Ham in a can / Ham radio

Looking on the bright side... if you just listen now but transmit without a license after surviving global thermonuclear war, bioweapon plague, or a giant rock hitting the Earth... nobody from the FCC is going to come knocking. Because they will all be busy being dead. ⚰️
 
One other note- if you know or can find an old time radio guy they can “open” your radio to listen to all manner of communication not normally available.

Yeah, some of the older transceivers can have their proms erased and burned to unlock frequencies that are not normally available commercially. (For example, Civil Air Patrol has a group of frequencies normally blocked in radios sold to the public, but CAP member usually have a ham radio guy around who has the software to map the frequencies into the hardware so it is allowed to transmit.)

Most of this stuff is use specific... I mean, who you gonna talk to? If you have a group of friends then you can all agree on what band(s) you need to talk on.

In my own opinion, I would head for one of the commercially available bands in use... like the marine band (yes, it is illegal to use on land... but we are talking about a time when "law" is kinda out the window.) Readily available, easy to use, but not widely known about... like CB's. Even more eclectic would be the aircraft bands. But it all revolves around having someone you trust to talk to.
 
Anybody notice that the Josie Wales bounty hunter is a younger Uncle Leo from Seinfeld? The New England accent was a nice touch.

When he tells Josie to drop the gun belt, it doesn’t occur to him that a pistol fighter will always have a second gun. A cinematic example that falls under the broad subject of situational awareness.

A fatal oversight.
I knew he looked familiar but missed that connection! It is fun to go back and watch things again and recognize actors and actresses that had other roles much later. (y)(y)
 
Anybody notice that the Josie Wales bounty hunter is a younger Uncle Leo from Seinfeld?

I knew he looked familiar but missed that connection!
seinfeld leo GIF


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This thread got me thinking what would go into my own ammo can. My priority would be to listen to a wide variety of signals, but not transmit. From my perspective, a low-power handheld covers the immediate need for a mile or so in the local area. But for listening, an RTL-SDR based radio provides a wide spectrum to listen on.

So... my emergency listening radio: A throw-away android. I have a pair of them (Samsung A21 and a Alcatel A600DL.... both former TracPhone freebie phones.) Some charger and adapter cables, simple On-The-Go usb adapter cable, and a RTL-SDR usb dongle is the extent of the listening hardware that needs to go into the box.

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Software tools are mostly free. The driver is free, as is SDR++, SDRAngel, and the RF Freq monitor. One app (SDR Touch, which is what is currently playing a local FM radio station in the photo) works as a free demo, though I opted to pony up the $11 license key to turn on the rest of the apps functionality. Making the whole thing cheap enough to go in an ammo can.

The antennas really don't need any protection. When they are not connected to anything, they are at no risk to damage. But they are pretty cheap as well to make. The UHF/VHF one I'm using in the photo is a marine one off a junked boat (free...the best kind of stuff.)
 
Another little cheap, cobbled together, emergency radio rig to listen with.

Alcatel A600DL (freebie Tracphone) running Android 11. NooElec Nano Three RTL-SDR ($25), USB to Micro USB adapter ($2.95), and about $15 worth of cables and adapters to hook up an antenna (I recently converted all my radios and antennas to have BNC connectors just so I can experiment with different antenna types.)

Software is the RTL-SDR Blog V4 driver (free) and SDR++ for Android (Open Source so it is free and you can use all the features right off the bat... though the app isn't as seamless as the SDR Touch app that is purchased software.

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That leaves room in the can for a solar charger, cheap short range transmitter (like a throw-away Baofeng), ear buds, and some adapter cables. Nowhere near as nice as Icom, Yaesu, or Kenwood.... but it will be powered off and inside an ammo can most of the time as emergency backup.

I mean, if I were independently wealthy, I'd be able to put a $1500 Icom ic-905 in a can, and have a second one to use on a day-to-day basis.... but I'm not... so you make do with what you have.
 
Do you know if the app will run with much earlier versions of Android? I have a couple old S3 Galaxys in search of a good time. :)

For the SDR++ software, the minimums are Android 9, OpenGL, and a USB port that implements a good enough version of On-the-Go to be the host controller for other USB devices.

I'll leave it to someone more android savvy to answer if the phone's OS can be bumped up to a more recent version. There are several other software applications that perform the functions of SDR++ and SDR Touch, so even if the Galaxy 3's you have can't run the optimum versions, you might be able to still accomplish the same thing with a different tuner app.

Another approach is to use a different platform, like a Raspberry Pi 4, to be the front end of the radio. They are also pretty cheap devices.

(As a side note.... Raspberry Pi's have become such a handy little gizmo, they are kinda taking over the world. I'm ditching the Lowrance chart plotter on the boat in favor of a Raspberry Pi 4 with a hat to interface to a NMEA 2000 network. The Pi can run an open source chart plotter app called "OpenCPN" wich is every bit as good as the software inside the Lowrance plotter... and the charts are free from the gov. Time to extend my middle finger at Navionics. The little pi will also have GPS and AIS right on the board. These little "hobby" boards are getting really good.)
 
For the SDR++ software, the minimums are Android 9, OpenGL, and a USB port that implements a good enough version of On-the-Go to be the host controller for other USB devices.

I'll leave it to someone more android savvy to answer if the phone's OS can be bumped up to a more recent version. There are several other software applications that perform the functions of SDR++ and SDR Touch, so even if the Galaxy 3's you have can't run the optimum versions, you might be able to still accomplish the same thing with a different tuner app.

Another approach is to use a different platform, like a Raspberry Pi 4, to be the front end of the radio. They are also pretty cheap devices.

(As a side note.... Raspberry Pi's have become such a handy little gizmo, they are kinda taking over the world. I'm ditching the Lowrance chart plotter on the boat in favor of a Raspberry Pi 4 with a hat to interface to a NMEA 2000 network. The Pi can run an open source chart plotter app called "OpenCPN" wich is every bit as good as the software inside the Lowrance plotter... and the charts are free from the gov. Time to extend my middle finger at Navionics. The little pi will also have GPS and AIS right on the board. These little "hobby" boards are getting really good.)
Thanks for this tidbit. My dad is an Old Timer if you know what those are. He was a PE and an electrical engineer and I have some of his HAM equipment now and have his old license number memorized from when I was a kid. I have the same name as him too! Maybe they won't know if I start broadcasting gibberish like a CB trucker from the 70s. :D (* I would never desecrate his soul like that because HAM operators can be picky folks about the specifics of their licensing from what I recall.) ✝️

And, I just checked for Raspberry PI 8GB and they are now in stock!
Yay! I haven't checked on those for a long time. They were hard to find for awhile a year or more ago. I need to buy a few for logging live data transmitted from Motec and Aim logging devices and the ECUs on cars and they were getting harder to find.

Load up now folks before Taiwan is invaded. Raspberry PIs can be very useful tools for a lot of things if you know what you're doing. And the prices have come down from over a year ago. Not quite what they were, but closer to pre-Covid. Combine a PI with a Cradlepoint and you can have a very useful, small device to be used almost anywhere. You can get a Cradlepoint on Ebay cheaper, or look for some of the alternatives. They're great systems for remote locations off in the sticks. Cradlepoints are used by first responders and a single device can power a lot of internet traffic from many devices.


Do you know if the app will run with much earlier versions of Android? I have a couple old S3 Galaxys in search of a good time.
I have a a couple of older Note 4s that still have the removable battery. Still a useful phone today somewhat. I think it runs somewhere around Android 6.1.
I think you might need to root your phone and maybe try a hack to get a newer OS installed. It has been a long time since I looked into that. But, if you go to the Wayback Machine, you might find some workarounds to get a newer OS installed on an older device like an S3 If it's a spare phone, just Root it. Just be certain you follow the instructions VERY well Rooting it and don't be drinking beer or you might have a boat anchor when you're done. The upside with a rooted device is you won't have the bloatware and you'll have full access to everything regarding your phone. But you do need to be tall enough to get on the ride working with a rooted system, but there's plenty of help online for that if you're patient. Using a PC to access phones can be very helpful using ADB below. In fact, I think you will need it to root your phone if you go that route.
FYI, this tool above requires you to make commands from the command line though.

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@Bobster
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I did find an article you might check out.
Let me know if you make headway. I may update an older phone if you are successful.

 
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Somehow I feel inadequate since this thread was posted.

We have no HAM IN A CAN.
Of which I’ve become a fan.
Why? Because you can.
And nothing flim-flam.
Not thrown off a dam.
If we’re ever in a jam
We can use HAM IN A CAN.


Must remedy that.
 
Another little gizmo that can live in a "Ham in a Can" kit. Miniaturization and the maker community have made these really cool things possible.

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This is a cheap clone NanoVNA (around $40). It analyzes antenna system performance. In the photo, it is hooked up to a commercial marine VHF whip antenna (Shakespeare 4400) and the graph is the SWR curve of the antenna & coax between 155.00 MHz and 163.00 MHz... i.e. the Marine VHF and NOAA Weather bands. The graph is showing that this antenna system is going to do a pretty good job of radiating the energy from the transmitter on those frequencies.

Now, your emergency UHF and VHF antennas might be portable, but that is communications over a short distance. If you want to talk to someone a long way away from you, you will probably need to use HF bands (short, medium, or long wave radio). That kind of antenna usually needs to be set up or improvised in the field. Any piece of metal will work to some extent, but if you can figure out the natural frequency of that chunk of metal, you can adjust it to be good in the frequency you want to be heard on.

So, for example, you want to check in with a group of like-minded preppers, like S2 Underground's GhostNet, to see what is happening in the rest of the world, you need to cobble together a 40 meter band antenna of some sort. You can do this, and using a cheap tool like the NanoVNA, trim the antenna wire until it is resonate on 7.107 MHz. Not a guarantee you'll be heard, but the chances of getting a message out improve when the antenna is tailored to what you are trying to do.
 
A metal ammo can will make an excellent, but not perfect, Faraday cage. Complete cost about $400-500
View attachment 17921

Ham components: shop around to find best price or sale
View attachment 17922View attachment 17920 Antenna View attachment 17924Radio

View attachment 17923 License
about $35. Class and test one day very simple.

Total approx. cost for your ham =$400-500
ham GIF

We are not onea those crazy prep people but we do have some items just in case such as this radio, water, dehydrator, weapons/ammo, small stash of ready food, an alternative remote living location in the desert with water and live game; that's inhabitable for most humans. With the dehydrator can always make more chow as needed.
Apparently the ICOM IC-2300H radio listed in your OP is no longer available, at least not from Ham Radio Outlet, but ICOM's site says it's been discontinued. So it appears one has to either find another source (ebay shows several available), OR find an alternative unit with suitable form, fit, and function to DIY your own "Ham in a Can." :unsure:
 
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Apparently the ICOM IC-2300H radio listed in your OP is no longer available, at least not from Ham Radio Outlet, but ICOM's site says it's been discontinued. So it appears one has to either find another source (ebay shows several available), OR find an alternative unit with suitable form, fit, and function to DIY your own "Ham in a Can." :unsure:
I’m sure there are suitable replacements. I’ll ask my ham bubbly expert what he recommends &get back to ya
 
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