Communication Options

[GA1dad]

When I think about "TEOTWAWKI",,,, I almost always think of my teenage son. He lives about 150 away from me with his mother. If we had a complete East Coast outage including vehicle electronics due to an EMP,,,,,, I wonder how I'd get to him.

150 miles is a looooong walk. Especially if you don't even know if he'll be home or elsewhere. So i've been thinking about communication. I assume that without power,,,, cell phone towers won't function, nor will land lines. (Atleast mine won't as it operates through a modem from the cable TV provider.)

Are any of you thinking of communication when TSHTF,,,, if so,,, what's your plan???

Sorry,,,, if I seem to be rambling.

[CanNerd]

If anyone has desires of communicating, then you will have to be within talking distance. Even bicycles will not help at that distance.

[johnjmw]

I thought I had heard that older models cars are not susceptible, or not as susceptible to EMP. The Batteries in the cars will still work. If you had protected a radio, Ham, CB, prepay cell phone ect. then you could still communicate locally if not long distance. I am not sure if cell towers are hardened electronics or not. From what I understand it is very easy shield electronics in metal wrapped containers and ground them. An early model car could still give you transportation too. One with out all the extra electronics.
Just a couple of thoughts.
John

[CanNerd]

Then I think "God has already thought of that" since on the agenda of events is a polarity shift which should make any battery or item with an electrical circuit inoperative. From what I've been reading, this actually may occur before the other.

Any steam powered vehicles out there? ;D

[alandanielyoung]

I'm not a car guy or a export on a EMP. So take some salt.
Gas
1) the computer burns up
2) then the ignition burns up
3) then the fuel injection
You would need to:
1) have a car that haves no computer
2) have and bury a new fuel ignition
3) use a carburetor
Diesel
1) the computer burns up
2) what ignition??
3) old diesel have no elec. fuel system
Daniel
God-Bless

[macgeoghagen]

Shielding from EMP can be easy or difficult, depending on whether you are trying to shield an electric thing that is in use or not. If not in use, simply wrap it in an insulator, then encase it COMPLETELY in a metal box or wrap in foil. If you intend to use the item and want it to be shielded in the event of EMP, you have to encase it in metal and isolate it electrically. maybe a 1-1 transformer or some power system that will automatically shut off the connection to the outside if current gets too great. any metal that is connected to your device will act as a lightning rod. for cell towers and radio masts, forget about shielding them. Either the shield will block the antenna, or the antenna will conduct the EMP charge into your device. get a spare and shield it.

[OzarksJohn]

Howdy,

I would suggest anyone contemplating long range survival comms to explore ham radio. As a hobby it can bring entertainment and relaxation; as a disaster communications tool it can save lives and ease the suffering due to lack of comms and information. You do not need code to get a license anymore. OzarksJohn

[MissouriFree]

EMP will kill anything that has any solid state device in it like a car alterantor or computer chip. If it is an older model car with a generator it willbe ok as will comm equipment that runs on tubes. atr least that is the way i understand it.

[CarolAnn]

Interesting issue. I just finished watching a DVD of "The War of the Worlds" and while the alien space invasion thing wasn't too realistic, my interest was caught by the character's total lack of preparation. It featured electrical storms that caused all electrical components to fry so of course, no cars worked except for the ONE car that the hero knew had just had a new solenoid put in the starter. (Like all the other electric computers & stuff in the car would be ok?!) The mechanic was blissfully unaware that giant tripods were bent on cooking all of humanity . . . uh, back to the issue here:

If you have the only car that works, there will be droves of war-crazed walkers, some armed, who are determined to take it away from you. So just having an old car with a full gas tank isn't going to do it, unless it's an old ARMORED car. And I kept wondering how the heck Tom Cruise drove that thing after several MORE EMPs, over all sorts of trash and debris with no flat tires . . . through thousands of stalled cars . . . and over bodies of the unlucky first victims of the conflict. (Oh, yeah - it WAS Tom Cruise!) That won't help the rest of us. I think car = bad idea.

His worst problem was his children: a teenaged son that thought packing emergency food meant tobasco sauce and mustard and a small daughter who was a screamer. The families lives are at stake and the little one can't stop screaming, obey her parent or even STAY put when told to. The son abandons dad and sister because he wanted to go watch the fireworks. Good kid.

Seems to me that in a true "EOTWAWKI" situation - getting somewhere else would not be the best idea. Having children (and parents!) that have at least a couple of brain cells to rub together would help, as would some pre-training for emergencies so they don't freak out if it does happen. Food, water, shelter. A place to hide safely, competence & preparation: these will aid in survival.

You might not know where your son is, or if he's ok for a while after a true emergency, but if you communicate well with him NOW, at least you'll know that he has some mental and emotional preparation to help keep him alive until you do.

[kmatcek]

I have a 1978 mercedes 300cd this is a 5 cylinder diesel engine and everything I have read about when the shtf senario this car will run just fine. It will run without a battery until it runs out of diesel. The only need of a charging system is for the head lights.

[BadKarma]

From what I understand, even if the power goes out, the telephone LAN lines should be OK. I believe that they run on a 9v system and shouldn't be affected by power failures.

[johnjmw]

Yes, in most emergencies the old "Bell" phone systems would still operate for a while. The only two exceptions I can think about would be if the phone lines came down or an EMP which could short the system out. A lot of people are not getting a standard "Bell" phone line anymore. They are likeing the portability of their cell phones and the "networked" phones that plug into the broadband connection their computer uses. Like the "Magicjack" and "Vonage" and others like them. Each has their benefits and drawbacks. Depending on the emergency some will work for a while some not.
John

[tufhelp]

If anyone would share, I'd like to know about the drawback side of those computer phone schemes in the every ady sense ("Magicjack" and "Vonage"). All the adds do is tout the "good" points. I'm guressing not so hot for SHTF times, but how about every day. I'm going broke with the phone company sucking me dry every month.

[johnjmw]

The biggest drawbacks that I know of are:
The do not work properly on dish networks. These are from what I've been told set up in Half duplex. Which means that you transmit or receive, not booth at the same time so talking is kinda choppy.
They do not work properly for 911 unless they have changed the systems. This is because you can move them to any location that has a broadband network.
These were issues and I have not heard of them being fixed yet but I have not really been trying to follow it.

John

[CarolAnn]

I think it's a mistake to rely on land lines for communication after an EMP. I can't imagine a single telephone company that is not computerized - even those in very rural areas. If you've never been in a telephone control house, (I have) believe me - they're computerized!!
You could manually run an old fashioned line and have it work off of batteries, but don't count on Ma Bell or any of her cohorts in a case like that.

Think of it like the folks that go from light switch to light switch when the power's off - and then try the TV or the Toaster, just in case. Believe me, not much is going to work at all.

For a 150 mile trip, I think I'd go with a sturdy mountain bike if you really need to do it, but in a huge disaster, be prepared to defend it.

[johnjmw]

CarolAnn, if it is any kind of a EMP, you are right. Only people who will be talking successfully will be people with hardened equipment or people who brought out their spares from hardened storage. This is a scenario I am not planning on. If it does happen there is only one place I'll be going to BOL. Then it is the rest of the family's responsibility to get there too.
I prefer to plan for most other emergencies first and then complete my BOL. In most other cases there will be some forms of communication available. I feel the natural disasters are more likely. After that the collapse of the economy. Then the list goes on to the man made issues like EMP and BIO warfare.
John

[MissouriFree]

I think it's a mistake to rely on land lines for communication after an EMP. I can't imagine a single telephone company that is not computerized - even those in very rural areas. If you've never been in a telephone control house, (I have) believe me - they're computerized!!
You could manually run an old fashioned line and have it work off of batteries, but don't count on Ma Bell or any of her cohorts in a case like that.



Think of it like the folks that go from light switch to light switch when the power's off - and then try the TV or the Toaster, just in case. Believe me, not much is going to work at all.

For a 150 mile trip, I think I'd go with a sturdy mountain bike if you really need to do it, but in a huge disaster, be prepared to defend it.


an Edsel would work ;D

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

an Edsel would work *;D

You read One Second After, didn't you? ;)
There is no clear and precise definition of what will happen in the event of an EMP occurance, as the only way to study it is to detonate a nuclear warhead. Several times to collect a 'mean average'.