Scram bag: Radio

Got to get information.

Access to information is very important and radio, while an old technology now, is likely to be one of the best sources of information during a crisis. AM radio is a particularly good source because of its range and likelihood of operation.

the DEGEN DE13 world receiver.

DEGEN DE13 Solar / windup/ 5V DC powered. Radio AM FM SW, LED flash light, red flashing LED, USB power output, and alarm.

This is a really great radio, packed with features.

A radio? You may think that because your mobile phone has a radio you’ve got it covered. Well partially. Mobile phones generally only receive FM radio and usually only with headphones attached as they double as the antenna.

FM is a relatively short range radio signal so if you are far from a transmitter you wont hear anything.

AM radio stations use large amounts of power and have large capacitors in order to operate, so that when the power goes off to radio stations FM stations only have generator reserves. AM stations will have a few days of electric reserves in their capacitors on top of generator reserves, so an AM receiver will be more likely to give you information and for longer. AM stations also have much longer range in reception as well.

Shortwave SW radio has enormous range, you’ll realize this when you start hearing languages other than English on them. Shortwave radio receivers are somewhat uncommon these day also.

Powering it.

Solar: A nice little polycrystalline panel.

Wind up: 60 turns of the handle for 1 hour of radio.

AAA cells: 3 AAA cells are an option.

micro USB port: the 5 pin connector, connect to a computer or other 5V DC source.

Lithium battery: Just like what is in cordless phones.

Features:

3 LED light, a pretty good light for shorter range illumination.

Red flashing LED, this is meant to be for reading maps at night, the red doesn’t affect you night vision too much.

Siren: I’m not sure how this is useful but its there.

USB output: I think this runs from the wind up only,  and has output limited to low current for charging older mobile phones or small electronic devices, but better than nothing (though the manual doesn’t specify).

Down sides.

Not waterproof, this can be mitigated buy using a small water proof container or bag.

Not dust proof, if your operating environment is very dusty of silty you could have trouble.

Antenna clasp is a bit fragile, fortunately this is not a critical component.

Battery case cover for the 3xAAA compartment seems a little flimsy.

No clock, one of the few products where the addition of a clock might have made sense, radio shows are scheduled to start at certain times, thought announcers do tend to quote the time often enough.

The instruction manual that comes with this device is pretty vaguely written, a bad translation from Chinese, it’s almost a throw away manual.

There is not form of charge indicator, just  charging LED (green) and a discharging LED (red).

 

Short wave radio stations sometimes talk about transmitting on X meters rather than a frequency.

This length distance they are talking about is the wave length of the radio wave, wavelength is usually given the Greek letter λ

c is the speed of light in a vacuum 299 792 458 m / s , you’ll notice this number is close to 300,000,000,  300 million or 3 x 10 ^8.

Frequency: f , measured in Hz (Hertz).

For example if someone was transmitting on 19 meters:

c  = λ  *  f

f =  c / λ

f = 300,000,000/19

f = 1,000,000   *  300/19

f = 1,000,000   *   15.79 Hz

f   = 15.79 MHz  (or 15,790 kHz )

This radio can detect that short wave frequency and those between 5.8 MHz and 18.2 MHz (51 to 16.5 meters in wavelength).

It should be noted that some SW bands are not in the frequency region where they should be due to some historical conventions.

 

Radio frequency notebook

You should create a series of notebook entries listing for each location you plan to be in which frequencies are operational and what type of information is given.

ie

location 1

AM  frequency  information types

station 1             music and hourly news

station 2             news and weather (mostly prerecorded)

FM  frequency  information types

station 3        music  (infrequent news)

SW frequency  information types

station 4        Chinese language (shipping?)

 

A great deal of information can be inferred from which stations are still broadcasting also with what information they are giving.

 

This handy radio comes in several colors; dark green(pictured), lime green fluoro, and white, though I’m sure almost any color is possible

Can be bought from many internet sellers for about $30.

Charge a phone virtually anywhere kit.

well you’ll need a power supply like a 12V battery or a solar panel but with this equipment you have a lot of options.

12 Volt car socket from alligator clips.

iLuv USB car adapter

USB with 10 different phone charger connectors. ‘The octopus’

Make sense? I hope so.

so with these 3 items you are able to convert any 12 Volt battery (or 12 Volt solar panel) into a phone charger in a less than a minute.

cost of items about $25,being able to make that call or access that data, priceless?

Universal USB power

iLuv USB car adapter

If you need USB power and you have access to a car or a car cigarette lighter plug that has power, this is precisely what you need.

I really liked how this example appears to be thumbing its nose at copyrights of Apple and Microsoft XboX.

Some models are tolerant of input voltages from 12-24 volts some are not.

Some models advertise what level of current they supply, 1 Amp is common.

Input 12V-24 DC output 5V DC 500-2100mA

these devices only supply power to the USB device not data, this device will not allow you to ‘download a car’ or some other wizardry.

Cost: about $10 for electronics and car accessory shops. Cheaper models may be available with lower output current.

Wizardry sold separately*

Universal USB phone charger

In the wake of the Japanese tsunami in march 2011 one of the first things people wanted to do after they had reached the safety was to recharge their phones.

Imagine being faced with many people all wanting to charge their phones at once. Despite the market dominance a a few mobile phone makers there is still quite an array of charger plug formats.

When i first saw this item i could see just how useful it was. I highly recommend it. It’s the most important part of my ‘charge a phone virtually anywhere’ kit.

http://diorealskills.org/2012/05/22/charge-a-phone-virtually-anywhere-kit/

Note while it has the correct connector for the Apple iPhone/iPad it may not work due to Apple’s proprietary hardware restrictions.

So you should look back in the box your phone came in, and find that weird cable with USB at one end and your phone connector at the other and keep it handy.

Most phones support charge via USB now, and even it you don’t use such a cable to connect to your computer its useful for charging.

Fast charging: you may find a 2.1A USB port occasionally and this will allow you phone to charge faster if your phone supports fast charge.

For the record USB is normally 5V DC 500mA, the fast charger works by shorting pins 2 and 3 the green and white wires to ‘tell’ the computer to supply more current, 2.1 Amps.

cost about $5-$8 available in some $2 style shops, may come with accessories like car to USB and AC to USB which are both worth paying a few extra dollars for.

USB with 10 different phone charger connectors. ‘The octopus’