How to Communicate When the Phones are Down

image by Gonzalo Baeza Hernandez

All it takes is one really good-sized crisis and suddenly individuals are left without the means to call home and say, “I’m okay.” Whether it’s a weather disaster, riots, a terrorist attack or a governmental crack-down, access to the internet, cell phone service, radio and telephone landlines can be quickly and rather easily disrupted.

Here in America we’ve seen just how quickly a violent windstorm, wildfires, or hurricane can shut off our communication. No, you won’t have to resort to using smoke signals! In fact, most of these non-traditional methods are rather hi-tech. Check them out.

1. Do you have a solar/battery powered emergency radio? If it can be powered up with a hand crank, so much the better. Some units include lights and even a
compass. Check out WeatherRadioStore for this type of unit.

2. Two-way radios are an attractive option because of their low cost. Some
models even boast a 30 mile range. In reality, even the highest quality radios
will rarely have more than a two mile range. However, these radios can come in handy when electricity is out because they operate on VHF and UHF signals, and if you live on a large homestead, these are hard to beat and
require no expense to operate.

3. Breaker, breaker! What’s yer 20? It might sound like a really bad line in a country-western song, or a line in a bad country-western song, but a Citizens’ Band (CB) radio is a low-cost form of communication that is free to operate and doesn’t require a license. Depending on your location, the range of a CB radio might be as much as ten to twenty miles. Check out your local Craigslist or even Freecycle to find one in your price range.

4. Feeling hi-tech with your cool, trendy iPhone? Did you know you can install an app on your iPhone or iPod Touch that will give you access to police, sheriff, Coast Guard, and fire department scanners? Although this requires cell phone availability, you’ll be right on top of the latest developments in a crisis. Visit Edgerift.com to learn more.

5. A satellite phone may be your best bet when you absolutely, positively have to get in touch with someone, and there’s no other way. A ‘sat phone’ works everywhere, except indoors. These babies sell for several hundred dollars each, but are often the only reliable communication in areas hit by an extensive disaster or in a region with virtually no phone coverage of any kind.

telephone 300x225 How to Communicate When the Phones are Down

image by Paul McGuire

6. Very often, people outside your area will have more up-to-date knowledge of your situation than you will. With a shortwave radio, you can reach thousands of shortwave radio stations around the world. People operating these stations will likely have internet access even if you don’t. Radio Shack has a rather dry but informative Q&A on their website.

7. People networks. Just as many churches have “prayer chains”, “information chains” can be organized among friends, relatives, and neighbors. Choose an out-of-state individual who will serve as a contact point for everyone and keep track of timely, vital news so everyone stays informed. There’s a service that provides something like this that you can read about at EverybodySafe.

8. Amateur radio licenses aren’t just for nerds anymore! I was surprised to find out how many women have, or are getting, their HAM operators license. You don’t need the tall radio tower in your front yard, and it’s possible to pick up basic equipment at a nominal price. In a catastrophe, Amateur Radio operators may be the first to begin broadcasting, and in a worst case scenario, they may be utilized for getting information both in and out of an area when nothing else can.

Have a Plan A, B, and C for communicating if and when an emergency situation arises. Make sure each family member knows who to contact and how to contact them. Have at least one alternative way to receive information and one alternative way to communicate outside your area.

Sometimes we overlook communication back-ups in our hurry to stock up on food, water, and other tangibles. It’s hard to imagine the rising level of panic that occurs when your family members and other loved ones cannot be reached by phone, and you have no idea where they are or if they’re alive. This aspect of preparedness should be addressed by every family.

(13) Readers Comments

Josh
May 26, 2011 at 4:30 am

Be careful with those scanner apps. MSNBC just ran a piece on them. Check your jurisdiction to be sure they are legal or how to legally use them. (http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/23/6704362-police-on-radio-scanner-apps-thats-not-a-10-4)

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Josh
May 26, 2011 at 8:22 am

Let me toss in another plug for amateur radio.

After the April 27 tornado outbreak in Alabama, my family was thankfully without damage – but our entire county was without power for 4+ days. By the morning of April 28, all three of our communications services had failed – landline telephone, cable Internet, and cell phones. Areas with marginal cell coverage lost it entirely, and for quite a while even if you could get "bars," you couldn't get a call through. I had a wife on the verge of giving birth and a neighbor with a tenuous medical situation, so there was a real possibility that we might need emergency services.

Fortunately, the local amateur radio community maintains several excellent VHF and UHF repeaters, which remained operational for the duration and were able to support recovery efforts. Since I have a license and a radio with extended battery backup, I had a direct link to the county EMA through which I could have gotten emergency help if my family or neighbors needed it. Furthermore, my handheld transceiver is able to receive FM broadcast stations, so I was able to use it to hear the daily situation reports on a local FM station.

Fortunately we didn't wind up needing emergency help, but there was much peace of mind in knowing we had a way to call if we needed to that wasn't dependent on commercial infrastructure.

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AuricTech
May 26, 2011 at 10:19 am

With FRS/GMRS radios, keep in mind that you need to have an FCC license to use GMRS (current cost is $85, renewable every five years); this includes transmitting on shared FRS/GMRS frequencies at an effective radiated power greater than the FRS limit of 500 milliwatts. The good news is that only one license is needed for a family. You can also buy GMRS transceivers that can interface with GMRS repeaters for extended range.

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Shreela
May 27, 2011 at 6:47 pm

Make sure and test your two way radios to see how much coverage you'll actually get. Include one then both inside a building, while in vehicles to see what their limits are. There's numerous buildings between our home and where DH works, and the two ways didn't work even though both of us were outside.

But if he's in our neighborhood on his bike, they work fine even if I'm in the house. And as long as he doesn't cross the interstate, AND the drivers window is open, they sorta work, but it's not real good. We haven't tested them in more rural areas yet.

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anonymous
May 31, 2011 at 12:18 pm

I second amateur radio. Hams are always willing to lend a hand. My emergency communication plan atm is a used 2M handheld and a twinlead J pole antenna. Hopefully I can build up a slightly larger arsenal of equipment in time. Even if you don't want to get your license familiarize yourself with the local Ham clubs and you local ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) group. They will set up shop after a disaster and pass traffic in and out of an area. Welfare messages have low priority during an emergency but when the smoke has cleared Hams will send messages to family members for you.

PS: We need more YL (Female) operators! The more the merrier.

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Jeri
June 2, 2011 at 8:41 pm

There are some Ham operators who volunteer at hospitals here in TN in case normal communications go down.

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GoneWithTheWind
June 3, 2011 at 4:58 pm

Call me crazy but I leave my cell phone turned off and don't have a home phone. I try to turn the cell phone on once every day but sometimes I forget and go for a week or two. I think of the phone as a tool but it appears to me for most people the phone is their master. So if phone service goes away I may not even notice.

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CaptBart
June 6, 2011 at 12:21 pm

Just a bit of information about ham licenses. The old code requirement is now gone – you don't need to know it at all. Secondly, the tests are all multiple guess and the questions are available in study guides from the ARRL (American Radio Relay League http://www.arrl.org/ ). Plenty of clubs that will be glad to help you get your license as well.
License is free but you will probably be asked to help defray the cost of the testing session – tests are given by ham volunteers at various places and a 'reasonable' fee is charged to defray costs.

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Chris Glazier
June 8, 2011 at 6:07 am

All great ideas. I think the simplest one is the most practical: have a plan for getting in touch with your family. Even if in smaller disasters, it may be tough to reach family members and it's crucial to know where to go and what to do.

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Horsewoman
June 9, 2011 at 8:20 am

My husband and I are studying for our HAM license. Don't the Amish have farm bells, which they use to call for neighborhood help or whatever?

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- TheSurvivalMom
  June 9, 2011 at 1:53 pm
  
  Depending on where you live, a farm bell would be a great way to call in the troops, so to speak. You could even set up a code system for different types of alerts. Good idea!
  
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Antibubba
July 4, 2011 at 8:40 pm

There are times when a cell network is down, but a text message can still be sent. Without getting too technical, a phone call requires a certain amount of information being transmitted, both ways, in something close to real time. A text message uses very little data and doesn't rely on "real time" to operate.

I worked at a cellphone carrier during Katrina, when both cell and land systems were "down", and many text messages were able to get through.

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millenniumfly
July 27, 2011 at 1:09 pm

Antibubba is right, text messages will be the way to go for most people.

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