If you are like me and have followed the recent coverage of the disaster in Haiti, you too may have wondered how you would fare in a similar situation. I am also reminded of the story a few weeks back of a couple who decided to test out the GPS system in their new car, followed its direction to roads better not traveled in the winter, and found themselves stranded until they were eventually able to get a cellphone call out and with 911GPS assistance, were found and rescued. We all have become dependent on this kind of technology and it becomes especially important when public infrastructure fails around us, as happens during any disaster. I personally had the opportunity to test my personal preparedness in the fall of 2008, following Hurricane Ike, when my family and I were without power for 20 days. I would like to share with you some of my successes in keeping my gadgets operational with these mobile accessories, so that I could keep in contact with the world.
Access to Power
I was very fortunate to have an electrical generator (and about 60 gallons of gasoline!) available, which enabled me to run the freezer and refrigerator, recharge batteries, and power fans during the day. However, during breaks in the cleanup, I had ample opportunity to test some hardware that I had accumulated for just such an occasion. Let me show you what I used:
Sunlinq Portable Solar Panel Charger 12W 12V
This portable, foldable solar panel charger was a marvel. The panel has the ability to recharge a 300 Watt battery system in about 12-15 hours, at a one-time cost of about $200. Additionally, it folds up into a small package about 6â€x10â€x0.5â€, becoming very portable. Now, 12-15 hours is a long time. It is possible to purchase a 25W 12V panel (for double the change) for about twice the money. However, I chose to solve this by purchasing two of the 12W panel, with double the attachments (pictured above), as I discovered that they could be daisy-chained together. This way, I could use them together or separate. At the suggestion of an engineer friend, I also purchase a solar charge controller (pictured above, $50), to make sure that whatever battery I charged wasn’t damaged by potential surges. With something like this in your possession, you can keep your cell phone, smartphone, iPod, Zune, etc. going virtually indefinitely, as long as you have access to sunlight and a 12V charging adapter for your gadget. These were purchased from EarthTechProducts.com, which has an outstanding array of technology to choose from. As you can see from the pictures above, you can also use this to recharge a car battery, etc.
Duracell Powerpacks
While you can always recharge your individual devices directly, you will probably want to be more efficient by recharging a larger battery that can then be used to recharge everything else. I solved this by the use of a number of the Duracell Powerpacks, in a variety of sizes (300, 350, and 600 Watts). I have ended up installing one in each car, and two in the house, where they are kept charged with included AC adapters. As you can see from the example pictured above, these are multi-purpose. They can inflate tires, start dead car batteries (many have jumper cables integrated), as well as powering a variety of devices via a 12V adapter plug. Many of the higher end products also have integrated DC to AC inverters. This means that they can be used to power your notebook computers. You may not have television or radio, but as long as you have a notebook computer, you have movies and music. If you are blessed to have access to a Mobile Broadband card (like I did), you also have access to the Internet. I ended up attaching a portable Wi-Fi Access Point to my notebook and offered Internet access to all the folks in my neighborhood, who came and sat at picnic tables with their own notebooks, to keep in touch with the world. Of course, I would not have been able to power all their hardware too, but that was what the generator was for.
Solio Classic Solar Charger
I have since purchased a self-contained battery/charger combo, produced by Solio. This small, foldable unit contain a 1650 Amh lithium-ion battery, which is recharged by the integrated solar panel. It’s output is via a standard USB port, so any power cable that supports USB can be used with this device. Planning to spend a few days in the wilderness? This works great for keeping your GPS, cellphone, and battery lanterns charged. This particular unit may not be available anymore, but Solio will have viable alternatives. Around $150.
HYmini Deluxe Wind+miniSolar All-in-One
This unit comes with a 6W rechargeable battery, which can be recharged by any steady wind in excess of 6 mph. Additionally, it comes with one mini Solar panel which outputs 140 Amh. With all the requisite cables, adapters, etc. this kit retails for around $75. Additional Solar units can be daisy chained to speed charging time for approx. $25 each. An adapter is also available to mount this unit to a bicycle to keep it charged.
At one time, my wife suggested that I might be a bit extreme in my preparations for disaster. Since we have had the opportunity to test all this out for real, we have made some additions to our kit, such a USB TV tuner adapters for each notebook, so that we can keep up with the National Weather Service, etc. Houston, where I live has to deal with heat and humidity, and so that is what I know. Those of you who live in the more frigid north, how do you prepare to keep your mobile devices operational. Share with me and we will post it up. Enjoy!
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