Uh, a $1200 radio is simply that, a radio... with a fancy spectrum analyzer and digital internet connected stuff for all your hobby geeking glory.

If your planning SHTF, your priorities will need to change. 1.) If transmit distance is utmost (or low wattage), you will need to invest in a LARGE, stationary land, quality antenna that is tuned for a specific frequency range and transmit in low frequencies that carry voice in the category of "potato". A radio is purchased for its SNR (signal to noise ratio) that is its quality of both transmit and receive for a given antenna and the environment. Think of photography, you go out and buy a $3000 camera and nothing else, thinking you are the most badass photographer, but your not. Photography is not about the camera, its about the lighting and the subject. Without light, without a subject, there is no photography and the camera is useless. 2.) All that internet connected stuff and computers will not be available if power company is shutoff. Also there are radio directional finders to pinpoint your location, the FCC literally has triangulation monitors in the US if they get a flag of some guy just blasting music over the airwaves. You will also cause interference, and may need to monitor how you are transmitting to keep your noise down from your neighbors (at least, this was really bad in the old days of AM radios and analog TV)

Don't blow a buncha buxx on that unless you're planning on making long distance contacts. You still need antenna, cable, and all the other stuff that goes with it.

You can get a good Yaesu handheld for $150, a Baofeng for $30. If you want something with higher power, a 2M unit with 50W power and a mobile antenna can be had for under $300.

Hamstudy.org make an account and study up. You'll pass the test no problem.

Get a Yaesu for your first HT. Study for the exam and get a technician license so you can practice making contacts and so you can verify that you successfully programmed your local repeaters. Don't illegally transmit. It's not even the FCC that you have to worry about. The ham community is filled with civnat boomers who will DF you and report you to the FCC themselves.

First, consider what kind of comms will be of real benefit to you in a SHTF scenario, then pick your radio. Here are my opinions.

The small handheld 2 m unit units are of limited value. Most, including the cheap Baefung, will allow you to monitor (and illegally) operate on local law enforcement and/or emergency frequencies. There is some utility there, but the typical use is immediate regional comms (40-ish mile radius). To do so, however, is dependent on radio repeaters which you do not control and which represent single points of failure which can be taken down. Point to point communications will be limited to between 10 or 20 miles typically because of power limitations and the nature of the line of sight frequencies. Communications mode will be voice FM.

If you have a radio that can get on 80 m this will provide access to regional communications typically extending one or two states around you. This is very useful. There are multiple message-passing and informational nets, both official and informal. This is how you know what is going on in your geographical region, most useful for natural disasters, supply shortages, etc... Mode of communication will typically be side band voice, though CW (code) is an option. CW helps punch through high atmospheric noise levels and provides some level of security through obscurity against casual eavesdroppers. 80 m is pretty much restricted to evenings and night.

40 m, though occasionally global inreach, is pretty much the same thing except that your region will typically now cover the entire United States. 40 m has a broader usable time window, working fairly well during the morning and day and into the evening. It is probably the most general purpose band. Same modes of communication.

The shorter bands, such as 20 m, 17 m, and 15 m are typically hemispheric but are very fickle as to usable time of day.

There are many antenna types and options. A great starting option is an MFJ-1982MP. It is a simple end-fed wire antenna that you can throw over a tree limb and wind up and take somewhere else if you want to move. It is dark and non-obvious. Covers 80 m up to about 10 m. Very easy to move about and not obvious if you live in a neighborhood. I have communicated with Japan using nothing but this wire and a pine tree. You do not need a big tower nor a beam.

As for your radio, covering all of these frequency ranges in one radio is difficult. Historically they have required multiple transceivers and multiple tuners. Available these days are so-called "Shack in a Box" radios -- single units that cover everything and all of the comms modes. These are pricey, as with the Icom 7300, but they are extremely desirable as their small size and single unit construction provide one box that you can grab and go.

I personally opted for the Yaesu FT-991A and love it. It is the chief competitor to the Icom 7300, though the 7300 is very popular. I chose the Yaesu because it adds 2 m and 70 cm capability that the 7300 lacks and supports nearly every comm mode. It also exposes control and audio through a single USB connector, which makes use of the digital modes extremely simple.

Regarding the digital modes, JS8Call in my opinion will be one of the single most useful and indispensable tools in a true SHTF scenario. Look up

https://amrron.com/2014/11/24/aresraces-hf-frequencies/

Lastly, do not be discouraged by folks who dislike the waterfall displays. They are definitely more than just eye candy. Extremely useful at a glance for both spotting where traffic is and, once you get used to seeing it, what kind of traffic it is (SSTV, RTTY, PSK, JT8, etc...).

If you have a handheld as your 2 m solution I would suggest looking strongly at the Yaesu FT-891. It lacks the waterfall display but is small and rugged and compact and will handle the 80 m, 40 m, and other bands very well. Lots of people put these in backpacks.

One last thing, you will need a general class license at minimum to do all of these things. If you have not yet applied for your license here's a point of note - It all starts with what is called an FRN these days. It's a number of the FCC assigns you to track your license application and status.

USE A PO BOX FOR THE ADDRESS, not your physical address. This becomes public and easily searchable information associated with your call sign.

Good luck.

Is it important to have a license? I have been thinking about getting a radio for awhile. Have some books my brother gave me to get familiar. I normally avoid licenses for anything I can avoid.

Good info. I knew they could triangulate. Didnt know if they were actually monitoring. I really just want a SHTF type. I have 2way hand held a guy gave me when he got out of the army. Its locked. Dont know anybody that can unlock it. Its apparently locked a dod channel.

I went the route of mobile unit. I have some handheld radios but my main unit is installed in my truck for survival/shtf scenarios. You can get a good Yaesu radio for about 600 that is dual band and can transmit up to 50w. Programing it is super easy too. I've always wanted a good home base setup but unless you have some serious antennas it won't do much more than a mobile or handheld radio. That being said, there are some good home brew antennas you can make for cheap, you can even alter an old satellite dish antenna for ham.

Just buy the baofeng like I did then leave it in the charger and never use it.