Alternative Means of Communication

How many of you already have an alternative means of communication?

Other than smoke signals, during a disaster situation, do you have another means of outside communication? Even if you have cell-phone coverage at home, can you reliably count on that to communicate with the outside world during a disaster situation? Cold weather is one thing, but a national/regional disaster is an entirely different topic: even here in Florida, on 9/11/01, did you have reliable cell-phone service? I had limited and much interrupted cell phone service, from a national event localized to the Northeastern portion of the country. What happens when/if trouble loams closer? The simplest and most cost efficient method of outside communication would be a Citizens Band (CB) radio. CBs are cheap and easy to use, not to mention, most of them run on 12 Volt power. Those walky-talkies are convenient as well, for very short range communications with neighbors and such, but if you want information sent out on a broader area, you should consider purchasing a CB radio as part of your preps. Then, once you've that basic communications established, start considering becoming a licensed amateur radio operator (HAM). A Technicians license for HAM radio communications is rather simple to acquire, and the equipment, thanks to sites such as eBay, is easily attainable. Though you no longer need to know .- A, .- A, -.. B, -.. B, -.-. C, -.-. C (morse code), you do need some basic radio wave propogation theory for antennae adjustment, and familiarization with FCC regulations in order to be able to broadcast with any ummph over the airwaves. A Technicians license will give you the required knowledge, and it's also fun and informative to have a Short Wave, AM, SSB, or other alternative type of radio reception during a crisis. If you consider the ripple effects of national/regional/local emergencies, it'd be easy to consider that Television, cell-phone, or any other mediums requiring commercial power might not be available, with your own independent means of communication with the outside world, you could not only keep up with what's going on 'out there', but also transmit or retransmit information in a GLOBAL network. A CB radio will get you 'out there' several miles, and allow almost 'unlimited' re-transmittal of a message, not to mention that channel 9 is 'suppose to be' monitored by local emergency assistance personnel as well; however, a HAM station will let you communicate with Uganda, Africa with the right antennae array, and skip conditions, should you so desire. Just something to consider, when you consider preparations.

BTW, thanks again to the Florida Preppers Network moderator for allowing me to post to this forum. I also maintain a personal blog @ Ewe Remembered if you'd like to venture over and find out more about me and my experiences and current preps.

Ewe