{"id":51852,"date":"2022-02-12T09:40:59","date_gmt":"2022-02-12T13:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=51852"},"modified":"2022-02-12T09:40:59","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T13:40:59","slug":"jock-explores-the-essential-listening-post-part-ii-when-the-lights-go-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/jock-explores-the-essential-listening-post-part-ii-when-the-lights-go-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Jock explores \u201cThe Essential Listening Post Part II – When the lights go out”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em>\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott<\/a>, who shares the following guest post:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Parker Coffman on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

When the lights go out: The Essential Listening Post \u2013 Part II<\/h1>\n

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the most valuable commodity in an emergency? Information.<\/p>\n

Without information, it is very difficult to make decisions of what actions you should \u2013 or shouldn\u2019t \u2013 take. Fortunately, as swling.com readers know, radio can come to your rescue.<\/p>\n

As an example, I offer for your approval this minor incident that happened just a few mornings ago.<\/p>\n

At 4:30 am, I awoke. That\u2019s not particularly unusual; I get up early lots of mornings to run the Commuter Assistance Network<\/a> on ham radio.<\/p>\n

What made this morning unusual were the things I couldn\u2019t see: the digital clock across the room, the tiny LED lamp that illuminates the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. They were both dark. In fact, the only light that I could see was the LED from the uninterruptable power supply for the computer in the next room. It was pulsing, indicating the power from the mains was out.<\/p>\n

With the help of a flashlight kept within easy reach of the bed, I made my way downstairs. A peek out the windows revealed the surrounding area was dark; no lights in local houses, no street lights. A house across the ravine behind my house had a single light, but it had the bright white look of an emergency lantern. So this outage was wider spread than just the lane where I live. But how widespread was it? In early February in upstate New York, it\u2019s winter; temperature about 6 degrees Fahrenheit on this particular morning. The thermostat on the wall has already dropped below where the furnace should have kicked on. With no electricity; no furnace.<\/p>\n

With no house power, I had no internet, so I couldn\u2019t look things up to find out why there was no house power. Because we use Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), with no internet, no house phone.<\/p>\n

Now, I know what you\u2019re thinking: \u201cWell, dummy, fire up your smart phone, and in a few moments you\u2019ll have your answers<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that I say: \u201cNot so fast there, pardner.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

I consulted with a ham radio friend who makes his living in the commercial radio business. He consults with many companies, including cell phone companies, so he knows what he is talking about.<\/p>\n

It turns out there are three things that could render your smart phone useless.<\/p>\n

The first is whether your local cell tower(s) have battery back-up. Most do, but how many hours the batteries will run the cell tower can vary widely from just a couple of hours to perhaps eight. Depending upon when the power went out, you may or may not be able to connect.<\/p>\n

The second is that many cell phone towers themselves connect to the rest of the network through wire or fiber optic cable. If a vehicle has taken down a pole, or a falling tree has taken down a cable, the network may be disrupted.<\/p>\n

Finally, if there is high demand for your local cell phone tower, you may not be able to make a connection. My commercial radio \u201cguru\u201d relates that he went to an event at a local community college. There is a cell tower right on the property, but he had great difficulty connecting simply because so many people were trying to use the tower.<\/p>\n

During emergencies, cell phone networks frequently go into gridlock because of high demand, so it\u2019s a good idea to have other means of gathering information. An interesting aside: some years ago, I heard a presentation from one of the hospital administrators who was in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. They were unable to make voice phone calls, but apparently they could sometimes send and receive text messages.<\/p>\n

Getting back to my small lights-out incident, I was in the actual act of firing up a radio to check out what local broadcasters on the AM (medium wave) band had to say, when the lights came on, the furnace started, and internet and phone service were restored. My greatest inconvenience was having to reset a couple of digital clocks.<\/p>\n

But it raised a serious question:<\/strong> what should be your essential listening post if the lights go out, the fertilizer hits the ventilation equipment?<\/em><\/p>\n

First and foremost, a battery-powered radio capable of receiving your local broadcasters. You need to know \u2013 or find out \u2013 which ones have back-up power so they can keep transmitting. Knowing that will do two things for you: first, tuning in to a station with back-up power will hopefully get you the information you need, and second, if stations that don\u2019t have back-up power are off the air, that will give you an indication of how widespread the power outage is.<\/p>\n

Knowing the extent of the blackout can be important. A couple of decades ago, on an August afternoon, my better half and I took our young son to a local park where there was a water fountain that the kids could run through. When we got home later, the power was out. I saw the neighbor standing in her yard and asked if she had reported the outage. \u201cNo point,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy?\u201d I asked. \u201cBecause the lights are out from Canada to Virginia.\u201d Oh.<\/p>\n

In addition to knowing which stations are likely to be on the air, it\u2019s also good to know which local stations have news staff that are likely to collect and broadcast information that is needed during an emergency.<\/p>\n

Second, if you live in the United States or Canada, you need a weather radio. Every state in the Union has bad weather of one sort or another . . . and some of them can kill you. NOAA weather radio is an excellent source of information. It\u2019s free, and it does a fine job of delivering weather-related info in a concise and useful format.<\/p>\n

Third, it would be very useful to have a scanner or ham radio capable of receiving your local 2 meter repeaters. This could be an additional source of useful information in a crisis.<\/p>\n

So, are there any radios that I would recommend for \u201cThe Essential Listening Post\u201d when the lights go out?<\/p>\n

Yes, there are.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The C.Crane CCRadio 2E<\/p><\/div>\n

First on my list would be the C.Crane CCRadio 2E<\/a> (or CCRadio3<\/a>)<\/strong>. It receives AM, FM, NOAA Weather Band with Weather Alert and the 2-Meter Ham Band. It will run on house power or, if the lights are out, over 200 hours on batteries. By all accounts, it offers excellent performance on AM and FM, and it is one of the most sensitive NOAA weather radio receivers I have tested. I bought one and can heartily recommend it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

CC Skywave SSB<\/p><\/div>\n

The CCrane Skywave SSB<\/a><\/strong> receives AM, FM, NOAA Weather band plus Alert, Shortwave (1711-29.999MHz) with SSB, VHF Aviation Band. It doesn\u2019t receive the 2 meter ham band, but it will receive hams on HF frequencies, which might come in handy in an emergency. It is not quite as sensitive as the CCrane 2E on NOAA weather frequencies, but, as I reported last year<\/a> it was the most sensitive NOAA weather radio receiver I took to Sodus, NY. It is very small and portable and will run for over 50 hours on batteries. I bought one and can heartily recommend it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Eton FRX3+<\/p><\/div>\n

The Eton FRX3+<\/a><\/strong> is an interesting alternative for a \u201cwhen the lights go out\u201d radio. This battery-powered radio receives AM, FM, and NOAA weather radio with alert. It has a couple of LED lights for navigating in the dark and can be charged by a built-in solar panel, hand-crank, or USB cable, and can even be used to charge your cell phone. Eton Corp. sent me one of these, and I find that it offers worthy performance on AM and FM, and excellent sensitivity on NOAA weather radio. Recommended.<\/p>\n

In the future, I hope to offer some additional useful information about NOAA weather radio as well as a comparison of different ways to receive NOAA weather radio, including dedicated weather radio, consumer radio, scanner, and ham handi-talkie.<\/p>\n

-Jock Elliott<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: When the lights go out: The Essential Listening Post \u2013 Part II By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM What\u2019s the most valuable commodity in an emergency? Information. Without information, it is very difficult to make decisions of what actions you should \u2013 or shouldn\u2019t \u2013 take. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,599,3781,3194,545,3,43,6578],"tags":[4500,4342,4102,9323,2258,756,8236,4082,3463],"class_list":["post-51852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-emergency-preparedness","category-fm","category-guest-posts","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","category-weather-radio","tag-emergency-preparedness","tag-guest-posts","tag-ham-radio","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom","tag-listening-post","tag-listening-posts","tag-power-outages","tag-shortwave-radio","tag-weather-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-duk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52415,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/guest-post-everyone-should-have-a-crisis-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":51852,"position":0},"title":"Guest Post: Everyone should have a “Crisis Radio”","author":"Thomas","date":"April 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: The Crisis Radio By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Sooner or later, it will happen to you. What\u2019s \u2018it\u2019? Short answer: a crisis. It could be as simple as you wake in the morning to find the power is out;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54111,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/the-passing-of-a-compassionate-shortwave-listener-agnes-joan-negra\/","url_meta":{"origin":51852,"position":1},"title":"The passing of a compassionate shortwave listener, Agnes Joan Negra","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"September 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM I just received this: Dear Jock: It is with a heavy heart that I must report that 102 year old, Agnes Joan Negra passed away last Friday, peacefully, and at home. She went into Hospice care about three weeks ago. We had a private funeral for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/waves-of-hope.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50891,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/jock-explores-the-essential-listening-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":51852,"position":2},"title":"Jock explores “The Essential Listening Post”","author":"Thomas","date":"November 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: The Essential Listening Post By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Listening to shortwave radio (or any radio, for that matter) is just plain fun. So what do you need to get in on the fun? A radio. With today\u2019s crop of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52755,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/guest-postyou-might-be-a-radio-nerd-if\/","url_meta":{"origin":51852,"position":3},"title":"Guest Post: You might be a radio nerd if…","author":"Thomas","date":"May 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: How can you tell if you are a radio nerd? By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Jeff Foxworthy made a name for himself with his comedy routine, \u201cYou Might Be a Redneck.\u201d That phrase \u2013 you might be a redneck \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Funny"","block_context":{"text":"Funny","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/funny\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-Tecsun-H-501x-Panasonic-RF-B65-alt-e1617917505167.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-Tecsun-H-501x-Panasonic-RF-B65-alt-e1617917505167.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-Tecsun-H-501x-Panasonic-RF-B65-alt-e1617917505167.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-Tecsun-H-501x-Panasonic-RF-B65-alt-e1617917505167.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-Tecsun-H-501x-Panasonic-RF-B65-alt-e1617917505167.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52181,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/its-magic-but-its-real-the-joys-of-listening-to-the-ham-bands\/","url_meta":{"origin":51852,"position":4},"title":"“It\u2019s magic, but it\u2019s real”: The joys of listening to the ham bands","author":"Thomas","date":"March 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: The joys of listening to the ham bands By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s magic, but it\u2019s real.\u201d That statement was uttered recently by an amateur radio operator \u2013 a ham \u2013 from South Carolina. He was on the 20-meter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Icom IC-756 Pro Transceiver Dial","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Icom-IC-756-Pro-3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Icom-IC-756-Pro-3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Icom-IC-756-Pro-3.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Icom-IC-756-Pro-3.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60817,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/from-the-archives-when-the-fertilizer-hits-the-fan-radio-kit\/","url_meta":{"origin":51852,"position":5},"title":"From the Archives: When the fertilizer hits the fan radio kit","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"October 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Murphy\u2019s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1st corollary: Even if anything can\u2019t go wrong, it still will. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2nd corollary: It will go wrong in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most devastating corollary: Murphy was an optimist.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/ivan-hurricane.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}