Disaster preparation

[mugwump]

Originally Posted by Boomer-61

mugwump

"is incredibly sensitive once you replace the included rubber ducky, and incredibly flexible"

Which antenna would you recommend?
Great post, thank you.

I know nothing about antennas--I took the advice of some folk on a scanner forum: Diamond RH77CA. Note that this antenna uses a bayonet coax connector and the Uniden has a male threaded Motorola (?) connector so an adapter is needed. I'm pretty clueless about this stuff so make sure you get solid advice about the right adapter (impedence, etc.). I'm guessing that the link should help you out.

[mugwump]

Regarding the sticker shock on the Uniden scanner. The Radio Shack Pro-106 digital trunk tracking scanner is roughly equivalent to the Uniden and can be purchased during periodic sales for $299. Still not cheap, but a bit better. An impartial review is here. Note the eBay auctions at the bottom. An older Pro-106 may actually be preferable to a new one which locks out the national 700MHz tactical frequencies.

ETA: I checked my Uniden and it trunks the 380 to 400 range used by the U.S. military (unencrypted only of course) as well as the 799 range tactical frequency. YMMV with newer units. Uniden review here.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by mugwump

..... The Radio Shack Pro-106 digital trunk tracking scanner is roughly equivalent to the Uniden and can be purchased during periodic sales for $299. Still not cheap, but a bit better........

Mine's a Radio Shack Pro 2050 and it works great.

[mugwump]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

...Good to have PACE for comms and info, cable, broadcast TV, AM/FM radio, and scanner coverage of government channels, with cell phone backup sounds like a good plan to me. I don't think driving around looking to be a part of the news is one of my alternatives...

TR

Here are the unencrypted trunked systems in your area (at the site, mouse over the column heading to see the 'Mode' descriptions):

Bragg and Pope

Cumberland County

Years ago, I started to put together a primer on scanners for your Be Prepared thread but found so many good resources on the Interwebs that it seemed redundant. As part of that exercise I pulled the Cumberland County freqs into the free ARC396 programming software (see screenshot) as an example. Sucking all of the frequencies for your area off of the Radioreference site takes about 30 seconds. You have to give a bit of thought how you wish to organize the different agencies into groups (or you could just let the scanner go through all of them) but after that it's a drag-and-drop exercise to create your groups. By default, the software creates groups which match the section headings in the Radioreference.com database. Actually programming the scanner takes about 5 minutes and is unattended.

cumberland.jpg
.

[mugwump]

Originally Posted by Pete

Mine's a Radio Shack Pro 2050 and it works great.

Good point. Older, and much cheaper, scanners may be perfectly adequate in your area depending upon the comms used by the local agencies. The 2050 cannot access digital trunked systems or public safety channels 440-559. Older scanners face the rebanding frequency conversion that occurred in the recent past. I'm guessing radioreference.com discusses somewhere how to assess the systems used in your area with an eye to getting the cheapest solution possible.

[Boomer-61]

Mugwump,
Thanks again for the info. it is above and beyond. As the tornados were ripping through Georgia the other night and I was making ready and I realized how unprepared I was. I have all the basics but what I fell embarrassingly short on was maintenence and organization. It is not good enough to own these items, they need to be where you can get to them in an orderly manner and in good working order. My 15 y/o weather radio totally crapped out on me, some of my gear was still scattered around the basement after a weekend outing and my weapons systems were not good to go. It made me think about the possible need for redundant systems/kit and the need to do system checks regularily. I'm sorry to say that it took a close call to jolt me out of my false sense of preparedness. Lesson learned. How would you guys say that in PS terms?

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Boomer-61

..... I'm sorry to say that it took a close call to jolt me out of my false sense of preparedness. Lesson learned. How would you guys say that in PS terms?

You can recover from anything that is not fatal. If you learned anything and then apply what you learned you are all the better for it.

If you fail to correct what you leaned and you get hit, well...........................

[45K40]

A recommendation for AA batteries would be to stock only lithium types. Lithium batts have a typical shelflife of 10 or more yrs and are slightly higher voltage. As an example, AA alkalines are called 1.5vdc, but are really 1.2vdc. Lithium 1.5vdc batts are 1.5vdc from the get-go. Lithiums deliver a more constant voltage level vs alkies immediate downhill scale. Lithiums don't leak. You can get them on sale at all the big-box stores occasionally. All CR123 batts are lithium type. Yes, lithiums are expensive, but to find leaking alkies in your gear years from now because you forgot to rotate them out is scary. I use AA lithiums in all my go-to electronics, flashlights, NVDs, strobes, etc. The Energizer AAs in my EDC flashlight have an expiration date of 2024. Will they actually store that long under ideal conditions, I don't know.

45K40

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by 45K40

A recommendation for AA batteries would be to stock only lithium types. Lithium batts have a typical shelflife of 10 or more yrs and are slightly higher voltage. As an example, AA alkalines are called 1.5vdc, but are really 1.2vdc. Lithium 1.5vdc batts are 1.5vdc from the get-go. Lithiums deliver a more constant voltage level vs alkies immediate downhill scale. Lithiums don't leak. You can get them on sale at all the big-box stores occasionally. All CR123 batts are lithium type. Yes, lithiums are expensive, but to find leaking alkies in your gear years from now because you forgot to rotate them out is scary. I use AA lithiums in all my go-to electronics, flashlights, NVDs, strobes, etc. The Energizer AAs in my EDC flashlight have an expiration date of 2024. Will they actually store that long under ideal conditions, I don't know.

45K40

In AA and AAA, I prefer a mix of Duracells and NiMH rechargables. I keep the Duracells in anything that is not going to be convenient to pull the batteries and recharge annually.

123s are obviously Lithiums. A good set of 123s should be GTG for ten years or more. I wouldn't count on the cheap Chinese ones lasting that long, even assuming they do not explode or catch fire.

TR

[PSM]

Looking at all that damage, I'll be adding hard hats.

Pat

[turducken]

Pretty impressive video of a man who essentially floodproofed his home during a flood in Arkansas. He built a moat that extends entirely around his home, and supported that with a pump run by his tractor to keep the flood level down. The moat is ugly as hell, but his home is safe and obviously that is what is important. Comment section is pretty inspiring too as you read how everyone came together during this disaster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgKse...mbedded#at=140

[Boomer-61]

This is a follow up on scanners.
The Uniden BCD396XT is a great scanner but the learning curve is a bit steep. I opted for the Uniden Home Patrol. The price was about the same as was it's range, size, weight. It was the most user friendly system that I could find. You simply plug it in, interface with your PC, program your time and location and you're done. The touch screen presents icons which represent service options (EMS, Fire, Police, Rail, Military) for scanning. The other item that sold me was the ACL-GPS interface kit ($139 retail). When using this kit it constantly feeds your location into the scanner and pulls from the frequencies within range. When using without this kit, you would have to know the zip codes you were passing through and enter them as you travel. The kit makes this a hands free operation. The Home Patrol offers a viable option for scanning with little time invested.