Emergency Preparation Baby Steps

Baby Step #1:  Plan for a short-term emergency

·        Build a 72-Hr Emergency Kit

·        Get a 2 week supply of fresh water

·        Build up a 3 week supply of food that you eat every day

·        Buy a water filter

·        Build an emergency supply of cash, in small bills and even coin

Baby Step #2: Prepare your vehicle

·        Put an emergency kit in your car

·        Don’t forget the water

·        Get in the habit of keeping the tank full, never let it go below half-full

·        Keep decent tires on the car

·        Can it get your family where you need to go in an evacuation emergency

·        Do you need 4WD?

Baby Step #3: Get smart about potential disasters

·        Do a disaster inventory of your community, 5 mile radius, 10-20 mile radius, 50 mile radius

·        Weather events

·        Natural disasters

·        Manmade disasters

·        Socioeconomic disasters

·        Political crises

·        Personal catastrophes

Baby Step #4: Get home, no matter what

·        Have an emergency Get Home kit at work

·        Include good walking shoes

·        Plan for the worst inclement weather you might face

·        Who will pick up the kids and care for them if you can’t get home?

Baby Step #5 Develop a survival mindset

·        Become familiar with the prophecies

·        Study the scriptures and warnings of the latter-day prophets

·        Be willing to obey the prophet with faith, no matter what, but not blindly

·        Be aware of current events, even those not in the regular news, and how they fit into fulfillment of prophecy

·        Work toward getting out of debt

·        Gradually build your food storage to 30 days, 90 days, 6 mos., 1 yr.

HAM Radio License

My wife, my oldest daughter & I just passed the test to get our Technician level HAM radio licenses. We tried to study at home using the online study guides, but just couldn't focus enough to do it.  So, we went to Boot Camp.  Steve Whithead (call sign NV7V) and several other HAM enthusiasts donate their time to put on a FREE study class nearly every month to help others prepare for the test (which does cost $14).  The next class will be on Saturday, Dec. 21st. at 7:30 a.m. at the BYU law library.

The test is mostly about the rules governing HAM radio activities as well as a bit about the physics and principles of radio communications.  It can seem boring to sit in class early on a Saturday morning.  But it is quite the sense of accomplishment to pass the test (I got 100%!) and know that you've joined with others that in times of emergency will be able to assist the community when telephones, texting and internet may not be available.

After one lady successfully completed the test, she asked "Now what do I do with this license that I have?"  Inquiring what her purpose and goals were for taking the class & test, she responded "I saw a notice in the ward bulletin on Sunday stating that more people were needed for the class, so I signed up!"  What a sweet lady: willing to help keep this program going, not even realizing what it would do for her.  Now she needs to go buy a radio and get started.

Getting started need not be expensive.  There are inexpensive Baofeng UV5R handheld radios available for as little as $33 that can get you going. Check out www.HAMradio.com.  Upgrade to hardy, drop resistant Yaesu FT60R or submersible VX8DR models for $180 - $240 and add back-up batteries and interchangeable antennas later.  If you get addicted,  sit for your General Operator level license,  install a tower antenna & get a base transceiver worth >$2,500 that will allow you to talk to people in Europe, Asia or Australia.

Mapleton North Stake tests it's HAM radio emergency network ("net") each Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m.  Anyone with a HAM radio is welcome to participate by simply listening to any announcements, review of rules or procedures, and then by "checking in" with your call sign.  In this manner, the Church keeps an active emergency communication plan ready from the stake to the region to Church headquarters in the event an actual crisis arises.

1st Sundays, the net is on the 2 meter band at frequency 145.770 MHz using what is called simplex (just radio to radio).
Other Sundays, the net is at 146.800 MHz using Mapleton's new repeater (one of the best in the country).

You can listen and even check in with the Mapleton Stake net at 8:45 p.m. each Sunday evening.

Short of getting a HAM radio, Mapleton has a plan using just the FRS (Family Radio Service) walkie-talkies for communication among ward neighborhoods.  Our ward is assigned channel 7 (go figure) without any subchannels.  These can be purchased just about anywhere and can make family hikes more fun and safe, while learning how to communicate during emergencies.

HAM Radio Buying Guide

In case anyone is interested in a Yaesu handheld here are Derek Haynie's top HAM radio picks:

Good:  Yaesu FT-60R $200.00

Better:  Yaesu VX-7R $300.00

Best:  Yaesu VX-8DR $429.00

For starters I'm partial to Yaesu because they’re higher end models are compact, rugged and waterproof, perfect for adventure.  Also, by having a few common models we'll be better able to help each other learn and operate.

YaesuFT-60R ($200.00): is a solid 5-watt radio with both 2M and 440.  

YaesuVX-7R ($300.00): 2M/440/6M and more importantly, for me at least, it is ruggedized, waterproof, compact and dual receive which means you can monitor two frequencies at once. For example you could have the stake simplex frequency 145.770 on one and at the same time be monitoring the repeater 146.80 on the other which I think is invaluable in an emergency. 

YaesuVX-8DR ($429.00) is the top of the line that's even more bomb proof with the most important additional feature, for me at least, of AM/FM receive.  Now you can monitor both HAM and the news channels on one radio.  The VX-8DR also has optional satellite for navigation and position tracking. 

There is also a Yaesu VX-8GR ($389.00) with a built in satellite receiver.  I'm not as jazzed about this one yet for two main reasons.  One, it is NOT waterproof or as ruggedized and two, it does NOT receive AM/FM.  If a future update would include those two features it would likely become my favorite radio.  I've spoken to the engineers at Yaesu and was told you can only pack so much into a radio so this update may not happen anytime soon.  As for being limited to only 2M/440, not 6M, isn't a big deal for me since most if not all of the emergency action is on 2M/440.

The best prices are online at places like Ham Radio Outlet.  A quick internet search may pull up even better prices.

Hope this helps!

Derek Haynie (K2KOA)

derek@haynie.us

(801) 491-1111

Life's an Adventure . . Are You Ready?®