9. Communications
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Miles
has everything from shortwave to wind-up radios and
scanners -- reliable communications will be crucial
in the days ahead. Clockwise from back: 1953 Zenith
TransOceanic; classic BayGen; small Solar and windup
AM-FM radio (black), Uniden Bearcat 30 channel programmable
scanner (laying on its side); red "Dynamo" wind up
AM-FM & flashlight; and left, Cobra hand held 40 channel
CB with portable antenna and power cord in fitted
case. |
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By Miles
Stair
We are living
in an age of instant communication from radio to internet, telephone,
not to mention television and newspapers. We are a media informed
society. The sudden lack of information resulting from virtually
any national or world wide catastrophe will be as startling and
demoralizing as any other deprivation. We need information...we
crave it. Most important, in any disaster situation we must be
able to receive all the information possible in order to maximize
our protection to better survive the ordeal.
Emergency
communications can be broken down into several categories: sending
and receiving, or receiving only.
SENDING
AND RECEIVING
For long distance
sending and receiving, only "ham" radios will work.
Unfortunately, this is not the place for a discussion of them,
as the available information easily fills many books. If you need
this information, search the web. There are ham radio's available
that are fitted into a small suitcase, one side of which is composed
of a solar panel with gel cell batteries behind the panel. These
are expensive, need a long antenna array to work properly, and
require a good deal of practice and skill to operate reliably.
Those who like to experiment may find that a
ground antenna will work instead
of a highly visible tall antenna tower.
Short
range sending and receiving is now the province of FRS/GMRS
radios. In the past few years new models have become
available which are reliable, inexpensive, and charge from both
110 and 12 volt power sources. The difference in range
between the 4 and 5 watt units is not great, but the price
difference is! A small GMRS radio
will enable one to coordinate communications (and therefore
actions) with neighbors and friends. Be sure to set each
unit to an unusual frequency, say channel 18 - 1, so everyone
within distance can send and receive easily. The distance
limitation of the units depends considerably on the terrain.
One sharp mountain ridge blocks the signal, even though a 4 watt
unit says they are good for 12 miles or so, and a 5 watt unit up
to 15 miles, as that measurement is across flat ground. With
low ridge lines, reliable transmission is limited to about 4 or 5
miles...but for short range communications, that is enough for use
by "lookouts."
For medium range sending and receiving, portable hand held CB
units are relatively inexpensive, have a range of at least 5
miles, and operate off a 12 volt DC battery source. The battery
may be recharged with a solar panel. For "citizen patrols," the CB radio concept is ideal.
With 40 channels available, it is possible to switch frequencies
on the hour, for example, to lessen the chance of alerting the
wrong people of the intended consequences of their being spotted.
Just remember that anyone, even the bad guys, can listen in and
therefore know what is being said.
RADIOS
FOR RECEIVING ONLY
There is a
virtually unlimited variety of radios available for AM, FM and
SW reception. In addition, hand held scanners are available which
will scan virtually all available civil and military channels
except the cell phone frequencies. The best information, of course,
will come from sources outside our country, and that means listening
to shortwave broadcasts at night. Knowing which frequencies to
listen for on shortwave gets complicated, so a
shortwave
frequency guide is a big help. For local scanning
with a hand held scanner, check the
scanner
frequency guide for helpful information.
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GP-4L SURVIVAL RADIO
World's Smallest Digital AM/FM/
Shortwave (3.4"
X 2.55" X .83")
General Purpose, 4-Band Shortwave Receiver With
Emergency Light
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GP-4L Survival Radio (with built in small LED
light as shown above) - 21.95 |
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We need to
limit the selection of radios to those which are self-powered
or operate off batteries which can be recharged in a solar charger,
as depending upon 110 volt AC power from the normal utility grid
won't work when power doesn't or is down permanently. The radio
above, for example, will last about 150 hours on a set of
recharged NiMH "AA" batteries, is tiny and has incredible
reception, which is why I carry it here for sale. Of all my
radios (see photo at top), this is the one I use the most.
Radios with
a built in generator are relatively common. The "Dynamo"
is inexpensive, receives AM and FM only, and the generator when
hand cranked charges a NiCad battery pack similar to those in
cordless telephones. The red colored "Dynamo" has adequate
reception, is relatively sturdy, and the sound quality from the
speaker is clear enough for prolonged listening. I keep a spare
battery pack from a cordless phone always available with mine,
as without a battery pack the Dynamo won't receive. The Dynamo
does not have a ferrite loop AM antenna: the main extendable antenna
is also used for AM. This is a distinct advantage, as a separate,
longer antenna may be used, connected to the Dynamo's antenna
with a small alligator clip, and reception is markedly improved.
I have had a Dynamo for almost 15 years now, and consider it a
good back up unit for emergency use.
The smaller, black "Solar, Dynamo" radio has a small solar panel
on top and a rather flimsy crank handle for a generator. An
advantage is that they will operate off two AA batteries, which
are far more common than the battery pack required by the "Dynamo"
radio. Reception is poor and sound quality abysmal. After a
lot of experimentation, I have found the reliability of the
GP-4L radio and a solar battery
charger to be a better combination than a small wind up radio, at
about the same price as a wind up radio alone. And, the
reception is the same as the vastly larger BayGen wind up radio.
For
years, the
finest reception and quality for AM, FM and shortwave available
before 2005 came from the original, or "classic," BayGen radio.
(Now, the tiny GP-4L Survival
Radio is 1/10th the price and 1/100th the size and weight!) This South
African made radio uses a hand crank to wind a flat spring, similar
to the turn of the century Regina music boxes. Once wound, the
spring unwinds slowly, turning a generator which operates the
radio: there are no batteries in the system. The spring winding
mechanism is rated as good for 5000 cycles, so they will last
for a considerable amount of time. The BayGen has a large transformer
built into the system, so it will operate on any DC power input
from 3 to 9 volts. For listening in daylight hours, a solar charger
with a pig tail will operate the radio just fine, so the cranking
mechanism need not be used until dark. Even then, if the spring
breaks or the generator fails, the radio can be used at night
by plugging in a Recoton battery adapter (see
#11, Home Built Items, for details) from a 12 volt DC auto
battery and stepping down the output to 7.5 volts or so, and the
BayGen operates happily.
At about eight
pounds, nobody could call the classic BayGen a really portable
radio. But the reception and sound quality are very high, as is
the reliability. Newer BayGen2 radios made in China have been
known to break more frequently than the classic South African
unit, so even though they are smaller, lighter and less expensive,
I prefer the classic BayGen. To give you an example of their outstanding
reception, I have been able to pick up BBC AM from Alberta, Canada,
here in southern Oregon! Shortwave reception is also outstanding,
particularly with a windup extension antenna strung up along the
top of a window frame.
Larger battery
operated radios also work very well for emergencies. The excellent
GE Super III AM and FM radio runs on six "D" NiCad's
for months at a time. Reception with the super heterodyne system
is excellent, and sound quality is above average. Quality of the
unit is only fair, though: I had to replace the on/off push switch
with a Radio Shack toggle switch, but that was after many years of
use. The disadvantage of operating from six "D" batteries
is apparent: solar charger require 9 to 12 hours to recharge a
pair of NiCad's, so it is imperative to have a large quantity of
spare NiCad's and keep some charging all the time, so six fully
charged batteries will be available when needed. See
Choosing a Survival Radio, by
Farmerik.
SCANNERS
such as the Uniden BC80XLT have 50 programmable channels, but
other, less expensive models with 30 programmable channels will
work just as well (I have a 30 channel 10 band Uniden Bearcat
scanner, for example, that cost only $60 from Damark). They can
also be set to scan "ranges" of frequencies (all but
the cell phone frequencies), so you can listen in to all of the
police, fire, or most military communications. This feature is
most desirable, as many of the emergency radios now are frequency
agile: they send on one frequency and receive on another. By being
able to scan the entire range of frequencies you can listen in
on both sides of the conversation! My Uniden operates off four
AA NiCad's, and runs for a long time before requiring recharging.
It can also be operated off the from a Recoton battery adaptor
and a 12 volt battery, or actually straight 12 volt DC input,
if needed. Being small, hand held portables, they consume their
power input in sips that may be supplied by NiCad batteries, whereas
the larger desktop scanners are virtually all dependent upon a
110 volt source.
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A
Faraday Cage (below each radio above) is mighty cheap
insurance to make sure your radio stays in operating
condition. |
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FARADAY
CAGES (see #11, Home Built
Items) are virtually mandatory for the radios mentioned above.
Why? Because these radios are meant to be used in an emergency,
and unless they are protected against electromagnetic pulse bursts
(EMP), the electronics can be fried, and then they are useless.
Old tube type radios such as the Zenith TransOceanic are not susceptible
to EMP to any great degree, but do have distinct disadvantages.
While designed to operate from a battery pack, the batteries are
simply not available now. Also, the tubes are getting very rare
and expensive. I have a 1953 Zenith TransOceanic and love it,
but the darn thing is huge, heavy, and it requires 110 volt input
to operate.
WHEN ALL
ELSE FAILS it is still possible to have a neighborhood communication
"alert" system just like the old days, using a loud
bell and a known code for the number of chimes (1 chime = alert;
2 = major alert; 3 = immediate danger, etc). Large brass bells
are a thing of the past or extremely expensive, cast iron bells
are fragile and mostly for "atmosphere" and looks, but
you can build a good bell yourself.
The steel
used in 5 or 7 gallon propane tanks is of high quality, and the
older tanks which are often available for free are very thick
and strong. Removing the valves and flooding the tank with water
removes any danger of residual propane gas exploding. Then the
top of the tank may be cut off and the tank hung upside down by
the base. Struck with a wooden mallet, these "bells"
have a remarkably loud sound which carries for a considerable
distance.
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