Is a ham radio or cb radio good for emergencies?

If there is a natural disaster or man made disaster where cell phones and land lines are knocked out, will a ham radio or cb radio still work? What are their advantages? ThanksIs a ham radio or cb radio good for emergencies?
Amateur Radio has organised plans to work with other agencies in the event of a disaster. See http://www.arrl.org/emergency-communicat鈥?/a> for the US and http://www.raynet-uk.net/ for the UK. In some countries such as Australia there are similar organisations for CB http://www.acrem.org.au/ Both CB and Amateur Radio have mobile and base station installations which have generators or similar in the event of major power outages.
Either will technically work.



However, Ham radio, as a collective of operators and their stations, will fare better in a disaster, because they are more organised (with ARES/Races and such, even to local clubs and such), and their bands and equipment have more capabilities than legal CB stations. Even the fact they are licensed gives them honor with the general community they live, and amongst themselves.Is a ham radio or cb radio good for emergencies?
Lare has the best answer. However, it sort of depends on the sort of emergency you have. If you're out of gas out in the middle of nowhere and your cell phone has no signal, then maybe having a CB tuck away in the trunk (like I do) could bring help to you. If you're traveling cross country with a few other cars then CB, if not FMRS, makes for a good intercom between cars. Now you just don't run out to the Radio Shack and buy an Amateur Radio. Like Lare said, you have to study and take a test and Amateur (Ham) Radio is very much self-policed. Monkey business like you hear on CB is much frowned upon. But when major whether events are wrecking havoc and Government Emergency Managers are seeking communications help, who do they call. It certainly not the CBers. Amateur Radio Operator Clubs conduct weekly training exercises for just such events and are prepared to set up shop and assist. If you're interested in learning more about Amateur Radio and getting a license, search my call sign KD5OM and you'll see my web site with information on studying for a Ham Radio License.
Amateur radio has direct ties to FEMA (RACES), Red Cross(ARES), and military (MARS) and are included in the disaster response plans of every community. Amateur radio has a long tradition of working when everything else has failed ie Katrina. While the VHF repeater is an important part of local ham communications, it is not essential. Hams have other equipment and the last weekend of June, the ARRL sponsors a national emergency communication test that does not use repeaters, established towers or commercial power. Thousands of hams in the USA and Canada participate. Many other countries have a similar annual operating event.

As to CB, it is mostly for highway travelers. No one monitors channel 9 anymore, not even the police. It might be helpful if you are outside the range of cellular towers, which is what most people use for real communication these days, including truckers. There is no organized emergency participation groups on CB anymore. REACT has mostly disbanded because of the absence of people willing to set up base stations with towers at their home, in fact many communities prohibit CB towers in contrast with ham radio whose towers are protected by federal regulation. CB is mostly a bad dream from the 1970s.

i have CB, VHF ham and HF ham radio installed in my car. they work off a solar panel so i am prepared for outages. Ham radio is a commitment that requires studying and licenses, there are no "license-free" ham radio operators. they identify themselves per regulations when operating for everyone to know, where as CB is just anonymous "handles".Is a ham radio or cb radio good for emergencies?
Cb radios will be dominant for such disaster. They use short-wave technology and setup right you can be heard for miles. Channel 9 is the emergency channel. I believe in rural areas law enforcement still listen in. I have one for permanent set up in my car along with an emergency one. I have used it once for an emergency. Highly recommeneded to get one. You can find a cheap emergency one for $20
CB would be between vehicles depending on if there was a trucker near by. Hams have repeaters and participate in storm chasing and skywarn but what if the storm knocks out their antenna or repeater.