Sept is National Emergency Preparedness month.
Colorado Hams Provide Disaster Communications.
On page 73 of the current QST magazine is this amazing story. You can read the original story in the Denver Post HERE.
The ham radio ATV stations gave fire fighters something they are not used to, views of the fire from front and back in real-time video!
AMAZING story of Ham Radio Operators at Ground Zero on the day the twin towers fell!
There are many excellent tips here on what to expect in a major disaster. The article is on page 77 of QST. You can read the long version on this website - www.w2ik.info
The Ultimate Disaster.
Imagine what it would be like to work a prolonged MAJOR disaster with no electricity, no running water, no gas,no cell phones and no internet. There is an excellent article on page 98 of the current issue of QST that discusses just such a scenario. The main point is to put together NOW what you need - before it is needed - and store it someplace safe.
As for training, while just having Amateur Radio operators available is an asset to public safety, you can increase your credibility by taking additional training such as the ARRL Amateur Radio Communication courses. HERE
You can also go online to FEMA, which has two types of FREE online training courses that you can take. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) courses, of which there are 16, can be found at www.fema.gov/emergency/nims.
Next is the FEMA Independent Study Program (ISP) courses of which there are over 100! There is an ISP course to fit your personal situation and needs at training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp.
All this additional training adds to your credibility as a disaster communications operator. The training will also help you to better understand what the police, fire or EMS needs, and why, during a disaster.
Do you know how to signal a helicopter for a safe landing? In most situations, when a medivac copter lands, it needs someone on the ground giving standard signals to indicate where to land safely.
Remember, if you fail to plan, you have planned to FAIL!
FINALLY, you should probably bookmark www.InciWeb.org. They have Incident Listings for every state for every type of disaster. Right now the majority of the listings relate to forest fires. This is one to check on a regular basis and certainly before deploying to see which roads are open and which are closed.
=====
N7OZH - 73
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
MARA 08/15/2012 - auto siphon and water NOT to drink.
September is national emergency preparedness month. Time to add needed objects to your kits and supplies.
The following are easy ways to heat small meals, water and to produce heat on cold days or nights.
1. FOLD-UP STOVES
2. STERNO
You can make a candle out of tuna type can, some vegetable oil, and a paper towel or string/cord for a wick. Place some oil in the can. Lay the strip of paper towel or string/cord along the slanted lid. Light and enjoy. The best way to make one of these is to not cut the lid all the way off when you open the can. This assures you will not lose it and also forces it to lay at the correct angle to hold the "wick".
UNSAFE WATER IN THE HOME 1. Water bed contents. Water bed plastics are not food grade safe. The added chemicals can be poisonous.
2. Vehicle Radiator water - Don't even think about it. Between the rust and the anti-freeze you will die a horrible death.
Tincture of iodine will kill all pathogens except CRYPTOSPORIDIUM PARVUM.
CHLORINE BLEACH - WORKS OK ON MOST TAP WATER, NOT SO GOOD ON WATER COLLECTED OUTDOORS. IMPURITIES BOND WITH THE CHLORINE RENDERING IT USELESS - SET THE WATER SIT FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES BEFORE ADDING THE CHLORINE. BE CAREFUL NOT TO STIR UP THE SEDIMENTS WHEN USING THE WATER.
I've been talking about the AUTO SIPHON for a long time. You can see it here and watch a video of how it works. HERE
More later.
73 de N7OZH
The following are easy ways to heat small meals, water and to produce heat on cold days or nights.
1. FOLD-UP STOVES
2. STERNO
You can make a candle out of tuna type can, some vegetable oil, and a paper towel or string/cord for a wick. Place some oil in the can. Lay the strip of paper towel or string/cord along the slanted lid. Light and enjoy. The best way to make one of these is to not cut the lid all the way off when you open the can. This assures you will not lose it and also forces it to lay at the correct angle to hold the "wick".
UNSAFE WATER IN THE HOME 1. Water bed contents. Water bed plastics are not food grade safe. The added chemicals can be poisonous.
2. Vehicle Radiator water - Don't even think about it. Between the rust and the anti-freeze you will die a horrible death.
Tincture of iodine will kill all pathogens except CRYPTOSPORIDIUM PARVUM.
CHLORINE BLEACH - WORKS OK ON MOST TAP WATER, NOT SO GOOD ON WATER COLLECTED OUTDOORS. IMPURITIES BOND WITH THE CHLORINE RENDERING IT USELESS - SET THE WATER SIT FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES BEFORE ADDING THE CHLORINE. BE CAREFUL NOT TO STIR UP THE SEDIMENTS WHEN USING THE WATER.
I've been talking about the AUTO SIPHON for a long time. You can see it here and watch a video of how it works. HERE
More later.
73 de N7OZH
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Emergency Preparedness and also Harbor Freight.
If your household gets the ValPack coupon mailer, you might want to dig it out of the trash and open it. Near the front is a set of SUPER Harbor Freight coupons. Lower prices than in ANY of their mailers and emails. For example, in their current 16 page brochure the Trickle Chargers are on sale for $5.99. In the ValPack coupons they are $4.99. Solar Charger is $159.99 in the 16 page mailer, but only $149.99 in the ValPack package.
You can see the entire 16 page mailer by using the link below. The nice thing about seeing it online is that you can rest your mouse over one of the coupons and it will "enlarge" to where it is VERY EASY to read. The printed ones are sometimes so small that they require a magnifying glass.
You can see the 16 page interactive mailer HERE.
There is also an email one page brochure that you can see HERE.
The ValPack mailer is not available online. However it may be available on their web site which is HERE.
The current issue of the Ensign magazine has an EXCELLENT article on dealing with major disasters. It is on page 22. The information is VERY handy.
On eBay the newest Baofeng radio is going for just $36.00. Amazing. Don't know what this is going to do to Kenwood/Yaesau/Icom/Alinco/Etc.
More later.
-N7OZH-
You can see the entire 16 page mailer by using the link below. The nice thing about seeing it online is that you can rest your mouse over one of the coupons and it will "enlarge" to where it is VERY EASY to read. The printed ones are sometimes so small that they require a magnifying glass.
You can see the 16 page interactive mailer HERE.
There is also an email one page brochure that you can see HERE.
The ValPack mailer is not available online. However it may be available on their web site which is HERE.
The current issue of the Ensign magazine has an EXCELLENT article on dealing with major disasters. It is on page 22. The information is VERY handy.
On eBay the newest Baofeng radio is going for just $36.00. Amazing. Don't know what this is going to do to Kenwood/Yaesau/Icom/Alinco/Etc.
More later.
-N7OZH-
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
MARA 08-01-2012
A new resource for those who are professionally or seriously involved in community level Emergency Preparedness. SituationWare
=====
Twitter is down at the moment so our usual pre net Tweet did not go out at 8PM. I'll try again a little later. You can follow us HERE.
That address is twitter.com/MARA_SLC
=====
Twitter is back up. Just Tweeted tonight's net reminder.
=====
For those who do EchoLink...
Hamradio-Ticker @Hamradio_Ticker
RT @HamTwitNet: #hamtwitnet in just under an hour on w5raw-r echolink node 387265. @KD0LOS is your friendly NCS. If you have time, hop on…
=====
Not all memory chips (SDHC, Thumb Drives, etc) are what they claim to be. Now there is software that will allow you to check what you buy and find out if you got what you paid for. Demand a refund if you were gyped. Check HERE.
=====
I've mentioned "Figure 9" rope tensioners before in relation to guying an emergency antenna. Here is what they look like. They sell these locally at Ace Hardware for less money than the eBay sellers are asking. Google these things to see how they work. More info HERE.
Google "rope tensioner" to get more info and see other types. Some are plastic and work just as well.
=====
If you are on the Harbor Freight mailing list, you should have recently received a BIG flyer with LOTS of stuff on sale. Two items worth mentioning are the LED Head Lamps and the Battery Trickle Chargers. The Trickle Chargers are on sale for $5.99, down from $12.99. I have several of the LED head lights and I am going to get more while they are on sale. I use mine at least once a month and sometimes more. I have used them in a power outage and they are FANTASTIC. Get AT LEAST one per family member. Consider extras for the cars and your office.
=====
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)