All this talk about cell phones has really reinforced my decision to get in to HAM. A small radio (bigger then a cellphone, but much smaller then a large police walkietalkie) can solve most of the problems people are discussing with cell phones. Under normal circumstances, cellphones are the most convienent and efficient way to use a radio. But in an emergency, either a break down of society's support system or a personal crisis in the boonies, the HAM radio gives you far more options. People are talking about attaching external antennas to cellphones. HAMs are already set up to work with external antennas. You can throw a piece of wire up in a tree and talk around the world, literally. You can use HAM radios to tie into the phone system and dial like a cell phone if you can hit someone's repeater. You can relay a message through other HAMs since emergency traffic takes priority and is one of the reasons amatuer radio exists.

I'll be taking my HAM license test after Christmas and I can tell you its probably less difficult then getting your first drivers license. There are a lot of HAMs in emergency responce groups, just look up ARES or RACES. I'm surprised more people on this board aren't HAMs. Take a look at it, HAM is a great solution to alot of these communication questions. Even compared to cellphones and to some extent PLBs, I think HAM takes the cake. PLBs are great if you are incapacitated, once you set it off it will keep calling long after you can. But with HAM, they can still triangulate your position (in fact there's a foxhunt style game HAMs play based on this) plus if you have any special needs you can report them to rescuers. It makes it real easy to say "We have someone with diabetes who needs insulin." Another benefit is that with a PLB you don't know if anyone has heard it, with a HAM radio, you can talk to your rescuers before they arrive. And that morale boost is a great benefit.