Thursday, 6 February 2014

Making Contact With Emergency Communication Equipment

By Serena Price


During a natural or man-made disaster, you will want to be able to communicate with government agencies and family members . Suggestions for Emergency Communication Equipment for your kit are a ham radio, satellite phone, walkie- talkies, cell phone, or a hand crank radio . Having fresh batteries or choosing equipment that use solar power will ensure you are not left uninformed.

The one option used for over 100 years during every disaster in the United States of America is the Ham Radio. They operate on a wide variety of frequencies ranging from above the AM broadcast band to the microwave region. These are short wave bands and bounce off the ionosphere from the transmitter to the antenna of the receiver's unit. In order to transmit longer distances, they use a repeater which receives the signal then rebroadcast it over and over again. Also some operators use Morse code which can often get through when voice transmission cannot. The Short Wave Radio has an internal battery or generator so outside power is not required.

A Satellite Phone does not use the same low frequency as a Ham radio nor does it use cell phone networks. It does, however, bounce its transmission off of orbiting satellites. Not a cell phone, but they are still used for voice calls, text messages, and internet service, plus they all have the additional feature of the Global Position System, GPS, which will help locate the nearest town, city, hospital, or emergency services.

Walkie-Talkies are hand held two-way radios. Battery operated, these do not use cell towers or phone lines. As long as there are no large obstacle such as buildings, a mountain, or large grouping of trees, a person can speak with another person 1 mile up to 35 miles away.

Though the previous recommendations are for items that do not use the same network as a cell phone, that does not mean cell phones cannot still be useful during a disaster. Text messages and the internet use different bandwidth than voice calls do so if the network should be overloaded, you can still get a text message through. You should also be able to access the internet through your data plan to communicate with others. Do not forget that social media has proven to be useful in the past during times of crisis.

A Hand crank radio is a smart investment when putting together an preparedness kit. The first and obvious reason is because it does not require any batteries or electricity to operate. Often there will be a built-in port to allow the charging of cell phones, an LED reading lamp, flashlight, and flashing red emergency light, preset stations for receiving weather information. Most importantly many models have a solar panel for power. .

Which ever equipment you choose, store plenty of batteries. Check them according to manufactures instructions to ensure they are fresh when needed. Also, invest in a solar converter to ensure you will be able to operate your equipment.

During a natural or man-made disaster Making Contact with Emergency Communication Equipment is going to be vital. Be certain you have been properly trained in how to use your equipment. Also have plenty of batteries and a solar converter on hand in order to keep the lines of communication open.




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