Please dont change. I come to this channel to learn the "boring" stuff. You have open my eyes to a lot of things I haven't even thought about. Just an amazing place to learn.
DSTAR on a bizarro freq works well for short DPRS (DSTAR APRS) bursts sending AES-256-encrypted text files and short unencrypted digital voice comms. DSTAR never really caught on here in the U.S. despite Icom and Kenwood trying to push it and the chip shortage has really exacerbated things to the point where Kenwood just killed off their entire DSTAR-capable HT line and Icom only has a single HT using it. And since DSTAR uses different encoding from every other digital radio spec like the ubiquitous DMR, C4FM, and now P25 the only thing that can really decode it are other DSTAR amateur radios or special-purpose-built USB decoder boards that no one builds because AMBE chips are hard to get now. And unless the eavesdropping DSTAR radio is modded to work on the same bizarro freq you're using, you're pretty much invisible to the atrocious sad hams that never mod their radios to do this. While DSTAR is an "open spec" it requires an AMBE chip to decode and thanks to the chip shortage, there's only a single expensive DSTAR HT you can buy now and it's a low quantity. And it takes know-how on how to configure a special USB AMBE breakout board to decode any captured transmissions, something the locals just won't put time or effort into. For quick-n-dirty use one can use any of the Yaesu System Fusion digital HTs on a bizarro freq using C4FM. The Yaesu FT-70DR is dual-band C4FM digital and only $175 right now and can be modded fairly easily. But to get really, really down-n-dirty, just use a Raspeberry Pi-powered digital hat powered by a 24000mAh battery pack tethered to a burner smartphone in your backpack or open wifi AP at any coffee shop and have the Pi running MMDVM to connect to an overseas VoIP server running Shark RF's open-sourced Connector Protocol Server via encrypted VPN. Set the HT to super-low-power (like .3 watts) and good luck being found when on the move...unless they know your burner smartphone IMEI and track you that way. Fairly secure world-wide voice comms that way. Or go full-bore paranoid and start using Icom's super-expensive Voice-over-Satellite HTs they just came out with - that's AES-256 encrypted from the HTs themselves all the way to the server you can set up and install pretty much anywhere on the planet. That takes a LOT of money. Eventually someone's going to roll their own AES-256 encryption board for digital ham radio HTs/mobiles and then the fun really begins. Right now on my desk sits an AMBE USB board and speaker/mic setup that allows me to talk through DSTAR, DMR, and System Fusion repeaters across the planet using MMDVM I cross-compiled for Windows and doesn't use "the airwaves" at all. And it can even connect to Shark RF's IP connector protocol server software via VPN. The company that made the hardware stopped making it many years ago so it's kind of security-via-obsolescence. Folks can talk to me via their internet-connected repeaters but they don't know *exactly* where I am thanks to the use of random VPN providers. So many rabbit holes, so little time.
Anytone makes a DMR radio with AES-256. Hytera will also sell you AES upgrades where Motorola will not for DMR. As far as obscurity with no encryption goes, if you know what you're doing, what you're looking for, and have the software you can buy old Harris radios with Aegis digital voice. DSD or any other software defined receiver cannot decode unencrypted Aegis. DSD can't even decode the newer (later 90's tech) conventional ProVoice, only trunked ProVoice.
Deployed to Afghanistan, I struggled with the concept of secure communications. I Squirted my military with encryption keys to ensure “protected” communications but, also operated VHF and UHF radios because they had better range for my troops. This episode helps me to understand what I did not appreciate!
@-FreeDonuts worse, I wasn’t military or an officer. I was a State Department sponsored independent Technical Specialist with an alphabet agency working with the military. I complained VOCIFEROUSLY yet to no avail.
@-FreeDonuts None of my personnel or ANY U.S. personnel (military or civilian) hurt or damaged during my tours of duty in Afghanistan or in the Middle East nor any other country I was deployed. As for your comment “poor boy”, you may have missed my dual VHF and UHF radio “secure” frequency management. This “struggle” was conquered. I, and by extension, ANYONE under my protection will never be a VICTIM! In my life, ALL of my life I have never victimized by another or have been a victim.
Maybe I'm just weird, but at this point in the game, the "entertaining" tactical stuff around plate carriers, rifles, and other coolguy HSLD stuff just isn't all that interesting to me because its simple to understand. The more nuanced stuff like this fascinates me. Comms, camouflage, logistics, intel, opsec, landnav; this stuff gets the old juices flowing, and is way more useful than which trigger or cummerbund to buy. I am super glad that you guys, and others like you are putting this kind of info out there. Keep up the amazing work.
Also, what I've found, is that those bases are covered. Checklist items completed. I'll never understand people's constant obsession. If you're older than 25 you should be done with the quality rifle, pistol, EDC, and Armour.
Not weird, honestly those things will keep you alive longer unless you're main plan is to be a direct fighting force then the other stuff may be better first. But it's still wise to have at least a small group whose goals are stealth and surveillance to gather Intel and pass it along to the fighting groups. Having every person trained in everything, equipped with all the good stuff just doesn't make sense in the big picture.
For me, it's that those are already done. I know what makes a good rifle, what makes a good rig, what makes a good plate carrier, ect. And end of the day, those are also very individual, anyway. This stuff, I don't know and I don't know anyone else who knows. This is information underutilized
I second this. Everyone and their uncle has beat the "tacticool" horse to death, and while they're entertaining, not much info is really new. This info is the type that you don't really learn many places and it's not as intuitive,which is why you can train a retard to shoot well but you can't teach a retard to set up different cells and logistics/infrastructure
Being slightly above average proficiency in the basics puts you lightyears ahead of the vast majority. Comms is HUGE. Great video. I sincerely thank you for your content.
I have been joking I will outlive most of my neighbors just by knowing which common weeds are edible. So I agree. Anything we can do to put our skills above the average, the more likely weather the trials.
@@stevebreedlove9760 And what is the caloric content of those edible weeds? Over a year's growth, could a square mile yield 7 days of the full calorie burn of an active man? Can the average human stomach, absent any other buffering inputs, handle/digest these weeds without vomiting them up, or dribbling them out the back, due to alkalinity, acidity, the co-presence of indigestible or irritating alkaloids or other chemicals? If you believe so, please share the region where these weeds grow, the time and condition of harvest and processing if necessary, and the specific names of this/these weeds, as well as full identification attributes of each, if you don't mind?! 😇
S2 barely touched on this, but there are other forms of encryption that don't rely on technology- One Time Pads (OTP) and coded language. An example, the North Korean Numbers Stations, which occasionally say things like "Homework update for our distant education students: Work problems 72, 86,97 and 51". The numbers correlate to values on an one time pad, containing explicit instructions (Ex, maybe 51 = " get updated intel package from dead drop"). Coded language is even easier and kids used to do it all the time, example lets say you and your crew agree that saying "We are going to Jimmys for Pizza" means actually that "x location is no longer secure, go to secondary site"; despite the communication being innocuous and even irrelevant to an outsider, those who know now can take action. None of these systems are perfect of course (no system is) but can be helpful if dealing with substandard equipment / limited training / etc.
Readily-available books make good one-time-pads. Bigger books make for better pads. And periodicals, like magazines and newspapers can be used as rotating pads.
We were taught how to make pin wheel alphanumeric codes in 4th grade, in the early 60s, they work easily and if the code is changed each use, there're unbreakable.
@@SuperCulverin Actually, literature based one time pads are less secure than you think. As a practical code system, it is effective, but it is not secure against NSA Echelon with fast literature search which can actively break it.
@@nikanor8152 I hope its more common but I suppose not. I found S2U about 4 months ago and binge watched everything. Shared with all my trusted circles.
You missed NVIS and how polarization can be used to mask RF. However, I applaud how you covered directional antennas. Directional antennas are hands down the best way to protect emissions. Even within that realm, there are ways to further hide RF emissions. Emission control is key...
NVIS is completely dependent on regional ionispheric conditions (so very limited range of frequencies). I park my ass on 80 meters, NVIS, day or night at my latitude, and I'm good to go. 👍
@@jacobcastro1885 can NVIS get a signal out of a creek valley, up and over a thousand foot ridge line, and into the neighboring valley 3mi away? What about 20mi, same mountainous terrain? Can an NVIS system be man, horse, or vehicle portable? Would this be considered a tactical solution, or more strategic within an AO, with individual teams running line of sight comms?
@@Flack55 yes. NVIS is signal straight up, and straight down. Might be the only thing that works in deep canyons as it is not impacted by terrain AT ALL. The only downside I've found so far is the antenna size. I can fit an 80 meter dipole with 24 guage wire in my cargo pocket, but unrolled, it's 130 ft long.
@@Flack55 portability? I have an elecraft kx3 (kx2 would be even smaller). I add a small lifepo4 battery, a little coax, solar panel and charge controller in a small little package (take it all with me on ultralight backpacking trips). I want to do my first RU-vid video showcasing MY setup. Subscribe to me (along with the 3 others 🤣) and I'll try and get that out. In the meantime, check out Julian "OH8STN" on RU-vid - who was my primary inspiration. 👍
I honeslty appreciate the pragmatic and "boring" tone of your content. Because the day-to-day of any operation is not "entertaining" but 100% necessary to understand and to plan for. I cant fathom why more people don't subscribe. Creative thinking, plans, and strategies can make any SHTF operators more effective. Or just the average man who wants to be left alone. Keep up the great work.
Your videos are so packed full of knowledge I feel truly fortunate I found your channel. I'm currently going to school to work on aircraft and have alot of classes on Radio communications and would like to get into it as a hobby. Especially with everything going on in this country. Communications are vital and I really appreciate all your videos. Keep it up. Thank you and God Bless you man!
i am a 1 year old amature radio operator and I have had quite a difficult time trying to understand why i need to know these other forms of communications ie. dstar ect.. ive always preferred using the old school analog radios., However given the current atmosphere of things I can see why knowing it is actually a good thing. Your method of explanation of the materials has been a TREMENDOUS help for me. So I will soldier on and get ready for my general exams. One other thing, ive always loved radio. since i was a child shortwave put me to sleep at night my parents were involved in military and commercial radio but i never got the bug. It wasnt until a couple of years ago and censorship on media that i decided to buy a cb radio- 11 meter. with ssb. OH MY GOD it was a come to jesus moment . since then ive advanced quickly with 1 of everything..LOL but i especially like the ability to travel the world and not go out of the house. loads of fun.. This topics you have been covering has been great food for thought. I am really enjoying them. Thank you for all the hard work involved in giving us better insights to the world around us..
Perhaps you can now *easily* imagine China and/or Russia, their proxies, singly or in the aggregate, or simply the already embedded military forces... a million operators, 10 million operators... of various cartels/corporations/nations who have mulit-multi billion dollar budgets for an endless supply of devastating toys, taking possession of the North American continent, and dispensing with a majority of the native population via organ harvesting, slave labor, forced breeding, or simple mass execution? Given the incompetency, corruption, vacuousness, moral bankruptcy, moral cowardice, and intellectual deficiency of federal, state and local governance and our devolution from a democratic republic, or a constitutional republic, if you'd prefer, into a fascistic state, as defined by Webster's or any other semi-competent dictionary (no individual or even collective offense meant to any organ of government or individual within any organ, I'm referring to the *systemic* *dysfunction* of the already collapsing system of governance here as evidenced, briefly, by just one of the many indicators and necessities of civilization: the rule of law, which has been in free fall within our territories for at least 22 years now... with a quick, specific example of the death of a canary in that coal mine being the loss of the right of habeas corpus, something so fundamental it is an absolutely bedrock principle upon which the rule of law established free western civilizations for many, many centuries), maybe, just maybe the competent, moral, responsible members of our society should prepare for the total collapse of said governance and military defense so that we can ourselves, out of the necessity to preserve our lives, and the lives of our loved ones, in the absence of our defeated or fallen government, effectively repel occupation by invading or already embedded, but un-activated, despotic enemy forces, whether military, corporate, facially civil, or religious... Jihad is a real thing, btw, not just a talking point for the sham media, a short review of history beginning at yesterday and going back 1,400 years should reveal all you need to know of this religious/totalitarian threat held by every devout muslim, every devout muslim nation, a group comprising over 1 billion people, who also happen to squat over most of the planet's actual free energy, petroleum, and thus have access to actual, real wealth (not just rapidly evaporating empty promises and and the equally evaporating faith upon those now fully empty promises) and resources beyond imagination. Can you make it through that paragraph? If not, try this sentence: If our nation is defeated militarily, or our currency and or system of government falls, or we are struck by a catastrophic natural event sufficient to render our military and or government incapable of functioning, maybe the responsible people of this nation should prepare to be capable of sustaining their lives, the lives of their loved ones, the lives of those in their communities until such a time that our governance and military can be re-constituted. A simple proposition to those aware enough to recognize the reality of the fragility of our systems. And specifically in response to your query, the ability to communicate locally, and at range, openly but also, at times, securely is absolutely essential to organize resources to a sufficient degree so as to achieve the above goals, that of preserving our lives, our property and the re-constitution our system of governance.
I've been thinking about this a lot recently, and the reason us patriots/conservatives haven't been able to manage to accomplish much (or at least it feels like it), is because we don't have a way of communicating without being infiltrated. And I'm not just talking about things like militias, what have you. What I'm talking about is your God given right to fight for freedom without the fear of political harassment, your plans being sabotaged, etc. I really believe that communication or lack of communication in this case, is why it doesn't appear we're winning. That's why they call us the silent majority, not because most of us don't have the balls to say something (well most don't, but that's besides the point), but because when we do say something, they simply silence us. I think this might be one of the most important videos regarding how we win, so kudos to you guys for putting this out there, people really need to hear this. Keep up the good work boys. We will win.
The truth is that private platforms with secure comms do exist but you have to know the owner to trust it. Even then, guys like me can't get people to use our private systems developed precisely to combat censorship because most people are too lazy to migrate and prefer to sit in a leftist cesspool and be discriminated against. Also how do you know who to trust with everyone glowing.
@@ABPHistory should have put quotations around "conservatives". But yeah you're right, conservatives have been asleep while voting for the people who represent them
I have been into radios since the 70's. I'm north of 60 now. My problem is that I will have to set it up because most, if not all that I want to communicate with would not know or have any interest in how it works, just that it does. So, I would provide the radios to them and teach them how to use them in time of need.
Pumped for the hardware analysis, android devices with onboard vhf/uhf modules (mostly Chinese chipsets unfortunately) should be capable of a wide array of frequency coverage, given that it is also a GSM/ CDMA "phone". Rooted devices with custom firmware radios are potentionally very capable (for emergencies of course 😁)
I want to say this. People need to start paying attention to force multipliers. Communications is one primary form of a force multiplier. Most people think this stuff is rocket science, and it kind of is...but its not all that hard. You just have to study a bit. One important thing to note about DMR...functionally you MUST have a technicians license to use them because you need a radio ID to program your phone. In order to get a radio ID you need that license. no way around it that I am aware. Additionally, if you want to make it difficult to be radio "found" transmit with lower power on higher frequencies. Your power dictates how far you can transmit but you will be less likely to be found. Secondly, consider the frequencies you use with a certain type of antenna. NVIS provides the BEST ability to hide your location. This was the same type of protocol the military used in Vietnam and still uses today for non-direct line of sight short range comms.
Was waiting for this video S2U. My Grandfather was a "Ham" before there was an FCC. You should have heard him go on about how the people own the frequencies..not the damned government. He was the primary reason I became a ham and (later) an electrical engineer. I share the same sentiment. Most people that are walking the earth today have never known a time when Federalism was very small and didn't impact their lives. Today we have half our paychecks taken from us before we ever get our hands on our earned wages and we are told what, when, and where we can operate on the radio.
Man I could get so far into the weeds with all this, using speech to text for DMR text, using directional antennas mounted on servos for real time tracking with something like ATAK with multiple means of uploading positions, paired some of the cool stuff being done with SDRs. Cool projects for years, for science of course
CTCSS codes are great if you have radios for young children. They can hear me and I can hear everyone, but my kids don't hear strangers. Still not private really, just isolated from the wider world.
This entire info-dump on "how to maximize radio security," will be insurmountably vital skills to know, when the shtf. As a retired Army 72E, 31L, 31R & most recently a 25U, I approve this video! "When your radio is caput, SSG Williams is afoot. Your commo ace in the hole, G.I. Joel!" (my old .mil email quote)
Can't wait to find out what you recommend for handheld/portable use. Everybody in the tac gear community uses Baofengs and the like but I'd love to find something more secure if it can be acquired legally.
Nothing like this available to us. Com cards are the best thing right now. Meshtastic is looking promising but if you're in rural areas your rf emissions will give you away anyways
@@skm9420 That's why Meshtastic needs a Tor-like store-and-forward module that can obfuscate the origin of messages and provide plausible deniability. Sure, it might cost more airtime, but maybe it's worth it to confound an adversary doing traffic analysis.
My question is. 256bit encryption can be done by a symple circuit (no need to have a huge computer) and its rather fast. I'd wager its possible to build some sort or rasberry pi circuit that interfaces between your PTT and the radio, to turn your voice signal into an encrypted signal, and then the radio just emits that. The reverse function could be applied to the same circuit, making it so you can hear and receive encrypted, and a pass through mode can be applied easily (such as the signal having a "code at the begining" that tells the system "this is encoded, decode it") or otherwise pass it through. With a simple keyboard, you could input a salt "random key of characters" that gets added to the encryption. Sure, maybe its the size of a baofeng battery or a small baofeng, but it could be a viable way to turn "analog" radios into encrypted ones.
I love that you guys push the envelope with the 1st amendment. Too many people are scared to just say how things work because we've been conditioned to replace that with how to comply with tyranny. At the same time it's important to remember that just because the government says you shouldn't doesn't always mean it's more effective. Usually yes, it does mean exactly that but not always. For example AR15s. Military M4s are usually not even as good as a standard AR, the SBR restriction on barrels under 16" is not even a big deal because the 5.56 has optimal performance from a 20" barrel, cqb with a 20" really isn't a big deal, and collapsible buttstocks are neat for ergonomics but way less sturdy than a fixed stock (if it doesn't pass the "push up test" it's not a good stock and forget using the rifle as a melee weapon). Sometimes these restrictions are designed to unconstitutionally decrease your effectiveness, other times the restrictions are just nonsense to appease psychotic anti gunners.
Man, everything about your presentation is just perfect for my brain to accept the information. This could have been any topic, but the writing, simple graphics, and occasional memes kept my ADHD-riddled brain hooked for the entire half hour. I hope you work in education because it's so rare to find this quality of teaching. Thanks for this!
Thank you for your presentation. Well done overview of the problem. Digital mode radios using packet protocols and using AES-256, or better: a fast encoding/decoding true one-time pad with billions of bits of depth (like a DVD or usb thumb drive) is uncrackable provided the one time pad is never reused, and it is secure (not captured.) A purpose built open source SDR (software defined radio) in the form factor of a Yaesu FT-817 can fit the bill of low power, long range, man portable radio, but this is a non-trivial task. But it is what is needed.
Our group is working on local mesh networks for off grid secure/reliable communication Should have some useful additions to the knowledge base by the end of the year, hopefully sooner but things need to be vetted
@@TyMoore95503 encryption in real time is difficult with the bit rates we can utilize from the equipment available off the shelf. Then the next big step is coding an encryption algorithm that is onetime pad based (modern enigma) would be sweet to just have a box that did the encryption that just plugged into your transmitter like enigma So far civil radio encryption is the difficult part but our phones can provide sufficient enough cover with out being overly pedantic about security because big brother has the hardware to Cypher pretty much anything that's from a stock form for commercial coms that I know of so far
We're focusing on real time, that's where my point is focused from. Latency is not Acceptable because we live off grid and we have to do our own policing
Frequency hopping is also doable as long as it’s pre arranged, especially using radios capable of multiple bands. Normally scanners scan in a linear fashion one band at a time, but if you hop bands and frequencies it becomes harder to follow. However, secure communications is always a crap shoot. Just ask anyone who has had to update code keys. Send a it via courier for true security. Hahaha 🤣
This is an excellent channel with very useful information. Thank you for the time and effort in creating this content! I haven't been able to read all the previous 485 comments, but there seems to be a security issue not mentioned. If you are a licensed amateur radio operator and operating "legally" according to FCC rules, using your call sign immediately reveals your name and address in government and amateur radio databases. This is common knowledge to most licensed users, but may result in unexpected exposure to security leaks when getting tech savvy but ignoring the obvious basics. This goes out the window when poop hits the appliance. Keep learning!
Good stuff, I am HAM and recognize that there is many a** holes in the hobby. In fact, I almost did not get my license because them. However, there is a lot of great HAMs, you just don't know it because they are fighting in the shade. The good thing about DMR is many of the grumpy old-times don't like it. So you will be more likely to find more open-minded radio operators. Keep up the amazing work and keep it boring!
I had an old ham tell me that I wasn’t welcome in his hobby because he had spent over $65,000 on radio gear over the last 50 years and that my $100 handy-talky and SSB shortwave was cheating.
@@willytrouble88 Yeah, I only have a technician class license so no expensive HF equipment here. I have couple of HTs and mobile unit mounted in my vehicle. If I do upgrade my license, I could only see myself getting a small DXing HF rig. I like to keep my stuff portable not some giant antenna array and thousands of dollar equipment anchored to my house.
This is God's work bro thank you this isn't "risky" this is freedom of information at its finest and still good knowledge not for illegal purposes just for educational
Ok, I’m a newb, and got confused looking at the different versions of handhelds and basic “desktop” radios… Any possibility of doing a “buyers guide” of currently available options?
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of memes, and to that end I just spent a few k on comm's, got my technician license, studying for general. joined a radio club, but still haven't progressed much, but this properly motivates me to re-engage efforts put on hold the plandemic . You do good work here, thank you for your service.
Keep up the good work! We need more videos like this! Also your videos are interesting and fun to me at least. So when you made that statement towards the end I was like "huh what?!" I had always figured all of us were watching to the end.
I recently found this channel and this is the second video I’ve watched. Soon as he started talking about rules and laws and how they should be treated in certain scenarios I knew I was in the right place. Side note I find this kinda stuff very interesting thank you for helping someone like me who knows jack shit about comms
This is by far my favorite channel run by the alphabet boys. Always good content and since they are getting data from me, I feel like it is a fair trade
My buddies and I used to "encrypt" our messages over radio when we were younger. We had matching dictionaries and would code individual words with page numbers and the word would be the second number going down the page, separated by a dash. Messages would just be jotted down on paper during xmit and rcv to keep translating easy, short and concise over the waves. We also had universal codes, like an emergency would be a string of ninety nines, an urgent message would be proceeded by a string of zeroes, and a routine transmission would just be five clicks of the ptt to get your attention. Sure, maybe not great for every situation, but it was just neighborhood fun back then.
@@TheMajorActual NSA's Echelon would beg to differ on the security of book codes. Still though, they are certainly better than nothing, and if things have gone so far to hell that the NSA is trying to wipe all comms, we probably won't be using electronic comms anyways. Carrier pigeons coming back in 2023?
Great video as always. I’ve wondered if old fashioned encryption like the “one time pads”, that were used by the old Numbers Stations, could still have a practical use for people like us. Intelligence agencies used to transmit messages that people all over the world could tune in and listen to, but the messages themselves couldn’t be cracked. One time pads are still considered to be mathematically unbreakable today.
I was thinking the same thing. It's something to consider that big brother always has deeper pockets than you, so trying to go with bleeding edge encryption tech, expensive radios etc. might not be the best approach. What about going old school, low tech? How many big brother entities are listening to CB radio for example? Especially SSB or even freebanding? Combine that with old school encryption like one time pads, and some other techniques, and you're really becoming obscure
Laser communications! Ive not used laser coms but when I was in the military a tech buddy and I made handheld flashlight communicators with IR sensors to decode the light coms.
That's some good info! The moment I bought baofangs for my family, I realized I needed to upgrade. I'm not a coms guy but how else are we going to communicate when 💩 goes down? Anyway, I'm ready for the next step from you guys. Keep up the great work!
@@ohioelevation9871 if there is any governance, it needs to be in service to the people, not working against their freedoms. That's all I'm trying to say.
@@ohioelevation9871 in a Storm you want to find the People who help ans they who news help so staing undercover dies not help (only agianst Raiders) also the goverment is teaching it in the military you van Jo in dem Lesen it nur you cours her Killed for something you dont stand for
The Russians built their secure comms to piggy back of the invaded nation’s 3G/4G networks, but didn’t give their conscripts that memo and they destroyed every cell tower they saw. So the Russian send troops into abandoned Ukrainian phone stores to loot local Simcards. Not very bright as said network can just highlight the Simcards that became live since the invasion and are near the fighting…
As much as I love CB and use it personally for practical local LOS communications, the coming solar cycle is going to be hell on it for that purpose. 11 meters can go from being a great LOS band that can cut through trees and shoot long distances with little power, to being overwhelmed by skywave transmissions interfering with those you are trying to talk to. But I digress, it is unlicensed and certainly is HF.
The name "Family factor" is such a great name for what you described. I'm a lot of the different "guys" in my family, so I get what you're talking about pretty well _and_ found the video really fun. Also, writing an open hardware standard for ecdsa radio communication might be useful
Being a radio op, my best advice is to first understand COMSEC and how it applies to OPSEC. Surveillance vans loaded with Mil gear exist and they are faster than triangulation. Nuff said.
@@mynameisinigomontoya8179 Yes, they used a small private plane to fly their receiving gear around. Back in those days it was the old AMPS system, which was all clear and analog, so it was not private at all.
Sounds like the best option if possible,is to somehow move into or on top of the same location as the authorities when sending transmissions.I knew a so and so who was doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing by renting an apartment just above the location of the government authorities.
So basically 99% of the problems using radios are hams that feel the need to police their hobby from outsiders who don't want to have their name and address be publicly accessible.
I'm 64 now and I'm more interested in Ham radio now than ever. I remember my dad telling me how helpful Ham radio can be in times of emergency. He was born in 1909, lived through the depression and served in the U.S.N.R., stationed at Dutch Harbor, Alaska during WW2. I also remember the strict requirements for a Ham from when I was a kid; you had to build your own radio set! We might as well get set for the new normal, because the good old days are really over for good.
Im 60 now. My dad would take me with him to old mining claims. No 4 wheelers or cell phones in the 70s. We had mules and cb radios and mobile ham stations. Of course I never paid attention to a lot ofthe stuff he tried to teach me. I'm very interested now in this current day. We went all over the western us and northern Mexico .
Wrong about no way to use a digital radio without a license. Motorola dtr operate in the ism band and are license by rule, no individual license required. They are even more secure than regular digital radio as they use fhss (frequency hopping spread spectrum), can send sms messages with them, talk to groups or individual radios.
Really good video. Good reminder about the "family factor" as you put it. If you want to keep in touch with Granny and pop-pop when cell service is down, your radios better be easy to use and your comms plan better be printed in 18pt font.
Comment section: SHTF and suddenly the government will have resources, priority and competence to DF all 4 million square miles. Don’t underestimate capability but don’t overestimate either.
Great Channel, great content. The "boring" stuff is often the most important. Please keep the grret content coming. Your dedication does not go unnoticed or unappreciated
I’ll tell you. It’s none of the fcc business how or what I say on my radio. Never was. That’s called government overreach. If I want to use code words I will.
Mark you and your fcc bootlicker friends have the same energy of some kid saying hes a veteran call of duty player who should deserve the same respect as a navy seal 😂😂
Thanks for all you do S2. I really like that you included your thoughts on the "boring stuff" at the end. I didn't find the content boring, but I do struggle with staying focused on learning new things that I don't have a good understanding of that are really important to know. Just having you discuss it is a good reminder to do better.
1. What you communicate 2. Who you communicate to 3. Who might be listening? What frequency do you use? * By operating on bands & frequencies less people use you increase your op-sec 1. VHF/UHF - Most common band 2. HF radio - less common with the general populace, very common with HAMS, very long range 3. 6m,8m, 1.25 bands - less common HAM bands 4. 700/800/900 MHz - far way from traditional VHF/UHF bands, but becoming more popular. 5. Oddbal frequencies - e.g hiding within bands Analog vs Digital * Analog signals - can not be encrypted & this relates to the vast majority of hobby & amateur use. Analog radios are the most common type of radios. * Digital signals - digital radios are more expensive, need a licence & are hard to build repeaters for Op-sec & Encryption 1. "Privacy tones" - do NOT use these (CTCSS codes, PL tones). You can still be heard by others even though you can't hear them! 2. Digital modes - digital modes can't be heard on analog radios, but analog radios can be heard by both analog & digital radios. Thus, the people who can listen to you on a digital radios is far less than those on analog radios. 3. Trunked - are not encrypted but use complex digital modes making it very hard for civilians to hear even if they are using a digital radio. Often favoured by police departments. 3. Proprietary encryption - Not easy to verify as it's usually closed source (e.g. 128 bit, 40 bit). 4. AES-256 - The Gold standard, not crackable. I'm starting my journey into amateur radio purely for SHTF purposes. As such I don't intend to outlay a lot of money (initially) into this endeavour. Also, no-one else in my family has any experience in comms so I need something easy to use. As such, I have decided upon a set of Bofeng UV-5R radios with Abree 24" antennas & the larger 3800 mA batteries. I think the only thing I can do during SHTF on my UV-5R is to use the minimum required power, use short transmission, stay away from "Privacy tones" & use more obscure frequencies. I don't want to invest in a digital radio.
Back in WW2 u-boats in the mid Atlantic would make highly compressed burst transmissions of text, only taking about 1second and always from a new location. But the allies could still triangulate them using a handful of coastal stations. So the burst thing may work through obscurity (hiding the fact that you have transmitted at all) but it will not work well if the opponent knows you are out there and is ready.
burst works quite well and is barely distinguishable from background noise except maybe by a.i. Submarines use it and so do many other electronic warfare units and the such. Subs are limited to no more than a thousandth (.001) of a second. Radars on the F-22 and F-35 jump radar frequencies so quick, that even though it's on 24/7 while scanning, but every nanosecond it's on a different frequency, that enemy electronic warfare/detection equipment cannot tell it's being scanned constantly, just a different frequency every nanosecond. I hope I explained that well enough....
Yes, that is true but depending on the population with no power people might just get cranky or engage in full on rioting/looting/arson. Further. The government is much more dependent on electricity. If you deprive them of their infrastructure it becomes a numbers game.
I am WAY happier watching your videos than anything about tactical gear... Now long range pew pew is another story but Id still choose your videos! (Sorry if you have videos on LR? If so Ill find it eventually). Truthfully, your overall channel is probably my number 1 fav! I really enjoy your takes on the sad progression Americans overall have allowed the govt to become a behemoth with tenticles in every facet of each of our lives. Screw that shit!
Should do M17(digital radio), OpenRTX(3rd party HT firmware w/ M17) content, its got a lot of modes coming along nicely, and is in pistar/mmdvm, and more...great content :) keep it up
I am not for one minute advocating breaking the law whether you are a licenced operator or not. I guess there is another way to look at this. Lets for one minute suppose the SHTF. Society starts to crumble, things get dangerous out there. The first thing you are going to try and do is protect your family. The chances of this just happening in one state are very remote. Its going to start happening everywhere. Here on one hand we have the FCC (Big Brother or BB) and on the other we have you communicating within your neighborhood to protect yourselves. All these people that work for BB are faced with the same situation as you, you have to protect your family and they have to protect theirs. So the boss of the FCC says to BB employee, "Leave your family and go find some of these illegal operators". So what are BB employees options here? Leave family in danger and go hunt you down or protect family and let you keep doing your thing? I know what I would be doing.
there is a quasi legal way of using HF radio , its the CB band, an off the shelf one can be 8 wats, with a nice antenna can get pretty good range, some people even buy ham radio in line amplifiers and go up to double or triple digit wattage
There are many ways to skin a cat. Using cheap “disposable” radio, on low power, with a Yagi “directional” antenna, a packet software, and a one time pad. Also your one time pad each page has its own frequency. Granted this is more work but it’s cheap and awfully hard to track a 2-3 second burst on a frequency that changes daily.
Yep, that’s it. A yagi plus a quick burst of a lot of info using a simple system. I’ve been messing around with aprsdroid on an old mobile with my HT and a $22 btech aprs cable. Testing AFSK and messaging so no internet or cell service needed.
In your conclusion, I definitely know the difficulties of your point about the entertainment of a subject very well. Unfortunately, most of the people who talk about communications are really old people using obsolete setups, and there's also a giant crowd of really cringey people no one wants to hear the opinion of even if they're right. Your attention to your appearance is key to getting people to buy in to what you have to say. I am a big fan of Software Defined Radio as the future for what people are going to naturally do in radio communications. Hit me up if you have questions.
@@coolerking7427 Sometimes it is. Other times low tech is the more expensive, more complex, worse option. SDR vs older forms of MOD/DEMOD is like LED vs incandescent.
Commo makes the guns, plate carriers and other things work so much better. Read Tom Clancy's book, Red Storm Raising. It's an old one, and in it a Lt with a radio put a hurting on the enemy.
