emergency stuff

[shaveice]

miulang mentioned the no battery led shake flashlight
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Gen-IV...&s=electronics
and it sounds like a good recommendation.

she also mentioned the calling cards.

i wonder if others here will recommend other stuff that they have personal experience with, like which hand crank radio is good.

[damontucker]

Re: emergency stuff

One thing that hit me during this recent black out... is that I had not updated my "Hard-copy" list of addresses and phone/numbers of people I would have liked to have contacted.

I meet so many people...and I store a lot of their data in my online databases... but then when the power went out... I had know way to access them...

Manoa... Makes side note to make hard-copy of all addresses, emails, phone numbers, etc... in a place accessible other than something that needs electricity to access!

[helen]

Re: emergency stuff

Using stuff that requires the least amount of battery types. Kirkland AA alkaline batteries goes for about $9-10 for a pack of 48 batteries. I can't remember the price or quanity for Costco's Duracell or Sam's Club Everyready packs.

FRS radios might be useful for short distance (1/4 mile to 2 mile range) communication if you need to spilt up your group and they are normally kind of small, slightly larger than cellphones.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: emergency stuff

I meet so many people...

Yabut, how are you going to contact them when the phone is for emergency use only?

[GeckoGeek]

Re: emergency stuff

I'm a bit leery of the crank-up radios and lights. The question is where do they store their power and how long will it last? The original crank-up radio stored it's power in a big spring. But several of the units I saw on my last visit to Radio Shack stored it in a ordinary cordless battery. If that goes dead you can do all the cranking you want, it won't work. If you go camping so that you use it, that's fine. But buy it and stick it in your emergency kit, it may not work when you need it. I'm more inclined to buy a brick of batteries and rotate them though every year.

There are several LED flashlights that will work for task lighting, but I need to find something better for area lighting. But do find out how long they last. I think I spent too much time in the dark because I wanted to make sure my batteries lasted though the event.

As Helen suggests, standardize on items that use AA. It's the most flexible and gives more power then AAA.

Might want to get one of those butane burners. Daiei was selling some not long ago for under $20. They are a bit big, but are safe for use indoors. Camping stoves are not intended for indoor use and might give you carbon monoxide poisoning.

If you've got ordinary land line service, get at least one phone that "basic" and doesn't need power.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: emergency stuff

Speaking of emergencies and preps...can we bring my old prep thread back to life? It wasn't just for bird flu.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: emergency stuff

I'm a bit leery of the crank-up radios and lights. The question is where do they store their power and how long will it last? The original crank-up radio stored it's power in a big spring. But several of the units I saw on my last visit to Radio Shack stored it in a ordinary cordless battery. If that goes dead you can do all the cranking you want, it won't work. If you go camping so that you use it, that's fine. But buy it and stick it in your emergency kit, it may not work when you need it. I'm more inclined to buy a brick of batteries and rotate them though every year.

Check this site for some basic comparisons of "dynamo-powered" radios (the ones that you can hand crank; they generally store the crank-generated power in rechargeable NiMh batteries, which hold a charge better than NiCds.) Some have solar-power capacity as well, and include SW, TV, Weather bands, lanterns, etc.

[damontucker]

Re: emergency stuff

Yabut, how are you going to contact them when the phone is for emergency use only?

Well contacting my family and letting them know where I might be...and in what type of condition I'm in is considered an "Emergency" to me.

I'm also talking about things that could totally wipe out your computer, and therefor even when things do get back to normal.... you may have lost all your contacts....etc.

[helen]

Re: emergency stuff

Speaking of emergencies and preps...can we bring my old prep thread back to life? It wasn't just for bird flu.

Please be aware that this thread is discussing what kind of electronic technology one would use for a what I would believe would be a short term type of emergency situation, something on the order of 1 to 3 days, at most a week.

While it would be okay to discuss the points of using a GMR325 vs GMR638 FRS radio in this thread. It would not be okay to discuss in this thread the finer points of using Angel Soft over MD toilet tissue, Sunkist vs Coral canned tuna or other non electronic items.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: emergency stuff

Well contacting my family and letting them know where I might be...and in what type of condition I'm in is considered an "Emergency" to me.

No argument there. It sounded like you were talking about your wider social circle. I think the advice is for the family to select someone far way as the contact point. It's frequently easier to get a call out long distance then to get one point to point and it cuts down on the number of calls everyone needs to make.

I'm also talking about things that could totally wipe out your computer, and therefor even when things do get back to normal.... you may have lost all your contacts....etc.

A good emergency (off-site) backup for critical things is always a good idea.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: emergency stuff

Please be aware that this thread is discussing what kind of electronic technology one would use for a what I would believe would be a short term type of emergency situation, something on the order of 1 to 3 days, at most a week.

While it would be okay to discuss the points of using a GMR325 vs GMR638 FRS radio in this thread. It would not be okay to discuss in this thread the finer points of using Angel Soft over MD toilet tissue, Sunkist vs Coral canned tuna or other non electronic items.

...or a toilet bucket vs an outhouse, or canned tuna vs dried fish, or a water shower vs a spongebath.....okay, another time, then...thanks.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: emergency stuff

Check this site for some basic comparisons of "dynamo-powered" radios (the ones that you can hand crank; they generally store the crank-generated power in rechargeable NiMh batteries, which hold a charge better than NiCds.) Some have solar-power capacity as well, and include SW, TV, Weather bands, lanterns, etc.

Yeah, but I'm leery of using rechargeable batteries at all. As long as you rotate them, primary cells are completely reliable. Rechargeable may not be any good in 2 years and turn the device into a useless lump in your kit. Now having one as a second back up in case of a week-long outage due to a hurricane might be a good idea. But I wouldn't make it my only one.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: emergency stuff

Rechargeable may not be any good in 2 years and turn the device into a useless lump in your kit.

You've probably experienced this problem with NiCd rechargeables - they can suffer a die-off "memory effect" after a while, rendering them useless. Newer NiMh ones don't have that problem, which is why they are showing up in more dynamo units, so they are more likely to be ready to go when needed, even if left untouched for a long time.

With non-rechargeables, you have to remember to keep replacing old ones in your emergency kit, so you don't end up with expired batteries when you finally need them. But you could make that a yearly ritual - like changing the batteries in smoke detectors every Vernal Equinox (or some such plan.) Proper disposal of standard batteries is an increasing problem in landfills, due to the chemicals they leach out.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: emergency stuff

You've probably experienced this problem with NiCd rechargeables - they can suffer a die-off "memory effect" after a while, rendering them useless. Newer NiMh ones don't have that problem,

There's a few different things going on under "the memory effect". My question is what happens to any battery sitting in a discharged state for long periods of time?

I think you need to plan on rotating things in your emergency pack anyway. The start of hurricane season is a good time to review what's in there. It's not only batteries, but food also has a shelf life. You may no longer fit the spare clothing you've set aside. (Just because you're older doesn't mean you've stopped growing. It's just in a different direction.)

[Kelly0040]

Re: emergency stuff

I put this in the earthquake thread in the other forum ...then I saw this thread like right now, so now I feel like a dork, but I'll repeat it here since it's more appropriate. (sorry if you read it over there tho)

Speaking of emergency stuff and Costco, they also have those handcrank LED flashlights atm (in Mililani anyway) that also have an am/fm radio with an antenna (which works well), a siren thingy, strobe light and uh I think that's it. $24 iirc for 2. Not to mention that big bucket of rehydratable food for like $110 or something.