Others have mentioned some interesting things about CB & Ham radio, so I thought I'd add my own observations based on experience also.
First, CB is intended for short-range communications only, which it does quite nicely....at night. And only at night. During the day, especially mid-day, the skip rolls in, making local comms useless. I always waited until the sun went down to talk to the locals out to 30 miles or so. No hotrod hi-power setups, just legal power, which is about 3.5-5 watts on AM. I haven't used CB in decades due to the idiots and their redneck slang and manners (or lack thereof). Not even for an emergency. Even the Highway patrol told me here that their own radios are worthless beyond a few miles due to all that garbage. You can get a CB at a flea market for $5-10 that is every bit as good as a $500 unit at a truck stop/cb shop.
Ham radio 2-meter is great out to about 50 miles as stated with anywhere from 5-50 watts. HF is good anywhere from your location to across the world, depending on the frequency you operate on. Lower frequency equals easier short-range comms, say local-1500 miles out. Higher frequencies are better for long range, especially in the daytime. These general rules are not cut in stone. Other factors change this. You can buy a used 2-meter radio at a hamfest for less than $100....maybe less than $50 that is every bit as good as a $500 one at a ham radio shop. A used HF radio will set you back a couple hundred bucks, but that's way better than a new one for $500-$1500!!
Most important rule: ANTENNA!! For every dollar you waste on wattage (output power) you can spend $0.10 on antenna and do much better. And the antenna, unlike the amp, works both ways. That is, on receive as well as transmit. This is so important that there is absolutely no substitute for a decent antenna. I didn't say an expensive antenna....I said a decent one. My antennas were portable and cost me less than a buck each, but I talked to folks all over the world with less than 5 watts and nobody knew it unless I told them. A high-powered radio with a bad antenna is worthless against a low-powered radio with a decent antenna.
If you pass a ham radio exam and get a license, you'll have all the know-how required to make a simple, portable antenna out of twinlead TV ribbon cable for 2-meters. There's even a commercial version with coax already attached for those that wanna' spend $20 or so....it's called a J-Pole, but I forgot the commercial name for it. Hang it up with some string or fishing line in a tree and you're good to go. Or tape it to a fishing pole. The antenna don't care. Locals at a ham radio club or hamfest can tell you all about this stuff. I've never been out of range of a 2-meter repeater with the magnet-mounted whip on my car roof. If the repeater hears you, so will everyone else within 50-100 miles.
Satellite phones are something I'd stay clear of, due to the expense mentioned elsewhere in this thread. If you must, get a used one and make sure you can get a carrier with good RELIABLE service. Not cost-effective, especially for something that presumably will be used only for emergencies.
This is all I have to say at this time. Enjoy!
73 de Varmint
