New Class: OFF GRID COMMUNICATIONS
2026-04-11 10:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Class title: Off Grid Communications
April 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

THIS IS A NEW CLASS FOR US DUE TO REQUESTS FROM STUDENTS FOR THIS SPECIFIC INFORMATION.

Taught by Greg Birchfield and James Ruther

Greg Birchfield
James Ruther

We’ve all grown very dependent upon reliable communication systems, and yet…. in an emergency, we find they are not as reliable as we hoped. Most recently, there were widespread failures during the Eaton and Pacific Pallisades fires of Southern California.

In this class, we are going to explore the practical alternatives to your land-based cell phone. You will learn how to set up an emergency, or alternative, communication system, and you will learn what to buy, and what training you’ll need (to get a ham license, for example).

We will cover the following:

Radio – types of radios, shortwave, GMRS, AM, FM, Ham
Bands of radio
Bands – short distance, long distance, worldwide
Setting up a Comms plan for your people
Smartphone apps, Cell, Text, Radio
Enciphering
Repeaters and how to use them
Baofeng Radios – overview and what they’re good for
Better than Baofeng Radios and recommend
Meshtastic – what is it? How do I set it up? What’s it good for?
You will also learn some Morse code, and various low-tech local communication methods, such as signalling mirrors, whistles, clackers. If time, we’ll even address some of the Hobo codes from the depression era.
You will go home with a clear idea of what you should do next for your own family ‘s communication systems.
