"EMCOMM" -v- Communicating During An Emergency

Started by RadioRay, May 02, 2013, 11:11:02 PM

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Geek

I didn't mean to cast it as an either-or and I didn't take the earlier comments that way.  A capability that is vital in one disaster scenario may be useless in another.  None of us know what kind of disaster may be the one that actually occurs.

KC9TNH

Quote from: Quietguy on May 03, 2013, 05:46:23 PM...tools in a toolbox...
Good thought process.  8)

The personal situation of each & their family/tribe/clan is going to be different; further, it will be different for whatever defines an 'event' for them. But diversity is, in this case, a good word for me. To digress from radio for a moment, one of the single handful of local folks I'd consider absolutely trustworthy and part of my "group" for lack of a better term, is not interested in many of the extended technical aspects of the world. But you know what? That guy is handy beyond belief, knows motors, generators, electricity, darn good carpenter and he can weld. Do you think I want him in my toolbox, versus a backup for moi ?  ;D

Separate from full-blown volunteer support to a civil aid function, and not being dismissive of that at all....
If everyone's assessment of what skills or capabilities they need doesn't start with their backyard I think they've missed the boat from a planning perspective. Go to the core directive and work outward. Just some thoughts on that toolbox thing. Carry on, thanks.

Geek

Quote from: KC9TNH on May 03, 2013, 06:12:15 PM
Quote from: Quietguy on May 03, 2013, 05:46:23 PM...tools in a toolbox...
Good thought process.  8)

The personal situation of each & their family/tribe/clan is going to be different; further, it will be different for whatever defines an 'event' for them. But diversity is, in this case, a good word for me. To digress from radio for a moment, one of the single handful of local folks I'd consider absolutely trustworthy and part of my "group" for lack of a better term, is not interested in many of the extended technical aspects of the world. But you know what? That guy is handy beyond belief, knows motors, generators, electricity, darn good carpenter and he can weld. Do you think I want him in my toolbox, versus a backup for moi ?  ;D

Separate from full-blown volunteer support to a civil aid function, and not being dismissive of that at all....
If everyone's assessment of what skills or capabilities they need doesn't start with their backyard I think they've missed the boat from a planning perspective. Go to the core directive and work outward. Just some thoughts on that toolbox thing. Carry on, thanks.
Very well put.

Frosty

Quote from: KC9TNH on May 03, 2013, 06:12:15 PM

The personal situation of each & their family/tribe/clan is going to be different; further, it will be different for whatever defines an 'event' for them. But diversity is, in this case, a good word for me. To digress from radio for a moment, one of the single handful of local folks I'd consider absolutely trustworthy and part of my "group" for lack of a better term, is not interested in many of the extended technical aspects of the world. But you know what? That guy is handy beyond belief, knows motors, generators, electricity, darn good carpenter and he can weld. Do you think I want him in my toolbox, versus a backup for moi ?  ;D


True that one size rarely fits all when it comes to preparing for the specific needs of your group, and that what might constitute a SHTF event for some might only be a minor inconvenience for others.  Other variables are what you're preparing for in the worst case, and the lengths you're willing to go to now to mitigate it's effects should it happen later.  And it's not just the initial event, but the cascading problems that might occur as result of it too. 

I started prepping during the Reagan era, and WW III between us and the Soviets had a heavy influence on my decisions then, and today in many regards.  A widespread nuclear or biological event, and being able to survive (pardon the pun) the fallout from it, is still my preparedness goal.  While many of the core principals are the same (the basic beans, bullets, and band-aids if you will), there's still a lot of differences between that and a hurricane or even an economic collapse.  Given enough time and resources, you can reach a point where the greatest threat might not be from the event itself, but from the other survivors of it.  Humans are, directly or indirectly, the leading cause of death for other humans. 

@EmptySpaces, +1 for the first paragraph of your post and the conclusion. 

KC9TNH

Quote from: Frosty on May 05, 2013, 10:07:51 AMWhile many of the core principals are the same (the basic beans, bullets, and band-aids if you will), there's still a lot of differences between that and a hurricane or even an economic collapse.  Given enough time and resources, you can reach a point where the greatest threat might not be from the event itself, but from the other survivors of it.  Humans are, directly or indirectly, the leading cause of death for other humans. 
Quite so. One can prepare and some do so to the exclusion of all else in their life, fine for them. But you're right, needs to be a balanced approach. You can have all the ammo in the county but if you're not eating your priority will switch itself most rikki-tik. Conversely, you can have great food stores & energy redundancy but the fiddling grasshoppers will find you and one had best be prepared to deal with that. As Mr. Miyagi said, "Find the balance." The recent action against the power-plant in Santa Clara county out in Kali should be food for thought, if only just to the less dramatic things that influence our lives. That kinda stuff pops a flare on our dependencies so we have an opportunity to address them.


Geek

Quote from: Frosty on May 05, 2013, 10:07:51 AM

True that one size rarely fits all when it comes to preparing for the specific needs of your group, and that what might constitute a SHTF event for some might only be a minor inconvenience for others.

That certainly became evident during Sandy.  However, a big part of the difference was whether you prepped at all.  My neighborhood was without power for 8 days.  I was out of power for 20 seconds while the generator kicked in.  By about 4 days in, the few gas stations that were open had lines for hours.  We had filled all of our car tanks in advance and I had another 20 gallons in gas cans.

For me Sandy was an inconvenience.  For my neighbors it was serious and getting more so by the day and I'm not even at the shore.  I am quite far inland.  These folks would be in deep trouble if a more serious event occurred.

KC9TNH

#21
Quote from: Geek on May 05, 2013, 11:34:52 AM
We had filled all of our car tanks in advance and I had another 20 gallons in gas cans.
Homage to a friend who reminded me of something - an accessory - I almost dismissed (but kept), a curs-ed item from my youth; the old radio shelf from the ALICE ruck.  ;D

RadioRay

#22
"emergency"  -vs- inconvenience is really a matter of attitude.  Naturally, your attitudes drive your actions.  I saw a fine balance of running a community well on generator after Issac struck go ALL TOO PIECES, when a family of boneheads returned after being gone two days.  They use SO MCH WATER in the first few hours home that it drained the pressure tank ran the generator for hours, it burned out, likely from the surges on pump motor restarts and etc.  Five families doing quite well with only occasional generator restarts to keep the pressure tank full and these inconsiderate idiots fried it for all of us.

I rigged LED lights and a FAN on two spare 'marine' batteries I had from the boat, and a fold-out solar panel .  That little FAN was worth it's weight in gold, because of the extreme heat and humidity that follows in the wake of a hurricane! We had out ships oil lamps in the first few hours, but they gave off so much heat that they were not welcome.  The LED lights were the spares from living aboard our boat and I wired them into the 12 volt cable that ran to the battery.  This was all recharged during the day by the fold out 'expedition' solar panel from CTIsolar. Once, I also plopped a 'house' battery into the 4x4for a drive into town for a good, high current charge.  I was going anyway, so it was a good use of energy.

With the ham set I had at that time, I had digital capability, so used e-mail over radio, and able to keep touch with friends.   Cell phones began working again after two days and we had power back in in only 4  1/2 days!


>de RadioRay ..._ ._
"When we cannot do the good we would, we must be ready to do the good we can."  ~ Matthew Henry

Frosty

Quote from: KC9TNH on May 05, 2013, 10:27:20 AM
Quite so. One can prepare and some do so to the exclusion of all else in their life, fine for them. But you're right, needs to be a balanced approach. You can have all the ammo in the county but if you're not eating your priority will switch itself most rikki-tik. Conversely, you can have great food stores & energy redundancy but the fiddling grasshoppers will find you and one had best be prepared to deal with that. As Mr. Miyagi said, "Find the balance."

"Stand in bow."  (Daniel stands and bows to Mr. Miyagi). "Not bow, bow!  And don't scare fish."  Classic. 

My favorite though is "Either you survival do 'yes', or survival do 'no.'.  You survival do 'guess so', <squish>, just like grape".  Or something like that :)