Survivalist radio communications: Prepping for the Zombie Apocalypse.

As a newborn believer in being prepared for an emergency situation of world doom and destruction I am always looking for new way to prep that involves radio. With the gaining momentum towards a Zombie Apocalypse I find myself wondering just what would I do in that type of scenario. Since I am a long time radio operator I find it an interesting situation.

The Zombie Apocalypse has been a theory that has become more popular over the years and finds it roots in the B-movies from the late 50's and early 60's. A zombie is a human that is dead but still manages to roam around as an undead creature attacking other live humans to eat the brains of its victims, making them an undead person as well. it spreads like a virus until the entire human race is running around undead. Not sure what happens after that but I would assume that we all just cease to exist once we run out of brains to eat.

As a prepper or survivalist you always have to think outside the box

OK so we have our radio gear here that is used on a daily basis. In a Zombie Apocalypse we would have to assume first of all that we would not have any power to the house which would render my radio gear useless. So the first thought that comes to mind is backup power. That could be a generator I suppose, but that creates a lot of noise and requires gasoline which would very quickly become unobtanium. You could use rechargeable batteries, but they only provide power for smaller low power equipment. You would also need to find some way to keep them charged.

One method I like is the crank-up style of emergency radios that are out on the market. Some even come with FRS radios built in as well. You can use these radios to recharge cell phones, so why couldn't you use one to recharge your battery packs in the smaller FRS radio.

The problem with the FRS radios is that they do not have very long range. If you are communicating in a small neighborhood with other survivors this is fine, but what if you need to contact state headquarters to find out the current conditions of the Zombie Apocalypse.

Ham radio would fit the bill for that. The only problem would be that while ham radio gear does have farther range, it also has higher output so you would have to find a way to power the equipment and keep it running. If you have a creek close by you could setup a paddle-wheel with a small car generator to charge a 12V car battery and run your gear that way.

Another thought would be an exercise bike setup with vehicle generator to charge up your car battery and run the radio equipment on lower power. Plus you would be keeping in shape in case you had to outrun a horde of Zombies climbing through the windows of your house.

As a prepper or survivalist you always have to think outside the box whether it be about food rations or water as well as protection and radio communications with the outside world.