Essential gadgets for emergencies

With Texans along the Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricane Dolly, we thought it would be a good time to mention electronics gear that can be invaluable to have before, during and after a natural disaster or other emergency. Of course, there are other items you'll need, such as flashlights, water, and more. For a complete checklist and other tips on preparing for—and dealing with the aftermath of—devastating storms and disasters, see our free Storm and Emergency guide on ConsumerReports.org.

On the electronics front, here's what we recommend:

• Make sure you have an emergency radio—powered by either batteries or a hand-crank—which will work even if the lights go out. A radio can pull in vital news, weather, and evacuation information from AM radio stations, which have further "reach" than TV broadcasters.
• Have at least one corded phone that doesn't require electricity. A cordless phone's base station won't run without juice.
• Keep your cell phone charged and have alternative power options—a car adapter or a portable cell phone charger that uses common AA batteries or features a hand crank or other "green" energy source.
• Consider having family members use different cell phone service providers in case one carrier goes down.
• Know how to text message. If cell towers are still up but available bandwidth is limited, a text message may be able to get through when voice calls won't.
• Learn how to browse the Web on an Internet-enabled phone. You'll have news bulletins, maps, and more at your fingertips.
• Have a portable GPS navigation system, which can be handy if you have to evacuate through unfamiliar routes and areas.

A reader on the Electronics Blog says her battery-operated, portable LCD TV has been a "lifesaver" during emergencies and power outages. She laments that this will be the last season she can use it, because it's an analog TV, and as of February, all full-power stations must broadcast only digital signals.

Because of that, any portable TV you want to use after February will have to incorporate an ATSC tuner. We found a mini TV with a built-in digital tuner at RadioShack.com for $200. It can run on a car adapter. Don't count on connecting an analog set to a DTV converter box. All the boxes we've seen require AC power, ruling out use in a blackout. (For more information on the switchover to digital TV broadcasts, see our guide to the DTV transition and our latest reviews of DTV converter boxes.)

Also keep in mind that it can be harder to receive digital signals than analog broadcasts. Many of our readers have trouble getting digital signals via rooftop antennas under normal conditions. (See the reader comments on our blog entry, "How to use a converter box & antenna to get DTV.") It could be even harder under emergency conditions.

—Nick Kolman-Mandle

Comments

[everett whitney]

TO: "Etherknight - VERIZON power....

I surrender ... Ma Bell does it differently - but - all's "gone" now that we no longer have a National Phone System, of course.

In this state, we do essentially still have the original Southwestern Bell Telephone service & when out for 15 days last Dec due to a six State massive sleet storm, dial tone was never out, even though there was no electricity.

[etherknight]

@ Everett Whitney

Verizon seem to disagree: "Verizon spokeswoman Jill Wurm said that the company's land lines are dependent on electricity at substations to continue operating. Each substation is equipped with back-up batteries which can continue operating for between four and eight hours, but as parts of the state remain without power for longer periods crews must bring generators out to re-charge the batteries, she said"

[mike]

I read this blog at night on July 28 and the next day we had a moderate earthquake in S.CA. After the quake I was trying to contact my sister to see if she was alright, because she was headed towards that direction on the freeway at that time.I could not get a hold of her because all cellphone use was cut off (overload), but the land lines worked. So, I remembered this blog of texting when phone service is down and I got a hold of her.After the quake my mind was racing trying to figure out if she was ok, but this blog somehow came to my mind.
Thanks to CR for putting interesting and useful info on their site.Great job

[everett whitney]

TO: Etherknight - 27 July - " Corded Phones go dead too."

Perhaps a matter of "semantics ?" BUT - No - a hard-wired, traditional "MA BELL" telephone / dial tone will
NOT go dead in a couple of days !

These are powered by both huge banks of wet cell batteries in the central offices as well as stand-alone diesel generators / natural gas turbines outside the building.

[S. Chapman]

Keep in mind that the TV bands on emergency radios will also stop working after February 2009.

And if you normally connect to the internet through a broadband connection, you might want to also know how to use an old-fashioned dial-up connection with your laptop so that you'd be able to send and receive emergency email for at least a couple of days.

If you have a good UPS unit for your desktop PC, it can also charge your cellphone and keep your laptop going for a long time during an emergency.

[etherknight]

"Have at least one corded phone that doesn't require electricity." This is a dangerously inaccurate statement. Corded *do* require electricity, they just get it from a different grid. If the power goes out, your corded phone will continue to work...for a while. Most local phone hubs will only power your phone (by generator) for a couple of days. After that, a corded phone is just as useless as a cordless.

[David Levine]

Just an interesting data point: I lived in Hoboken, NJ, across the river from downtown Manhattan during 11-Sep-2001. Mobile phone service was gone (missing antennae, I assume) and even my land-line phone only worked sporadically (due to an overloaded system, I imagine). Yet my cable internet continued to work perfectly and I was able to stay in touch with people that way. So there may yet be emergency situations when your land-line phone may not function but your internet connection will. Have both if possible!

[Karen]

We live in North Carolina and have been through our share of severe weather. We relied on radio during Hurricane Fran and found it very inadequate for weather information. Believe me, don't count on being able to use your cell phone for calls, let alone web browsing. I am considering getting a TV tuner adapter for a laptop, if I can determine that we can get reception.

[everett whitney]

"Land line Phone Service" ...

In spite of the continuing ambitions of many to see the total end of hard-wired telephones, there's now yet another "sham" promising to have fixed this issue from a prominent, national cable company in promotions of it's "bundles.."

Their claim is that all installations include a battery backup, so your internet / cable telephone will not lose it's dial tone during a storm & subsequent power outage !

Not so ! That's only good for a limited interval -

IF - that internal battery cell is new & totally-capable of holding a full charge ... at the end of a 24 hour period, that perfect battery will be also dead, along with your dial tone! Whenever that battery backup unit they bring might be of an older age, it will be even much less time.