Are you truly prepared to survive what is coming?
It could prove to be the darkest period yet for modern civilization and the age of technocracy.
An EMP, a natural disaster, a nuclear attack, an economic collapse or a declaration of martial law rank among just some of the worst scenarios that could befall our society. And if you are not prepared, you will fall along with the masses.
Not long ago, the London Guardian interviewed global crisis expert and author Nafeez Ahmed, extracting lots of great info to think about prepping for survival.
Ahmed, who was involved with advising on a video game that included realistic portrayals of crisis aftermath, brought up lots of good points, including basics like:
1. Don’t hole up alone with hundreds of tins of baked beans
“There’s a survivalist response which is ‘I’m going to hide away all by myself’,” says Ahmed. “You’re probably not going to survive like that – you have to cooperate with other people… The more people who band together, the more likely you are to be able to rebuild something like a society.2. You need to go rural … but not too rural
“Cities are found to be extremely vulnerable simply because there are so many supply chains that are interdependent… People will be competing with each other for these scarce resources, which creates violence… You need a group of differently skilled people who can work cooperatively in order to build your own supply chains and flourish…”3. You need access to running water and agricultural land
“There’s also the need to grow your own food,” says Ahmed. “Again you’re better off doing that with a group of people on a large area of land where you can apportion labour. That’s not going to work as well in an urban environment.”5. Don’t necessarily trust the government or law enforcement
All major governments have contingency plans in place to ensure their survival after a global disaster…. What we can be fairly certain of, however, is that it will involve the suspension of constitutional government and the instalment of martial law. To some degree.
But the most interesting discussion was on communications during a survival situation.
Of course, a lot of it has been brought up by different survival sources, but it is amazing how inventive people could be in setting up networks, even if the main internet went offline or was inaccessible.
4. Establish communications
The basic method of acquiring information will be a wind-up or solar-powered radio. However, to actually communicate with the outside world, or with members of your community, you may be back to walkie-talkies, two-way radios or even a citizen band radio…
Apparently, using a few repurposed items in tandem with alternative sources of energy could go a long way, and in the right configuration might even successfully set up a worthwhile local network.
If the internet providers and content sources go down, you can go it alone on a small scale, according to Ahmed:
Your best option, then, may be to set up your own community computer network – and the most sensible technology would be Wi-Fi, as the components are easily available. “You could loot a PC World for broadband routers and then hit a garage or supermarket for some Pringles cans,” says Bloch. “With those, you can probably build a reasonable network across a scorched suburb.”
Why a Pringle can? Well, it can be used to create a cantenna which would be capable of boosting a Wi-Fi signal from your computer. “Some students in Kansas made a cantenna that transmitted over 100 miles a few years ago,” says Bloch. He suggests using a cheap Raspberry Pi as the combined communications hub and router (although a basic netbook may be a good alternative). “I ran an old Pi off four AA batteries for four hours just to play a video game a while back, and that was wasting power on bluetooth and speakers. They can shift a lot of traffic, and run little servers, so I imagine you could run tiny hubs off a car battery for 1-2 weeks at a time.
“If you ran an old-school email network off those, it’d be quite handy and expandable piece by piece as you contacted neighbouring villages, cleared the zombies out, etc. I guess that’s the nice thing about the internet: the oldest protocols still adapt to this situation. I think some people really want to see this happen, just so they can prove it.”
A Pringles can to create a “cantenna” for wifi transmission? That bears some further explanation:
Getting a wifi antenna from pringles tube (DIY Cantenna)
Along with a number of low tech alternatives, there is also the chance that you and a network of survivors could piece together a wireless mesh network with radios or cell phones:
Broadband Over Radio Wireless Mesh Network Experimentation for Emergency Communications
It’s all very technical, so if you are serious about survival, it is obviously essential to test it before things collapse. Nevertheless, it offers up some rewarding possibilities.
According to Ahmed, who posts his work regularly to his personal website, it would be
“a long time before everything is safe… If you really wanted to stay safe, I think you’ll need to survive for a decade before civilisation sorts itself out.”
There are too many scenarios to list here, and every reason to think the world is titled towards ensuing chaos, and a grander attempt at “order out of chaos” than anyone has yet seen.
Read More:
Homeland Security Conceals “Secret Plan to Cut Cell Service” During Emergencies
Top 10 Survival Downloads You Should Have
Deadly Reliance on Tech: “If Internet Goes Down… Preppers Will Be Last Ones Standing”
This Rural Community Stopped “Relying on Corporate America” and Created its Own Internet Service
How To Survive Occupied America: “We Will Eventually Face a Totalitarian Dictatorship”
This is neat, but when TSHTF I’m not going to have time to set on the computer.
Sgt.
When the big storm knocked out my power for ten days, it took me about three days to get everything working the way I wanted. For those three days I worked 12 to 14 hours a day. Day four I put my feet up for half the day and enjoyed the fruit of my work. However we spent several more days working our tails off to help out friends and relatives at their homes.
I’ve always said, one prep not to overlook is a multipack or two of “work gloves”, and expect to wear them out!
Speaking of Gloves, I burned through 5 pairs of heavy leather gloves and one pair of work boots in my first year living off the Grid on Raw land at my BOL, just working to get it set up to this point. And just bought a few more pairs of gloves. I am now enjoying my new off then Grid living. Just hooked up a 12V digital meter reader display on the outside of the Solar battery Box yesterday, so I now can just look out the window of my cottage, and see what the batteries are doing with the meter display reading the voltage charge on the side of the battery box, and it lights up at night as well. I used to have to go out, lift up the lid and click the battery meter or read it off the Controller. I used common speaker wire to connect up the digital reader to measure the Batter Voltage. The digital reader was like $3 off Amazon.
One of the main things about living off the Grid and getting set up is the larger amount of time to get a task done. NOTHING COMES FAST!! And ever piece you build, helps add in convenience of time, which then frees your time up to accomplish more tasks. You absolutely need to have refrigeration of some kind, which means you need to have Solar Power to run it. If you have no way to preserve daily foods or keep them cold, you may cook too much food or have to throw it out, if you can’t eat it at that setting. Plan on $5K Min, to get a real Solar Unit for a power supply for a small cottage. I run table saws, Drills, grinders, A/C, Fridge 24/7 and lights at night all off my Solar System. It can produce up to 5-6 Kilowatts of Power a day. I only use less than 2 Kilowatts per day right now. So it will produce twice the power I usually use for daily consumption. No Power will suck big time. Internet is a luxury, but I also run a Satellite dish to capture the Internet. And that too is powered up by Solar as well as my laptop and phone chargers. Electricity is right up there with Water as an essential for prolonged sustainable living. You can also run Well Pumps with a 12V pump that will push water up a 130 ft well shaft, if needed to a cistern or catch system, or move water up a hill from a lake or what ever for irrigation, and a 12V water well solar pump is only like $225 and will run quiet.
Many of those who write many of these survival articles, Are writing them based on Theory, and not True Experience. I will tell ya WTF Works or not.
I am not into nigger rigged Potato Can WiFi BS, if I can buy the unit for pennies now.
I don’t have any Mo Utility Bills, just a Satellite Internet connection $59 / Mo, a Cell Phone Bill $39 Mo, and Car Insurance $78 / Mo.
The rest of any expenses, are food, gas, Fed Income Taxes, and my property taxes out here in the country of FL are just over $300 Annually for less than 5 acres of wooded heaven, peace and serenity. I should have done this years ago. So Ya’ll can talk about it it dreamland, or really go do it. You ain’t getting any younger. The older you are, the more tired you will get accomplishing tasks like clearing land. It will take a full year to get set up off the Grid from Raw land. And I still have a lot of projects to do.
~WWTI…
WhoWTF,
Sweet, sounds like you have a handle on it. Translating theory to reality is an eye opener. I’d love to hear more in the future about your trials and tribulations.
Food, clothing and shelter will be the order of the day. Stay quiet Be smart.
WWTI, I’ll give you a lot of credit. You always have a handle on things. I’ll be going back to GA in June on another supply run or it could turn into the BUGOUT, depending on circumstances.
Has anybody yet reached the very end of the internet?
I wonder what folks shall do once that end is finally reached?
I estimate I may get very close to that end of internet by around this august 21st if not sooner…It all depends on how many new websites I vist I rekon eh.
Sgt.,
One thing for sure, news and information will become a premium. Any thing that increases your ability to gather information and news from the outside world will be well worth the while. Local news on FM and AM radio, Ham radio, walky-talkies, SW radio, etc., will be the main sources for finding out what happened. Most likely, computers and internet systems will be down. There will be no newspapers, or magazines. There was a time in my travels around the world that I always kept a AM/FM/SW radio with me. I have been surprised more than once on receiving news and signals where I thought it was impossible! I was unable to connect with the outside but I felt empowered by knowing what was going on, on the outside. Most of the time it may be just ‘word of mouth’. Communications and ways to communicate are so important. A small radio with a wire antenna extension could be life saving and should be a part of every bugout bag.
Mac, thank you for bringing focus back on communications and networking. We can learn from Ahmed! Thanks!
Louisiana Eagle
as usual there will be different points of view on many things, and depending WHAT the reason for the SHTF, comms will be low importance and at times high importance, so ANY information will be needed to make decisions on survival. so the knowledge to obtain info when needed IS what is important!
Have a Weather Radio. Knowing ahead that a Big Ass storm with lots of rain is coming days in advance is priceless, in preparing to ride out the storm. Having a week to prepare for a hurricane is huge, or you can wait till the wind starts blowing everything apart in the middle of the night, then figuring out what to do, will suck bigtime. That’s what Comms will do for ya.
~WWTI…
Or you can be prepared all the time and not worry. If a hurricane hit right now, all I would have to do is take down the front porch swing.
laeagle, damn good points about shortwave. I’ve been into shortwave ever since I was a kid. I keep 2 portable Grundigs in a faraday cage for backup. Plus, don’t forget the batteries. I have a shitload of batteries for them in another faraday cage. A shortwave with antenna wire and alligator clips used to be my No. 1 source of information before I learned computers and that only came about right after Katrina. If/when the grid goes, I don’t think AM and FM stations will last long in any SHTF scenario. SW will become the primary source of info. You can still get a portable SW in the $200-$300 range and it’s money well-spent.
Braveheart1776,
I grew up listening to SW radios. I remember Zenith had one of the best radios at one time. I do like the small Sony SW radios for portability. I think, HAM is the way to go as well. I have seen HAM operators deep in the jungles of SE Asia communicating with folks from around the world. But SW radio is the way to go. I was deep in the Mekong gorge in SW China and was able to listen to VOA on an AM station! I was out in the Korakorum desert of Central Asia and listened to news developments out of Europe in English on an AM band! FM for local stations that might still be up and broadcasting. I am sure the folks who are into this kind of broadcasting will be very creative in getting news and information out.
If one is not use to it, a sense of isolation is a horrible and overwhelming feeling to experience. Hope is kept alive by communications and connections with others. It is wonderful to know that there are other people out there who care and want to help. It may be just a wall that separates us but even just a friendly knock can be comforting.
Louisiana Eagle
The only thing that requires no Infrastructure to communicate and listen long distance is Ham HF Radio. The signal bounces off the Ionosphere. All you need is a radio, 12 volts and a wire antenna up in the trees.
Here are a few great places to start:
https://amrron.com/
http://sparks-31.blogspot.com/
https://danmorgan76.wordpress.com/
SGT: When the SHTF you will have nothing but time, to use wisely. I urge everyone to go out and buy lots of rechargeable batteries of all sizes and a battery charger to recharge them. You can recharge these batteries 800 to 1,000 times. Even at $3 a piece for a D cell, that power is cheap over time.
Get a solar generator. Not so cheap, but INDISPENSABLE.
I recently picked up a few small, battery powered fans from Wally World for about $15 each. They have two speeds and are very quiet. Got mine. Get yours. 🙂
DK,
I grabbed up a couple plastic ammo boxes from my local big box sporting goods store.
The one for .308 ammo holds AA batteries perfectly, and the one they sell for .223 holds AAA batteries. Each battery is in a separate space and if it leaks, it can’t contaminate the rest.
I have a high speed smart charger that will handle up to 10 NiCads or NiMHyd AA or AAA batteries that came with an car adapter and 120/60 wall wart. I also have a solar panel that can run it. I also have battery adapters that let me use a AA where a C or D cell was intended.
Rechargeable batteries are a bit low in voltage. Normally 4 AA alkaline batteries give you 6 volts, but rechargeables run about 1.2 volts so it takes 5 to give you six volts. To this end I ordered a few 5 cell AA battery boxes. Now I can hotwire in a rechargeable pack where needed and don’t have performance problems due to low voltage.
I’m good for a few years with what I have.
Good info. Thanks.
PTPO, I experimented with rechargeables a few years ago and turned away from them for the same reasons you mentioned. I tried running some in one of my Grundigs and the performance definitely left something to be desired. so now I’ve got a huge supply of alkalines for my radios, LED lights, etc.
Just a few years ago, MiMH batteries went through a major change. They learned how to make cells that can hold 80% of their charge for up to a year. They used to go dead in a month or two, not good.
This is a game changer for preppers. The low voltage problem is easily addressed for 6, or 12 volt products though you may need to mount the battery pack on the outside to hold the extra battery or two.
It is worth revisiting.
Research 18650 batteries. These are a common type of LiPo cell that comes in everything from laptops to Tesla cars and so plenty will be around for the taking in a collapse situation. The charging regulators are available cheap on online auction sites and the batteries can be had for free with any broken laptop. They also sell flashlights and power banks to put salvaged cells into for around $1-5, depending on the number of cells and how fancy they are. Right now I have a power bank that I got for $1.30 and a USB flashlight module I paid $0.80 for and it made a great EDC flashlight that also doubles as a charger for my phone. The battery came from my laptop junk pile. Just a word of caution: NEVER short these batteries or charge or discharge them improperly. They can fail in spectacular fashion and cause injury to anyone too close to them in the process. Always use a charge regulator board. They are cheap at around $1 each (or included in a battery bank) and good insurance. Just be sure to monitor the batteries the first time they charge to be certain they are not getting too hot. If they are, they are charging too fast and could fail.
(I had a longer version of this post written, edited and ready to post. For some reason though, I kept getting a 404 error every time I tried to post it. It wasn’t that long, only 3 paragraphs, so I wonder why it wouldn’t go…)
LiPo batteries are good batteries.However they are very particular to charge and charging rates. you cant just plug and play chargers. You must have a charger that is matched to the cell.
That was my point about using 18650 cells. They are well scienced out at this point and so generic solutions do exist so long as you work within their functional parameters and do not over or under charge them. They have to be charged at different rates depending on where in the charge cycle they are with the first 20% being a very slow trickle charge, 20-80% being a fast charge and the remaining 20% being done slowly. I have tested the different charge controlers I have using a USB charger doctor and a multimeter and they have no issue working with the Samsung and Sanyo cells I have. There are also charge control circuits that can be soldered directly to the caps of the cells to provide individual protection but so far I have not needed them for my purposes.
Winston,
My daughter had a laptop die before its time. The motherboard blew, not worth repairing. I said I’d take the battery pack. I took it apart and found eight 18650 lithium batteries.
I found a charger on Amazon that charges one to four 18650 cells in about an hour, it also handles AAA or AA NiMH or NiCad (it auto detects battery chemistry and capacity) and it was about $15.
I also found an array of very bright flashlights, including a Piccatini mount tactical light.
These batteries are nearly 3 amp hours and will run a blindingly bright light for ten or twelve hours. They also work down to -40 F, alkaline batteries begin to hybernate when temperatures go below freezing. These lithium batteries are superior survival tools.
Dang,
That’s Picatinny Mount Tactical Light.
Cool! All you need now is some form of portable charging solution and you’re all set. My preference is solar, and as soon as I can get off my butt and finish it, I will have a bug out bag ready setup that should output around an amp at peak sunlight and fit in a small travel case. It’s important to think about a sustainable power solution that is lightweight and easy to pack and carry because you never know what situation you will run into.
The 18650 charger I found on Amazon also has a 12 volt input. I do have a 12v gel battery that I can charge from a panel I have. The 12 volt input also works off a car cigarette plug as well. I have an 800 watt 12vdc to 120/60 inverter that completes the power loop.
I have a 6KW generator that can run all but the big oven in my house, but it needs fuel. I keep enough fuel and oil to keep it running 10 solid days, longer if I ration or the weather is cooperative. I don’t see a generator as a long term prepper tool, there just isn’t an endless supply of fuel and oil for oil changes.
It all depends on how it hits the fan. It may not be the glorious scenario of your fantasies, but something far more pedestrian and having this knowledge would be quite valuable in such times.
Death by a million tiny cuts, far more likely than anything else, in fact i would bet i die of old age or a disease like cancer before anything significant happens
Kula, Most will die of simple cuts or wounds untreated or without propert Anti-biotics to fight the infections. Everybody needs to do this right now. GET YOUR TETANUS SHOT UP TO DATE. YOU CAN DIE WITHIN DAYS FROM INFECTION STEPPING ON A NAIL. You get lock jaw and your body tightens up and you can’t move and just die. And why it is important to get this before any disaster. Take you WHOLE Family into the clinic for this shot ASAP. A must have.
Tetanus is different from other vaccine-preventable diseases because it does not spread from person to person. The bacteria are usually found in soil, dust and manure and enter the body through breaks in the skin – usually cuts or puncture wounds caused by contaminated objects.
Today, tetanus is uncommon in the United States, with an average of 29 reported cases per year from 1996 through 2009. Nearly all cases of tetanus are among people who have never received a tetanus vaccine, or adults who don’t stay up to date on their 10-year booster shots.
~WWTI…
Was talking more figurative than literal,,,
A few years ago, my mom got bit by a recluse spider, and the doc said the t shot she got 5 months earlier saved her life.
Strange, but true…
Why has no one come up with a WW2 type injection unit with the t vaccine in it?
That would be a excellent barter item.
Hmmmmm….
In ’64, my mom stepped on a nail and had red streaks up her legs, went to hospital to get well.
T is wicked, get your shots soon.
Thanks, WWTI…
I in the same “boat of attitude” as SGT DALE is, they’ll be little time for computing.
ALSO AND MOST IMPORTANT – The very LAST thing YOU wish to do in a post SHTF situation is to “broadcast” your exact location (and you can ‘bet your booty’ they’ll be at least a few satellites (on generators), that can pick up signals FAR ‘fainter’ than WiFi’s …so I am sorry to say that COMM in that form would not be very wise (not at the onset anyway). LATER DOWN THE ROAD MAYBE, but NOT when everything is upside down.
Last, perhaps Martial Law will be instilled, yet even if it is, it is non-Constitutional and thus WE THE PEOPLE do NOT have to abide with one word of it …and once things get to a point such as the article states, about 50% will let the gov fuck them into the ground and the other 50% will “take care of themselves” and once again create many great things “from nothing.” We’ve done it more than once thus we can do it again.
Life has no warranty nor does it say anywhere life will be easy. Life DOES give you many choices, so make them very wisely in the days to come as you won’t be able to ‘back up’ and change directions. You MUST do it right the FIRST time, or else the ones who ARE will ‘cover the bloodstains’ with YOUR body. (Read up in Military Manuals the topics of ‘close-quarters combat’, guerrilla warfare techniques and how to place (at least) three ‘caches’ (in a triangle of sorts), so that you do not go without. You read and you’ll find it as it’s in every special forces manual (SEALS, Green Barets and ANY OTHER ‘commando stuff’.
Nobody expects anyone to read then go out and fight like a SEAL …but it won’t hurt your chances a bit to shed as much light on these ‘scenarios’ as possible. Things like; “What do you do if you THINK someone may have ‘tagged’ and is following you”? (One answer: Marines most often ‘circle back’ in order to come up behind whomever may be tracking them. At other times, you are better off laying an ambush (but avoidance of firefights will definitely extend your life-expectancy, of course).
Ah, there IS one thing I wish EVERYONE would take note of (except veterans because they are already aware of the following:
“NOBODY EVER LOOKS UP”! Civilians sneaking through a forest looking for a person NEVER, EVER (seem) to look up, and you could be up high in any ‘thick’ (like blue spruce) fir tree pressed against the trunk, invisible. So remember that headed for “the trees” DOES have a meaning: CLIMB AND CAMO YOUR ASS.
If you have already purchased or made a Ghillie Suit for yourself, you already know how to use it. If you don’t, you really shouldn’t consider using it without any input on the “do’s and ‘do nots’ of Ghillie’s! (For instance, the paint you camo your ghillie with COULD explode into flame if you get too close to a campfire (many have died IN their “flaming suits”. If you soaked it in mineral spirits and silicone to make it waterproof, let it hang outside a month (at least), or you’d be walking around in a self-made body-incinerator (cheap to bury though).
*Never set yourself up next to a tree or trees or foremost in a treeline (you’ll stand out like a sore thumb).
*Never travel on the ‘ridge’ of a mountain or hill. Your silhouette will be an instant target.
*Learn how to make and use Dakota Fire Pits AND how to make a fire (even in pouring down rain or a howling blizzard).
*Learn how to roll up polyethelene and tree leaves to make a waterproof shelter that will stay 80 degrees, even if it’s below freezing outside. If you have mylar emergency blankets use them instead of the ‘poly’. (Far more warmth is reflected back at you, like 95%).
*Triple check ALL of your weapons and get ‘whatever’ for spare parts now, if you are able. (I have used a dremel tool more than once to make my own ‘gun parts’ (nothing dramatic, just small things that one would expect to be able to make with a dremel (and all the toys that go with one, including a drill press …you need VERY ‘perfect’ work when gunsmithing!
*Use animal ‘scat’ to hide your human scent whenever needed, such as if you hear ‘coon hounds’ howling and baying as they spread through the woods (they can be knived and hushed quickly) …quicker if you have a ‘hush-puppy’. Look under SEALs (during the 70’s-80’s) for that info.
Perhaps SGT DALE would be interested in making an ‘anonymous’ post explaining what a civilian can do once they find they’ve been tossed into an illegal arena called Martial Law (non-constitutional no matter how you slice it, and did the sheriffs NOT tell us to NOT OBEY ANY MORE GUN LAWS? The reason for Martial Law would be solely to take the guns, so I suppose it IS coming, if not Obama then Hillary …but it’s bound to occur (the article is right on facet; The US Government is set up to sustain ITSELF (NOT the people of the nation) when times get rough. Don’t be expecting ANY assistance from Uncle Sam. If you ‘fall for it’ (whatever ‘they’ may promise or suggest), run the opposite direction – – for your life (literally).
I agree with the fact that people seldom look up into a tree canopy, and even if they do- half the time they don’t know what they are seeing if they do. I will never bury anything to cache it. We live in a forest.
Equorial, excellent post. you took the words right out of my mouth, but that’s OK.
Grandpa said, of his fight in WWII, the worst image he was haunted by was that of a Japanese soldier long dead. They were running a recon mission to insure security of a common trail from some insignificant beachhead to a nearby spring, yes water was that critical.
As they walked up the trail one guy yelled “sniper in the tree 2:00 o’clock high”. Everyone hit the dirt and opened up with everything they had.
Gramps instinctively hit the dirt, as usual time slowed to slow motion. He looked up to see a bloated body of a long dead Japanese tied into a tree as hundreds of rounds ripped through his corpse, exploding parts like a watermelon. He couldn’t answer why this was the image he could not process from the war, but it was the one he woke up to on a regular basis for the rest of his life. It was the image that made him fear the face of God on the day he might die.
Just go buy a WiFi antenna booster now. You can get them for like $25 and steal signals already out there. Why this McGiver BS?
~WWTI…
to be honest, if it does all go ‘south’, I’m actually going to be a bit relieved that the techno-idiocy is over for a time. If it never came back – good. And I’ve been in electronics as a career for most of my working life, an IT or programmer since ’74. All I see is addiction anymore.
Absolutely agree… I see it in family members as well as co-workers. It seems like 90% of the time spent online is wasted on unproductive garbage. There is so much that could be done and learnt but they would rather play games.
What,and miss more doom articles,come on,a few minutes a day?! Cantennas work well but must be unobstructed,last I checked record was over a 100 miles but was barren outback of Aussie land.
Last thing i will be thinking bout will be phone or computer,,, in fact that stuff wont be anywhere near me
I doubt the 100 miles. I did this professionally for many years for oil fields and transportation networks. WiFi is really rangeless. You need lots of power to get it to go anywhere. That is exactly why they chose that frequency. To limit interference.
You can use 900mhz and get perhaps 40 miles but the bandwidth and the data rate will be very low. You get lots of lost packets and corrupted data. There are many devices you can buy for cheap that will convert from wifi to 900mhz or you can make your own.
Many people use xbees With zigbee protocol. It works ok. But the best bet if you want real communications is Ham with packet radio. Large bandwidth. unlimited range and hard to block.
Ed,will search thru me bookmarks,have article in there somewhere,will post either today/tomm.
Sgt.
Believe it or not, we will all be starving for information, and will consider it time worth the while to get the news and information that we need. News and information will be a premium!
Louisiana Eagle
Don’t starve too much cause there is a chance that the information will be bogus to either locate you or draw you in.
Yes. Surprising people are wasting time connecting computers over a few miles when they could be reaching out with 10 meter and really getting some news from other locales.
I’d also be surprised if vestiges of government in a disaster locale really give a hoot about people talking on 10 meter, unless they are also in the dark. Historically, HAMs frequently assist in disasters.
Ed, my next purchase is going to be a small handheld HAM radio. In post-SHTF there won’t be any internet, so the only things computers will be good for is looking at any info saved on it, on a thumb drive, or watching a DVD on the CD/ROM.
Ham is only good for voice in the clear.However if you add a computer to it you can send other information and even encrypt it or even hide it within your voice communications.
There is a lot you can do with computers.
I’ve seen small amplifier antennae sold for use in picking up distant wifi – a good one can reach a few miles. Not a bad idea if you have a laptop and means of charging it.
Connectivity or receiving of a signal might end up a beacon right to you
And I don’t say that like it would be a good thing
All the government has is a hammer , if you stick up like a nail , expect to get slammed in up to your neck
When all this crap goes down , I’ll be too busy getting with it to give a shit about anything other than taking care of buiz for me and my family and those I trust
+1
I wouldn’t worry too much about receiving a signal as it is passive. It’s sending a signal that will get you into trouble.
I suggest people havie some air horns. The kind sold by small boat supply companies as well as some signal flares.
With the right set up you can use a long range antenna to connect your wifi to a distant wifi. If a chain of people do this they can create a long distance wireless network that at some point can connect with the Internet, and thus bring everyone on line.
I have a public library about a mile away line of sight. I always wondered if I could connect with the right antenna set up on my roof.
Go google “mesh networks”
Mesh networks are good for anonymity unless of course it is the internet. However they are slow because each node has to accept the packet process it and send it on its way. packets go any with way and arrive at the destination usually out of order and need to be reassembled. It all takes time so data rate is slow.
Ham radio has all these communications issues solved with highly reliable results (packet radio mentioned above). Ham radio provides email, text messaging, and other internet like functions with or without any internet infrastructure support. Ships can use ham radio to send & receive email from any ocean location….. ham radio is the ultimate ticket when our exist services go south (permanently) …..
I have arrived and will report to the VCC voulenteer comand center.80,000 evacuees so far with one fatality. A 15 year old girl. From what I undersrsnd one of triplets. The 3 girls and their mother were trying to get away from the flames in the families SUV when they were struck by a of all fuvking things a log truck. The family was on the designated escape route all commercial traffic was suspended 24 hours prior what was he doing there we’ll never know he’s dead too.
Where was the father in all this : he’s the fire captain that took the call and showed up on scene. FUCK ME BUBBA LOUIE now he’s lost a daughter and he’s not doing well emotionally and he’s needed in this fight he commands up to 100 oilfield fire fighters specially trained in oil well suppression.
Please pray this man finds the strength he needs to get back into this fight.
If that fire starts taking out wells you’ll see the fires in Texas I’ve heard the smoke has reached Florida can anyone confirm this? Look it up folks the pictures are all over the internet.the town is just …. just …..GONE. the smoke is thick you can feel the fire in the wind looks like a huge bomb went off fire destruction on a scale I couldn’t have imagined very demoralizing to see this.
Angry Beaver;
Let’s see, in the last week or so you have been riding down buffalo, fighting wild fires, god knows what else. Do you wear a fucking cape? Just kidding. Makes my life seem really mundane.
I’ve never been one to shy away from my duty or a direct challenge.but I do not wear a cape lol. I’ve managed to get myself in situations like this all my life. I grew up with my grandparents stories of the depression the war and many other family stories. So when something like this presents itself you gotta man you just have to. No fear and no doubt just forward
We are midway between the fire and Florida and there’s no sign nor smell of a wood fire. Nothing. Perhaps further East down on ‘flat ground’ (Eastern N. Carolina) they are getting some (I know Maine is rather ‘cloudy’, but they are used to it.
6 Baofengs for $81 on Amazon. Get some AA batt packs for them, keep them in a RF bag, charge them with a Goal Zero small solar panel. Uniden scanner loaded with local frequencies, Grundig FM/SW, Enloop AA batts…
Jackson- go ahead and get 100 Baofengs(4 watts).. about 8 miles range. Guarantee you’ll get “doubled” on by a real ham with 100-2000 watts. OH, and make sure the rubber duck antenna is replaced with a better one. Ham radio is not as easy as you think. Learn antenna theory and apply that knowledge to a good rig. I needed to crunch the numbers for about a week to build my antenna.(multi-frequency ). Then you’ll need to be close to a repeater… do you know the frequency and PL tones? Know how to program them? Please don’t waste money unless you will learn everything to get your license. If you have no call sign, you will be rooted out by the feds or other hams and in a shtf situation, it won’t be pleasant- possibly a one way ticket to FEMA camps. We hams welcome others to be hams with open arms, but please get your “ticket”.
Getting permission to use a radio,,,,,,
Rather not get it
And do you really think that if TSHTF the feds will be able to find a guy remote transmitting and moving?
If your a ham that will snitch people out after TSHTF your the one who needs to be in a fema camp
Kula- yes, I’m a ham. Ham operators have a “treasure hunt” every so often to find a remote transmitter to claim a prize… so, yes, a knowledgable person will easily find a pirate station. Moving or not, and since you’re on an island,….. ? Easier still. Now I’m not stupid, ANYONE can transmit durung an emergency and I for one support that wholeheartedly! But to transmit just to hear one’s head rattle is another story. I have witnessed first hand just how quickly tempers flare with “pirates”. What I was referring to is that HF or VHF/FM radio is different than picking up a laptop and emailing. The intricacies involved with ham definitely require knowledge. Most new hams do NOT realize that antenna theory and antenna usage is TANTAMOUNT to propagation, as well as linear amps correctly utilized so as not to destroy a $4000 investment. As to your comment towards me being a snitch, I AM aware that “snitches get stitches” — so gracious of you to think of others.
” you will be rooted out by the feds or other hams and in a shtf situation”
Are you one of these hams?
A.- I can understand a Ham being annoyed with many thousands of cheap Chinese 2-ways being sold worldwide without the buyer being registered. That has been discussed here, as well as watts & range, repeaters, antennas. etc. I agree there is a lot to know to do it right. And I think most here know Ham operators can be lifesavers in tough situations.
I got my Baofeng as an affordable alternative to some “X mile” Cobra-type handhelds that can only get out about a 1/2 mile in a city. Its all about survival communication After collapse, when maybe I’ll be able to at least scan for info, or even by chance call out and respond. We are talking a don’t give a rat’s ass about rules situation- In such a SHTF scenario, who can say- maybe you’ll hear my MayDay, maybe I’ll hear yours…
Jackson- The main concern about ham is first and foremost — What constitutes an emergency. ALL hams will react IMMEDIATELY to an emergency call no matter who is transmitting! Call sign or not. Apparantly Ed reacted too soon and didn’t fully understand, I DID say something about “just hearing one’s head rattle”… I’m happy you understood what I was saying. Secondly, Baofengs do NOT get “better range” unless you consider being in range of a REPEATER…. repeaters are installed by hams at their own costs. You see the concerns… hams prefer not to have vile, incendiary transmissions traveling the world. Transmissions do not stop after they reach an intended target… this is why we are trained, and CB radio frequencies are available. As you remember, in the 1970’s how silly CB became with all the “10-4 good buddy” and “convoy” types, leading to it’s demise on popularity. CB is still available for non-emergency public transmissions. Please use that frequency. Otherwise, you will likely not get a response using ham radio. IE., you will waaste money buying a ham transmitter.
Yes, in my area, there is an oathkeeper group using one repeater on a given day to practice a useful service for about an hour. All of whom do not have call signs. They are not a priority concern, because the owner of the repeater realizes the INTENT of the group. As to hearing your Mais dais, perhaps I will.. rest assured I WILL respond. IN AN EMERGENCY.
Please consider getting your ham license. RACES and ARES can always use a concerned emergency responder as you seem to be. Also realize an amatuer radio operator will be a tremendous asset to the public’s safety and well being during ANY shtf situation. The FCC is aware of this and is not affiliated with “the gobment” as many think. Discard the notion that ALL agencies are the same.
So in the end, we are more alike than everyone here realizes. Your concerns are mine and vice versa.
WouXon makes some handhelds that are dual band-just the instructions stink, programmable via laptop or desktop. One other means to glean a source of information-satcom.
Weather Sats-look up the type of antennas, decoders and software needed and at least you’ll have an idea how much time you’ll have before the next snow/rain or whatever weather event comes along.
I’m working on digging around information on WX sat using the Raspberry Pi as a terminal for reception and decoding.
OT-when out camping and you’re using those “water resistant ” match containers-prior to going out, dump the matches these came with. Get the Diamond Strike Anywhere-and then replace the O-rings on these containers-mine fell apart after 6 months. Use the O-rings designed for faucets-there’s a specially made lubricant that you can apply (a little dab will do you) and the rings last up to 12 months.
Be well.
Cat
There’s far more potential here than people realize. Google ‘Wireless ISP’ and fixed-wireless equipment. WISPs cover the nation, forming essentially a parallel telecommunications system. These small or medium-sized networks are locally owned and operated, and can easily cover hundreds of square miles.
The range & speed record for this gear is 220km at 100Mbps both directions, using Ubiquiti AirFiber 5x radios and 3-foot dish antennas. Shorter-range gear can easily exceed 1Gbps.
Not possible.
First of all Most radio, including the Ubiquitis are line of sight. Even a radio on a 100 ft mast has a horizon of only 12 miles. If you can get the antenna up with enough height you can get more range. However further range means lower data rate for a number of factors. Even on the internet there is packet loss and corruption. That is why modern Communications are a 2 way system. The airwaves are a maelstrom of signals of all kinds. Your radio picks them all up at the antenna and has to sort thru everything. It is very easy to make mistakes. The sender sends a certain amount of data at a time and then waits for the receiver to acknowledge that it received the data. If the receiver dosent acknowledge the transmission, The sender sends it again until either a timeout or a certain number of retries occurs. The only way to compensate for corrupted packets is to increase power so your signal is stronger than everything else. Not so easy to do.
We’re doing it. I run a network with 2 other guys covering 1000 sq km, and it works great. Other guys cover much larger areas. We use 18 tower sites linked with Airfiber, and use AirMac-AC to get service to customers, up to 50Mbps. Been at it 6 years.
Yes, line-of-sight. Putting your gear on a 7000 ft tall mountain helps a lot, or a grain tower/skyscraper/barn roof/etc.
That’s the nice thing about quality gear, it overcomes those limitations you refer to.
Two cans and a string…
If you can afford to, set up a ham radio before TSHTF. It is a nerdy kids perfect toy/hobby. My cousin had one. He seemed to enjoy it. He got paid an obscene amount of money for his tech skills when he became an adult. But the poor guy was/is unable to do much of anything that requires two cents worth of common cents. It takes all kinds. Sometimes the biggest jerks can be the most useful. Don’t reject idiots out of hand. Some of them are geniuses in their isolated fields, if they’re lucky enough to be put into the right activity for their interests and abilities.
I do not want to bust anyone’s bubble, but it all come’s down to power. Not many will have solar and battery’s will only last so long. What we have done is to learn to live without any power and just rely on watching our own surroundings, because that my friend means life or death.
Just be ready because no one can predict the future to any degree of accuracy bar none. Spend the rest of what time we many have with family and close friends and by all means prepare as only you see fit to do for yourself and love-ones.
Ok so we all know about the fire in ft McMurray Alberta. I was watching the news yesterday before work and a woman was interviewed and she said the authority’s told her she had 5 mins to leave her home. 5 mins folks that is not along time. Is your home organized so you can grab the most important things in a hurry. This is a bug out situation the decision to leave has been made. Is your stuff ready to go quickly. This is throw your shit in the car now and leave. Do you have all your papers to file insurance claims. Your definetly gonna lose everything you own except the stuff you grabbed and ran with. What is important to you. This is a real disaster not a gov conspiracy.
Remember, during Hurricane Katrina that FEMA’s job was not just to control info flow but also to create the info they wanted you to have. There will be plenty of bad info out there.
Speaking of Katrina, what if you were to find yourself in a mass migration event on foot? Like scenes out of WW2. Does anyone have a cart or wheeled implement? I can picture Jewel losing all of their shopping carts. Think about it. The huge forest fire in Canada comes to mind. The Canadians are trying to airlift thousands out of harms way.
I can see most persons leaving comments are assuming we will collapse to a mad max scenario, (don’t know if they actually believe it will or just hopes it will), anyway, there may be shortages, some civil unrest and lawlessness, homelessness, poverty, and so on, but sorry, civilization will not collapse. Since electrical power generation is a priority power will still be available though with possible rationing, and unfortunately gov’t will be censoring all communications, but the Internet should still be functioning. Life will be harder for everyone and their families but society will continue and eventually move past every setback no matter how bad like they have throughout human history. Cell phone networks could be shut down to not allow anything other than local calls, and physical movement may be limited. Uncensored and factual news will be a premium, and the ability to communicate freely, especially out of your area may be difficult. Ham and short wave radio will still be the best way, and old CB radio ranges can be extended with old boosters.
Just the war on coal will cause the electric to fail. there isn’t enough hydro ,solar,wind or nuclear to generate what is needed. Mt coop only owns coal fired. they state if they have to shut down the coal plants the average home electric bill would be $1,000 per month. Most couldn’t pay that much. so the coop would fail. If a residence was a $1000. then how much would a chicken grower house or a factory be? Yes it will collapse and It will quickly be a stone age existence. Most folks have the mindset If I can not have electric nobody else will. The distribution system would be vandalized. they cant guard the whole thing! When there is no electric there is no commerce. no fuel and goods being shipped.
Don’t hold your breath, it’s only a test.
The Department of Homeland Security will release “harmless particle materials” in the city’s subway system next week.
The “non-toxic, safe gas material” will be released at subway stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens in order to understand where hazardous material would travel in the event of a biological terrorist attack.
Off topic but what should be considered vital if the American people want to survive. That being the ongoing existence of the pure evil Monsanto and similar corporate entities hellbent on wiping out the health of Americans in particular, and threatening the worldwide population also. People need to stomp outloud and bring their torches to eradicate this threat to mankind, that have the governments approval. This is most definitely an attack on the human race. Read the article on fromthetrenches.com titled: The Complete History of Monsanto. Their goal is to wipe out and sicken and are in cahoots with Big Pharma. They must be stopped at all cost. This is a major threat against our continuing survival.
Alijamo:
The food revolution.com is an organization started by Ocean Robbins and his father to fight Monsanto and to get the food supply to be safe to eat again. This family rejected an offer by the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Corporation to be part of as they were born into it but turned hippy and socially conscious activists instead. I suggest you join the food revolution. I also believe those of us who are able and sufficiently motivated should start our own groups and fight these monsters who have been deliberately poisoning us.
Recently I learned facts about the so called most evil man in the world, Adolf Hitler. His personal physician was by some accounts not German at all but Semetic. In any case he was caught giving Hitler rat poison. He also got Hitler addicted to amphetamines and was killing him through a carefully orchestrated plan to at first help then destroy his health. Hitler like most victims of such people was so psychologically and physically dependent on the doctor who was killing him that when there was a show down and a group of German doctors who were also employed by Hitler confronted Hitler with the betrayal of his personal physician who was slowly poisoning him to death, Hitler unfortunately sided with the devious physician and get this, he fired the entire staff of German doctors who were trying to save his life. That is the kind of logic that exists in the United States. It is however improving and people are beginning to accept the idea that the food conglomerates may actually be poisoning them intentionally. Did you know that enriched food with iron contains iron fillings. I watched a scientist do a demonstration with some corn flakes. He wet the flakes and extracted the metal filings with a magnet. Hummm. Tasty. cereal killers.
B from CA
At least a good portion of nonsensical behavior is due to toxins that interrupt neurological pathways… fed to us by Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow, Dupont, and Big Pharma. That is why there may not be any big battle for survival. Endocrine disrupters, toxins, and nutrient deficiencies. The true battle is against these Boyz and they are winning. I grow my own food for the most part, but these chemicals are in the air and water. I am far enough from corn fields I hopefully do not have Atrazine in my rainwater. The chemistry on these things is well known, it cannot be innocent or accidental.
Do you think it possible that these two jackasses could stop laughing and acting like a couple of jerks long enough to explain properly how to make this equipment and why we shouldn’t just buy it from Amazon?
Not me. In going to take me & mine and stay hidden for as long as possible. Im not taking any chance of letting someone else know our location. Anyone who happened to be unlucky enough to find us. We would have to kill. I think the saying was loose Lips Sink Ships?
Yes, understood all channels will be constantly scanned and suspect transmissions triangulated when the clampdown hits, so maintain radio silence as much as possible.
But still monitor. I have the police, sheriff, ambulance, state police freqs in the scanner. And a CB to listen in with too.
Ham radio has its place but I would rather have a C.B. unit or FR radio that reach out to about five miles.
They are fraction of the cost of a Ham Radio with no government rules to screw with you. Yes there are rules for C.B. radios.
Main point being you can walk 5 miles but are you going to walk a hundred and the contact area would be unknown and have more undesirables listening in on your communications. Need to set up a code system too.
The best code is a foreign language. American Natives (aka Indians) were our communicators during WW2. If I was AfroAmer. I would go visit an African country and learn the language. Chinese, Japanese, etc. generally have one up on most Americans who only speak English. Even early English is hard to understand. Try reading Shakespeare. I think you could really have fun by combining three or four languages. You would only need to know which languages and then how many words before switching. Could throw in some equations/numbers to further confound ease droppers. Isn’t that the whole idea of getting an education. To learn to talk in code so nobody but your fellow travelers will be able to decipher the meaning of your ramblings.
“Rebuilding society” and “sorting out civilization” is the proverbial “dog returning to his vomit”. The fall of society will be Liberation Day for everyone. Those who are slaves to society and civilization, however, will “wring their hands and gnash their teeth at such liberation. They are the “zombies” which everyone who would be free will have to “clear out” –when those “zombies” come to impose society and civilization (rob, “tax”, take and impose) on the liberated.
I agree the Government plans are to ensure continuation of government. Myself I don’t want or need this government. government is parasitic in nature. Ive had my fill of parasites. Yes it will be a liberation.
We already working on that post internet grid. Not sure if you guys know about the underground Internet it’s real and I have seen it. From what I have learned the writer of this article is on to some impending facts. Make sure you have solar power for at least 110 volts. The others will open for business in. Yu area, you just need to be in on that wi-fi band.. I highly recommend the mac forum, join, ask questions and get some answers, the answers will make you sh…t your pants..preppers are already on to this.. bet all didn’t know I was on to this trend. This I will the only way to reach advancing chi-com and Russians soldiers coming to our area looking for trouble..listen to the most recent Hawk on stevequale.com and see how false flags are taking place either in Houston TX and other surrounding cities, within 20-30 mils of my area and trolls are coming on here telling me to have my head examined.. I just have to laugh.. if we phucking think that we are going all be having a good time by 2017 of May, then think again.. I even talked to my scientist friend and he even told me that nothing has changed, nothing has improved and that things are more dangerous now that Trump got the nomination.. that we are more lickly to get into full blown shtf before years end that we are now into what he calls the RED.. so keep prepping, ge tomorrow food, more ammo, mor of this that what ever makes you happy because if it’s does not happen yet and we prevent it, will be surprised that it still happens a few years form now. I have seen things I hav e talked to combat soldiers and have been told what happens when and invading army enters town,. It flood first by executions of all males and immediately followed, well you now the rest. In fact he walked through that Congo village massacre when it was over. It was so bad he could not even tell me the details..so if we think that this is not going to happen here, your mistaken.. wake up face reality..3 or 4 false flags in Houston just this past few weeks that and grids cutting off for over a week.. So my city is now experiencing this.. but I need and evaluation. Says the agency clown trolls Copper and Old guy. You too piece of sh..t trolls, phuck you both.. I guess only time will tell. Let me tell you two Agency fools something. Shtf will commense and this is a fact of life..
HCKS..
HCKS. I’m sure at some point, I said to seek mental health help. It’s been a while since I made that comment. The theme and topic of my ridicule of you surrounds two main issues. The main issue is your obvious lack of writing, spelling,reasoning and punctuation skills.
The other main point of my ridicule of you is the bombastic lying on your part. The “scientist friend” comments are total crap. There are all types of scientists from social, chemistry, biology, physics, environmental, computer etc. there are thousands if not millions in each science. The fact you refer to someone as a scientist isn’t impressive and means very little. What type of scientist is your imaginary friend? Why does he/she have knowledge exceeding any other scientist? You have made up the scientist and don’t have a clue about anything.
As for your mental health? I don’t know where lack of education, mental health issues, and low IQ are ranked when it comes to your issues. Pick either mental health issues or lack of education. Work on one of the two. IQ is a different cat. Not much you can do with genetics or closed head injuries.
If you don’t care what I say, stop bringing up the fact you don’t care. It is obviously an issue for you.
Copper:
I just skip past HCKS.
HCKS once posted a lucid comment that stated what I believe to be the truth, that his comments are nothing more than a lot of jibberish. So why you or others bother to respond is beyond me. Don’t waste your time.
You are right. I do find HCKS entertaining but I am being a bully of sorts. I will cut my ratio down from 80% of my comments to 25% pertaining to HCKS. I don’t want to go cold turkey and into withdrawal. I can’t go to 100% quite yet. I am being a petty ass but I really dislike people who lie about certain things. It’s kind of like beating up a quadriplegic strapped into a wheelchair. It’s fun for a while but your hand gets sore from slapping him. It isn’t very sporting.
Hcks
Why don’t you prove these pricks wrong and come up here to northern Alberta and come fight “THE BEAST” still looking for volunteers. To work the fire breaks. That’s what this is being called simply “the beast” I’ve been assigned to one of the cat crews (running a dozer) scraping the ground making slash piles
Water bombers flying steady and low machines, trucks every rig imaginable. Most if the town is gone. This fire jumped a kilometer wide river and is heading for oil infrastructure now. Things are getting desperate. my province has lost the capacity to pump any oil out of that Area. Over a million bbls a day we won’t get that back for 10 years
You people really wanna know what a real shtf looks like ?
Its right here.
90,000 evacuees
2000 homes businesses destroyed
2000, square miles burnt to the ground
One fatality
Billions lost
There is now fear that the beast will join with other wild fires coming in from Saskatchewan and Manitoba if they hook up we will have LOST THE NORTH OF OUR COUNTRY.
I don’t mind saying I’m getting concerned here.
The army has been providing fire suppression teams security and evacuation escort.
The local RCMP have been completely overwhelmed. They have given control to the army.
That didn’t take long eh?
I have no concern for myself most here don’t we sleep one maybe two hours when you can eat when you can
Were all exhausted hungry and were losing this fight
The people here are the best I’ve ever meet. Please don’t listen to the msm in this its being spun to make our premiere look good after it was discovered that 4 months ago she yanked 80% or the wildfire budget for specifically the fort Mac area.
She’s desperately trying to put spin on it.
Please folks any prayers would be helpful. Volunteers would be better.
Heavenly God, we come to you in prayer tonight to ask for Your intervention in the progress of The Beast.
Be with each firefighter and all support groups. Give them Your strength to continue this battle. Bring together those who have the time and ability to help fight this fire.
We also ask You to be with those who have lost their homes and businesses. We pray for Your comfort and Grace in their lives.
Please be with the family of the one who died. Be especially close to them at this time of tragedy. Undergird them with Your love.
Thank you God for hearing our prayers. Thank you for answering our prayers.
We pray a special prayer for the one known as angry beaver. Watch over him, strengthen him, bring him safely home again.
We pray in the name of Your Beloved Son, Jesus. May Your Will be done. amen
My family and I have asked the everywhere spirit to please send you copious amounts of rain to put out you fires.
Thank you
Not a download, but everyone should have a copy of Carla Emery’s Encyclopedia of Country Living for the long haul.
PS god: we pray that you too have a Laptop and read various websites like shtf!
pss this massive fire is it perhaps a planned event by various anti oil tree hugger type enviro whacks?
I do not view tv news and wonder what is their official story on how it began? Sure sounds susspicious that the candaian prez scammed that fire fighter budget a short while ago eh?
If you have wifi routers (or chips, or raspberry pis or whatever), if there’s an EMP they are going to be fried, so put them in a faraday cage.
Pringles cans are nice DIY but you can buy inexpensive omnidirectional or yagi antennas – in either case insure your router has a connector and you have the mating connector with wire.
Routers need power, typically AC, but some run off 12v or even some travel routers have internal batteries (and recharge or run off a USB link).
You will want a radio for voice, and consider being a Ham, at least general class so you can do HF – that can go hundreds or thousands of miles and get the equipment and learn the digital modes. CB and FRS will also work, and if the cell netwrorks go down (and remember your cell phone has to talk to a computer across the country to “register”), this will be the only alternative.
We had a pretty big thunderstorm last nite. It fried the transformer. Electricity went off at two AM and they just got it fixed about ten minutes ago. I was running the generator. 11 Hp engine and 5000 watts burned about a half gallon per hour. We got three inches of rain.