Recent Blackout - Info Needed

Hello,

I would like to know is how reliable cell phone service during recent black out in the US and Canada (or anywhere in the world). I'm thinking of adding stuffs to be properly prepare for short term blackout (up to 2 weeks). I've heard that headlamp is used more often than flashlight, is that what you experienced?

Thanks.
CG

Cell phone service is not usually affected by power outages, but bear in mind that any major event will cause everyone to scramble for their cell phones and service could get unreliable quickly. Aside from that, you need some way to power your cell phone, and if the outage extends into days, you may have to get very creative with charge methods. Generally speaking, if there's an outage, keep your cell use to emergency-only, rely on alternative methods for news and updates, especially local radio.

Headlamps are always a better deal when you have to use your hands; a good tail standing light or lantern is what you'll need for the family living room and dining area, but everything else is easiest with your own hands-free light.

A car charger would be handy for topping up the battery in your cell phone during a blackout.

Headlamps are handy for cooking, car repair and other chores where both hands are needed.

Agreed on headlamps and tailstanding. A decent supply of primary cells, or a solar charger setup if you use Eneloops or rechargeable Li-Ions would be near the top of my list. Preferrably two, redundancy is good as things break at the worst times. Long runtime at usable levels would be a paramount concern. Many lumens are not always needed for area lighting or in-home navigation. Starhalo hit the nail on the head regarding cellphone usage and service availability. A small shortwave or AM radio is great for info. There are many threads here regarding radios. Some of the best reading on long-term power interruption, inho, was done by Sub Umbra, post- Katrina. Punch "Sub Umbra Katrina" into the CPF search bar, and be prepared to sit and read for a while... Good luck with your preparations!

Cool, thanks for the info, I'll search for "Sub Umbra Katrina".

As for charging my cell, I have a few AA to USB charger and have about 50 Alkaline cells, a dozen of un-open Eneloops, three dozen of StayCharged Duracell and two 15 minutes chargers so I can charge 8 AA in just 15 minutes when I run my car. I figured out AA are most used on pretty much everything from Walkies Talkie to Digital Camera.

Like most of us at CPF, most of my lights are hand held lights, ranging from $15 DX light to Surefire. I guest that I should pick up a few headlamp for emergency preparedness. With that said, I think that I'm going to head to MEC (REI in USA) to pickup a few decent quality AA or AAA headlamp.

If you're going the AA route, you can standardize your battery use and get one of the best emergency radios out there for another $40, the CCrane Solar Observer.

I'm not exactly going with the AA route, I just happen to have picked up 50 AA for $5. They are no name brand but I'm just using them for emergency purpose. My dozen of Eneloop is actually AA and AAA combined as I got 2 starter kit including over-night charger for $10. Then my StayCharged Duracell battery are from Costco, those are currently in kid's toys but I can easily reclaim them and quickly recharge them with the 15 minutes charger.

But I do need another radio. I currently have an AA radio and 2 hand crank radio-flashlight. I should pick up a Short Wave radio to pick up stations that are a little bit further than just my own town.

Shortwave is great as a hobby but not useful at all in an emergency; if a flood has struck your town, you won't get any info about it on Philippines Radio. If you're just interested in hearing what's out there, definitely go for it (be sure to pick up a ~$10 pocket reel antenna, it'll literally double the stations you receive,) but when shopping for an emergency radio it only adds cost and complexity to a device that doesn't need it.

I didn't think of that, foreign radio station probably won't have local news. I am thinking of having a wide range of radio for news and entertainment when all is down (no TV, no computer, no internet, etc). Do you know if a pocket reel antenna would work with any radio with an antenna or do I need a radio with a special antenna jack?

That's the fun part - you already you have everything you need to hear stations from hundreds of miles around you; the AM band is a treasure trove of long distance signals that you can receive with any common radio. Wait until after the sun has gone down, then tune in to the AM band and slowly scan around, occasionally rotating your radio to hone in on more challenging signals. You'll find stations from hundreds of miles away often come in as though they were local; I have a station in Denver, Colorado, 800 miles away, that comes in so clearly that it's set as a preset in my car.

Obviously a better radio will get you more distant/weaker signals, but any decent name-brand unit can provide hours of long distance listening with no extra equipment needed at all.

The reel-type antenna sold by C.Crane has a spring clip that attaches to your radio's regular external antenna. I'd imagine this is what StarHalo was referring to.

In a blackout of unknown duration I would turn the phone off for most of the time, only switching it on at brief, predetermined times each day.

In the best case scenario it will hold a charge longer that way. In the worst case your cell network may go down, too. Many cell phones use more power while trying to acquire a signal. It's better to shut down the phone IMO.

I am also hesitant to routinely broadcast my position as a general practice during an event that is still unfolding.

Thanks for the info, I already have two Eton FR160 radio and I'm thinking of getting a Kaito KA600 radio with a pocket reel antenna.

Sub_Umbra, why don't you want to broadcast your position? I purposely have 2 separate cellphones with 2 different provider so in case of emergency, I can have both of them up so friends and family can reach me. As for battery wise, I should have enough power to run the 2 cellphones for weeks.

One thing to remember there are no givens, during the Big Eastern Blackout of 2003 there was no cell phone towers up in my area of Michigan, and for a large part of it around us. I was one of the few people who had phone service because I had a landline and an old fashioned corded phone. Now I have also had it the other way around in a blackout and had cell phone service. So it depends upon the nature of the blackout and the power backups at the cell phone towers. At that time around here I understand the power backups were not in place, or not something the company was doing at the time. No tower, no service that is obvious. But I have read that they are doing better maintaining and installing power backups for the towers.

This is why I still have a landline, and an old fashioned corded phone in addition to my cell phone along with a cord for charging my cell phone in the car and with an AA battery. The main reason I do not do as Sub mentioned and turn the cell off is because of my parents and my father in law, they are elderly and one never knows when they may need assistance.

CalgaryGuy said:

I'm thinking of getting a Kaito KA600 radio with a pocket reel antenna.

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A great primary/all around radio, you'll forget all about the Etons and get plenty of everyday use from the Kaito, it's definitely not just for the emergency kit.

CalgaryGuy said:

Sub_Umbra, why don't you want to broadcast your position?...

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I want to retain as much control over my life as I can. I have already been in more than one situation where if the city government knew where I was they would have violated my constitutional rights AND broken local, state and federal laws to kidnap me and deliver me to a place not of my choosing and then, to add insult to injury, not even let me back into my own own city long after the danger had passed. I know this because this happened to many in my neighborhood.

Perhaps you think that this could not happen in your town.

It will be much easier to illegally roust you out of your own home in the future during any crisis because of the cheap tools now available to munis.

As it turned out, I knew FAR MORE than any of the city, state or federal dorks did about what my family actually needed in the crisis. You probably do too. Does your city (or the State or the Fed) know more about your wifes prescriptions ( or your mothers, brothers or your fathers) than you do?

And all I had to do, aside from being prepared to take care of myself, was to keep them from knowing where I was. Even city pols can now buy search tools and uavs so cheaply that it leaves techniques like the old Hasty Search of Katrina times in the dust. While I certainly don't want to be pimped out by my cell phone, that is just the tip of the iceberg. It will be much easier to illegally roust you out of your own home in the future during any crisis because of the cheap tools now available to munis.

Politicians have made the same mistakes over and over again throughout all of human history during disasters. Doing whatever is necessary to save their rinky-dink jobs is pretty much what happens, even if that means that many of their constituents suffer and die.

I don't care if anyone wants to tell the world where they are- I'll take it day by day and decide what info I give out about 'me and mine' on a daily basis. I can always make higher quality decisions about what's best for my family than any politician but OTOH, if you feel you can't, you just may be right about yourself.

To restate and simplify: All of those who advertise they are good guys are not. Take a low profile, mumble and remember that it's usually very easy in an urban setting to let your presence be known, should you so wish. It is far more difficult, however, to walk the cat backwards and disappear after everyone knows where you are.

The real world is complicated and we are no longer in the 1950s.

around here during ike cellphones were very spotty.sites that were up and had generators were overloaded.amateur radio was the best communications we had.the badly maintained trees took out lots of phone and cable tv lines along with power lines.it took dp&l,time warner,verizon,att&t up to 5 weeks in some areas to fix it all.a working landline was great if you had it but cellphones were pretty paperweights.
the portable reciever idea is good esp with a small solar panel to run/charge it.
even better is to get your amateur radio license and some gear.i passed a ton of emergency traffic during that event.as for headlamps they are great for everyday use in such a situation.my most used light then was a cheap rayovac headlamp modded with a early luxeon star.i still have it and use it for working in the dark equipment cabinets of industrial stuff.
in a long term outage you better have good rechargeables and a solar panel.good luck buying batteries from any local stores.they are sold out if the place is even open!

CalgaryGuy said:

Hello,

I would like to know is how reliable cell phone service during recent black out in the US and Canada (or anywhere in the world). I'm thinking of adding stuffs to be properly prepare for short term blackout (up to 2 weeks). I've heard that headlamp is used more often than flashlight, is that what you experienced?

Thanks.
CG

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About how much it cost for an amateur radio license and some basic gear? Hoping to get portable gear if cost is not much higher than regular gear.

snakebite said:

even better is to get your amateur radio license and some gear.i passed a ton of emergency traffic during that event.

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CalgaryGuy said:

About how much it cost for an amateur radio license and some basic gear? Hoping to get portable gear if cost is not much higher than regular gear.

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I think I paid around $20 for the testing fee for my amateur radio license. The larger investment is in your time spent studying for the test. You can get a decent portable HT radio for around $150-$200, and for less than that on ebay. Keep in mind that a handheld radio will not get out very far without a repeater operating in the area. Some ham radio clubs invest in backup power for their repeaters and some don't, so your ability to transmit could be more limited than your ability to receive.