Preppers need to get the HAM radio technician license. And a radio along the lines of a Yaesu FT-60R. Radios are important to communicate as Cell Service will be down for long periods, and land lines will cease when the electric grid stays down awhile. Field Phones are a good option as well, but useless beyond the length of wire you have. The real threat to communications is an EMP attack. Then likely only radios that were stored in a Faraday cage will likely work. Surprisingly, many gun safes will properly shield electronics.
Just some food for though...
Good topic.
How far can I reach with something like that and what level of license would I need.
The wife works in the Loop and that is about 40 miles from home. So what are my chances of communicating if she has that?
Ham licenses come in 3 flavors Technician, General, and Enhanced General. Technician will take about 1-2 weeks of study for to pass the test. The General is much harder. And the Enhanced is really for dedicated radio people. The cost of these tests is $14 and a Ham radio club in Schaumburg gives the tests. The license lasts for 25 years. Most hand held radios are good for 5-8 miles, and far longer if the repeaters (think of them as relay stations) are up. In a grid down situation these would likely be the last things to go down, but they will. A good antenna (think JPole) will greatly increase your range, mounted to your home, or better yet, in your attic.
I am by no means a radio expert. There is TONS I don't know, but I am learning. The other thing to remember is that all radio communications is like a giant party line. Anyone that wants too, can listen in.
KC6UOO. I have had mine for about 26 years. Its just a Technicians license bit I have it. I got it when I was volunteering for our local D.A.R.T. Disaster Assistance Response Team. We were light search and rescue.
Mine is recent, KD9DEX. It's about 6 months old. I just recently have studied the radio aspect of SHTF scenarios. I have a couple of GRMS radios (glorified walkie-talkies) as well (license no longer needed, as of this year).
Also, you can download a free program called 'Chirp' to your computer. I can forward you a data file that Chirp can load into your radio of all the Chicago area repeaters. There are videos on YouTube that show you exactly how to do this.