Staying Informed
Not always as easy as it sounds. If you don't have the facts, you can't act, you can only re-act and that's what everybody else will be doing. You don't want to be part of the crowd. You want to be in front of the exodus, ahead of the line or under cover as soon as possible. All Hazards Radios can help you be proactive.
I own and use many emergency band radios. I keep em at home at the office and in my car. When I hike-camp I carry one as well.
My two favorite portable units are the Midland and the Oregon scientific. Both are compact and programmable to the specific SAME codes (Specific Area Message Encoding) I need in my area. The Oregon Scientific is A/C-D/C powered with a simple plastic stand to sit on a desk or it can be mounted on a supplied belt clip. But I must say I do prefer the Midland, even with its dumb "Planet of the Apes" looking shape, The bright yellow color helps it stay found (I added reflective tape in places, I do that)it has FAR better reception. That is after all what we really need. Both units use AA batteries.
As base units, I use the time honored and reliable BayGen radio, AM-FM-Short Wave. The BayGen was invented by Dr Trevor Bayliss (a genius!) it is a wind up clock work generator that allows the user to power the unit with just a few seconds of "crank" time. I love this thing. It has been copied (sort of) by many others over the years, most knock offs charge an on board battery pack as you wind them up, but this is not what Bayliss's generator does. It actually has a GENERATOR that produces power on demand, it will never die....way cool.
The wind up 'chargers' are still nice but subject to degradation over time. Not the BayGen.
All radios should have weather channels if not full fledged "alert" features. This will set off an alarm and scroll a warning specific to your area across a simple LCD screen. WEATHER-Floods-Civil Emergency-Child Abduction alerts-Radiological Hazards-Earth Quake and a host of other important warnings you might not live without.
Of course short wave capabilities are important too. The world is a big place, short wave makes it a bit smaller. News from outside the affected area might be very important to you. A small multi band radio answers most of your listening needs.
Even small inexpensive dual band radios can be useful. Some of these models also sport built in LED lights. This can be handy but don't buy one just because it has a nifty light on it, spring for the best quality receiver you can afford.All of these units have weather channels, the Sony is a digital radio with surprisingly good reception. I can't tell you the hours I spent late at night listening to Art Bell or George Noory (tune in and learn) on this thing from across the country and half way around the world ......clear as a bell.
A handheld scanner for monitoring Fire and Police calls as well as FEMA and National Guard is also handy, a good unit starts at a couple of hundred dollars but is well worth it.
Watch your six
RJ
