What to Get

As a group leader you will need to consider the following to ensure your members will be able to communicate with each other, as well as the outside world, in the event of a catastrophe, whether man-made or natural.

1) First of all, you will also need to recruit the following capabilities from among your members

• an organizer
• a techie
• a trainer

2) Secondly, you will need to address how to acquire, distribute and use these following categories of items:

• 2.1) the ability for your members to maintain communications with each other (Local Emergency Comms Network or LECN)
• 2.2) the ability for your community as a whole to communicate with other communities across the country and around the world (Inter-Local Emergency Comms Network or IECN)
• 2.3) the ability to protect your devices from an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP protection)
• 2.4) the ability to power your devices in the event of an extended power outage (Emergency Power Supply)

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2.1) LECN
There are 4 scenarios envisioned for maintaining local communications:

• short-range ham radios (VHF/UHF)
• CB radios
• walkie-talkies
• LoRa Mesh Networks
• smoke signals and carrier pigeons :-)

2.2) IECN
There are 2 scenarios being developed to ensure that communities can remain in touch with each other:

• long range ham radios (HF)
• short-wave radios

2.3) EMP Protection
The best protection for your electronics against an EMP is a Faraday cage

2.4) Emergency Power Supply
There are a number of ways to ensure you will have the power to charge and operate your electronic devices, including

• gas generators
• solar panels
• batteries

Follow the links for details on each of these important items.