Survival Communications

If you are planning to go camping, or just out into the woods, you should always tell someone where you are going, where you will be at different times, and when you plan to return. If you go with a group, this same rule applies to small trip, like looking for firewood, or whatever. If you can, take your phone. If you can, bring or borrow a satellite phone. What I do is I take my phone with me and leave it off to preserve the battery life, that way if I have an emergency, I know I can turn it on and call someone if I can get a signal. Most times, if you are in a rural or remote area, you won’t be able to use your cell phone. I also like to use radios, especially if I am with a group. I carry an FRS/GMRS radio with me when I go into the woods, and I make sure that everyone has one if I co with a group. Depending on the terrain, a good FRS/GMRS radio has a range of several miles. This may not sound like much range, but when most people are rescued after being lost, they are rarely more than a few miles away from civilization. The great thing about FRS/GMRS radios is that they are used by many people and most have a channel scanning feature, so that if someone is nearby, you can find them with the scanning feature.


If you are in a situation, where you have no access to electronic communications, there are several methods of primitive communication that you can use. If you are lost, you can spell out S.O.S., or HELP, with rocks or logs if you can find a clearing. This is very helpful for contacting aerial search teams. You can also create a large triangle shape which is a sign for help that can be seen from multiple angles. Another method of signaling is to use a mirror if you have one to reflect sunlight in the direction of any search craft or search team, and this can be seen for many miles. The method is to hold your hand out in front of you and make a peace sign with your index and middle fingers spread apart. Now move your hand until the object you are signaling towards is visible between your two fingers. Now use your other hand to move the mirror until you can see sunlight on your hand. Now move the mirror up and down so that the beam of light is alternating between your hand and the target. Continue to aim your hand at the target as it moves, and watch your hand to make sure the light beam is still on target. Another good method of communication is to build a large fire for rescuers to see. The smoke from a fire can be seen for miles in the day, and the fire light can be seen at night. The best way to do this is to build up kindling like grass, then small stick, and then larger logs like a bonfire, then stack green leaves and wood close by. When you are ready to signal, use some torch logs from your campfire, which you should already have ready, and light the signal bonfire. If it is day time, put the green wood and leaves on the fire to produce smoke. You should use verbal communication to signal a rescue team, or to call for help in the hope that someone is near and can hear you. Unless you know someone is near, use this sparingly, you can lose your voice in a very short time if you are yelling a lot.


-Richard