Radio Communications for Everyone

By Sergio Lamboy

Since I was a child playing with my toy walkie-talkies, I’ve been fascinated with radio communications. The mystery of being able to send my voice to my best friend’s house and have a conversation without using the family phone gave me the sense of having a superpower. Back then, that power only had a range of a couple hundred feet at best.

Let’s move forward to the present day. The fascination with radios still holds strong for me—so much so that I’ve attained my GMRS and HAM licenses, as well as too many radios to justify to my wife. What she doesn’t realize is that the number of radios will continue to increase as my interest in the different modes of communication the hobby continues to develop grows.

I assume that most people hear a guy like me talk about radio communications and automatically think, “Doomsdayer Survivalist Prepper Tac-weeny,” and they’d be right...sort of. I’m not the “radio” guy who has a full Ham Shack and a 100-foot antenna hidden in a flagpole on my property, while sitting in my basement sending my voice into the ether, hoping to make contact with some guy doing the same thing. I will admit that I am the guy who likes the idea of integrating radios into my everyday life.

In my mind, radios have a place in my EDC (Everyday Carry); so much so that I have programmed radios stashed in each of my family vehicles, just in case I were to need one. With events that have taken place over the last few years, I’ve realized the fragility of our cellular network due to hacking or software glitches (e.g., AT&T Feb. 22, 2024; Xfinity June 22, 2026; Verizon Jan. 14, 2026).

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina in September 2024, which took out multiple levels of infrastructure and left people stranded in their own homes, was also a wake-up call for me. Those stranded people had no means of escape and needed medical care, food, or water. If it weren’t for FRS or GMRS radio owners, assistance and rescue efforts would have been much slower or might not have gotten off the ground at all. Simple, off-the-shelf GMRS radios and Baofeng UV-5Rs made the difference between life and death for some.

To be honest, my experience taking any number of radio classes and trying to learn what I needed to know about using the radios that I’ve acquired over the years ended in utter disappointment. I was frustrated with the fact that most radio courses start the same way: tons of lectures about radio theory, with instructors going on and on about propagation and RF. It can be mind-numbing.

Spending three hours every Wednesday night for ten weeks straight at a local ARRL radio club HAM license class was the same—and worse. They droned on about FCC laws and how you needed to know them. They talked about band plans and radio etiquette. Never did anyone, at any time, teach me how to use the actual hardware.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand they are trying to generate new members, and after taking your test and getting your license, they hope you’ll return during a meeting night and start asking for help with how to operate your equipment. That’s how they get you!

All the information they filled my head with has definitely played a role in the radio operator I am today, but it could’ve been so much easier for all involved. If only they had addressed what I needed to know to communicate in a time of need, I would’ve been a happy camper.

Because of my experiences, as well as the experiences of some of my fellow instructors, we decided to do something about it. We began planning our method of attack: streamlining radio use for the average person.

Here at Appalachian Bushman School and Coalcracker Bushcraft, we wanted to teach people the fundamentals of basic radio operations while concentrating on the hardware. In our class, you’ll be issued a radio that we will train you to use and program on the fly—and at the end of the course, you get to keep it.

We utilize simple, step-by-step instructions on the how and why of certain available features. Then, through hands-on, practical, scenario-based exercises, you’ll be able to operate your radio to its fullest capacity. You’ll learn how to access repeaters and use alternative methods to extend your radio’s range and capabilities.

We will teach you about emergency communication planning so that you and your family or friends will be able to stay in touch when the unexpected arises. Sure, we will go over some of the boring stuff in the beginning, but it’ll be over before you know it.

All the skills you learn with us at our Field Radio Course are easily transferable to those radios you’ve had tucked away in your go-bags. Do yourself a favor and bring them along when you attend, and we will try to answer any questions you may have.

Hope to see you there.

73, Sergio Out!