Ok, here goes. SHTF can be anything from being trapped by flooding after a storm to taking a fall while hiking to a full blown Red Dawn style invasion by Elbonian forces. It’s easy for the power to go out or a cell tower to go down (or get overloaded) and leave you with no communication. Being ready for that should be something to consider when prepping.
I think that getting a ham license, especially the higher level ones, and learning some of the theory could be really beneficial for anyone interested in SHTF prepping. Knowing how radios and antennas work, how waves travel, etc. is good stuff to know. Of course, you don’t need to get a license to learn this stuff. All the information is out there, but study toward a license focuses you on some of the basics and when you’re finished you unlock some spectrum to put that knowledge to use.
As with most things, there is a give and take.
Everybody and their brother has access to CB and regular two-way radios. Lots of people with radios could mean lots of people listening. If the point is to try and talk to someone/anyone ("Someone come help me!"), then having lots of people listening is probably better. Conversely, if you don’t necessarily need everyone to hear what you’re saying, more people listening might not be necessarily good ("Hey, Dave. Come on over. I’m here all alone at 126 Anywhere St, have two months worth of food and water and the angry rioting mob isn’t here yet.").
Another nice thing about CB and the 2-ways from walmart is that you don’t need a license to operate them under normal circumstances. Well, you don’t need a license to operate them ever. I say "under normal circumstances" because you normally need a license to operate ham but in life-or-death situations when other comms are unavailable, you can use amateur radio without a license to call for help.
One of the bad things about CB or 2-ways is the low transmitting power – just a couple of watts. That low power coupled with off-the-shelf antennas can really limit how far you can communicate with the radio. Distance you might need to communicate is something you should consider when planning for emergency comms.
Ham radio is sort of the opposite in a lot of ways.
Requiring a license for normal operation limits the pool of people who have the necessary equipment and know-how. Having fewer people listening might not be a good thing if you're trying to communicate a general call for help.
On the other hand, ham radio allows for a lot more spectrum to use for communication (see pic above), a lot more power (usually up to 1500W instead of 5W) and more modes. With that (and the right gear), you can communicate anywhere on Earth. And some places in space. Yes, that space.
There's one of the trade offs: fewer people with the gear could mean fewer people locally but more power/spectrum/modes could mean more people total as well as better chances of communicating with a specific person (provided both ends have the necessary gear).
Thoughts?