Category Archives: Emergency Preparedness

1941 Air Raid Alert Radio

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Shown here, on the cover of Radio Craft, October 1941, are RCA President David Sarnoff (left) and New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (right), acting in his role as National Director of Civilian Defense. War was still two months off for America, but the nation was on a defense footing, and LaGuardia is being shown an air-raid alert which could be used with existing broadcast radios. In this test, a signal was sent out from station WJZ which would sound a bell or turn on a light on the receiver. This was accomplished by sub-audible tones (30 Hz for On, 24 Hz for Off), which would trigger the alarm.

I’m not aware of this system being put into production, but the modern equivalent is the modern weather alert radio, which we have previously featured.

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Warning for Users of Canadian Mail-Order Pharmacies

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FDA image.

We have  previously written about purchasing prescription drugs, and ways that consumers can save significant amounts of money. Those included ordering from Canadian pharmacies. There are a number of Canadian pharmacies that specialize in providing mail-order prescriptions to customers in the United States. In the past, we have used CanadianPharmacyStore.com, although there are many other reputable pharmacies that specialize in this niche market.

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Unfortunately, this method might be coming to an end as of October 22, 2026.  On that date, Customs and Border Protection begins full enforcement excluding  FDA pharmaceuticalfrom informal postal processing, following the recent suspension of the $800 de minimis exemption.

While the rule itself is ostensibly aimed at cracking down on tariff evasion and illicit contraband in small parcels, the collateral damage for individual prescription buyers is massive.

Technically, importing unapproved prescription drugs has always run afoul of the strict letter of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). For decades, however, individual consumers operated under an informal regulatory truce: the FDA and CBP exercised “enforcement discretion,” generally allowing up to a 90-day supply of non-controlled maintenance medications to pass through customs unhindered if they were for personal use and didn’t represent an obvious health risk.  The new postal entry rules effectively eliminate this informal pipeline that made that discretion practical.

Because incoming parcels will now require specific tariff and merchandise documentation before clearance, packages can no longer simply slip through the postal stream unnoticed. Instead, customs will instantly flag pharmaceutical shipments for FDA admissibility review.  Because foreign-dispensed drugs lack explicit FDA domestic labeling and approvals, shipments reaching the border after October 22 run a severe risk of being detained, refused, or returned to sender.

The Traveler Exception

Importantly, this change does not apply to travelers crossing the border in person. The de minimis suspension specifically governs unaccompanied freight and international postal cargo. Travelers returning from abroad with personal medication in their accompanied luggage are covered by entirely separate passenger exemptions and entry rules (meaning you can still generally bring back up to a 90-day personal supply in its original pharmacy container, accompanied by your doctor’s prescription and declared at customs).

What You Should Do Now

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If you or a family member rely on a Canadian or overseas pharmacy for affordable maintenance medication, time is short, and you should refill immediately.  Order allowable refills as soon as possible. Packages need time to be processed, dispensed, and physically clear U.S. Customs before the October 22 compliance deadline.  If you face potential supply interruptions for critical maintenance drugs, consult your healthcare provider about domestic alternatives.

Why Personal Drug Imports Across the Border Remain Feasible

While federal law strictly regulates the commercial importation of pharmaceuticals, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exercises formal regulatory discretion when it comes to individuals carrying medication across the border for their own care. Under the FDA’s Personal Importation Policy, border agents and customs inspectors generally allow individuals to bring in foreign medications, provided specific common-sense criteria are met:

  • Personal Use Only: The quantity does not exceed an estimated 90-day supply, and the medication is strictly for the individual importing it.
  • Valid Documentation: The traveler carries a valid prescription from a licensed physician, along with original pharmacy packaging and clear labeling in English.
  • Low Risk Profile: The medication does not represent an unreasonable safety risk, is not a biological agent, and is not a controlled substance with severe restrictions (such as Schedule II narcotics).

Some of these requirements might sometimes be laxly enforced.  For example, I’ve never been asked to show a prescription at customs, and I’m aware of many cases of persons bringing back prescriptions for family members.  But especially if you are planning a special trip, it’s a good idea to keep them in mind.  Relying on lax enforcement is never a good idea.

The 90-Day Border Run: When Travel Pays for Itself

For millions of Americans dealing with high out-of-pocket costs for essential, brand-name maintenance medications, the price gap between the U.S. and foreign pharmacies remains dramatic. Even after factoring in transit, fuel, or airfare, a dedicated cross-border trip every 90 days to Canada or Mexico—or timed alongside planned international travel abroad—often proves substantially more cost-effective than filling those same prescriptions at a domestic counter.

When domestic retail prices or high deductibles run into thousands of dollars per quarter, the net savings from a single foreign pharmacy visit can easily absorb the cost of travel and lodging, leaving significant cash in pocket.

To see the exact logistics, documentation rules, and price comparisons involved in a border pharmacy run, see our earlier post on purchasing prescription medications in Mexico.

Wilderness Survival Overnighter: 1951

One of my more memorable experiences from Scouting was earning Wilderness Survival merit badge.  Surprisingly, my favorite and most memorable requirement is no longer a requirement. While the current merit badge asks scouts to demonstrate making a shelter and building a fire, it doesn’t have a requirement to tie it all together. The final requirement when I earned it was to spend the night alone, with only minimal supplies. I put together some kind of shelter, and cooked my own meal without utensils. Even though there were no utensils, I was miraculously provided with the food, which included some raw ground beef. Using green twigs, I was able to construct a basket to cook my hamburger over the fire. I believe I was also allowed a match, so I didn’t have to resort to a more primitive method of fire starting.  Overall, it was kind of a miserable night, but it was miserable in a good way, enjoying my half-cooked hamburger and sleeping under some makeshift twigs.

Seventy-five years ago, the August 1951 of Boys’ Life showed the same general experience. A group of Explorer Scouts decided to do a “survival overnighter.” They were more fortunate than I was when it came to shelter–they were allowed a sheet, which they could form into a tent. Other than that, they were allowed ten feet of cord, a blanket, a poncho, some charred cloth in a waterproof envelope, a pocket knife, canteen, and first aid gear.

They didn’t get any ground beef. Their food consisted of some biscuit mix and salt. Other than that, they were to live off the land. They managed to catch a few fish, and they demonstrated a deadfall trap, although they noted that trapping was prohibited in some states. One big fish was caught with a handmade line and hook, and other smaller fish were simply caught by hand. Unlike me, they didn’t get a match, and had to use friction to get their charred cloth going.

Elsewhere in the magazine, scouts were shown an example, shown at left, of what might go in their pockets, to help ensure survival if they got separated from their pack.



Detroit Power Outage

According to recent news reports on July 4, 2026, about 300,000 customers in the Detroit area are without power.  99 degree temperatures pushed the electric grid to the limits, and when a storm passed through, thousands were left without power.

If you’re able to see the above meme ported in from Facebook, it points out the irony–on Independence Day, all of those residents became independent from electricity.

Of course, for most of our loyal readers, it’s not a matter of irony.  You already know that with minimal preparation, you can be independent from the power grid.  The air conditioner won’t work without some serious investment upfront.  But with a little bit of preparation, life will continue more or less as before, with only a few minor adjustments.  For example, the meme suggests that the unprepared might need to abandon their holiday barbecue.  But our readers know that the barbecue is the perfect place to cook if the power is out.

There was a time when electric power was properly regarded as a luxury, and something the people could do without if they had to.  We believe that most of our readers still remember this.

Are you prepared for a power outage?  We suspect that most of our readers are, but it doesn’t hurt to mentally run through your checklist.  We have pointers for preparing for a power outage at this link.  For the more serious case of a power outage during winter, we have this further advice.  Although it has definite limitations, one device that you have can be a godsend (if you’ve done some advance preparations) is your cell phone, and we provide that information at this link.



Emergency Communications for the Railroads, 1926

A hundred years ago, this railroad station agent was reviewing a message sent from another station via amateur radio. You need communications to run a radio–before sending a train down a westbound track, you better make sure that there’s not an eastbound train coming toward you. Normally, those orders go out via telegraph, but if the wires were down for any reason, that was a problem.

As late as the 1940s, you see occasional reports of amateur radio operators helping out the railroads with this vital traffic, such as during the 1949 Midwestern blizzard.  It is illustrated here on the cover of QST, May 1926. The accompanying article explains how the ARRL was approached by the Pennsylvania Railroad to set up a reliable backup system. Over the course of 10 weeks, tests were conducted to make sure there would be a smooth transition in case of emergency. All of the cities shown on the map below were represented, in most cases by multiple stations.



1956 Emergency Radio Receivers

Seventy years ago this month, the May 1956 issue of Popular Electronics showed these ideas for an emergency radio receiver. If the power was out, or the radio otherwise out of commission, the emergency adapter was simply placed near the loop antenna. Inductively coupled, it would use the set’s tuning circuit, and you could hear it through headphones. Three versions were shown. The cigar box version had the advantage of furnishing a place to store the headphones. Another one used a loop antenna from a broken radio, and the third variation had the coil taped permanently in place on the outside of the radio.



Family Preparedness, 1951

Seventy-five years ago, this scout, shown in the May 1951 issue of Boys Life, took the scout motto seriously. As a result, his family was prepared for just about anything.  The accompanying article asks “is your family ready,” and offers some pointers for family preparedness.  Here, it notes that a basement shelter can be mighty useful in an emergency.  The type of emergency isn’t specified, but they’re probably thinking of the A-bomb.

They are shown stocking it with food, battery radio, flashlight, alcohol stove, water, candles, blankets, simple furniture, and a few books.



1941 British Wind Generator

Eighty-five years ago, the March 1941 issue of Practical Mechanics showed how to build a wind generator.  It used a propellor left over from the last war, and the axle from a Peugeot.  But with some ingenuity, it was made into a working unit.  The windmill managed 180 RPM, and since most car alternators required 1200 RPM, a 7:1 gear ratio was required.

I think of wind generators as an American phenomenon, since any respectable farm in the last century sported a windmill.  But the wind also blows in Britain, and was capable of being harnessed.

These days, wind generators such as this 1200 watt model are available on Amazon at a surprisingly low price.  Looking at the reviews, this particular one looks like a very good value, although one reviewer points out that the instruction manual is somewhat incomplete.  Our readers, of course, don’t need instruction manuals.  Also, a couple of parts needed some modification to properly mount it, but we have faith that our readers can deal with that issue as well.

Britain was at war when this article was written.  And this article serves as a reminder that wind power might play a role for some in providing electrical power in an emergency.



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1976 Emergency Power Idea

Fifty years ago this month, the CB column in the March 1976 issue of Popular Electronics carried some pointers for CB’ers to be prepared for emergencies. Included was this simple circuit to ensure that the radio could see uninterrupted service in the event of a power outage.

A trickle charger keeps the 12 volt battery ready to do at all times. And the 4PDT relay ensures that switchover is automatic. (If you can’t find the 4PDT, two DPDT relays would work just as well.)

Edit:  I just noticed that the diagram is wrong.  Can you spot the error?  Post a comment below.



Canada to End VHF Weather Broadcasts

In what is, in our opinion, a shortsighted decision, Environment Canada announced recently that its VHF weather broadcasts will go dark starting March 16.  Like in the United States, Weatheradio Canada broadcasts on 162 MHz frequencies from over 200 locations across Canada.  In addition to  weather conditions and forecasts in a computer-generated voice (in English and French), it uses SAME technology to activate alerts on radios.  If there is a weather warning, your receiver will set off an alarm and wake you up.

For many people, this technology is obsolete, since their cell phone can do the same thing.  But, in both the U.S. and Canada, there are many areas where cell phones do not work.  But with an inexpensive receiver, the rather primitive technology employed by weather radios can provide a vital service to most of the continent.  And weather radio can provide service to deaf persons, which might be problematic with other technologies.

Canada doesn’t seem to have a coverage map, and with 200 stations, the coverage probably isn’t quite as good as in the United States, where only a handful of truly remote places lack coverage.  But the vast majority of the population has access to this service, even though many of those people don’t have cell service.  And the cost is nominal.  Each transmitter needs a few hundred watts of electricity to operate.  The weather data is being generated anyway, and the system to broadcast it in two languages is completely automated.

You can read more about how weather radios save lives at our earlier post.  And for specific information about how this technology can serve deaf persons, see this post.  And Mexico also has its SARMEX network, which also includes earthquake warnings.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid that lives will be lost because of this unfortunate decision.  I hope the United States, with its robust network of NOAA weather radio stations, will not make the same bad decision.