June 06, 2009 3 Comments

Wow, have I gotten lots of questions lately! I will answer more tomorrow as I didn’t want too long a post for one day. Please keep those questions coming!  It really helps me to understand your needs and concerns and I learn so much as I research areas that are changing, such as the H1N1 vaccine, and also areas I’m just learning about such as HAM radio.

“I was trying to look up the ham radio operators in my local area & have no clue what to look for.  I don’t have the money or space for a big equipment set up like most of these

old-timers.  What do do?  What should I look for or ask when joining a club or getting a license?  Please advise.”

I suggest you go to the ARRL website (Amateur Radio Relay League), where they have a club search database: Affiliated Club Search

You can also try searching in Google for “amateur+radio+club+your county or city” and see what you find. Another search term that might lead to a licensing class, is to search for a “hamcram”. A popular method of preparing for the Technician Class License is to attend a one-day course called a HamCram, and at the end of the session they give the FCC exam, and over 90% of participants usually pass the test with no trouble.

In local areas there are radio organizations that affiliate ham radio operators with local offices of emergency services. One organization is Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES). They are focused on preparing to serve in a local emergency, thus part of their preparation is to make certain their own families are equipped and prepared. Check it out at the ARES page.

Most ham operators are eager to help a new licensed operator learn the ropes, and most are eager to serve their community. The main thing is to enjoy the people involved, and the process of learning new operator skills. A sense of curiosity and adventure will help you understand the mentality of many “hams”.

There are many new technologies for those so inclined: Internet-linked repeaters that allow global communication, digital voice transmission, amateur television. For the technical person, these would be fascinating pursuits.

Base stations can be very small and will easily fit into a drawer or onto a shelf to be pulled out and used when you want to get on the air. Our base station is about seven inches square. You will need an antenna but your local club can advise you what works well in your area. There is quite a bit of used equipment available on the Internet, which is how we got most of ours’. Again, ask for help from those who have been “hams” for awhile and know what you are looking for before you buy something.

Someone was telling me about a solar lantern that would last six hours after charging.  Do you have any recommendation or info on this?  Someone recommended this which also has a radio and multiple ways to recharge it.  I would appreciate your help!

I love solar items which can also be used with batteries or a crank to supply power. I would not invest in more than one until you have actually held one and tried it. Some are cheaply made and easily damaged. Be aware that if you purchase a model with a crank that it must be charged using the solar option before the crank feature will work. Set it in the sun for several hours and you are good to go. I love the crank option because the sun is not always shining during an emergency, such as a winter storm which takes out the power. Also, a crank charge will last for several hours and is a great option for a night light. By the time the charge runs low you are asleep and you haven’t run down your batteries. Great for a kid’s room.

Just wanted to mention that even receiving items in mail can contaminate you with the virus. On our local news they discussed that if the virus is surrounded by mucus from a person, it can live up to 6-7 days. They mentioned it in connection of dollar bills that could circulate with the virus on it, but mail-order items would also be concern. Just make sure you wash your hands a lot, even if you haven’t gone into the public. I get flu every year even with the shots, so I don’t think I will take the vaccine. I don’t trust it being put together so quickly. In the past that has led to more deaths than the flu itself.

Great point about the mail and money. We must be aware of all of those avenues of contamination. During the 1918 pandemic people who self quarantined still became ill because neighbors would leave food on their porch, trying to help, but the containers had been exposed to the virus and the recipients became ill. Lots and lots of hand washing and lots and lots of disinfecting will be necessary to remain safe.

As for the vaccine, only time will tell how quickly it will come to the market and how much testing will have been done. I am also watching that closely. It frightens me when they say the vaccine will be available in August. I can’t believe it can be properly tested and manufactured by then. I will keep researching that since I too am skeptical. I would recommend anyone who has a compromised respiratory system or who has had pneumonia in the past get a pneumonia vaccination as one the foremost causes of death in the swine flu has been pneumonia. My sister-in-law had the H1N1 turn into double pneumonia in just two days.

You say we’re on track to have our 3 month storage by February. If I want to speed that up so I’m more prepared by the second wave of the flu (which would hit in the August-September time frame if it follows the 1918 pattern, or by October if it waits till normal flu season to reach second wave levels), how many months of food would I have stored if I either:

1. doubled up on all the weekly assignment food amounts starting now
2. (harder) went back and doubled everything that has already been assigned and stored?

By the way, I have ordered your Mother Hubbard and other ebook, and perhaps they will answer this question when I receive them.

We now have a three week supply so you could just multiply that by your goal. If you want a three month supply, for example, multiply by 4 (12 weeks = three months), for example, and stock up. There are however, a few things which we will add only once, such as the baking ingredients we added last week, so you will not have seen those yet. When you receive your ebook there will be an interactive spread sheet which will give you all the answers. Just enter the number of family members and the number of weeks or months that you choose as a goal. You will then see how much you need to store. Next, you can add in what you already have and it will calculate what you still need.

I am thrilled that you understand the importance of this part of preparing for the return of the H1N1. We all hope it won’t return and we can use our storage to eat more cheaply, as we will only need to purchase foods when they are on sale. BUT, if the flu comes back and we need to self quarantine we will eat well!

Answers to questions, HAM Radio, Our General Store, Pandemic

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