There are times when the commercial power grid experiences an interruption and the lights go out - along with all other electrical appliances. Case in point: the recent winter storm causing a loss of power in some Cache Valley communities.
While the inconvenience was minimal for many households, there were a few situations where the outage continued much longer. To my knowledge our part of the valley was spared the worst, but listening to reports of extended outages from other areas in the valley caused me to consider what I might do to be prepared for the next time the power goes out.
If the cause of the power outage does not require you to leave your home, the estimated length of the outage will likely determine the action to take. A short duration outage can be weathered with minimal concern - using battery powered flashlights as a light source after dark, and minimizing the time the refrigerator door is open will get you through. If electricity is needed for food preparation, a menu change can overcome the problem, or you could always fire up the grill. Of course the time of year could dramatically increase the difficulty of a relatively minor outage - especially with the loss of electric powered heating systems.
If extended power outages are a concern you want to prepare for, emergency power options are many. Battery backup systems with solar recharge capability are the up and coming technology, with a variety of watt hour ratings and discharge configurations available. Fuel powered generators are also tried and true sources for emergency power. Determining what appliances you want to have access to when the power is out, the energy consumption of those devices vs. the capacity of the battery backup system, and the types of discharge ports you want on your generator will help you find the system that fits your needs.
Seeing as we are a group of amateur radio operators, taking a moment to consider emergency power options for your amateur station is appropriate. The easiest mode of communication is always the best, but sometimes landline and cellular systems will be overloaded or fail, so a communication backup for the worst case is a good idea.
If you do not need to leave your home, this could be as easy as grabbing a handheld to monitor the bands. For those who have a base station radio in your home, connect your radio to the emergency power system you chose for your home and you're back on the air with your existing equipment. A higher watt transmitter as a base station would be especially helpful if repeaters are affected by the outage, as a lower watt handheld may not reach distant stations over simplex frequencies. This is why a monthly check-in on a simplex frequency is helpful to understand the capabilities of our equipment.
If circumstances require you to relocate, as long as the amateur repeaters are functioning a charged battery on a handheld radio will allow you to monitor the local emergency nets as they will use the repeaters for much of their communication. If you can recharge batteries, or use alkaline batteries in a clam shell compatible for your radio, you are good to go.
If you anticipate the loss of repeaters, or the need to use simplex frequencies over greater distances, the next step would be to assemble a portable amateur station with a higher watt radio that you could set up anywhere you are. This has been a goal of mine and as I was considering how to proceed Google searches using “Amateur Radio Go Box” and “Amateur Radio Emergency Communications” helped me come up with a plan.
As you work towards your emergency preparedness goals, I would encourage each of you to research the available emergency power systems to see which option might be a good fit for your needs, allowing you to minimize the inconvenience of the next power outage. If you decide that a fuel powered generator meets your needs, remember to keep the exhaust system far enough away that carbon monoxide will not get into your home.