Category Archives: Contest

We’re continuing to evaluate how to prevent a failure to communicate when we do not have wireless electronic communications available to us. We’ve been exploring our options. Yesterday, I wrote about the different types of communications and types of interference to communication. I wrapped up yesterday’s part of the article by introducing what you should do to prepare. The first part, of course, was plan. Let’s take a look at the second part and conclude the article with the subsequent steps to prepare.

Document

Once you’ve got a good handle on your requirements and solutions, you should create a couple of important documents. The first is referred to by the military as a “Standing Operating Procedure” (SOP). This will be the “bible” for all of your communications. It should cover all of the elements for your communications, such as types, encodings, handshakes, feedback, watches, et cetera. This will probably change … Continue reading →

We’re continuing to evaluate how to prevent a failure to communicate when we do not have wireless electronic communications available to us. We’ve been exploring our options. Yesterday, I wrote about various channels of communications. Today, we’ll move into various forms of communications to consider.

Electronic

In the beginning of this article, I mentioned that it was about alternatives to wireless electronic communications. However, that doesn’t rule out wired forms of electronic communication. Wired communications tend to be point-to-point, are very hard for anyone to intercept, and can send large amounts of information. The biggest disadvantages are that they require electricity and they are both relatively complex equipment to function (complex relative to a fire or whistle) and generally limited to certain locations and distances (the maximum length of your wire).

• Telephone – You can set up a relatively simple point-to-point telephone system using some used military field phones. … Continue reading →
  

We’re continuing to evaluate how to prevent a failure to communicate in the event that our normal, electronic communications equipment are not available to us. We are exploring our options. Yesterday, I wrote about common content items and encoding. Let’s continue.

Medium

The medium defines what carries the communication through the channel. For written communication, the medium will usually be paper. For most signal-based communications, the medium will be inseparable from the channel. In the case where communications is sent by a flashing light, light is the medium.

Channel

The channel is critical to all communications. It determines how the message is actually transferred to the receiver. Thus, how much bandwidth is available and how noise may impact the communication. It also tells us likely it is the communication will be noticed/intercepted by someone other than the intended recipient. Channels can also be mixed to improve the overall communications process. … Continue reading →

We’re continuing to evaluate how to prevent a failure to communicate in the event that our normal, electronic communications equipment are not available to us. Yesterday, we looked as some definitions and began defining our own communications requirements. With that in mind, let’s move forward.

Options

Now that you’ve (hopefully) thought a little bit about what your communications requirements might be, let’s take a look at some possible options for the various elements.

Sender/Recipient

As I mentioned earlier, the best starting point for figuring out a communications strategy is by making a list of everyone it will need to support. For a smaller group, like a family, this may simply involve a list of all of the people in the family. However, what if an emergency arises that requires you to call for help from your neighbors? Make the list as complete as possible, and allow for potential future additions. … Continue reading →

Communications failure can be prevented, though it may not be in the form we’re expecting. Ever since the earliest cavemen grunted at each other and painted pictures on their cave walls, humans have been communicating in one form or another. Communications are critical to any multi-person activity. Many people consider having radios and other electronic communications devices a core part of living a prepared lifestyle. Virtually every survival- and preparedness-related forum or blog has one or more sections dedicated to this. Things like shortwave radio communications, protecting your radios from EMP, powering your radios in a grid-down scenario, et cetera.

Unless you’re a lone-wolf, having the ability to communicate effectively with your group, and potentially with other groups, is absolutely critical to maintaining a functioning society. But what about situations where you can’t, or shouldn’t, use wireless electronic communication devices? What if, post-SHTF, there’s a quasi-military marauder group operating in … Continue reading →