Can you hear me???

[rancher]

Radios are great. We have some, VOX, tex and voice. % watts. Programable as well. But they as all do need batteries...even to recharge them take electric juice. No grid...no juice. Genset? Sure uses a lot of fuel to charge some batteries.

We saw this coming so as to save batteries we acquired TA-1/PT field phones. No batteries...ever. Easy to use (even the military can do it) and wire them up in no time. All weather use. Can always use them to send a message then turn on the radios if needed. Also no one can monitor these phones...ever.

Not knocking radios but they bring a list of issues with them.... if over the counter stuff then you best believe they can be monitored.

                         Merry Christmas

[Citizen Zero]

This is an excellent point, secure comms are paramount. Indeed anything that comes off the shelf is easily compromised, er, listened in on by those that have the ingenuity and care to.

The field phones are a great low-tech solution.

[markmars]

But were can you find them? I been looking but no luck. I see them on e-bay but they are to high $50-$100.

[Cutter]

Check the army surplus stores.  Even if they don't have them, they may know where to get them.

[rancher]

I picked up a bunch of TA-PT1 units from ebay. I contacted the seller and visited about cutting a deal to help them not need to list them one at a time. It does not always work but all it needs to work is once. Average price per working unit (which I take apart clean and test) was 45.00. If that costs to much for you your life IMHO is not worth much then?

Next I did the same for the TA312 units which runs with 2 D cell batteries (rechargeable) and ties in with the PT/1 units. They are a little heavier but would do better in stationary locations. Then along the way I found two switch boards to tie in a whole lot of locations here at our Ranch. Phone line can be gotten real cheap or free. I have a couple miles of 3 and 6 pair I got for free. Speaker wire and almost any wire will work. I slowly bury the underground wire each year to all the out buildings so we only need to string above ground wire to outside posts if ever needed.

I figure within one full day we can secure the entire Ranch with an instant communications network. Sorry to say but it is true.... planning for an alternate survival life which will actually work for years on end (with no grid, no re-supply, no services, no law enforcement, no nothing but what you have or can do) is not cheap or easy.

[JerryDYoung]

If you can't find the surplus sets, a similar device is available new.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#sound-powered-telephones/=5bemyz

[BAD49]

As a part of my preps, I have included some solar charging outfits. Solar re-chargers for AAA, AA, C, D, and 9 volt batteries are available for less than $30.00 occasionally. I also use larger solar and battery bank outfits that I have put together for more substantial use. I can then use an inverter and a traditional charger to recharge the small batteries. I keep extras charged so that I can use one set while charging another. I have quite a few radios for coms and info as well as LED lanterns and flashlights, that all take batteries. Re-chargables are more expensive but good ones can be used many times over.

The surplus phones are a good source of coms but are easily CUT. Ran into this in the field in the army, over the pond in 69 - 70. Best to hide your wire if possible. They are also easily listened in on. Just splice in a handset.

Any and all coms used in a survival situation such as we are discussing should be done using simple codes, preferably one time use codes that are changed daily.

I agree with Markmars that money can be an obstacle. Doesn't matter how valuable your life is, if you don't HAVE the dollars you are not going to buy the item. That said, I would find as many ways as possible to earn and/or save enough to get at least some of the items you need NOW, while you still can.

TEOTWAWKI has happened throughout history many times, sometimes locally, sometimes regionally and sometimes over whole continents.

I have bought phones one or two at a time over the years and now have quite a few. Just have to keep your eyes open. Wire is the bigger problem. While regular wire is usable a good amount of WD-1 is the best. Unfortunately, not easy to find (around here) and not really cheap. It would seem like it would be easy to find but I have not found that to be the case, and you use a lot of wire real quick.

 

[Cutter]

Standard speaker wire works fairly well.  If you want good quality stuff, go with  CAT 5E wire.  A 1000 ft. box can be had for under $100.  Get the gray stuff.  It holds up better to the elements and is less noticable if you have to run it in a hurry.  It has 4 pair of wires so you can trunk multiple locations to a central hub to keep your wire use down.  You could also use CAT 3 wire if that is more within your budget.  Fourteen gage romex works well for comm wire in a pinch too.  It comes in at around $50 per 250 feet.

The side benefit is that none of these options will raise awkard questions when kept in fairly large amounts.  You just are doing some wiring upgrades or you are a tecknogeek that is going to put in a kick butt sound system...eventually.  In my case, it is just stock for the company.  Being an electrical contractor has its perks.

[BAD49]

Thanks for the alternatives. I have been gathering alternatives It's just that I have noticed that the "Original WD-1" is better designed for combat situations, if you can get it. And Black does tend to hide quite well.

[Cutter]

That is true about the WD-1.  Still, if you don't have it, you use what you do have.

I had another thought about alternatives.  I haven't tried it, but what about the wire for low voltage landscape lights?  The stuff is designed for direct burial and is black.  Just a thought.

[Citizen Zero]

The stuff is designed for direct burial and is black.

And unfortunately, really expensive..

Cheap extension cords might be an option, I have a couple that the lawn has overtaken that still work fine even though they have been effectively buried for the last four or five years.

12-2 romex would probably last quite a while buried as well, and it comes in 1,000' spools 

[Cutter]

12-2 romex will last a long time but not forever.  It also has a blindly bright yellow outer jacket.  I have seen single conductor thhn wire last for years on end buried even though it is not rated for that purpose.  It comes in 500 foot and 5000 foot spools.

12-2 uf cable is rated for direct burial and will literally last longer than the dirt it is buried in.  The catch is that it is also expensive.

I didn't know landscape wire was so expensive.  Then again, it has been a while since I bought any.