Prepping for When “I Can’t Hear You Now”
I’m back in that mood. Today’s AT&T cellular network meltdown was a reminder. It’s going down when we least expect it.
AT&T apparently had a massive cell system failure today.
AT&T’s network suffered widespread outages across the country Thursday morning with cellular service and internet down, according to the tracking site Downdetector….
AT&T reported service had been restored to all customers affected by the outage by late Thursday afternoon. It’s remains unclear what triggered the service disruption.
It wasn’t just AT&T:
Although Verizon and T-Mobile customers reported some network outages, too, they appeared far less widespread.
T-Mobile and Verizon said their networks were unaffected by AT&T’s service outage and customers reporting outages may have been unable to reach customers who use AT&T.
I didn’t know anything about the outages until I saw this tweet from Marco Rubio:
I don’t know the cause of the AT&T outage
But I do know it will be 100 times worse when #China launches a cyber attack on America on the eve of a #Taiwan invasion
And it won’t be just cell service they hit, it will be your power, your water and your bank
I don’t know the cause of the AT&T outage
But I do know it will be 100 times worse when #China launches a cyber attack on America on the eve of a #Taiwan invasion
And it won’t be just cell service they hit, it will be your power, your water and your bank
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 22, 2024
I was triggered by the tweet. It brought back flashes of what drove me to prepping – societal collapse, particularly of our most vulnerable energy grids:
Prepping for the Worst (August 2021)
I don’t mean to alarm anyone, and I’m not panicked. I’m just concerned, and thinking the unthinkable….
So all in all, I no longer view “preppers” as crazy. Maybe they were right, just early. Better early than late.
I don’t plan to be late….
I have so little faith in the people running this country at various levels that stocking up on long shelf-life food and other prepper-lite protections seems to me, for the first time in my adult life, to be one of the least crazy ideas.
Prepping for the Worst 2.0 (August 2023)
It’s that time of year. Summer. When I have too much time on my hands and my mind wanders to thinking about what could go wrong. I am, by nature, a ‘worst case scenario’ person, so time to think is not a good thing….
My prepping really hasn’t been for the “worst case scenario” – it’s been for the most likely bad scenario, mostly focused on energy grids on which we depend, and food. (I know, readers always tell me to focus on home defense, but that’s not something we talk about.)
…. it’s obvious that if we ever get in a hot cyber war with China they are taking down our electric grid as the first shot, and that will start everything spiraling downward. Of course our civilian infrastruture will be a prime target, and if this administration is too stupid to see that, we are in worse shape than I thought.
So all day I’ve been focused on this. Did a food check…. I’m good on other food, but that damn water is still a problem because I’m such a procrastinator.
We have a shallow well on the property… , and a major goal this year was to test it and to see if, with proper filtering, it could be a usable bad-case-scenario water source. I haven’t done that yet, but by the fall I will. I promise.
Last fall came and went without testing the shallow well. I am not worthy. This spring, I promise, and this time I really mean it.
I never really focused before on how to communicate with family when it all goes down. I did a little looking, but not much progress. How do you communicate with someone hundreds of miles away when there is no internet or cell service, and no one has landlines anymore? Looking for suggestions.
I know someone near NYC who has a designated meeting place, because there will be no way to communicate. That sounds reasonable, even for just a regional blackout that may have nothing to do with a cyber attack. But it depends on having a vehicle that runs on gasoline, and a supply of at least a tank of gas since the gas stations will be down. That’s doable. It also depends on the police keeping the roads clear, that’s less viable even when there is no grid failure, just look at all the Hamas-loving lunatics blocking roads. When seconds count, ….
The bill will come due. We are moving in blue states to near total dependence on the electric grid for everything. The independence that comes from fossil fuels is being crushed.
So yeah, I’m back in that mood. It’s going down when we least expect it.
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communications…
CB for local ..
Ham for long distance …
I have been away from amateur radio since the late 1970s, but recently bought an old Hallicrafters S38. I’m surprised to NOT hear CW transmissions.
Is code really dead? I want a tube xmtr, tone generator and key “just in case” but no clue where to look.
eBay has everything
This shows ARRL handbooks which were produced over the vacuum era: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Bookshelf_ARRL.htm
Dayton Oh Hamfest to look for old equipment: https://hamvention.org/
Ge an old ARRL 60-70s handbook, That may be available on archive.org book section. You can find the Whole Earth Catalog, much do it yourself info, also the Anarchist Cookbook discusses things related self defense. Both of those are available as free pdf downloads. I suggest getting the USB archive of Mother Earth News magazine which is loaded with self sufficiency information. I can post specific links if people are interested.
Yeah, that.
Plus the Foxfire books. and Henley’s Formulas. Actually, the old Boy Scout Handbook, and many of the merit badge guides are great: not just info dumps but bite-sized chunks one can practice.
Nostalgia-ish reminisces from less industrialized living are free genius, like a marvelous Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook I found a couple years ago: from gathering to recipes for stuff that grows around there.
Sadly, it seems almost all modern HAM equipment has gone software-based. And it’s built in China. Which makes it entirely unreliable, IMO.
I bet someone could make a living producing old, tube-based, buttons-and-knobs HAM sets for preppers.
Getting the basic Ham license is a piece of cake as Morse Code is no longer needed. As noted, get the basic study book. It contains similar questions and answers which will look VERY similar to your real test.
Software Defined Radio… full digital is how things are going because of increased capability. “You can’t work a frequency if you can’t hear it” There are plenty of “Elmers” to help you. I have old tube (Yaesu FT-901), hybrid (TS 950) and modern (TS590S, FT 3000, K3, FT987) gear and the G90. I wouldn’t sell the Chinese stuff short though. Good learning tools.
Don’t forget the UHF/VHF handhelds. Yes, good older radios are fine. A lot of Hams turn over good gear to get the latest and greatest.
Just to start… get a dongle that you can plug into a computer that is a HF receiver on a stick. With a simple antenna.. off you go. Software to run these dongles is free. NooElec, AIrSpy and SDRPlay have good stuff. You can listen without a license… to broadcast you need one.
I have advanced level and once upon a time a FCC First Phone when I was a radio engineer. Have fun…
Yes, thank you. I am familiar with ham radios and their modern capabilities. And I have several years of radio experience from military flying and working on the ground. That is a great layout of the information. (I really should get even that computer dongle-based one to get back into it, then work on getting a true survival setup.)
As to the prepper aspect, I wouldn’t put my trust in a software-based radio, though. Even if the Chinese don’t slag it, the Russians might, or our own government might. That was the aim of my comment.
GWB: A good basic Icom radio is great. I gifted the IC-718 to my techs if they got their novice . The new prices now are nuts but a good used IC-718 can be had for under $500. QTH.com has a search link to see what is for sale by hams. Everything new is over $1000. The problem with HF gear over 30 years old deals with capacitors aging. Also, the older base stations are heavy. Modern radios are designed to run off of 12 volts such as car batteries.
73
My local drugstore retired its tube testing machine in 1974. Plus it closed down in 2019.
You can still find tube radios pretty easily. There’s a part of the hobby that focuses on using them. I use an ICOM IC-7300 and it is excellent. Does everything I need it to do and costs about $1K which is pretty reasonable considering you can get transceivers that easily cost $5K. Brands like ICOM, Kenwood, Yaesu are all really good. As far as I know they’re all built in Japan. Look around on the internet for gear reviews. There are tons of them. Yes, the PRC does make cheap ham gear. Some is okay. Some is horrid. I pretty much stay away from it.
Some HAM operators may remember the following that was published by the FCC on Jan 17, 2021 at 1:40 PM EST.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warned against using radio services to “facilitate criminal acts,” ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s upcoming inauguration.
The warning, issued from FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, followed reports that some people were using radio services as an alternative to social media sites in order to communicate and coordinate activities.
https://www.newsweek.com/fcc-warns-against-using-radio-facilitate-criminal-acts-ahead-biden-inauguration-1562239
73, Rolf W1***
We know now what constitutes “criminal acts”….. and I would wager the acts will expand to questioning the Central Committee and Politburo of the USSA. “Disinformation” is now on the list I bet.
I am reminded of the Reagan joke about the USSR. He said they have freedom of speech. In the USA (old), one could walk into the Oval Office and complain about Reagan to his face. In the Soviet Union, one could walk into Gorbachev’s office and complain about Reagan to Gorbachev’s face .
73….
Ronaldus Magnus tells the same joke in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wPKt5W8I5Y
HAM has been on my todo list- but never get around to it. Mostly for hobby.
https://archive.org/details/arrl-h-r-a-89
1989 free ARRL Handbook download.
CW is NOT dead. Cwops.org/academy.html can help you learn/update your skills.
Fun, and useful.
CW is not dead. I am a CW sort of guy. I absolutely hate FT8 and rarely, if ever, use SSB. I prefer CW for getting through during bad conditions and just because it’s fun.
Yes, many times the bands are dead, but I would say that 40 meters at night is usually pretty active and 20 meters is active in the daytime. I guess you just have tune around.
You’ll hear the most activity during contests. When something like the CQWW CW contest is going on, the bands are full of CW signals. I mean PACKED. Check out contestcalendar.com for contest times and dxsummit.fi for CW spots. The dxsummit site says that you choose to only see CW (or whatever mode you choose), but in practice that’s not quite the case.
Also check out dx-world.net for DXpeditions around the world. That’s where my interest lies. I love working someone on the other side of the world using the power of a 100W light bulb! (Yes, I only work “barefoot).
Good luck, welcome back, and 73! NA3CT
It’s not too late to join a HAM Radio club and learn get an operator’s license.
That’s what I want to do
Amazon: ARRL Ham Radio License Manual 5th Edition – Complete Study Guide with Question Pool to Pass the Technician Class Amateur Radio Exam Spiral-bound – June 16, 2022.
https://www.arrl.org/ This is the American amateur radio site. Plenty of material and test study stuff.
If you’re a technical sort, go for the General license. I don’t think Technician gives you a great deal of freqs and modes to use. And once you get a license, work to get your Extra class, the highest level of ham license. I’m no electronics/radio genius. If I can get it, you can get it. Oh, and you don’t need to know CW to get any license, though I highly recommend learning CW. And I can give one little bit of advice if you try to learn code, don’t make the mistake I did. I learned the letters and numbers by memorizing the dits and dahs. Big mistake. Learn them from the sound of the letter, etc. not the components of the letter, etc.
Good luck!
I remember when AT&T were competent and that there was little downtime;
I bought two CBs, one for home and one for the car. I heard nothing at all except for one guy who was blasting a signal so strong nothing else could get through, and he mumbled. I have my ham license (General) and a GMRS license. Where I live there is an emergency comms group that has GMRS repeaters that cover three counties and then some. GMRS is a good way to go as it is only a fee based license, no testing. The equipment is similar to UHF/VHF ham radios. I have an antenna on the roof which serves for 2m, 70cm, and GMRS.
Anything that require licensing is suspect in Biden’s America. You’re on the DOJ’s naughty list.
Many on the Loony Left would claim that a buildup in our military and its capabilities would be provocative, but the opposite is true. Allowing our military to weaken has encouraged our enemies, made them bolder. And when there are minimal, pitiful reactions to their boldness, they are only encouraged further.
It’s long past time to truly rebuild our military, and to show that, yes, we are not afraid to use it if our interests are threatened.
Leftists and Dhimmi-crats have simply never possessed the intelligence or historical awareness to acknowledge the intrinsic truth of the axiom from antiquity, “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum.”
Innumerable historical and contemporary examples demonstrating the truth of that axiom simply don’t suffice to convince them of its veracity.
I think most people don’t even recognize the connection to the most common 9mm caliber: 9mm Parabellum
It won’t be the military that will protect us. Nor the police. That will fall on each of us to band together locally to protect ourselves close to home.
The military will be focused on external factors and the police will be focused on rounding up looters and those of us with firearms, for no other reason than they can’t differentiate between those who want to do harm and those who want to protect themselves.
Think New Orleans during Katrina. Even more so in blue cities and states.
If you haven’t made plans with your neighbors to set up safe zones around your houses, neighborhood, or community, do it now. You can then combine food and other essentials to take care of one another.
Be VERY sure that you know who your neighbors really are. In the burbs, the Blues may turn you in before, during or after any emergency…. even if you aided them. Oh… anything can happen by anyone around you but being gray is a good thing.
Buy or keep clothing too large for you. You will look as poor off as you want to look even if prepared.
For a long time, many Dhimmi-crat coastal elites and their media lapdogs gleefully mocked preppers as allegedly paranoid rednecks and gun-nuts.
The 2020 Dhimmi-crat insurrection, riots, murders, assaults, arson, looting and desecration of synagogues, along with the Dhimmi-crats’ obnoxiously lawless, totalitarian and irrational diktats and fiats in response to the Wuhan virus, changed a lot of people’s thinking. Preppers look prescient and prudent, now, to a lot more people, irrespective of political ideology.
But rest assured. The “authorities” will confiscate anything they can from you. Food, fuel, money, hard currency (gold and silver).
If you believe for one moment that they won’t, that’s foolish. They don’t respect the constitution now. Do you believe they will respect the constitution in a crisis?
Asked and answered during COVID, counselor.
Always remember and never forget:
Just because you’re paranoid does not mean no one is actually out to get you.
Communications are hard without electricity. Mostly, they wouldn’t happen. Having an understanding about actions given certain conditions is probably the best bet for most people.
If you have to go to them, then where might you find them? If they have to come to you?
A generator for short term and solar for longer term will provide the power needed. A short wave receiver doesn’t take a huge amount of power. Nor do hand held receiver transmitter. Can get a lot more distance with a fixed large base station antenna even with a low output transmitter.
Lots options for short range communication call it five miles or less that are relatively inexpensive, don’t require an FCC operating licence or draw huge power. The fixed antenna is the most important part for your home ‘base station’.
Contacting family in another County or other States ….not so easy. Requires them to buy into your communication contingency plan. They would need to know who the local Ham operator(s) are in their local area to send/receive unless you can convince them to invest in their own Ham set up.
A more expensive option would be a Satellite phone for each family member and an off the grid power source. Of course if it is an EMP situation then you need a faraday cage for all that crap no matter what option you choose.
Aluminum trash can with a rim of copper mesh will suffice as a Faraday cage. The mesh I use is for plugging holes to stop rats (spoiler alert: rat push it away.).
Mesh between lid and rim of can. Ground can if possible.
I have no faith in the coming months, as the power being abused will not give up peacefully.
If it comes down to it, I’ll side with Putin if he kicks Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria’s collective ass, and rids this country of the insanity that has infected media and academia.
I know he is presented as a somewhat unhinged tyrant with ulterior motives that are not for the goodwill of man, but the monstrosity known as Islam will coopt every greivance group to achieve it’s goal in a more gruesome way.
America better wake the hell up and shake the dust off…we are getting too old to effectively fight, and the fighting-age people I see don’t appear to be up to the challenge.
Cue JR and Thad Jarvis to come here and call each of us keyboard warriors who can’t go up against an F-15.
I’m a former NAR level II amateur rocketry nerd. I still have 38 and 54 mm reloads, materials, an advanced knowledge of incorporating Arduino components and R/C servos into chaff rockets that can foul the intake of an F-16 while confusing the pilot’s HUD and FLIR.
Youll be one of the first to be disappeared.
If you have some fantasy that Putin is going to turn on the Muslims, think again. He’s buying missiles from Iran right now. Putin would be more than happy for the Muslims and the west to destroy each other. He’s a tyrant who cares only for his own power, whatever fantasy you’ve built up that he’s some sort of anti-woke champion.
We have our own tyrant who cares only for his own money right now. The danger from him is greater than from Putin, although he’d like to stampede us into believing you.
He is also a tyrant who believes in his country. He pulled Russia out of its post USSR nose dive. Russia has always been rules by a “strong man”. He is more ruthless …for now… but the Left is itching to do more.
Buy more guns and ammo. It’s currency, better than gold.
learn to make lead azide and potassium oxidizers. That is where the meth lab idiots can assist.
Do not forget alternate medicines for any conditions you may have since the ones we take from the drugstores will not be around long.
Get a book on natural remedies. You’d be surprised what our ancestors used to treat all kinds of maladies.
One thing I know for sure, when Big Pharma isn’t useful anymore, no more transgender nonsense.
The hippies may have had a lot of crazy ideas, but after the “covid” nonsense, their attitude towards herbal remedies proved prescient.
it got so bad that biden declared that 2024 elections will be mail-in voting only
“The bill will come due. We are moving in blue states to near total dependence on the electric grid for everything. The independence that comes from fossil fuels is being crushed.”
This is obvious to everyone except the most brain-dead Liberal elites.
Unfortunately, these idiots are now pulling the levers of power.
Actually the inverse is true, microgeneration is actually feasible with sources like solar, heat pumps etc. The grid is far more diversified with the advent of these technologies. So both from a prepper and grid perspective its an improvement.
Lets put it this way, a few PV panels on your roof makes you directly energy independent to at least some extent vs fossil fuels which is reliant on a fuel supply.
I know a few people solar panels with type of idea. Not one of them has the equipment necessary to do anything other than feed electricity back into the grid.
I would hate to see a whole bunch of amateur rewires without proper equipment.
That isn’t to say it can’t be done. But, the vast majority of solar panel owners will probably kill themselves, burn out their electronics, or just burn their house down if they tried to use it to directly power their house.
“That isn’t to say it can’t be done. But, the vast majority of solar panel owners will probably kill themselves, burn out their electronics, or just burn their house down if they tried to use it to directly power their house.”
Seriously!? Its actually really easy, I’m not suggesting you don’t get a qualified electrician but its pretty standard tech. The only real issue is the set up and the extent to which you can power your home. A typical roof might supply maybe 1/3 to a 1/2 of a houses needs but that’s better than nothing and it does depend on the appliances in the house and thermal efficiency etc. Id agree that adding in battery storage is expensive at the moment but it does alleviate the disparity between how much energy is stored and used.
“I would hate to see a whole bunch of amateur rewires without proper equipment” For sure, better to get someone competent to do it.
There are plug and play systems. There are large numbers of people building systems. There are tons of educational tutorials. You would benefit from them. Start with basic electricity, once you understand that do house wiring tutorials. Hose wiring is very simple stuff.
I know. What percentage of solar panel owners you personally know could effectively switch their solar panels from feeding the grid to powering their AC tomorrow?
As Dathurtz explained for the majority of solar panels they ain’t set up to power a battery system nor with a pre wired system to only power a select few circuits. Homeowners monkeying around with wiring and zero electrical knowledge is suboptimal.
I do agree that point of use solar is a very good idea from an energy independence perspective so long as one makes the considerable additional investment in battery system to maintain that power flow when the grid is down for any reason.
“I do agree that point of use solar is a very good idea from an energy independence perspective so long as one makes the considerable additional investment in battery system to maintain that power flow when the grid is down for any reason.”
Indeed, I think this is a question of degree. I’m not suggesting its a perfect solution only a part of one.
I have to say, this is the first time that I have seen you post anything of substance, instead of you drive by insults.
Your recent commentary on this thread is engaging, thought provoking, and opens the door for other commenters to engage you.
I may have been wrong about you.
Not that you need my approval. But I have been the most vocal about you. As I stated in a previous post… I am open to someone who can make me consider other options and ideas.
I, for one, look forward to similar commentary.
“Lets put it this way, a few PV panels on your roof makes you directly energy independent to at least some extent vs fossil fuels which is reliant on a fuel supply.”
This breezily cavalier BS statement has already been debunked by other commenters, so there’s no need for me to pile on.
The fallacy of solar is that the geographic regions with the best availability of uninterrupted sunshine are the ones where the homes need the most power for life support. If you want to sweat through 110° every day, you just might be able to power the rest of your house with solar. “Some is better than none” isn’t always true. Sometimes, it just draws out the inevitable collapse.
Ground mount solar is better, easy wash, at least twice a year, and to service.
Professor, a good solution for water and fuel storage are 55 gallon barrels & IBC totes, food grade for water and either food grade or non food grade for fuel. Gasoline has a fairly short shelf life, generally 6 months untreated and a year treated. Diesel is at least 10 years. LP is indefinite but would be hard to get. Most gas generators are 3600 RPM and more prone to failure than diesel, but much more expensive. One exception for long life gas generators are old RV Owen generators very long life and operate at 1800 RPM like diesels.
Regarding water and fuel, plastic is best for water. not great for gasoline, metal is better. Diesel can be either. IBC totes are typically 200 to 350 gallons. 55 gallon barrels run $5 to $30, IBC totes run $20 to about $100 used.
Coleman lantern…. get an old one… can be converted to kerosene. Old Coleman guy shows how.
I bought a water barrel and installed a bypass in the gutters to collect rainwater. I was surprised at how fast it filled up with just one light rain. I was also surprised at how funky it got in no time. green alge, larvae. I expected to have to filter and purify it if needed for consumption but it sure went gross fast.
If I am not mistaken, you are running afoul of Obama’s water rules. As if anyone cares.
0bama regulated rain? When did that happen?
Finicky didn’t realize how nasty your roof gets. There are ways to handle that pre-usage.
Oh, remember his Waters of the United States thing that made puddles in your driveway federal waters? Good times.
It could threaten the peaceful transfer of power if the Chinese take down our electrical college.
一隻老鼠咬了我妹妹內爾…而懷蒂在月球上。
If that well needs a pump to get the water out, no electricity means no water. Get a generator with a power rating to at least run the pump. And start planning fuel storage. Operate all vehicles on the “top half” of the tank so you don’t get caught by surprise.
Don’t fall for the “turn in unused medications” scam. Research how to package and store them. Most are effective much longer than the label says, and then it is often reduced strength. Pain killers and antibiotics are good to have around..
For medicines and shelf life, just look to see which ones had their life extended for our strategic reserve (or whatever its called). They only last a year for you and me, but they effectively last 20+ for the feds.
If you’re able, set up a windmill to power the well pump. That’s how it used to be done.
Doof I bought my ranch from had an electrical deep-well pump… and a perfectly opertional agricultural windmill on a hill not 70 yards away from it, but solely “decorative,” attached to a huge metal weight as a dummy load, because he “liked windmills.” SMH.
You can order antibiotics from Canada, also get them as veterinary supplies, which are the same product.
Those old fashioned deep water well manual pumps can be bought new. No gas. No generators. Won’t fail due to EMP.
Just buy the thing, then pour the proper concrete pad or weld fittings to the well casing. Mount and use it. Get accustomed to it. Even questionably potable water is highly useful.
Buy repack kits. Repack it yourself.
When you don’t own a cell phone, you don’t have to worry about things like this.
What people call prepping now a days is what my grandparents called normal life. Can the garden, hunt and fish etc. We always have 6 months of food on hand. Ammunition to hunt, fishing poles, etc.
Last weekend I canned 3 gallons of chicken stock and a few pints of chicken as a test. This weekend I canned a few quarts of chili. I am about to plant seeds inside to get seedlings ready for the garden. I intend to plant a couple of fruit trees this sping as well.
It isn’t enough by itself but I am learning and it contributes.
I’m doing much the same thing. We can’t feed the world but we can feed ourselves and our neighbors.
Speaking of when I can’t here you..
simple suggestion.. if you live in an area without real cell service (I do), make sure you have an old fashioned plug in phone, for power outages. Those wireless home phones don’t work without electricity. That is, of course, if you have a land line..
Which reminds me.. I have to find mine..
In many areas the old copper line systmes are dead. We maintained a POTS line until a few years ago when VZ terminated copper in our area. We still have a land line but it is IP through the cable co. Dropping copper POTS was a crime against the people, to steal a term from our Soviet friends.
I don’t accept the corporate excuses for what happened,There we’re too many phones down for this to have been a tech accident
I’m at the point where I don’t believe any “official” explanation for anything.
Too many explanations, too. They ought to be able to tell the difference between a problem from a solar flare and a program update.
With multiple “explanations,” what they’re likely doing is throwing a bunch of spaghetti on the wall and then whatever sticks will ultimately be the “official” narrative.
I don’t think you know just how reliant all of those phones are on software-based systems. If a software update isn’t tested adequately (and that becomes much harder the more Rube Goldberg a system is) and it’s deployed, the whole system – if it relies upon that single node or several nodes replaced in quick succession – goes kaboom.
Ask me how I know this? Been there done that.
In the ever-expanding category of “This was a warning, not a goal.” do you recall the old saw:
“If builders built buildings the way programmers build software, the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.”
It is possible that this is a symptom of Affirmative BS.
BTW… if you drill down the links you can find this.. I thought it was an excellent video..
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/08/video-prepping-for-the-worst-basic-survival-strategies-for-everyone/
Although Verizon and T-Mobile customers reported some network outages, too
One of the things most people don’t realize is how interdependent the various cell companies are. They all ride on someone else’s equipment at some point in the coverage or distribution. They all use the same towers in most places.
no one has landlines anymore?
When hurricane Isabel hit Virginia, we lost power but our phone stayed up. Until about 3 days later when some moron ran into a utility pole.
But, while it was up, other people were burning their cellphone batteries down trying to get through very clogged networks, and we just picked up the phone and called my mom (all the way across the US) to tell her we were ok. And, yes, I have at least one plain old telephone – at a minimum I use it to test at the NID when our phone line goes out.
Landlines are still up…but many have ‘bundled’ and have a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone that rides their internet. Those wouldn’t be hit if cell system goes down.
The real issue is what is the person you are trying to reach using? Many younger people use a cell exclusively, they don’t even use a VOIP much less a traditional landline. Then there’s the question of intentional attacks on the communications networks. It would not be limited to just cell networks.
Billionaires’ Survivalist Bunkers Go Absolutely Bonkers With Fiery Moats and Water Cannons – Hollywood Reporter
You know it is bad when the libs believe it! lol.
Maybe their new illegal slaves can help the out,too
Those billionaires’ bunkers are going to be staffed with security personnel, who are likely to kick out those useless billionaires out the door the minute the SHTF occurs.
Not worried about them regaining control afterwards.
Question:
It’s difficult for me to get a white, water quality container. But I can get red plastic fuel containers. Assuming they are clean, any problem with storing water in them? If I add a teaspoon of unscented bleach, any issue? TIA
The issue becomes what kind of chemicals can leach out of those red plastic gas cans into your stored water,
Potable water containers are designated that for a reason; nothing can leach into the water and it will remain safe no matter how long its stored.
And unless you eschew ordering from the internet, water containers are easy to find. Unless you simply don’t have the money, in which case I would start haunting the bakery section of your local grocery stores. Bakeries discard white food-safe buckets of all sizes all the time, and if you show up frequently and ask them to save them, they probably will..
There are many sources online for collapsible water containers or even surplus military containers. Your best bet is to wash out the containers with a teaspoon or so of mouthwash then fill with water. Change the water every six months or so If you want to keep some on hand. Don’t rely on liquid bleach. It will lose it’s strength over time. Buy tablets of pools bleach, make sure they contain only bleach, and make it as you need it. One container of standard pool tablets will sterilize enough water to feed a small city for a couple of months and have no effective shelf life.
Buy pool chlorine, by the bucket, Lithium hypochlorite (granular)
Calcium hypochlorite (granular or tablet), add either to water to make bleach, about one teaspoon to a gallon. It goes a long way.
Fuel cans are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and as long as they are new, never had petroleum in they, should be safe for water. So are 55 gallon food grade barrels. I have used a hot air plastic welder to fusion weld them together, end to end.
Water?
Answer Install a pool. Great for wild fire emergencies, flushing toilets, bathing and doing the dishes. Keep smaller amounts of potable water
Too expensive?
Answer: Above ground pool.
I’m trailer trash poor…
Kiddie pool 🙂
Seriously – If you can’t do anything just do the 1 and 5 gallon jugs and refill with fresh water monthly.
NE TN had pipes burst big time last year before I moved here so during this past cold snap I put about 100 gallons in plastic totes (have an abundance of these from the move).
In the next year or so I’m adding a NG Generac. I’m screwed if the gas lines burst, but I left the gas powered geni back in Wa.
I keep my 350gal propane tank full and also have a couple of BBQ tanks. We have fittings to run the duel fuel generator off of it and could go several months without power running the fridge and freezers once or twice a day. Keep all the vehicles full for gas to power the generator and chainsaws. Plant that garden!
Absolutely true. About 20 years ago, a microburst knocked out 20+ poles on the highway and left us powerless for a week. Despite having big storage tanks, there was no pressure pump to move water to the house. So we learned to use buckets from the pool for flushing, and took long soaks in the evening to wash off the work sweat (there was a lot to repair).
Anyway, one evening as we were skinny-dipping, we were treated to four news helicopters hovering over our pool. Very disconcerting indeed. But they weren’t scoping us, they were reporting on an abutter’s grisly mass murder of his family, which wasn’t discovered until the neighborhood’s air conditioning died (he himself was long gone). But that’s a story for another time.
Should look into Arduino Mesh networks! Solar powered and you can have a handheld for both voice and text messaging with range as great as the mesh!
And, like Amway, you just have to talk your neighbors (and their neighbors, and their neighbors) into joining the team. 😉
Some items to consider for emergencies that are not quite prepper-level:
Bathtubs make great water storage devices.
Have a gas water heater.
Have a gas furnace. Or a gas fireplace. Alternatively invest in an indoor-safe gas space heater.
Have a couple of power bricks for your cellphones/tablets, and keep them charged.
Top off your vehicles’ fuel. Obtain at least a few hours worth of run time of fuel for them in proper containers.
Pay online bills prematurely, if necessary.
Great stuff. Buy a small, portable 30W solar charger like a Blavor to charge your phones, nook and power bricks. Growing up in the far NE where power outages during the winter were a thing we always had woodstoves. Down south when I moved into an old house the first thing I did was get rid of the electric water heater, furnace and stove. Ran pipe and put in on demand propane water heat, gas stove and wall mount propane heaters in every room. You can run propane line yourselves, folks. It’s not rocket science. Go online and watch some video’s on how to do it and buy the yellow pipe online. I’ve run it in a couple of houses and my hunting camp. Go slow and always check the connections for leaks. Easy peasy.
Back to the commo stuff: Amateur radio is the way to go. from HT’s for really short range, and somewhat longer range as long as repeaters keep going, to HF, where the sky’s the limit. The lowest – level license now is Tech, which gives you the VHF & UHF bands. For long – range commo, without infrastructure, you need at least the General license.
There’s a lot of tube equipment out there, with no connection to China. Go to swap meets, follow on ham radio forums, etc.
Yes, Morse code is still in use. Listen toward the bottom of the amateur 80 and 40 meter bands.
Some people believe that getting your license is just making you dependent on the government again. But not really. Plus, for it to do you any good, you have to know how to use it, and that takes at least a little practice and experience. There’s an art to it.
But if you don’t do it, well . . .
HF, where the sky’s the limit
LOL. Well put. 🙂
I once called Croughton from the Pacific (instead of a Pacific station) to get a phone patch to our command post in the States. HF is fun.
William, you’re doing a real service here.
Thank you.
You communicate beforehand.
Never leave loving words unsaid.
There are mountain ranges between me and the beloveds.
For us (trigger points)
Folks know that if cell phone, power, and radio stations all stop, they’ve got 12 hours to get to the farm.
Want mine on the road during that first pause while most are waiting to find out what happened
I’ve advised them to always have enough fuel, food, security, and other supplies on hand to avoid having to stop along the way.
And to travel with others for safety’s sake.
If it resolves quickly, we’ll have a nice visit.
If not, folks will be secure here.
Gradual collapse has other trigger points.
Yes, with FBI and Rubio on about China cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, Russian nukes in space, massive solar flares, increasing crime, and food getting out of reach, there’s lots to worry about sending us into self-preservation mode.
Luckily, neighbors are like-minded.
Best to you and yours.
Farnham’s Freehold?
I actually think your advice is good. It just made me think of that story by Heinlein.
I can find less than nothing on fail overs and reduced performance modes for the recently mandated(*) “smart gas meters” installed by my local utility. Anything glitches, no more heat.
(*) “Mandated.” Decision made by the utility taking into consideration “input” from “the community”, meaning people who already knew what was going on. Announcements of the input sessions were taped to the bottom of a drawer in a flooded basement.
No, you don’t *have to.” You just have to fill out a form you’re not expecting, right, on their short response schedule, to list yourself as not accepting the change, for which you’ll be charged a fee every month. Anybody believe you won’t have to re-up to stay out? The fee won’t go up? Mistakes might be made?
At what point does exclusion and friction become compulsion? NY state property owners want to know.
Former homesteads are golden — find locations from the first settlers’ build out. They picked places to be because you could be there with a lower tech base than we have now. Tend to have water, foliage, planting n livestock potential, wild abundances, even wind, storm, and scavenger protection.
All those dying old-school towns were where they are for reasons.
I’m puzzled by the bigthink enthusiasm for “urbanization.” It’s a burden to be tightly surrounded by kabillions of naked apes. The warrens are not self-sustainable; transport and service delivery to keep them alive burden everything around them. There’s a well-known threshold effect in exposures to stressors, impact of human presence, and so on — even now we work around the impacts where bronze age cities were, while we can barely find where the
I’m a fan of micro-hydro as candidate home electric power.
“…while we can barely find where the…” nomads and hunter-gatherers were
I’m a fan of micro-hydro as candidate home electric power. Meanwhile the big clusters of people want big generators they can plug into in gaggles. Those have big impacts.
I am loving the dams getting torn down in the Pacific NW — those folks were so very, very smug. It turns out that making the Salmon river trip harder puts pressure on “stocks”, *and* the up-stream forests do worse without their annual dose of fish fertilizer.
The U of Washington ecology department was a hoot to visit. Two factions: stewardship for the good of people, and people are a plague and we should drive them out of Gaia. You could make a case for culling the department’s population from either perspective. Sadly, they lacked the courage of their confusions.