Winter Is Coming. Really!! Honest!!

NOTE: This post was updated on 01 Nov 2012.  Scroll to end to see new stuff. -O. D.-

Tonight we are having the warmest Halloween anyone here can remember.  However, it won't last - cold weather is going to arrive.  Time to get houses, cars, grab & go kits, etc WINTERIZED.

Use Google to look up BUDDY BURNERS.  They are easy to make and very handy for light, heat and cooking in a disaster.  Start saving your small tuna cans and corrugated cardboard!

A source for more ham radio info can be found at http://www.vorts.com/amateur_radio/ .  You can also join the site and post amateur radio stuff there.  We will be placing a link to this slchamradio.blogspot.com blog on there soon.

KD7UM, Dave, gave us some good info on wire sizes last time.  Here is a summary of what he  went over.  The first number on the left is the wire gauge

16 - 22 AMPS SHORT RUN - 100 FEET  - 14 AMPS TO 15 FEET - 4 OHMS PER 1000 FEET
14 - 32 AMPS SHORT RUN - 100 FEET 6 AMPS - 2.5 OHMS PER 1000 FEET.  
12 - 41 AMPS SHORT RUN - 9.3 AMPS LONG RUNS 
10 - 55 AMPS SHORT RUN - LONG RUN 15 AMPS - 45 AMPS AT 20 FEET.  1 OHM PER 1000 FEET

Why fuse both sides of a power run?  If positive (fused) side opens, current may flow through the negative side and through coax or other wires.  Car setup.  You fuse the positive side.  A mechanic disconnects the negative side to work on the car.  When done, he forgets to reconnect your mobile rig wire that went to the neg battery terminal.  Now all the radio's negative side current flows through the car body, coax cable, etc.  Not good.

Anderson Power Poles
  SMALL piece of solder in with wire.  Crimp and then melt the little piece of solder.
  Anderson rep says to crimp, not solder.
  Recommended crimp is on the side with the seam.
  If you are using REALLY small wire, cut some short pieces of wire and add them into the connector.  Now the crimp has more to "grab" and there will be a better hold on the wire.

Recreation Outlet has the butane stoves and the fuel.  Now $13 for the stoves!!!

Harbor Freight
  $10 Lineman's pliers & Crimping Tool.  Works great on Anderson Power Poles.
  2 pliers in the one package.

A word or two about Harbor Freight flyers that you get in the mail.  Many of them overlap.  Don't throw the current one away just because a new one showed up.  Each flyer will have a few items in it that are more expensive in the other flyer.  Case in point - early October flyer had the 27 LED lights for $2.49.  The late October flyer had them for $2.99, but the earlier flyer is still valid (it expires in late November).

I hope we all are learning things from the East coast storm named "Sandy".  There are many lessons to be learned from the things that are going on there.

===== UPDATE =====  01 Nov 2012 =====

Generrators failed at two major hospitals in New York during FrankenStorm Sandy.  The generators were located on the roof, but the fuel tanks and pumps were in the basement.  One hospital had the fuel room protected by submarine doors.  Didn't help.  Read the story here:  http://tinyurl.com/appts2m

This is amazing when you realize what the testing procedure is for hospital backup power in New York.  "Another expert in disaster planning, Dr. Dan Hanfling, said in an email that the failure of the back-up power at NYU Langone "is certainly unexpected."

Hospitals, he said, are required by the Joint Commission, a hospital accreditor, to have back-up power capabilities. They are required to "load test" those systems a few times each year. (Update 10/31: The Joint Commission says it requires tests 12 times a year for 30 minutes and once every three years for four hours.)"

===== Emergency Prep Photos =====

Here is a picture of the "Hot Hands" device from Emergency Essentials that I told you about.

It provides about two hours of heat and can then be "regenerated" for future use.

*****

Here is a handy 10 foot emergency cord I purchased on eBay.  Battery clips on one end and a cigarette lighter receptacle on the other end.

Below is the same device after I modified it with Anderson Power Poles.  Now we have battery clips to Anderson, Anderson to Cig Receptacle and a 9 foot extension cord with Anderson Power Poles on both ends.  One device becomes three and all three can be used with multiple other cords and adapters that I have which are also equiped with Anderson Power Poles.