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I thought the OP was implying monitoring/listening (e.g. whatever news is available) more than broadcasting. For myself, that's my primary concern as well, with a short-term natural disaster as the most likely scenario to be planned for, secondarily a possibility of the grid going down for whatever reason (aforementioned natural disaster or due to humans doing something intentionally or not).
"communicating" seemed to imply a 2 way conversation.
I wont be communicating with anyone, I will be keeping a low profile.
in any disaster, short term or otherwise I am so far away from any govt help that any help will either come too late-which is the normal state of affairs- or wont come at all.
self reliance here is the only way to survive.
Well, I looked past the thread title to what the OP wrote in the first post:
"What is the best way to get information in the event that we have and EMP event or the grid goes down for whatever reason or there is an attack on our satellite networks...whot would be the best way to monitor the airwaves in the event that some sort of helpful broadcast going on?"
"communicating" seemed to imply a 2 way conversation.
I wont be communicating with anyone, I will be keeping a low profile.
in any disaster, short term or otherwise I am so far away from any govt help that any help will either come too late-which is the normal state of affairs- or wont come at all.
self reliance here is the only way to survive.
Communications can be either one or 2 way, but in a SHTF situation, it's unlikely that even if you have a working device, (radio, cell phone, etc.) that there would be someone out there to communicate with unless they're part of your network and also have a working device.
If all the repeaters are down, then it's going to be point to point comms like CBs anyway, and there aren't that many people that have those anymore.
In a disaster, hearing news bulletins is far more important to know what is going on. A little AM/FM/ weather crank radio would be a good investment. Knowing if a tornado or mudslide or enemy army are headed your way could save your life.
I wont be communicating with anyone, I will be keeping a low profile.
Ditto. After 72 hours without power and smartphone checks people are going to start having meltdowns. The bloodbath will probably begin within a couple of weeks and I don't want to be part of it.
We live off the grid and are self sufficient… well, solar, grow our own food. The rest of the family knows how to get with us in the event of an emergency. We’d just stay put. And have plenty of room, food and water for family.
We went thru Hurricane Wilma in SW Florida
no power for 7 days
we had a radio and there was absolutely no information given--just ***-yaking by DJ's about nothing
Our car got us out of the HOA and we still found no info about when power estimated to return
We had no toilets because in flat Florida the pump stations were electric--no electric=no toilet flushing
It was very eye-opening to us that no information was available anywhere
We drove to the next city that had power at a hotel and stayed 2 nights
I refused to get in the hotel elevator and hiked my suitcase up 5 floors
We bought a generator due to that experience and also a small RV
We've used the generator 2 times now living in North Carolina for power outages
Cell phones give us info from elec company about restoration of power and they have been good
We have enough food for a month and gas power for 2 days and gas in car for 350 miles
No expectation of getting local information--will stay put for everything except nuclear meltdown
There are actually four questions and situations here.
Power Grid down (solar flare or hacking) vs nuclear EMP
Want to listen vs want to contact others.
In the first situation and wanting to listen, AM FM and SW with Weather was suggested, and is right on the mark.
If you have power from a generator or something, CB will have people talking.
You don't have to talk.
I gathered a lot of information during one disaster just by listening.
In the second situation (nuclear EMP), you need to remember that anything that was attached to the grid or antenna is probably fried.
(But, try it, anyway.)
In the first situation (want to communicate, but, no grid power) there are several other factors to consider.
Primarily distance and budget.
Also, do you know the persons you want to communicate with.
We went thru Hurricane Wilma in SW Florida
no power for 7 days
we had a radio and there was absolutely no information given--just ***-yaking by DJ's about nothing
Our car got us out of the HOA and we still found no info about when power estimated to return
We had no toilets because in flat Florida the pump stations were electric--no electric=no toilet flushing
It was very eye-opening to us that no information was available anywhere
We drove to the next city that had power at a hotel and stayed 2 nights
I refused to get in the hotel elevator and hiked my suitcase up 5 floors
We bought a generator due to that experience and also a small RV
We've used the generator 2 times now living in North Carolina for power outages
Cell phones give us info from elec company about restoration of power and they have been good
We have enough food for a month and gas power for 2 days and gas in car for 350 miles
No expectation of getting local information--will stay put for everything except nuclear meltdown
These are all very good points, but you don't say what kind of radio you have.
I will assume FM.
AM will get more distance, but in SW Florida, probably not far enough.
(Could you get Tallahassee?)
Might be better if you know which stations your (N. Carolina and Florida) government might put announcements on. (Other states, maybe not.) Hurricane country governments may take this more seriously than most other places. (Can you hear any Raleigh stations?)
Ditto. After 72 hours without power and smartphone checks people are going to start having meltdowns. The bloodbath will probably begin within a couple of weeks and I don't want to be part of it.
I'm not particularly interested in anyone else post SHTF, if the power grid is down that will limit a lot of people to what they can do or cant do.
the big cities will be in meltdown once the grid goes down until then it will just be panic buying and general chaos.
most people over this side of the pond are clueless as to what to do in a national emergency and wont survive for long,.
These are all very good points, but you don't say what kind of radio you have.
I will assume FM.
AM will get more distance, but in SW Florida, probably not far enough.
(Could you get Tallahassee?)
Might be better if you know which stations your (N. Carolina and Florida) government might put announcements on. (Other states, maybe not.) Hurricane country governments may take this more seriously than most other places. (Can you hear any Raleigh stations?)
We had AM and FM radio. Tallahassee not reachable but wouldn't matter because they were not putting out any information from what we could tell. I do not believe there is any statewide information system in Florida that would give help to people when power is down in a large area.
Duke Power in NC has been very good with info to our cellphones about power outages and estimated time to get back on. This of course depends on cell towers being in operation.
How does a citizen find out what bands the authorities broadcast information on?
From our experience "driving out" of the affected area was the only way we could get information.
A neighbor made the comment that heading to a hospital was a good idea because they'd have power first and food/water would be available in their cafeteria.
A neighbor made the comment that heading to a hospital was a good idea because they'd have power first and food/water would be available in their cafeteria.
the looters know that too.
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