propagate further, but with the issue of less monitoring of the radio signal broadcast.

Rather than spending cash on either CB or GMRS/FRS for an portable BOB emergency comms system then I would spend the cash on a directional gain antenna for a cellular phone and a means of powering the cell phone from a renewable source i.e. a solar panel/battery setup such as a Sunlinq solar panel and an external battery store such as an iSun AA BattPak

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/2-4ghz-800-...-n-female-29507

http://cellantenna.co.uk/index.php?id=yagi

I've taken a different approach. I have different ways to power my cellphone, and I'm saving my pennies for a PLB. I have GMRS/FRS radios and a HAM HT (I'm licensed for both), and I don't carry either in my BOB.

Get Home Bag vs. BOB carry pretty big differences in the assumptions which forces major differences in contents.

My car-carried Get Home Bag assumes an EMP has killed my car, everyone else's cars and all electronics. So the only electric stuff in my GHB is a flashlight. (EMP won't kill flashlights or batteries) It's basically austere camping equipment for a couple of long days of walking.

Your scenario of primary concern might be different.