AmateurRadio.com

Sandy’s visit through the area has taught me a lot.  I thought I was prepared; and for the most part, I was.  But things can always be improved upon – some points for me to remember, that I think are worth sharing:

1) You can’t have enough ice.  If you don’t have / want / or use an emergency generator, you can’t have enough ice.  I bought four huge bags last Sunday, the day before the storm hit.  I could have used twice that – and I should have been making my own, filling plastic containers with water and sticking them in the freezer. As it was, after the third day, I had begun to run out of ice and all the perishable items in the refrigerator had to be tossed.

2) Generators.  Lots of folks purchased generators after their experience with Hurricane Irene last year. That was fine until the gas ran out, then they were in the same boat as me.  Most of the gas stations around here had plenty of fuel, but also lacked the electricity they required to pump it.  I have ordered an 1100 Watt AC inverter that was mentioned in SolderSmoke and I am going to purchase a couple deep cycle marine batteries and a charger.  Once I start using them after a power outage  they may not last for long, but at least I will be able to power up the freezer and refrigerator for a while.

Related to this – if you know that a big storm or blizzard is headed your way – gas up those vehicles!  All of them!  You don’t know how long gasoline might be in short supply afterwards.  Go and Google “long New Jersey gas lines after Sandy” if you want a dose of stark reality.

3) Candles. You can never have too many.  I thought I had an adequate supply; and I did.  Our power was out for close to five days.  If it had been out much longer, I would have started to reach the “uncomfortable zone” of running out.  Oh, and if you’re like me, make sure your emergency candles are the unscented variety.  It might have lifted someone else’s spirits; but I didn’t need the house smelling like a flower shop.

4) Flashlights. Forget the big honker ones that use “D” batteries.  I bought some “D” batteries and flashlights, and they are a waste as far as “bang for the buck” goes.  I have purchased two LED camping style lanterns that use four “D” batteries each and they will last a lot longer while providing tons more light than normal flashlights.  For regular flashlight usage, get the small handheld LED flashlights.  I had two of them and am going to get more.  Each of these babies used three “AAA” batteries which are still plentiful in the stores (I mean really, most people use “AAA’s” for their remotes, right?).  They were used throughout this crisis and they were as bright on the final day as the first.  Also, those headband LED lights?  Some may consider them “dorky”, but I am going to purchase a few.  They will be invaluable for the times you have to do something in the dark that requires both hands. (I.E. – shaving on the morning darkness with one hand holding the safety razor and the other holding the flashlight was less than ideal. Trying to move ice around from cooler to freezer with one hand – less than ideal).

5) Firewood / Fire logs.  I had a small supply left over from the last heating season. I should have laid in a bigger supply.  I didn’t run out; but was running uncomfortably low, and it was starting to get chilly here. I would wake up in the morning, and go look at the thermostat to see that the house temperature had fallen to 56F (13C) overnight.

6) Charge up everything!  All my handhelds, HF radio batteries, cell phones were charged to the max ahead of time, I also broke out my solar panel and had it ready to charge up 12V gel cells if needed as this wore on.

Food and water were no problem  We had the stove top available for cooking. The electronic ignitors didn’t work; but kitchen matches did the job (I have multiple boxes of those).  We had an AM / FM radio for news/entertainment.  That was a necessity – however, I want to purchase one of those offered with the built in hand crank generator.  This will cut down on the amount of batteries needed and many of these models also have USB ports so that you can use the hand crank generator to charge up your cell phone, kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc.

What did bother me when we would listen to the radio; and the announcers would say, “To report (such and such) please go to this Website ……..”  How the heck am I supposed to go to the Internet when there’s no electricity?  Also, going through my e-mails after the fact yesterday, I saw there were calls for ARES radio volunteers at the Middlesex County hospitals.  The requests came via e-mails.  How was I supposed to have seen those?  I am one of the last persons in the world NOT to have a smartphone and my “18th century” cellphone handles e-mail, well, …… let’s just say “crappily”.  Maybe that’s just a personal problem and I need to get “with it”.  Not going to sweat that one for now.

The KX3 was invaluable and a God send – thank you Lord, for Elecraft!  But seriously, any battery powered HF rig (PFR3, ATS, MTR, Yaesu FT-817, etc) is so essential if for nothing more than to ward off boredom.  I would come home after work, eat dinner and then ………. nothing.  Too early to turn in, I took afore mentioned LED flashlight and headed down to the basement shack and spent the night on the bands.  I worked a fair amount of DX and even had a QSO with DL3GA who commented that “It is nice to hear a station on the air from New Jersey”. Hey, how many times have you heard THAT before?  Maybe, never? (LOL!)

But I was also able to keep in touch with a lot of my QRP friends, including Jim W1PID who would check in with me every night.  Just those brief, continual QSOs did a lot to improve my psyche and moral, knowing that there were folks out there that I personally knew that I could stay in touch with.

This is by no means an exhaustive treatise on being prepared for an emergency – it was one of some personal observations.  But do yourself a favor.  If you’re given enough notice that a big storm / blizzard / whatever, is coming your way – get ready and try not to wait until the very last moment to do so!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

You’ve undoubtedly seen photos of the destruction that Sandy wreaked in Manhattan, Staten Island and the Jersey shore.  This storm was nothing like anything I have experienced before.  I have been through quite a number of hurricanes in my 55 years, and flooding was ALWAYS the major issue.  Except for Manhattan, Staten Island and the Jersey shore, flooding was NOT the big issue – the wind was.

We waited for the rains to come – and they did. Maybe 3 to 4 inches of rain?  Not a lot by hurricane standards. The winds however, were unearthly. You know how you hear tornado survivors say the winds sounded like a freight train going by?  That was what this was like.  Laying in bed Monday night, trying to fall asleep and listening to the wind shriek and howl quite unlike anything I have heard before, was so unsettling.

Waking up Tuesday morning, the rain was falling gently and the winds were very calm – nothing like the night before.  As I woke up to get dressed and get ready for work (yes, I was expected in), the world was dark and quiet.  I decided at the last minute to bring my camera with me.  My wife Marianne also took a camera with her later that afternoon when she took our dog Jesse, for his walk.

Here’s just a small sample of the sights we saw in South Plainfield, NJ.  Our town looked like something from a war zone or a movie set.  We took a lot more photos – and please note, this all happened within walking distance of our home.

The power came back on at 12:15 PM today – fifteen minutes after Noon.

I have to go pick up Joey and Cara from my sister’s house.  She graciously let them stay with her while our house has been like an icebox.

I will do an extended posting tonight with a Hurricane Sandy recap and some photos from my immediate neighborhood.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and best wishes; and special thanks to Jim W1PID who “checked up on me” each night on 80 Meters.

Ham Radio ops ARE THE BEST!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Hurricane Sandy has doubled her speed from 14 MPH to 28 MPH and has made landfall around the Cape May area of New Jersey.

and the winds are picking up.  This is the maple in the backyard that serves as the center support for my 88′ EDZ.

So far, recorded gusts from nearby weather stations have topped out at 45 MPH.  That may double as Sandy makes landfall.  I heard a loud crack before. Turns out a branch in the neighbor’s back yard snapped.  Hope that’s not in store for us.

Power has gone out briefly several times already.   Marianne has called to inform me she might be stuck overnight at the dialysis clinic where she’s an RN.  Seems that some of the local roads have been closed.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

I spent another three hours with my CERT Team today, filling and distributing sand bags to the citizens of South Plainfield who requested them.  I left an hour early as I came home to clean out the gutters, which had filled up with leaves (again).  Did I ever mention that I hate heights and I really, really hate ladders?  I fell off of one as a child, and have had an intense dislike of them ever since.  But you do what you have to do.

The garbage cans have been securely bungee corded to the fence.  All Halloween decorations have been brought in.  I also covered the grill and secured that in place with bungee cords.

All that’s left now is waiting for the “show” to begin.

To all of you in Sandy’s path, I wish you Godspeed and pray that you all will remain safe and directly out of harm’s way.  May we all wake up on Wednesday, and by the Lord’s grace, be able to say – “That wasn’t so bad!”.

I will post as I am able.  If you don’t hear from me – no surprise – the power will have gone out.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

So this is what we’re looking at……

A possible Category 2 or 3 hurricane, which has not encountered ANY huge land mass to speak of, paralleling the coast, making an almost 90 degree left turn and slamming into the US, somewhere between the DelMarVa peninsula and Cape Cod.  Unfortunately, New Jersey looks like the prime target as of right now.

In addition, we will have Full Moon tides to deal with and the fact that Sandy has not hugged the coast line makes a huge difference.  If Sandy had hugged the coast, there’s the chance she could have weakened.  But she will be coming in directly from open water, in effect, making her a water siphon that is expected to drop anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of rain (or more) on us by the time she pulls out of here Tuesday night.

The South Plainfield CERT Team filled 600 sand bags with 1,500 pounds of sand; and distributed them to flood prone neighborhoods today.  We will resume again tomorrow; after another 2,000 pound load of sand is dropped of at the Department of Public Works tonight.

Personally, I am as about ready as I can be.  Loose objects outside around the house have been taken down and stowed.  Grocery shopping is done and we have enough food to last over a week – even longer if we have to ration.  There’s extra bottled water in the house and tomorrow, after showers are done, the bathtub will be cleaned and filled in order to serve as an emergency supply.

The freezer in the basement has been topped off with two huge bags of ice.  I have another two coolers loaded with ice, if needed.  Flashlights are ready and batteries have been bought.  Candles are ready also, should the electricity go out (and it most likely will at some point). The cars have been topped off with gas. The grill outside has propane and can be pressed into service to cook food, if needed

My lead acid batteries, which can power the HF rigs are all charged and ready to go. The HTs are charged and so are all the batteries.

I just hope, that by the grace of God Almighty, that this thing makes a right instead, and heads out to open seas.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!