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Monday, February 24, 2020

Cell Phone Alternatives During Emergencies


Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…


 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

 


Cell Phone Alternatives During Emergencies

When it comes to an emergency: your cell phone probably won't work.

 

Yes, those networks have backup generators... but that doesn't matter.

 

See, the first thing people do in a big emergency (and that could be a power outage, wildfires, a flood or hurricane, or just about anything that affects a large area) is call their loved ones.

 

Almost nobody owns a land line any more, so that means all those people are calling on the wireless telephone grid at once... and that crashes the grid faster than you can say "Can you hear me now?"

 

Now, even though people forget about the cell phone grid going down in a disaster, this isn't the "commo" mistake I mentioned - it's just the cause.

 

The mistake is actually something a lot of us make when trying to gear up to solve the problem!

 

Avoiding The Survival "Commo" Mistake

 

When I was in the military (where I was a "forward observer", among other things), "commo" was a term for communications equipment.

 

Soldiers have to be able to talk to each other and their commanders to be effective on the battlefield, where communication is life.

 

And you and I have to be able to talk to each other to coordinate our survival and prepping activities if we're in the same group (or trying to get help from other groups)... right?


Well, there are three different areas of communications you should have covered for survival:

 

1. 2-Way Radios

 

A lot of preppers carry GMRS/FRS radios.

 

These two-way "walkie talkies" are great for communications among members of your family or group.

 

They work even if the cellphone grid is down because they don't depend on an outside tower and, while they're "public" to anyone else on your channel, there are a lot of channels.

 

Having a set of these so that members of your party can talk to each other when in close proximity just makes sense.

 

But just know that they're not very strong, so they don't have much range. 

 

2. Police Scanner

 

When an emergency happens, first responders, police, fire, and other EMS services are going to be very active.

 

If you can listen in on what they're doing, you can get advance notice of important events and threats.

 

(This will give you the advantage when it comes to bugging out, and allow you to make better survival decisions.)

 

Many police scanners are "base stations", which means they're meant to sit on a desk, so you'll want to make sure you pick up portable model instead.

 

There's another portable solution, though - "outlaw" programmable Chinese radios, like the "Baofeng" radios, that are... well, pretty much illegal.

 

In a real widespread disaster, one of these programmable radios might be just what you need to stay in touch with members of your family or survival group... while doing double duty as a scanner for your local police and EMS frequencies.

 

They give you a lot of options and, depending on the antenna and battery pack you choose, a lot of power.

 

Right now, you can still buy them, but you need a special license to use them if you don't want to get in trouble.

 

That's because, while they let you listen to lots of frequencies, they also transmit on frequencies that you and I aren't supposed to be on.

 

(Some of these can even "step on" emergency services calls, which is very much not good!)

 

3. AM/FM Radio

 

The third thing you have to have to keep survival covered is an AM/FM radio.

 

You need to have some way to learn about what's going on in the outside world.

 

Even in a widespread power outage or other disaster, your local AM/FM stations have backup generators and will be broadcasting important alerts. 

 

The Emergency Broadcast System will be transmitting through them, too.

 

But that brings me to 1 simple mistake a lot of people make when gearing up for survival communications, and it really comes down to your choice of AM/FM radio.

 

Lots of people already know they need one... but they go too big when they buy it, because so many of the survival radios on the market are freaking HUGE.

 

Especially if you have to bug out and take your stuff with you, space and weight are really going to matter.

If your survival radio is too big, in other words, it isn't convenient for moving around, and it uses up space in your pack that could be devoted to other, critical gear.

 

That's why, for survival and bugging out, you want an AM/FM radio that's as small as possible.

 

Yours for a Socialist-Free America!

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 

USEFUL STUFF…

 


 

The self-proclaimed socialist who honeymooned in the Soviet Union.

Why is he so dangerous?

Let’s take a look at . . .

Where Bernie Sanders Stands on the Issues:

First, he is the creator of the “Medicare-for-All” bill. This plan is estimated to cost about $3.3 trillion a year and would basically make all private health insurance in the U.S. illegal.

This includes any insurance you currently get through your employer.

So where would you go for insurance?

To the government . . . a single payer system.


He also is proposing a $16 trillion climate change plan as part of the Green New Deal he co-sponsored with AOC.

This plan would ban all fracking and sets 2050 as the deadline for the U.S. to reach net-zero carbon emissions.

It would also impose new stricter regulations on energy, driving up the price of oil and gas you pay at the pump.

He also proposes to roll back President Trump’s tax cuts and increase corporate tax rates back to 35% from the current rate of 21%.

When you do the math, you can see that amounts to a 40% hit to corporate profits . . . and a likely 40% DROP in the stock market and your 401(k).

Why You Should Never Charge Your Phone in Rental Cars


Wilderness Survival Tools You Should Always Have
Whether you are an avid camper or hiker or you are preparing for a case where you may find yourself stuck in the wilderness, there a 9 tools you should always have in your survival kit. Read more here.

11 Things You Need to Have Ready When the Power Grid Fails
There is always a threat of power grid failure whether it be at the hands of a natural disaster or that of a foreign entity wanting to wreak havoc on our nation. Here are 11 critical things you need to have ready in case that happens. Read more here.

 


Cowboys had it good when they were in camp, and they had easy access to everything they needed on the Chuck Wagon, but when they headed out on the trail, it was a different story.

 On the trail, it was just them and what they could carry on their horse. A lot of the survival items they carried would be considered old school today, but if there’s one lesson we’ve learned from history it’s that the old ways endure.

 Let’s take a look at what a cowboy took out on the trail. In the following video, Sensible Prepper talks about 10 items cowboys took with them on the trail. Here they are...

 


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3 comments:

Cindy said...

I got one of your charging solar radios-great for emergencies! When are you going to restock the other chargers?

Rona said...

After looking around locally for a small transistor radio, I gave up-no one carries them. I did order one from your site though!

Stoney said...

Interesting-good resources.