Abe Froman
Senior Member
I immediately check so see if my phone is working to see if the dreaded EMP or CME has finally arrived. Anybody else do this?
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PREP Every time the power goes out...
- Thread starter Abe Froman
- Start date
Greenspode
Veteran Member
Yes! Every time the internet or the power goes down, I immediately think "show time?".
Many like me have the modern land line phones and when the power go's out so does the phone.
Now we do have a generator that can be hooked up to the house and once thats done the land line phone will work.
Our internet service is DSL and relies on the land line phone service.
I see and hear about so many people dropping their land service for cell phones and they too can go out if the grid go's down. Cell towers may have or may not have battery backup and a combination of generator and battery backup and how long such service will last is hard to say.
Now we do have a generator that can be hooked up to the house and once thats done the land line phone will work.
Our internet service is DSL and relies on the land line phone service.
I see and hear about so many people dropping their land service for cell phones and they too can go out if the grid go's down. Cell towers may have or may not have battery backup and a combination of generator and battery backup and how long such service will last is hard to say.
No
bracketquant
Veteran Member
Lucky me, I have no phone to check.
scooter123
Contributing Member
I go to the gun safe first...
Txkstew
Veteran Member
My power has been going out monthly for the last year and a half. Problem is a transformer bank that feeds our neighborhood, from out on the highway. When it goes down, the map shows 256 costumers affected. One time, we were the only red part on Entergy's outage map, in their Texas part of the system. I can't get too worked up about the power going off. That is the main reason I put in a small solar power system. Of course an EMP attack would take it out as well.
BH
. . . .
Our cells have wifi calling so not dependent upon the cell towers functioning (just the internet).
Our ceiling fans stop. I just added our main TV and Sound Bar to our solar/batteries along with our internet connection, router, several lights, half of our refrigeration and all of our device charging. Need a little more solar to get the rest of the refrigeration on board.
My system has a brief outage (40ms) when things switch between grid and battery (and back) so I added a fast switching UPS to the critical internet hardware and TV, so now there are no noticeable drops.
If we are in the living room, we would not notice except for the fan.
ainitfunny
Saved, to glorify God.
After 78 years with a land line, and all the years with both land and cell phones, "just in case" the cell lines went down, I finally got rid of the land line ( which I didn't USE)
when the phone company raised the rates to almost $100 a month, last August.
when the phone company raised the rates to almost $100 a month, last August.
I use MagicJack for my phone service. I pay $49 a YEAR for unlimited local and long distance calls. A side benefit is that I never get telemarketing calls.
ShadowMan
Designated Grumpy Old Fart
We have power outages all the time here on the mountain and ESPECIALLY if we get some heavy weather and of course high winds here in SoCal. That's why we have a whole house Generac back up generator. We also have a large multi-fuel portable generator to back that up AND a small Honda gennie for our travel trailer. I would like to put up a solar system and be TOTALLY off the GRID and tell the electric company to pound sand.
We maintain our landline ONLY for reverse 911 calls due to the fire season here on the mountain. Between wifi, cell and landline we are pretty much covered in that area. As far as TEOTWAWKI/SHTF, we also have CB, SSB, GMRS, and when I get time, and a license we'll have a HAM shack set up in the shop. I'm really looking forward to that. However building the greenhouse and gardens this spring take precedence over that endeavor.
We maintain our landline ONLY for reverse 911 calls due to the fire season here on the mountain. Between wifi, cell and landline we are pretty much covered in that area. As far as TEOTWAWKI/SHTF, we also have CB, SSB, GMRS, and when I get time, and a license we'll have a HAM shack set up in the shop. I'm really looking forward to that. However building the greenhouse and gardens this spring take precedence over that endeavor.
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SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
No. We lose power so often that we just take it in stride.
ainitfunny
Saved, to glorify God.
Does Magic Jack work when the internet goes down?
If it doesnt, that defeats the purpose of even having a hard wired phone.
Hfcomms
EN66iq
My system isn't big enough to run everything 24/7 and my charge controller doesn't have a built in inverter to switch the load when the mains go down. Pretty easy for me though as if I suspect the outage to last for less than 8 hours I just turn the inverter on and replug two power strips as well as switch the refrigerator to an outlet on the other side of the room that runs off the inverter and I'm good to go.
The 8kw lithium iron phosphate battery bank is big enough to last me for at least 24 hours so short term outages are pretty easy to manage.
Nothing is infallible or absolute. If you’re looking for that, see Jesus, cuz he’s it.
bev
Has No Life - Lives on TB
We’ve been extremely happy with Flint Energies. Last night our power went off for maybe 10 seconds. Now our internet …Nope. Mostly I think, "I hate Flint Energies."
Displaced hillbilly
Veteran Member
Sadly yes, I do this every single time.
Profit of Doom
Dismember
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Don't pay much attention to my phone unless I'm using it . . . . . .
Doc1
Has No Life - Lives on TB
The following is the easiest wway to check what was suggested in the OP:
Find a nice, portable radio that operates on both AC and DC. Make sure that there is a manual switch which allows you to choose which power source will be used. Place the radio on or near your desk and operate it on AC power. When your mains power goes out, the radio will stop as well. Now, place the power switch to DC. The radio should come back on. If it doesn't, you could have major problems (think EMP, nuclear attack, etc). It's entirely possible than an EMP could fry the circuits in the radio, but the result would be the same: it won't work on DC power.
Many years ago I working at my desk, listening to the radio and all was good. Suddenly, we had a power outage and the house went dark. This was not an uncommon occurrence, so I wasn't alarmed.
I calmly reached over and turned the radio to DC power. Nothing happened! Now, inwardly, I was just beginning to shit myself. I unplugged the radio and put the antenna down in order to double check everything and - especially - to make sure the batteries had good connections.
I opened the battery compartment and you can imagine my surprise and anger when I discovered that it was empty! When my then-DW got home I called her on the carpet about it and got an innocent, "Well, I needed batteries so I took them out of the radio." This might have been understandable, but I previously, carefully explained the reason that radio was on my desk. I was pissed. Not divorce-level pissed (that came much later) but pissed.
Things were uncomfortable at the Doc1 Homestead for a couple of days.
Best
Doc
Find a nice, portable radio that operates on both AC and DC. Make sure that there is a manual switch which allows you to choose which power source will be used. Place the radio on or near your desk and operate it on AC power. When your mains power goes out, the radio will stop as well. Now, place the power switch to DC. The radio should come back on. If it doesn't, you could have major problems (think EMP, nuclear attack, etc). It's entirely possible than an EMP could fry the circuits in the radio, but the result would be the same: it won't work on DC power.
Many years ago I working at my desk, listening to the radio and all was good. Suddenly, we had a power outage and the house went dark. This was not an uncommon occurrence, so I wasn't alarmed.
I calmly reached over and turned the radio to DC power. Nothing happened! Now, inwardly, I was just beginning to shit myself. I unplugged the radio and put the antenna down in order to double check everything and - especially - to make sure the batteries had good connections.
I opened the battery compartment and you can imagine my surprise and anger when I discovered that it was empty! When my then-DW got home I called her on the carpet about it and got an innocent, "Well, I needed batteries so I took them out of the radio." This might have been understandable, but I previously, carefully explained the reason that radio was on my desk. I was pissed. Not divorce-level pissed (that came much later) but pissed.
Things were uncomfortable at the Doc1 Homestead for a couple of days.
Best
Doc
ainitfunny
Saved, to glorify God.
I take it that Magic Jack doesnt work when the internet is down, thus isn't a real "landline" alternative to a cellphone.
I kind of wish there was a thread where we could all report non-weather related power outages. If 6 or 8 folks in different states report it at the same time, maybe WW3 has started or there's been some kind of cyber attack. Of course, I'm expecting the sun to shut it all down one day. When the grid goes down, no matter what the cause, it won't be pretty.
LoupGarou
Ancient Fuzzball
HEMP EMP is not going to be "it". CME could do a LOT of damage, but there will still be things up and rolling.
My suggestion for finding out information if you believe that a CME has just knocked out your power, is to walk out to your car, turn the car ignition key to "ACC" so that you can turn on the radio without the engine running, and then check your local FM stations. If they are still on, and not broadcasting "info" related to the outage, then I would bet that it is a small area that is actually out. FM radio stations have a range of less than 70 miles NORMALLY, so this will be all your local info, and MANY of those stations have emergency generators. IF they ARE talking about the power going out, flip over to AM band, and SLOWLY run through the AM band to see what stations are up and running, what they are saying, and where they are. MOST of the powerhouse AM stations are "Clear Channel" stations ( NOT related to the iHeart Media brand, but the ones that are listed here):
Clear-channel station - Wikipedia (I would suggest copying and printing the list of stations there as well).
Almost all Clear Channel stations have backup generators, and are built to survive a LOT of damage and "events". In the daytime, you should be able to hear at least 3-10 of these stations. At night, you should be able to receive a lot more, possibly even a different station few stops up the dial. The reason, is that at night, AM station's range can easily get into the thousand + mile range, so someone in the middle of the US could end up hearing most of the stations in the US... The benefit is that you can get a LOT of good info over a wide area, especially at night.
Another strong suggestion is to make a log NOW of what stations you can hear on but FM and AM on your car's radio. Think of it as a RF extension to your Area Study (you DO have one of them as well for your AO, right?). Log the frequency used, (102.1FM or 1140AM), the time you heard it (go Zulu, 24Hr military time), Callsign (WRXL, WRVA), what they were playing ("Format"), and signal quality (weak/strong). I would suggest doing this early morning (just after dawn), noon, just after sundown, and then late night (22-23:00 (10-11pm)). That way you can see what differences day versus night makes and also see what atmospheric effects will also play into the mix. During some mornings, at certain times of the year, you will hear FM stations way beyond 70 miles, sometimes as much as 200-300 miles away (Ducting/SporadicE layer fun: https ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_and_FM_DX). The point being is that if you can have a "map" of the stations around you, even the AM ones much further away from you, you can get an idea of how big, or which direction any "large" event may be.
Now, here is the second half of why I am suggesting this... IF, it actually is a CME event in progress, rolling through the FM and then AM dial (provided that you have made your station log already made (and maybe even recently checked), you can scan up the band as you scan down your list and see which stations are still "readable" for the time of day or night that it is at this moment. If you get 5 or 6 out of the say 22 FM logged stations that are readable with decent signal, and the rest are weak, then you go to the AM band and your AM noise floor is WAY higher leaving very few stations even detectable (much less readable), you should start suspecting a strong CME may be in progress. FM has a different effect with noise and "extra" signals than AM does. FM locks onto the strongest signal and that is almost always what you get. This is called the Capture Effect of FM, and is why you have about the same signal quality all the way out to the maximum range of the station before it goes to static, OR before it starts getting overpowered by another station that is on the same frequency further in that direction (which then goes into the quick switching form the original station to the other one back in forth as your antenna gets stronger signals from one versus the other as you are moving (called "Picket Fencing"). AM on the other hand will mix ALL signals (and noise) that is on that frequency and put it out the speaker, which is why if you get two or more Clear Channel stations at night on the same frequency, you may hear both clearly at the same time. AM has not capture effect, but instead plays all of the different signals out at once. This is why aircraft use AM (even though FM is clearer sounding) so that one plane transmitting on one of the air band frequencies does not block out another plane's transmissions on that same frequency. This allows the airport's control tower to hear many planes at once and nobody is blocked out so emergency traffic is always heard. Possibly confusing, but every signal is heard. So if you have a CME, your FM stations should still play through from your close stations (less than 30 miles away), but may have some static, but your more distant stations that you normally can hear will probably be below the new noise level that is being created by the sun's burp of energetic photons and plasma. The AM band will be the final tell, where it will show if the noise floor is strong enough to block out a 30-50KW local AM station, leaving you with a barely recognizable signal versus what you logged earlier.
IF it is a CME event, expect that the loss of the AM stations will continue for at least a day or two, then get weaker. FM will come back quicker, but still the "outage" could last a few hours longer than the actual CME lasts.
The other thing I would do IF I suspected a CME, is to quickly make a solar disc observation box using a cardboard box, tape, and aluminum foil that you can poke a tiny pinhole in:
www.bgsu.edu
www.timeanddate.com
If we have just had a CME event (or one is still in progress since they last a while), you WILL see disturbances on the sun with the box. (The box will also be useful during the eclipse in April...).
My suggestion for finding out information if you believe that a CME has just knocked out your power, is to walk out to your car, turn the car ignition key to "ACC" so that you can turn on the radio without the engine running, and then check your local FM stations. If they are still on, and not broadcasting "info" related to the outage, then I would bet that it is a small area that is actually out. FM radio stations have a range of less than 70 miles NORMALLY, so this will be all your local info, and MANY of those stations have emergency generators. IF they ARE talking about the power going out, flip over to AM band, and SLOWLY run through the AM band to see what stations are up and running, what they are saying, and where they are. MOST of the powerhouse AM stations are "Clear Channel" stations ( NOT related to the iHeart Media brand, but the ones that are listed here):
Clear-channel station - Wikipedia (I would suggest copying and printing the list of stations there as well).
Almost all Clear Channel stations have backup generators, and are built to survive a LOT of damage and "events". In the daytime, you should be able to hear at least 3-10 of these stations. At night, you should be able to receive a lot more, possibly even a different station few stops up the dial. The reason, is that at night, AM station's range can easily get into the thousand + mile range, so someone in the middle of the US could end up hearing most of the stations in the US... The benefit is that you can get a LOT of good info over a wide area, especially at night.
Another strong suggestion is to make a log NOW of what stations you can hear on but FM and AM on your car's radio. Think of it as a RF extension to your Area Study (you DO have one of them as well for your AO, right?). Log the frequency used, (102.1FM or 1140AM), the time you heard it (go Zulu, 24Hr military time), Callsign (WRXL, WRVA), what they were playing ("Format"), and signal quality (weak/strong). I would suggest doing this early morning (just after dawn), noon, just after sundown, and then late night (22-23:00 (10-11pm)). That way you can see what differences day versus night makes and also see what atmospheric effects will also play into the mix. During some mornings, at certain times of the year, you will hear FM stations way beyond 70 miles, sometimes as much as 200-300 miles away (Ducting/SporadicE layer fun: https ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_and_FM_DX). The point being is that if you can have a "map" of the stations around you, even the AM ones much further away from you, you can get an idea of how big, or which direction any "large" event may be.
Now, here is the second half of why I am suggesting this... IF, it actually is a CME event in progress, rolling through the FM and then AM dial (provided that you have made your station log already made (and maybe even recently checked), you can scan up the band as you scan down your list and see which stations are still "readable" for the time of day or night that it is at this moment. If you get 5 or 6 out of the say 22 FM logged stations that are readable with decent signal, and the rest are weak, then you go to the AM band and your AM noise floor is WAY higher leaving very few stations even detectable (much less readable), you should start suspecting a strong CME may be in progress. FM has a different effect with noise and "extra" signals than AM does. FM locks onto the strongest signal and that is almost always what you get. This is called the Capture Effect of FM, and is why you have about the same signal quality all the way out to the maximum range of the station before it goes to static, OR before it starts getting overpowered by another station that is on the same frequency further in that direction (which then goes into the quick switching form the original station to the other one back in forth as your antenna gets stronger signals from one versus the other as you are moving (called "Picket Fencing"). AM on the other hand will mix ALL signals (and noise) that is on that frequency and put it out the speaker, which is why if you get two or more Clear Channel stations at night on the same frequency, you may hear both clearly at the same time. AM has not capture effect, but instead plays all of the different signals out at once. This is why aircraft use AM (even though FM is clearer sounding) so that one plane transmitting on one of the air band frequencies does not block out another plane's transmissions on that same frequency. This allows the airport's control tower to hear many planes at once and nobody is blocked out so emergency traffic is always heard. Possibly confusing, but every signal is heard. So if you have a CME, your FM stations should still play through from your close stations (less than 30 miles away), but may have some static, but your more distant stations that you normally can hear will probably be below the new noise level that is being created by the sun's burp of energetic photons and plasma. The AM band will be the final tell, where it will show if the noise floor is strong enough to block out a 30-50KW local AM station, leaving you with a barely recognizable signal versus what you logged earlier.
IF it is a CME event, expect that the loss of the AM stations will continue for at least a day or two, then get weaker. FM will come back quicker, but still the "outage" could last a few hours longer than the actual CME lasts.
The other thing I would do IF I suspected a CME, is to quickly make a solar disc observation box using a cardboard box, tape, and aluminum foil that you can poke a tiny pinhole in:
Pinhole Solar Projection Viewer
You can make a Pinhole Projection Viewer to safely view a solar eclipse! It is important to use safe viewing practices during a solar eclipse, as looking directly
www.bgsu.edu
Make a Box Pinhole Projector for a Solar Eclipse
DIY: Pinhole projector using a cardboard box and household items to safely see a solar eclipse.
www.timeanddate.com
If we have just had a CME event (or one is still in progress since they last a while), you WILL see disturbances on the sun with the box. (The box will also be useful during the eclipse in April...).
night driver
ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
...And NO you are NOT looking at the Sun, you are looking inside the box at the OTHER end of the box where the pin-hole camera you just made projects.
LoupGarou
Ancient Fuzzball
That is my bet as well. Plus, they could blame it on something else if they wanted to (EMP, CME, or other).
Or, if someone "in house" did it, could bring it back up anytime or anywhere they wanted to and leave the rest in the dark (and take credit for the quick repairs where they wanted repairs to happen)...
LoupGarou
Ancient Fuzzball
Not me, if the power goes out, I immediately go check the light in the bathroom, based on what I find there, life then gets adjusted as required....
Henry Bowman
Veteran Member
Every time the power goes out...
I thought the answer was going to be an angel gets their wings.
