Category Archives: Emergency Preparedness

Piezoelectrics For Your Time Travel and Post-Apocalyptic Needs

Completed piezoelectric speaker from 1968 article.

Completed piezoelectric speaker from 1968 article.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some plans for homemade microphones from 1945. One was very crude but easy to duplicate. But one was quite sophisticated, and could be made at home by growing a piezoelectric crystal from a saturated solution of Rochelle Salt.

The piezoelectric microphone is particularly intriguing because it should function equally well as a piezoelectric speaker.  For this reason, it has an interesting application, albeit perhaps not one that is immediately practical.

Being Prepared for Inadvertent Time Travel

The knowledge of how to build such a speaker could come in handy in a couple of situations, at least one of which is probably unlikely.  The first situation would be that of inadvertent time travel.  If you get caught in a time warp and sent to the past, it would be wise if you could make the best of a bad situation and be able to “invent” some technological devices.  (And as I’ve previously written, having a WikiReader in your pocket would make the situation much more bearable.)  And as a loyal reader of this blog, it stands to reason that one of the technologies that you could “invent” would be radio.


While there are no documented cases of this ever happening, the science fiction literature is full of examples.  Probably the oldest example is Mark Twain‘s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.  Other examples include 1632 by Eric Flint and the Island in the Sea of Time series by S.M. Stirling.

Cobbling together a transmitter would be relatively easy, as long as the time period into which you were deposited had some rudimentary industries.  You’ll need some wire for winding coils and putting up an antenna, some metal for building capacitors and a spark gap, some acid for making batteries, and a few other bits and pieces that should be readily available in the Middle Ages.  With a bit of ingenuity, you should be able to come up with a transmitter with a range of hundreds of miles.

And with the exception of one component, a suitable receiver would be relatively easy to make.  Once again, you’ll need some wire for the coil and antenna, a few pieces of metal for fabricating other parts, and something to serve as a detector.  The detector would be quite simple.  The most common material, which would give good results, would be a chunk of Galena (lead ore).  If you find yourself in an area where this mineral is unavailable, there are many substitutes, as discussed in my earlier posts (this one and this one) about “foxhole radios” or my earlier post about emergency wartime crystal sets.

The one part, however, that will be difficult to procure is a suitable earphone.  If you’re lucky enough to be transported back in time after the invention of the telephone, then your problem is partially solved.  A telephone receiver will have an impedance that is too low for your receiver, but by rewinding the coil, you should be able to come up with a suitable headphone.  If the telephone hasn’t been invented yet, you can of course take the honors and invent it.  But if you want to jump ahead to radio technology, you’ll need to fabricate a suitable headphone to hook up to your radio.

This brings us back to the piezoelectric microphone we discussed earlier.   This type of microphone works equally well in either direction:  It can change electrical impulses to sound, as well as working the other way around and changing sound into electrical impulses.  Therefore, if you build a piezoelectric microphone, you can hook it up to your crystal set and listen to that transmitter you put on the air.

As discussed in my earlier post, the piezoelectric microphone/headphone should be relatively straightforward.  All you need, in addition to the scraps of metal you already procured, is a piezoelectric crystal.  And the article linked there gives you the basics of growing one.  In addition to water, all you will need is Rochelle Salt, also known as potassium sodium tartrate tetrahydrate.  This compound was first prepared in 1675 by Pierre Seignette. So if your time travel lands you after that date, you should be able to procure it. Of if it’s about 1675 and you’re anywhere near La Rochelle, France, you would be advised to look up Monsieur Seignette and collaborate with him on the project.

If you arrive before 1675, all hope is not lost. According to this site, you can whip up a batch using the ingredients cream of tartar and washing soda.  Cream of tartar is a byproduct of the wine making process, so it should be available at any time after the invention of wine, which dates back to antiquity.  So as long as those ingredients are available, you should be able to recreate radio.

An alternative method of building the headphone is described in the book The Voice of the Crystal by H. Peter Friedrichs.  This is a magnetic headphone which would require a very fine gauge of insulated wire, but a good jeweler of almost any era should be able to help you procure the components.

Rebuilding Civilization After a Collapse

The other time one would need to recreate radio technology would be after a collapse of society.  There are billions of radios in existence, any many more component parts, so it is very unlikely that you would need to start from scratch.  Even after hundreds of years of dark ages, many relics of our current technological society would still be available to provide usable parts.  This scenario is discussed in detail in the book The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm by Lewis Dartnell, which I previously reviewed.

The most abundant source of headphones for your post-apocalyptic crystal set would probably be the microphones from the billions of cell phones currently in existence.  In most cases, these are probably piezoelectric, and would work well for a crystal set headphone.  (The billions of stereo headphones and earbuds probably wouldn’t be of much use, since they are too low an impedance to work properly with a crystal set.)

Science Fair Project

Even if you don’t anticipate time travel or TEOTWAWKI (The End Of the World As We Know It), a homemade speaker or microphone could be part of a most impressive science fair project.  Even very young students could fabricate the simple three-nail microphone shown in my earlier post.  And more advanced students will be capable of making speakers or microphones that rival commercially available ones.

A More Refined Version of the Piezoelectric Speaker

Near perfect crystals from 1968 article.

Near perfect crystals from 1968 article.

The 1945 piezoelectric microphone linked in my original post is probably suitable for all of your time travel or post-apocalyptic needs.  However, a more refined version, shown at the top of this page, is from the May-June 1968 issue of Elementary Electronics.  While the 1945 article probably gives enough detail for the experimenter to grow a crystal and put it to work, the 1968 article goes into much greater detail.  It gives detailed instructions on growing the crystal, and the completed crystals, shown here, turn out nearly perfect.  In particular, the 1968 article gives detailed instructions on starting with a seed crystal and maintaining the temperature of the saturated solution as the crystals form.  While the 1945 article would probably result in a usable crystal looking like a piece of rock candy, the details in the later article result in a crystal that can be further ground to dimensions that would make it quite sensitive.

Construction details of 1968 piezoelectric speaker.

Construction details of 1968 piezoelectric speaker.

The construction details of the final speaker are shown above.  The crystal is ground and polished to about 1/16 inch in thickness, and then sandwiched between two pieces of aluminum foil.  (If your time travels take you to a time when aluminum was still considered a precious metal, substitution of other metal shouldn’t present a problem.)  A current applied to the two pieces of foil causes the crystal to vibrate.  The author of the 1968 article used the cone of a defunct 12 inch radio speaker, which could be replaced by some other type of cone.  For use with a crystal set, the large cone might prove a detriment, since the crystal set might not be putting out enough audio to set it into vibration.  Constructing some sort of headphone would probably be more suitable for a crystal set.

The photo above shows a matching transformer, but this would not be necessary for use with a crystal set.  The example shown in the 1968 article was designed to replace a standard low-impedance permanent magnet speaker.  The high impedance of the piezoelectric speaker would be perfectly suited to the output of a crystal set.

For even more details on growing crystals, the author of the 1968 article recommends the book Crystals and Crystal Growing by by Alan Holden and Phylis Morrison, which is still available and in print.  And if you’re just looking to make a crystal set and want to buy a piezoelectric earphone (or other needed parts), you can find them on my crystal set parts page.

 

 

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How To Get Yourself Down From a Cliff

1915SheepshankIf you ever find yourself stranded on a high spot with a rope, you’ll appreciate this trick. Of course, you know that you can tie the rope to something sturdy and then climb down. You probably assumed that you would need to abandon the rope.

But thanks to this trick which appeared in Popular Mechanics a century ago, November 1915, you can now retrieve most of the rope.  The trick is to tie a sheepshank knot, which is normally used to temporarily shorten a rope.  First, you secure the rope.  You then tie the sheepshank close to the top.  You will notice that at point C, the rope is not supporting any part of your weight, so you cut the rope at this point.  Then, being careful to maintain tension on the rope, you descend.  After you’re safely on terra firma, you simply give the rope a shake, and most of it falls down beside you.  You’re on your way, and you have all but a small piece of your rope.

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Science Fair Ideas: Homemade Batteries from 1965

HomemadeBattery3

When the aspiring young mad scientist is looking for ideas for the science fair, someone invariably suggests making a homemade battery. Making a battery is a fairly simple proposition. All you need are two dissimilar metals and an electrolyte. A common choice for electrolyte is a mild acid such as lemon juice, and copper and zinc make good dissimilar metals. No matter how badly you construct the thing, a little bit of electrical current is bound to flow, and you can probably coax a little bit of light out of a light-emitting diode (LED) or even power a small electronic device such as a digital clock.

A good choice for the kids who aren’t as smart as you are.

In fact, for students with limited scientific abilities, you can just go out and buy yourself a Potato Clock kit. You simply open the box and jab the electrodes into a potato, and the potato juice serves as the electrolyte. It’s completely safe, since I can hardly think of any chemical more benign than potato juice. If you drop the potato on the floor, you don’t need to bother calling the haz mat team. And unless you screw up horribly, the clock will instantly come to life. There’s nothing wrong with the humble potato clock, but if you’re reading this looking for ideas, you probably want to come up with something a bit more spectacular. And while you’re at it, you probably want to use chemicals slightly more dangerous than potato juice.

So you might want to go back in history a bit when adults weren’t quite so concerned with hazardous chemicals, and use something slightly more powerful in making your battery. You can go back in time fifty years, when adults let their responsible children play around with slightly more dangerous chemicals such as household bleach, often referred to by its most popular brand name, Clorox. Not only will you have more fun, but you’ll wind up with a much more powerful battery, suitable for powering much bigger electronic devices.

For details on how to put the battery together, you can go to page 98 the Fall 1965 issue of Elementary Electronics.  That article describes two batteries that you can make at home, both of which are hundreds of times more powerful than the one running that other kid’s potato clock.

Warning:  Bleach really is a dangerous chemical.  You need to be careful with it, and keep it out of the reach of children who are not as smart as you are.  If you get any on your clothes, your mom will be mad.  If you get any in your eyes, you’re facing a major medical emergency.  Your mom is probably right when she tells you, “you can put an eye out with that.”  Ask your parents and/or teacher for permission.  If they balk at the idea, ask them to read the article about how to make the battery.  To show how responsible you are, show them that you read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

Homemade battery using drops of bleach.

Battery using drops of bleach.

The article shows how to make two batteries.  The first one, while much more powerful than the potato, is “more of a novelty than a practical device.”  It is shown here, and consists of fifteen sets of aluminum strips and copper wires. The metallic pieces are arranged in a circle around a piece of Plexiglas. The copper and aluminum are close together, but not touching.  When ready for use, a drop of bleach is placed on each one.  When the last drop of bleach is added, the connected radio or other device springs to life.  If measured with a voltmeter, the complete battery will put out about 15 volts.  However, this drops when there’s an actual load, and 15 cells is about right to power a radio that normally calls for 9 volts.

Unlike the potato battery, this one will run a radio for several minutes.  But the article concedes that it’s more of a novelty.  Therefore, the article goes on to describe another more powerful battery.  The bigger one is even suitable for use around the house in case of a power outage.  If the power is out and you’ve used up the last battery, there’s probably still a bottle of bleach down in the laundry room, good for hundreds of homemade batteries.

HomemadeBattery2

Homemade battery using ice cube tray.

The larger battery is constructed in a plastic ice cube tray.  You use six of the individual compartments, so you can cut the ice cube tray in half and make two batteries.  Each compartment of the tray contains one piece of aluminum and one piece of copper.  You simply fill each compartment with bleach, and you have enough power to run a radio for several hours.  When the battery finally goes dead, you pour out the old bleach and replace it.  You can re-use the battery hundreds of times before the aluminum finally gets worn away completely.

Voltaic pile similar to the 1799 version. Wikipedia photo.

With either battery, you have essentially recreated the work of Allesandro Volta, who invented the Voltaic pile in 1799.  He was eventually able to build a battery large enough to administer an uncomfortable electric shock.  Until the electric generator came along in the 1870’s, anything that required electricity (such as the telegraph or telephone) was powered by batteries similar to those created by Volta.

Armed with this fifty year old article, a bottle of bleach, and a few pieces of scrap metal, you can now make your own Voltaic pile.  You’ll get to use dangerous chemicals.  You can generate significant amounts of electrical power.  Perhaps you can even administer uncomfortable electric shocks to your friends, teachers, and parents.

You’ll have the most interesting project at the science fair.  And the kid who goes home with a participation ribbon for his potato clock is going to be pissed.

Check out my other science fair ideas, some of which are slightly dangerous.

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Emergency Water Storage in Your Bathtub


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If you have advance warning of a hurricane or other emergency situation, it’s a good preparation to use your bathtub to store emergency water.  Even if you take no steps to sanitize the tub, simply filling it with water is a good idea, since you can use the water for many purposes, such as cleaning. However, unless you clean the tub thoroughly before filling it, you probably don’t want to actually drink the water from the bathtub. Also, the tub is uncovered, so the water can be contaminated. Finally, there’s the possibility that some of the water will leak down the drain. The plug is designed to hold the water long enough to take a bath. If it leaks even a tiny amount, the water could be gone in a few days when you need it.

The products shown here are designed to solve those problems, and they do. For some people, having one of these on hand could be cheap insurance. If you live in hurricane country, you should consider the problem, and having one of these might be part of the solution.

The products shown below are normally available on Amazon.   The first is the AquaPod, and the second is the WaterBob.  However, at the first hint of a hurricane approaching the U.S., they quickly sell out.  If you’re reading this before hurricane season, then it’s a good idea to order now if you think you will need one of these.  If you need a water storage solution and it’s too late to order, continue reading, since this page shows many alternatives.

For a less expensive alternative, see our later post about disposable bathtub liners such as the ones shown here:

Essentially, each of these products is the same: A large plastic bag, made of food-grade plastic, that fits inside your bathtub. The bag itself would burst under the weight of the water, but cradled by the bathtub (which was designed to hold water in the first place), the bag serves simply to keep the water sealed up safely. It also prevents the water from leaking in case the tub’s drain doesn’t have a perfect seal.

Each of these comes with a spout to fill the bag from the tub’s normal faucet. To get the water out, each of them comes with a hand pump to transfer the water to more convenient containers. So overall, each of these products is a good idea, since it gives you a convenient way to store between 65 and 100 gallons of drinking water. For some people, having one of these could be a good solution.

There are a couple of downsides, however, that you should consider. First of all, all of these are really only good for a single use. There’s no way to completely empty it. So once you’ve used it, you need to dispose of it. For that same reason, there’s really no way to test it. I’ve never heard of one of these having a leak. They appear to be well made, and it’s very likely that they will serve the intended purpose. But if it proves to be defective, there’s no way for you to know until the hurricane is bearing down, at which time it’s probably too late to get a replacement.

In addition, there is the matter of cost. While the prices are very reasonable, it’s still something that you hope you never need to use. And it’s possible that you’re reading this hours before a hurricane is expected to strike your area. If you don’t have one of these stored away, it’s probably too late to get one. So it’s important to think about alternatives.


Other Water Storage Alternatives

Obviously, clean water is one of your most critical needs during an emergency. Many emergencies could cut off your supply of tap water.  These could be a local  water line break, a hurricane, a winter storm or blizzaard, or many others.  If one of these is approaching, you should store water in all available containers, whether or not you have one of these. Your kitchen probably contains many pots, pans, and other containers, all of which were designed to hold items for human consumption. Your first order of business should be to fill them with tap water while that water is still safe to drink. Also, if you believe that the water might become unsafe at some point, it’s a good idea to turn off your water heater and turn off the intake valve. Then, you can get safe water from the tap at the bottom. (You’ll probably need to open a hot water tap on a higher floor in order for air to enter the system as you draw out the water.)

In addition, you can probably find additional containers in your recycling bin by making use of soft drink bottles. Simply clean them thoroughly and refill them with water. (Plastic milk bottles probably can’t be cleaned sufficiently to use for drinking water, although they also represent a way to store water for other purposes.)

If you are still expected to have power for a few hours, fill your refrigerator and freezer as completely as possible with water containers.  The ice and cold water will keep the other contents of the refrigerator cold, and it’s another source of clean water.

Even without a special liner, the bathtub can still be used for water storage.  You can clean it thoroughly for use.  Presumably, if you get every last bacteria, then you can simply drink the water.  However, you have no way of knowing whether you cleaned it well enough.  But even if the water is questionable, you could later purify it with bleach.

You’ll also need water for things other than drinking.  So even if you have plenty of drinking water stored elsewhere, filling the tub is cheap insurance.

If you do use the tub without a liner, you’ll want to make sure that the drain is completely closed and makes a good seal.  If you’re not sure, a piece of plastic and caulk can ensure that the tub will remain full.


Emergency Bathtub Water Storage With Garbage Bags

After filling all other containers in the house with water, you can also make your own bathtub liner in one of two ways.  The easiest would be to line the tub with clean plastic sheeting.  Then, simply fill it as usual.  It won’t be covered, but you can take care of that with additional plastic sheeting.

If you don’t have any plastic sheeting, you can also use normal garbage bags.  Of course, such a bag will quickly burst if you just started filling it with water, because it was never designed to hold that much weight.  But it will still keep the water contained.  And the tub will provide the required support.

The process of filling them is not particularly difficult.  Take enough bags to completely cover the surface of the tub.  With a normal household garbage bag, you will probably need four or five.  Place them in the empty tub, and open them up the best you can.  If there is any sharp edge in the tub, such as the drain, it’s best to cover it up with something like a washcloth.

When you have them placed, you’ll need to start filling them.  But you can’t immediately fill one of them all the way, because it won’t hold the weight.  The bag will need to be supported by the tub, and by the other bags.

Therefore, you need to take turns filling them partially, while they’re already in their assigned spot.  You won’t be able to get water from the faucet into the bags at the rear; so you’ll need to come up with another method.  If you have some kind of hose that you can attach to the bathtub faucet (or another nearby faucet), that would be easiest.  Lacking that, you’ll need to use another container.

Fill one bag part way, and then fill the one next to it to the same level.  Once you’ve filled all of the bags to the same level, go back and add more to the first one.  Eventually, all of the bags will be full, and snugly fitting in the tub.



When you pick the bags to use, make sure that you’re using ones that don’t have any kind of insecticide.  This is a case where cheaper is better.

When all of the bags are full, you can tie off the tops to keep them sealed.  Getting the water out will be slightly challenging, but not too difficult.  A pump of some kind would be ideal.  But if you don’t have one, you can simply use another container to remove water as needed.

Just as you filled them evenly, you’ll need to take the water out evenly.  You’ll need to take turns taking water out of different bags so that the water level stays about the same.

If one of the bags springs a leak, that’s not a major emergency.  You won’t be able to use that water for drinking, but it will still be safely contained in the tub for other uses.  And because the other bags are separately sealed, you can still drink that water.

waterstorageIf you need more ideas for storing water in an emergency, a good source of ideas is chapter 8 of Nuclear War Survival Skills.  Despite the title of the book, it is also an excellent source of information for practical ideas for other emergencies.  For example, the illustration here is from that book, and shows a man carrying ten gallons of water in burlap bags lined with a plastic trash bag.  You might not have burlap bags around the house, but you probably have pillowcases, and they will work as well.  You can also use a trash can or heavy cardboard box with a garbage bag as a liner.  (All of these will be heavy once filled, so you’ll want to put them where you need them prior to filling.)

Other Water Containers

Of course, if you know that a storm is coming, rather than relying on expedient solutions, it would be a good idea to have some containers designed for the purpose.  The links below show just a few of the many possibilities:

 

Other Helpful Links

For more information on emergency preparedness, please visit some of the following pages on my website:

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Book Review: The Knowledge by Lewis Dartnell

WikiReader.

My website contains a review of the WikiReader. This little device set me back about $20. It’s apparently no longer available on Amazon, but there do seem to be examples available on eBay and elsewhere. It’s a small battery-operated device that contains in its internal memory (with some limitations) the full contents of the English language Wikipedia.

In other words, it contains what its manufacturer called “the Internet without the Internet.” If you’re transported back in time, if you get stranded on another planet or on Gilligan’s Island, or if the world suffers TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It), you’ll no longer have access to the Internet, but you’ll have a pretty good summary of just about any subject. The batteries of the WikiReader will eventually go dead, but before that happens, all you need to do is find the Wikipedia article on the history of the battery, take some good notes, and you’ll be able to whip yourself up a new one when the time comes. Once you’re settled in in your new era, you find an interesting article such as the one on the electrical telegraph, put together a prototype, and then make arrangements to demonstrate it to Julius Caesar or Louis XIV.

The WikiReader has a number of practical limitations, and I rarely use it. But it’s carefully put away just in case I’m involved in inadvertent time travel. In my pocket, I have the important knowledge of the 21st century. If I accidentally get stuck in a time warp, I’m going to make the best of the situation.

It appears that I’m not the only one who thinks that way. I recently got an e-mail from Amazon stating that customers who bought the WikiReader also bought a book with the intriguing title The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm by Lewis Dartnell. The book is available in the usual places, such as Amazon, amazon.ca in Canada, or your local library.

As the title suggests, the book is written for the benefit of some future inhabitant of Earth who needs to reconstruct (or “reboot” as  author Dartnell calls it) civilization after some sort of cataclysm.  The first chapter suggests some possible sources of the disaster, and the second chapter discusses the “grace period.”  After some types of disasters, such as a pandemic (such as happened in Earth Abides by George Stewart or in my own novel Caretaker), the survivors of the disaster have at their disposal the spoils of the earlier civilization.  It’s a relatively simple matter to eat canned food, set up generators, and take advantage of what was left behind.  In some cases, such as pandemic, that grace period might extend for generations.  In other cases, such as nuclear war, there will be fewer benefits available from the earlier civilization, and survivors will need to get to work right away tending to their immediate needs.

Dartnell doesn’t dwell a great deal on the grace period, since he correctly notes that numerous other survival manuals have been written.  What he spends most of his time talking about is rebuilding a technological civilization after the grace period has ended.  With a few exceptions (such as how to make soap), he doesn’t provide enough detail about any given technology in order to show exactly how they’re done.  But Dartnell does give enough clues in order to point survivors in the right direction.

For example, in the section on radio communication, he describes how to build a crystal radio, and he gives enough detail to allow the future archaeologist to recreate one.  He gives some of the theory, but no unnecessary theory.  In our current timeline, for example, it probably would have been impossible for society to come up with radio without first having an understanding of Maxwell’s Equations.  Instead, Dartnell gives only enough theory to make the thing work.  After building a few radios, the post-apocalyptic society would eventually come up with Maxwell’s Equations on its own.  So future history would follow the same general course, but in the opposite order from ours in some instances.

In addition to the plans for the receiver, Dartnell also gives enough detail so that someone could probably come up with a workable spark-gap transmitter.  I think the stumbling block for the future inventor would be coming up with an earphone sensitive enough to work with the receiver described.  Armed with theory in our own civilization, the telephone was created first, which gave the required prior technology.  Dartnell does qualitatively describe both a magnetic and piezoelectric earphone, but either one would require a great deal of trial and error.  In our own history, a skilled inventor would know enough theory to realize that sound would come out of a telephone receiver if hooked up properly.  If it didn’t work the first time, he would eventually figure out that he needed to make it more sensitive by adding more windings to the coil.  The post-apocalyptic inventor would have more trial and error.  But if he or she had enough faith in the book (perhaps because he knew that the soapmaking description was correct), that might provide the incentive to keep experimenting.  (Dartnell does provide the future inventor with Edison’s admonition that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.)

Similarly, Dartnell gives enough clues to invent the triode tube.  There isn’t nearly enough detail to make one, but he tells just enough about the Edison effect so that a gifted future scientist could verify it, and some hints as to how this effect could be harnessed to provide amplification.  Dartnell mentions in passing that oscillation is possible, although I hope the future scientist figures out that feedback is necessary in order to get the thing to produce radio signals.

In order to jump-start science, Dartnell provides a few simple experiments to prove non-intuitive concepts, such as the Earth spinning on its axis (Foucault’s Pendulum) and revolving around the sun (stars rising four minutes earlier each night).   In case the surviving society has lost track of time, he shows how to establish the year, either by the proper motion of Barnard’s Star or changes in the night sky due to the Earth’s axial precession.  The book contains convenient charts showing the reader the year (as well as a map and picture to locate the Svalbard Global Seed Vault).

In short, the future reader will get a lot of useful information from this book.  In most cases, the ideas contained in the book will need additional details, but Dartnell points the future inventor on the right path for either experimentation, or at least a clue as to which ancient texts he or she should try to recover.  (The book contains an extensive bibliography to help the future inventor in that quest.)

Chances are, nobody would read a book entitled, “The History of Science and Technology.”  But when you get to the end, you realize that’s exactly what you read.  In detailing the easiest course for future civilization, he necessarily recreates our own.  There will, of course, be some differences.  For example, most readily accessible deposits of fossil fuels will be gone for the next civilization.  But he offers a number of workarounds.  And since the current nitrate supplies of our early civilization (see The Guano Islands Act for an interesting discussion of a seemingly mundane commodity) are also depleted, he goes into more detail regarding the relatively simple chemistry required to fix nitrogen from the air.  On the other hand, aluminum requires a great deal of industry to refine.  But in the case of a future society, even hundreds of thousands of years in the future, our dumps will provide ample mines of high-grade ore that will need little more than melting down and re-casting.

In short, if you bought a WikiReader after reading my review, then, yes, Amazon was right.  You’ll want a copy of Dardnell’s book as well.

More information, including a discussion forum, is at the book’s website:  the-knowledge.org

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Hurricane Betsy, 1965

Hurricane Betsy satellite image, 4 Sept 1965. Wikipedia photo.

Hurricane Betsy satellite image, 4 Sept 1965. Wikipedia photo.

Fifty years ago today, Hurricane Betsy started bearing down on the United States. On August 27, 1965, the storm formed as a tropical depression off the coast of French Guiana and started moving northwesterly. It caused only minimal damage to the Leeward Islands before heading over open waters for several days. It achieved hurricane intensity on August 30. On September 5, 1965, the hurricane stalled over the Bahamas, where it inflicted the worst damage since 1929, before resuming a westward track. It made its initial landfall in Key Largo, Florida, before reemerging in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where it continued to gain strength.

Flooding in New Orleans. Wikipedia photo.

Flooding in New Orleans. Wikipedia photo.

On early September 10, it made landfall again near Houma and Grand Isle, Louisiana, with winds of 155 mph. The eyewall was in the New Orleans area for over eight hours, with winds in the range of 120 mph. It caused a strom surge into Lake Pontchartrain and considerable flooding and levee breaches in New Orleans, lasting ten days. Near Baton Rouge, the storm caused the sinking of a barge loaded with enough chlorine to kill 40,000 people, necessitating mass evacuations in the harbor area.  In New Orleans, most antennas were down, and 90% of the city was without power.

The November, 1965, issue of QST reported on how Radio Amateurs responded to the storm. K5AOE set up on the 8th floor of City Hall, where considerable traffic was handled on 75 meters. This included health and welfare traffic, and also a dedicated medical net. Fifteen mobile stations, each assigned to a doctor, were set up at shelters, and there was constant traffic as conditions were reported and medical supplies requested. The FCC declared a communications emergency for the duration.

The Hurricane Watch Net was formed informally during Hurricane Betsy as stations came on the air to provide communications to and from affected areas. Since then, the net has continued to operate with a more formal structure any time a hurricane is within 300 miles of projecte landfall or otherwise threatening any populated area.

 

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1965 Emergency Broadcast System Simulated Script

Terrorism Section Content Nuclear Blast 1.3.0.0
A January 1965 report prepared for the Office of Civil Defense reported on several simulated fallout shelter exercises conducted in the Pittsburg area to investigate various shelter management factors. For example, in one study, the designated shelter manager arrived late. In another study, the effects of total darkness upon shelter operation were studied.




In three of the experiments, the stress level was increased by periodically playing simulated emergency broadcast system messages. The script of those broadcasts is particularly interesting, since it gives an insight into what civil defense planners thought might be a plausible scenario for a nuclear attack on the United States, and how news would be communicated to the public.

Here is the text of the nineteen radio broadcasts that might have been heard during a nuclear war:

EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM SCRIPT
EBS #1, Friday, 7:00 PM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Take shelter immediately. Take shelter immediately. This is not a drill.
Repeat: This is not a drill. An enemy attack is being launched against
the United States. Take shelter immediately and stay tuned to this
frequency for further instructions.

THE ABOVE MESSAGE IS TO BE REPEATED THREE TIMES, WITH 15-SECOND INTERVALS.

EBS #2, Friday, 7:10 PM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. We have just been informed that the city is now on the emergency power system. Please inform the control center if your shelter is without light-., Repeat: The city is now on the emergency power system. Please inform the control center if your shelter is without lights. We also have ….. we also have word here that there has been no confirmed report of a missile strike in this area.  There has been no confirmed report of a missile strike in this area.

EBS #3, Friday, 7:15

(Phone is heard ringing in background.)

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This Is the Emergency Broadcast System. A missile attack has been launched against the United States. Reports about the attack are fragmentary and unconfirmed. The strategic missile bases west of the Mississippi appear to have borne the brunt of the attack. As of this moment there has been no official report of a nuclear detonation in our immediate vicinity. Fallout has begun to descend on the western portions of our city and is expected in other areas imminently. Do not communicate with the emergency operations center unless absolutely necessary.

.
EBS #4, Friday, 8:00 PM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Stay tuned for an important message. (DISTANT VOICE: Okay, stand by now. We’ve got a remote from Washington.) Static ——- Noise. Another voice: This is a report from the emergency national command post in Washington. The President and his key civilian and military aides have been safely evacuated to the emergency seat of government. This evening at 6:35 PM the enemy launched an attack against the strategic retaliatory forces of the United States and its NATO allies. An intelligence warning allowed us to launch a portion of our land-based missile force against the enemy’s remaining strategic forces.
Polaris missiles have also been launched. In addition, our airborne alert and a portion of our ground alert aircraft forces have been sent against the enemy’s non-missile strategic forces. Our damage assessment reports indicate that many of our SAC bases have been destroyed or severely damaged. A number of communities near SAC bases have also suffered great damage. The fallout monitoring network reports that radiation is heavy in the western portion of our country and is increasing in the midwest and eastern portions of our nation. Although there have been several nuclear detonations in the east, it appears as if these have been the result of errant missiles, rather than a planned attack against population centers.  The President, whom, I repeat is alive and well, will address the nation as soon as his command duties permit. This is the end of the Priority One report. Local EBS stations may resume Priority Two broadcasting.

EBS #5, Friday, 8:30 PM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Short wave monitoring has disclosed that our air strike forces are currently launching attacks on the enemy homeland. These forces are utilizing a new….. what?  What do you mean it’s not for release? (Another voice: Priority One. Now.. for heaven’s sake! Announcer: Well what the hell …… 1)

THIS MATERIAL CUT OUT.

EBS #6, Friday, 8: 50 PM

Has this one been cleared?
ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. We have Just received word that the President has been evacuated to sea in the floating Whitehouse. The location of this ship is unknown. The floating Whitehouse is a battle cruiser, fully equipped for command and control functions. Our government has survived the attack. I repeat, our government has survived the attack.

EBS #7, Friday, 9:30 PM

ATTENION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System, We have just been informed that a message is to be delivered from the governor’s office in Harrisburg. Please stand by,

This is a report from the governor’s office in Harrisburg. The state of
conditions in Pennsylvania is serious, but not critical. Erie has been
severely damaged by what is believed to have been a stray missile. No other cities have reported being hit, but the fallout level is rapidly increasing, particularly in western Pennsylvania. Apparently neighboring states have borne the brunt of the attack, particularly those in the western portions of the country. All citizens should seek shelter immediately. Do not attempt to evacuate your area until you are instructed to do so. Local law enforcement personnel should remain in their respective areas. State police have been assigned to more critical areas, and additional state aid will become available and be assigned when fallout levels permit.

EBS #8, Friday, 10:15 PM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Fallout began to descend on the Pittsburgh area several hours ago and radiological monitoring reports indicate that radiation levels are dangerously high in many parts of our city. No one should attempt to leave shelters. Repeat: No one should attempt to leave shelters. Youngstown, Ohio and Erie, Pennsylvania have suffered severe damage as a result of nuclear detonations.
As of the moment there have been no nuclear blasts in our immediate area.  The municipal power has been temporarily disrupted in some parts of the city. Power should be restored shortly. No further official reports on our retaliatory attacks on the enemy homeland are available. Unofficially, the absence of any significant second wave of enemy attack, plus the size of our surviving strategic force, allows cautious optimism that we will suffer no further major damage from any attack. Until further word is transmitted by this station, everyone must remain in shelters.

EBS #9, Friday, 10:30 PM

ATTENTION. ATIENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. In order to evaluate the damage to Pittsburgh, the emergency operations center requests every shelter to gather the following information and to report it to the local emergency operations center. Is this a fallout or a blast shelter? How many persons are in the shelter? How many of these persons are injured? How many persons are suffering from radiation sickness? What is the condition, of your equipment? Is your shelter structure damaged? Do you have adequate electricity?
Do you have adequate ventilation? What is the state of your food supplies? What is the state of your water supply? Do you have any illness other than radiation sickness? As soon as we have received reports from district control centers we will relay such information on to you. When emergency missions are possible, disaster teams will be sent to those shelters which need medical supplies, food and water. Attempts will also be made to report specific areas of damage in our city. Please stay tuned for additional announcements.

EBS #10, 11:30 PM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Wee have hundreds of people in the area who do not have shelter with an adequate protection factor. They must be moved to other shelters in order to survive.
Please advise the emergency operations center as to the number of additional people you can take into your shelter. This is imperative. Please inform the emergency operations center as to the number of additional people you can take into your shelter.

EBS #11, Saturday. 1:30 AM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency 3roadcast System. Radiological monitoring teams report that the radiation levels in the Pittsburgh area are still high. However, there is no additional accumulation of radioactive dust. The fallout on the ground is beginning to decay. It is simply a matter of waiting out this decay time before we can undertake further civil defense measures.  Everyone is to remain inside until further notice. Please do not leave your shelters.

EBS #12, Saturday, 2:15 AM

ACCIDENTALLY OVERHEAR A SHORT WAVE BROADCAST. “Hello Tower…. to checkpoint two…. ” Static and short wave noise.

EBS #13, Saturday, 3:00 AM

LOUD STATIC AND SHORT WAVE NOISE.

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System.

EBS #14, Saturday, 3:45 AM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Reports have been received that there are bands of looters wandering about the city.  Attempts have been made to loot shelters in this area. Be alert to this situation and act accordingly. Security police will begin patrolling the area as soon as the radiation level permits.

EBS #15, Saturday, 4:15 AM

ACCIDENTALLY OVERHEAR SAC PLANE MESSAGE. Sounds like:
“Angels 46 — Same heading — Roger, Angels 52 — Fuel 30 … ”
Much static.

EBS #16, Saturday, 6:00 AM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast Svytem. Stay tuned for an important message. Okay, stand by to switch.
MUCH STATIC ———– “Please stand by.”
This is a Priority One report from the emergency national command post in Washington. It appears that the enemy attack is over. There have been no further reports of missile strikes since early last evening. Radio monitoring indicates no further enemy air activity. Damage assessment reports indicate that the brunt of this attack was borne by western states. Many of our SAC bases have been destroyed or severely damaged. Communities near SAC bases have also been severely damaged. The central and eastern portions of the country have escaped extensive damage although stray missiles have struck some of the smaller population centers. Fallout is moving across the country in an easterly direction, carried on westerly winds. All citizens should remain in shelters until instructed otherwise by local civil defense commands. The President and key members of his cabinet are still aboard the U. S. S. Northampton. The President will address the American people as soon as his command duties permit.

This is the end of the priority ….. this is the end of the Priority One report. Local EBS stations may resume priority two broadcasting.

EBS #17, Saturday, 7:30 AM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Emergency teams have been established and have begun to operate in various sections of Pittsburgh. There is a shortage of able-bodied men to serve on work details in Shadyside, East Liberty, Bloomnfield, and Morningside. Will all shelters submit to the emergency operations center the names of able-bodied volunteers who may be asked to leave shelters before radiation levels are completely safe for permanent exit. Phone the names into the emergency operations center. Further information will be provided as to when and where the rescue volunteers will report.

EBS #18, Saturday. 10:00 AM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Weather monitoring teams report that there is a severe storm approaching the Pittsburgh area. What’s that? It appears that this storm is bearing with it a radioactive dust cloud and we expect the levels of radiation to increase severely. Some shelters do not have adequate protection facilities against this cloud. There is a possibility that some shelters will have to mobilize and be moved. (PAUSE) We will contact these shelters by phone within the next few minutes. Please do not call the emergency operations center. If your shelter is one of these that has to be mobilized and be moved, we will contact you. Please stand by.

EBS #19, Saturday 3:00 PM

ATTENTION. ATTENTION. This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Radiological calculations of fallout levels in Pittsburgh indicate that permanent exit from some shelters will be possible in the near future. At the present time recovery teams are surveying the city to locate and to prepare facilities for post-shelter operations. It is imperative that you do not attempt to leave your shelter without prior notice from the emergency operations center. There are still many dangerous radiological “hot spots” in the city. Therefore, regardless of the radiological readings in your immediate vicinity, wait for official notification. from your government in the emergency operations center.

THE END

For more insight into 1960’s civil defense, my website contains a scan of the 1962 St. Paul, MN, civil defense operational plan, which includes the manual that shelter managers would use in the operation of a fallout shelter.

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1965 Fallout Shelter, Livermore, California

One of three common rooms at the Livermore shelter. Doors lead to individual family rooms.

One of three common rooms at the Livermore shelter. Doors lead to individual family rooms.

On April 19-23, 1965, a symposium was held in Washington on “Protective Structures for Civilian Populations.” The proceedings of that symposium were published, and contain reports of a number of interesting fallout shelter concepts. Some were mere concepts, but one that had been implemented was a cooperative group shelter near Livermore, California.

The author of that report was Arthur J. Hudgins, who is identified as being with the Livermore Radiation Laboratory. He noted that both he and his associates had concluded that it would be economically practical to build a shelter sufficient for any attack, as long as it did not involve a large nuclear expolosion within three or four miles. But they also concluded that “the post-attack problems to be faced by a single family upon leaving a shelter would be most serious.” After much discussion, they concluded that a shelter group would have a good chance of not only surviving the attack, but also successfully meeting the later problems.

To carry out their plans, they incorporated as Survival Associates, Inc., a California corporation, and set out to build the shelter. By the time land had been procured and building began, 34 families had become members. Initially, obtaining the building permit looked problematic, since “fallout shelter” was not a use mentioned in the county zoning ordinance. But while the application was pending came the Berlin crisis, and the Board of Supervisors quickly came around to the need. The members concluded that the best design would be a corrugated steel arch covered by earth, set on a concrete slab measuring 25 by 142 feet.

Entry to the shelter. A more recent photo of what appears to be the same entry can be found at this site.

Entry to the shelter. A more recent photo of what appears to be the same entry can be found at this site.

The entry doors consisted of surplus steel ship doors, and there was a small room with a generator near each entrance. Near each entry was a shielded observation tower, which would provide a view of the surrounding countryside. Inside, there were 32 rooms for individual families, each measuring 7.5 feet square with an 8 foot ceiling. There were a total of six toilets and three kitchens.

One of the three kitchens.

One of the three kitchens.

Each kitchen was supplied by a 3000 gallon undergound tank, and each pair of toilets was served by a 1000 gallon tank. The tanks could also be refilled from the peacetime water system.

Common areas were lit with flourescent fixtures, and each room was equipped with a 100 watt lightbulb, which could be replaced with a 25 watt bulb if needed to extend generator run time in an emergency.

In addition to the main entries, there were multiple emergency exits, which consisted of sections of the steel structure that opened inward. These were covered with sand, which would fall inward if necessary to evacuate. Ventillation was provided by a positive-pressure system which pumped in outside air near the entries. During tests, the ventillation system proved more than adequate. In fact, when the ventillation system was shut off and the shelter sealed, most occupants did not notice.

The minimum earth cover over the shelter was four feet, which was calculated to provide a protection factor against fallout of more than 10,000. It was estimated that the structure would withstand a blast of up to 30 PSI. The corporation stocked the shelter with a three-week supply of food to supply 2000 calories per day per person. This consisted mostly of bulgar wheet, sugar, dried milk, vegetable oil, and viatimin tablets. In addition, there was dried fruit, coffee, tea, pancake flour, dry soup mix, peanut butter, and vitamin tablets. Most members also had food stored in their individual rooms, and it was estimated that the group would have an adequate diet for about six weeks.

In addition to other supplies, the shelter was stocked with about 1100 gallons of gasoline, which was calculated to be enough to run the generators for six weeks.

The shelter was equipped with a shortwave receiver, and there were “definite plans” to include an amateur radio transmitter.

At the time of the report, there were a couple of vacancies available, and there was also provision to build a second interconnected shelter at the same site if there was sufficient interest.

The corporation conducted some tests of occupancy. One of those was featured in a 1963 newspaper article.  In addition, members had access to the facility at all times with combination locks. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a number of members stayed at the facility as a precaution.

 

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1958 Phoenix Fallout Shelter

w7pyhshelter

The cozy ham shack shown here is actually the fallout shelter of  William A. Rhodes, W7PYH.  (in the 1972 and 1993 call book, his call appears to have changed to W7KLA.) His Phoenix shelter, along with another one in California. appeared in the March 1958 issue of Popular Mechanics.

w7pyhAntennaHe had a well-equipped underground station.  The unit on top is a Heathkit DX-100 transmitter, beneath which sits an HRO Junior receiver.  The presence of the nameplate on the receiver suggests that this was a military surplus version of the HRO.  The station would have covered 160 through 10 meters.  The large unit on the floor appears to be the speaker/power supply for the receiver.  (The other unit on the floor to the right of the radio equipment is apparently a dehumidifier.)  The antenna, shown here, was a vertical mounted on the ventilation pipe, through which power to the shelter ran.

Power was apparently supplied by commercial power, or perhaps a generator mounted above ground.  The shelter’s floor plans, shown below, don’t make any reference to a generator.

Interestingly, the floor plans do show an oxygen cylinder.  While this might have been of limited utility, it is understandable given the owner’s background.

Rhodes was an inventor and founder of Arizona HydroGen Manufacturing, which manufactures an electrolysis unit which generates a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen which is used immediately for purposes such as welding.  The process seems relatively straightforward, and as far as I can tell, Rhodes never made any extraordinary claims as to it.  However, it seems to have received some attention from those who do make extraordinary claims as some sort of free energy source.  Since he was in the business of hydrolyzing, it’s not surprising that the shelter contained a canister of oxygen.

Rhodes seems to have been a prolific inventor in a variety of areas.  Most notably, he was the co-inventor of U.S. Patent 2594740, an electronic light amplifier with applications in astronomy and in television.  Remarkably, Rhodes’ co-inventor was none other than Dr. Lee De Forest, the inventor of the triode vacuum tube.

And Rhodes’ name is also well known in UFO circles, since he photographed a UFO in 1948.

Rhodes died in 2007 at the age of 90.  According to this site, the shelter remained intact as a computer room until his death.

Floor plan of the Rhodes shelter. Each room is 9 feet in diameter.

Floor plan of the Rhodes shelter. Each room is 9 feet in diameter.

 

 

References

 

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FCC Reduces GMRS License Fee: Implications for Emergency Communications

2018 Update: This page was written in 2015, after the FCC reduced the fee for the GMRS license. GMRS remains a good option for many emergency communications applications.

You can obtain a GMRS license by mail or online. As with many bureaucratic activities, it’s somewhat more complicated than necessary, but not particularly difficult. The fee for the ten year license is currently $70. Just follow these steps:

Applying for the License Online:


You can read the full instructions at this page on the FCC website.  It’s basically a two-step process.  First, you will need to set up an account on the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS).  When you do, you will receive an “FRN” (FCC Registration Number) and password.  If you have future business with the FCC, you’ll use this same account.  You will sign up at this page on the FCC website.

After you have the ULS Account set up, you will go to this page on the FCC website to start the application.  All of the questions on the application should be self-explanatory.

Applying for the License By Mail:

To apply by mail, you will actually need to send three separate forms from the FCC website:

Download form 605 first, since it contains most of the general instructions.  For more information, the full instructions can be found on page 9 of this FCC document.

On May 20, 2015, the FCC announced that it reduced the license fee for GMRS radio licenses.

This change has a significant implication for those looking for an inexpensive method of family communication, especially for emergency preparedness. The change allows hams and others to potentially provide an important service to their neighbors, at a very low cost.  To see how it’s important, we need to look at the history of GMRS radio, and the related FRS radio service.

FRS Radio

Inexpensive FRS radios.

In 1996, the FCC created the Family Radio Service (FRS), which allowed unlicensed use of UHF radios on 14 channels. millions of such radios were sold, and even the most inexpensive versions (often under ten dollars) provide quite reliable communications over short distances (less than a mile).

The FCC imposed a number of technical requirements for these radios. First of all, the maximum power allowed was 500 milliwatts (1/2 watt). In most cases, this low power is not a significant limitation. The most important limitation, however, was that the antenna had to be permanently mounted to the radio, with no method of connecting an external antenna.

This is a very significant limitation because on the UHF frequencies used by these radios, the main factor in determining distance is the height of the antenna. This is because UHF radio waves behave almost the same as light waves: they travel in a line of sight. Radio waves have some ability to penetrate obstructions, but this is very limited. Therefore, an FRS radio really has about the same range as a flashlight. If you can’t see the other radio, then you probably won’t be able to communicate with it. (Again, the radio waves can penetrate some obstructions, but this ability is very limited.)

If you have a flashlight in your hand, then you can’t be seen very far away, because the light beam will hit obstructions. And an FRS radio works under the same principle: Your signal won’t get out very far because it will hit obstructions. On the other hand, if you climbed a mountain with the flashlight, then it could be seen for many miles, because you would be up clear of the obstructions. And an FRS radio would work the same way. If you were on top of a mountain, then you would be able to communicate many miles, as long as the person at the other end was able to see the mountain off in the distance.

It’s usually not practical to climb a mountain to extend the range of your radio. However, it’s not the location of the radio that is important. The critical factor is the location of the antenna. There’s a reason why radio and TV stations spend money building expensive towers, and that reason is to increase the height of their antenna.

But this is not possible with FRS radios, because they are not allowed to have external antennas or any way to connect an external antenna. Therefore, their range was extremely limited.

One manufacturer cleverly exploited a  loophole to market an FRS radio with the functional equivalent of an external antenna. Radio Shack sold an FRS radio with an external microphone. The radio itself was sealed inside a unit that mounted to the top of a vehicle with a strong magnet. The antenna was permanently attached to the radio, so it met the FCC rules. But all of the controls were mounted on the microphone, which could be used inside the car. Having the antenna (and radio) on top of the car significantly extended the range of the unit.

GMRS

The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) dates back to the 1960’s. Initially, the equipment was very expensive, but it provided a very versatile method of communications. The rules allowed up to 50 watts, and external antennas were the norm. GMRS could provide reliable communication over many miles. Depending on local conditions (in particular, antenna height), a range of 20-50 miles would be quite common. But the equipment was rather expensive, and GMRS was never adopted to its full potential. Fifteen channels are assigned to GMRS. A license is required, and the license carried a fee. Given the versatility of GMRS, this was actually quite a bargain, especially considering that the equipment would cost hundreds of dollars.

When FRS radio was created in 1996, the situation soon changed. Seven of the fourteen FRS channels were shared with GMRS. In other words, an FRS user could talk to GMRS radios on channels 1-7. But there were relatively few GMRS users, and this option was rarely utilized. While they were compatible, the two services served different needs. GMRS used expensive equipment to communicate over fairly long distances. Most of the millions of FRS radios that were sold were used for very short-range communication, or even as children’s toys. While having the shared channels was probably a good idea, I don’t think the FCC anticipated how popular FRS radio would become, or how inexpensive the radios would be. The net effect was that the seven shared channels became cluttered with FRS users, and were generally avoided by GMRS users.

Some manufacturers, however, started marketing around the new possibilities. They started selling 15-channel portable GMRS radios, and the prices kept coming down. These units had the best of both worlds: They could use higher power than the FRS radios, but they could still communicate with the cheaper radios on 7 channels. And most importantly, they had provision for an external antenna. Therefore, they had the greater potential range of a GMRS radio.

When prices of such radios got less expensive, many users (probably most) started ignoring the licensing requirement. This is understandable, since from their point of view, they had in their hands a slightly better FRS radio, which probably cost less than $90. It made little sense to pay an additional $90 for a license, especially if they used only channels 1-7. While a license was technically required on these channels, it would be essentially impossible to tell whether the user was using a license-free FRS radio or a GMRS radio for which a license was required.

Meanwhile, the price of these radios kept getting lower and lower, and manufacturers had to come up with a marketing angle. They started by printing on the package the range of the radio in miles. Remember, the range of the radio is limited by the location of the antenna. If you are standing in a valley, the range will probably be less than a mile. If you’re standing on top of Mount McKinley, then the range will be hundreds of miles. And in general, the quality of the radio has very little to do with it. So the manufacturers started inflating the range estimates for their radios. These claims were not false–they were merely misleading.  After all, if you climbed Mount McKinley with the radio, you would easily get the advertised range.

So one manufacturer would be selling a radio with a “one mile” range, which would probably be a reasonable estimate in normal use. But another manufacturer could take a nearly identical radio to a small hill and truthfully state that it had a two-mile range. Another manufacturer could take his identical radio to a slightly larger hill and truthfully claim a range of three miles. The products didn’t need to improve–the manufacturer just needed to find a bigger hill.

Chances are, the “30 mile” radio wasn’t any better than the “2 mile” radio right next to it on the shelf. But understandably, consumers were more likely to buy the “30 mile” radio.

Soon, distance claims were strained to the point of incredulity, and the marketing people needed to come up with a different angle. Some manufacturers were selling 14-channel FRS radios. Some manufacturers were selling 15-channel GMRS radios. There were really only two differences. First of all, the 15-channel GMRS radios required a license, but this requirement was routinely ignored. The only real advantage that the 15-channel GMRS radios had was that they could be used with an external antenna, the one thing that would really increase their range. But most people used these radios only as portable walkie-talkies, and most people didn’t realize that they could get significant range by use of an outdoor antenna. So the ability to use an external antenna was never a selling point.

At some point, some manufacturer realized that they could distinguish their product by selling a 22-channel radio. The radio would be a combined FRS-GMRS radio that could use the 7 shared GMRS-FRS channels, the 7 FRS-only channels, and the 8 GMRS-only channels. This was legal, as long as the radio met the requirements for both services. They had to use the lower power on the FRS-only channels. (And I suspect that most of them simply used the lower power on all channels.) But more importantly, the combined unit had to have a permanent antenna, with no possibility of hooking up an outside antenna. In other words, the marketing angle of “more channels” had the result of taking away the one advantage of GMRS: The ability to use an external antenna.

Very few consumers appreciated the advantage of an external antenna, and most of the “inferior” 15-channel radios soon departed the market in favor of the “improved” 22-channel models. On the shelf, the competing products were distinguished mostly by the meaningless “mileage” claims on the package. Understandably, most purchasers didn’t bother to get the $90 license for their $20 radio. The license wasn’t even required for channels 8-14, and they could be used with virtually impunity on channels 1-7, even though a license might technically be required there.  There was no real advantage in using channels 15-22 where the license was required.

Millions of these radios were sold, and most of them were probably put away when the owners realized that the mileage claim on the package was meaningless.

Family Communications Tool

I’ve never bothered getting a GMRS license, mostly because of the $90 fee. While it would occasionally be nice to have, it’s really not worth it. As an amateur radio operator, I can get the same results with amateur radio. But occasionally, having a GMRS capability would be helpful. For example, a GMRS radio would make it possible to communicate with the kids within a mile or so.

In general, it’s not necessary to have both antennas at a high location.  Remember, an FRS radio is like a flashlight.  It can’t be seen very far away by someone else standing on the ground.  But it can be seen if the other person is at a high location.  Therefore, to turn it into a reliable method of family communication, it’s only necessary to have one good antenna at home, or on a vehicle.  The other person can be using an inexpensive FRS radio with a built-in antenna, but there will still be acceptable range.

Potential for Emergency Communications

And in an emergency, it would be possible to communicate with neighbors with an FRS radio. Several years ago, someone proposed a “National SOS Radio Network” to educate owners of FRS radios as to their possibilities for emergency communications, but the group’s website is now defunct and there appears to be no more effort to publicize the idea. It was a very good idea, although very limited in scope: After a disaster which wiped out other forms of communications, people would have the capability to talk to their neighbors, as long as they knew other people would be listening on the same emergency channel.

The DC Emergency Radio Network was a similar plan, but it also appears to be defunct.

Again, it’s not necessary for both sides of the transmission to have a good antenna.  But if one person in the neighborhood has a good antenna, then the other neighbors will be able to communicate with that person in an emergency, even with “toy” radios.  And if that person is capable of worldwide communication without commercial power (as I am), then the whole neighborhood is suddenly linked to the outside world.

It should be noted that an FRS radio would be a poor first choice for summoning help in an emergency.  It’s unlikely that anyone would be monitoring at any given time, and when I get my GMRS license, I have no plans to continuously monitor for potential emergencies.

But after a widespread emergency, such as a blizzard or earthquake, normal telephone service or even cell phone service might be unavailable.  After such an emergency, neighbors might have a need to communicate.  This wouldn’t necessarily be to summon assistance.  It might just be a matter of wanting to check on other neighbors.

If one neighbor has a GMRS station and can plan to monitor after other communications facilities are unavailable, this would provide a link to nearby neighbors with nothing more than a “toy” FRS radio.  If they know to turn it on in case of an emergency, and to what channel, then it seems to me that this could fill an important need after a disaster.

Getting a GMRS License and a Radio

Since I wanted to avoid the $90 fee, I’ve considered mounting an FRS radio in a weatherproof container outside, with the microphone, speaker, and power supply mounted inside. This could be used legally without the $90 license, and would function about as well as a licensed GMRS station.

With the fee reduced, it’s now more reasible to simply get a GMRS radio and the license.

Unfortunately, the very common and inexpensive 22-channel radios are useless for my intended purpose, since they don’t allow an external antenna. Fortunately, there are a few of the 15-channel radios available, and they do allow an external antenna connection.

One possibility, of course, is one of the many cheap Chinese handheld radios that are available. For example, my Baofeng UV-5R is capable of transmitting on the GMRS frequencies. Unfortunately, however, this is not a legal option. GMRS equipment needs to be specifically certified for GMRS use, and this radio is not. (In addition, the wideband receiver of the Baofeng desenses quite badly with an external antenna, and probably wouldn’t perform very well on receive.)

One of the Wouxun Chinese handheld radios appears to have received FCC certification for GMRS use, but I’ve been unable to find this model for sale.

One possibility would be a professional-grade transceiver such as the Icom IC-F21 GM, but that would entail more expense than I wanted. Cobra also makes a combination GMRS-Marine radio. This is somewhat out of my price range, but it could be a good choice for someone looking for a marine radio.

Fortunately, there are apparently a few manufacturers who didn’t get the memo about the marketing advantages of 22 channels, so there are a handful of the 15-channel GMRS transceivers available. At one time, the best bet was the Audiovox GMRS1535. This is a consumer-grade “blister pack” radio and sold at “blister pack” prices.

According to a couple of reports, the antenna appears to be removable with an SMA connector. If this is the case, then this radio can be used with an external antenna.  However, many of these radios do not have a detachable antenna.  The one I ordered had a permanent antenna.  Therefore, it appears that Audiovox made two versions of the same model.  Unless you can look at the radio you are buying, you can’t assume that the Audiovox has the option for an external antenna.

Currently, the best available option for a GMRS radio with external antenna appears to be the Midland MXT105.    This is a 5-watt radio.  It includes an external magnetic mount antenna with a cable of about 20 feet.  For most users, this antenna could be mounted on a metallic surface and give good results.  For better results, a more permanent antenna can be used.

This radio runs off 12 volts.  For many emergency applications, powering it with a battery would be the best option.  Another alternative would be a power supply such as this one.

This radio will be able to communicate with FRS radios.  Since it has an external antenna, you should get good results, even in connection with inexpensive FRS radios.  You can buy the MXT105 at Amazon or WalMart.  Many WalMart stores will have the radio in stock, but to make sure, you can order online at this link, and then pick the radio up at the store the same day.

Another possibility is the Blackbird RR5000, a 15-channel GMRS transceiver that appears to have provision for an external antenna.

Most of my readers have the technical wherewithal to set up a GMRS radio, and you should consider taking this step in order to serve your community in case of emergency.  If you’re a ham, you’ll probably recall that the Amateur’s Code says that your “station and skills are always ready for service to country and community.”  It seems to me that with a very small investment, you could be prepared to do just that.

For more information on the basics of emergency communications, please visit my emergency communications page, which is also available as a  Kindle book.