HollyKing's Journal

Placing FEMA under the Department of Homeland Security was a mistake.

Flashlights are excellent things to have when the lights go out. How will you cope if the lights go out for more than a few days? Your batteries will wear out and then you'll be stuck in the dark. A good solution is to include some candles and water-proof matches. A few long-burning candles can provide light and a bit of heat. Trust me, having been soaked to the bone from a cold fall rain while camping in Missouri a candle helps to warm you up. (Not that I recommend burning candles inside of a tent.)

To save a bit of money I wouldn't buy water-proof matches. Instead I would make them myself. A box of strike-anywhere matches, some paraffin wax and a old sauce pan is all you need. Melt the wax in a double-boiler or over a very low heat on the stove. Dip the heads of the matches in the wax deep enough to cover the head and some of the stick. Don't dip the entire match in the wax or you'll have problem with melted burning wax when you try to use the matches later. After the wax has cooled just store the matches in a water-proof container until you need them. You can find water-proof match containers at any sporting goods store or camping supplier.

If the disaster lasts long enough you can run out of candles too. We're lucky these days because there are quite a few flashlights available that don't need batteries. The two types of battery-less flashlights are the self-powered kind and the dynamo kind. Self-powered flashlights charge their internal battery when you shake the flashlight and cause the magnet to pass back and forth through the coil. A dynamo flashlight has a crank or handle that you operate to spin the magnet through the coil. I prefer the dynamo style flashlights because you can one device that has the flashlight and a radio to cut down on the number of items to pack. Also, the shaking gets old very quickly.

If anyone reading this has any questions about emergency preparedness, disaster kits or amateur radio topics please ask. I'm not sure how many of these tips are helpful and what questions I could be answering that people need to know.