"The main lesson I learned from the power outage is to have a backup station in the shack that will be battery operated. When the power went out on July 19, the only thing I had that was battery-operated was a handheld transceiver; I hooked it to my 5/8 wave ground plane antenna, and continued to monitor 146.940 for weather updates. There are also some investments I need to make in my mobile station; it would be best to keep one HT in the shack as the backup station, and another in the car to serve as another backup. I may also consider purchasing emergency antennas, such as a J-Pole, or some material to make antennas (such as wire) if we have to go through something even worse than what we went through on July 19. Also highly recommended: purchasing a generator.

"I was one of the lucky ones; I only had the power out for sixteen hours."

Cece said that she did not lose power, but that downed power lines blocked access to her subdivision.

Cece also described having serious difficulties taking care of an elderly relative who lived in an area that had lost its power. The relative was dependent on a Cpap machine to assist with breathing. The relative was unwilling to relocate during the power outage.

All this lead Cece to start looking into inverters and battery backup to run the Cpap machine. She had not reached any conclusions at the time she wrote to us. She also wondered what other devices she could keep alive with an inverter and batteries.

"I had a 55 ampere/hour Sealed Lead Acid battery to run my station, but couldn't run much else with it. I bought two more shortly after the power outage and found that connecting them to inverters (12 VDC to 120 VAC) can run them down pretty quickly. About all I could run for any length of time was a small fan and some dim lights.

"I was loaned a 1000 watt generator, which powered fans and lights, but not much else. It didn't even like to run the charger for the 55 Ah batteries.

"If there is a commercial product out there that will let you power your air conditioner, I don't know what it is. I also don't know what it will take to power a refrigerator. Those two items, more than anything else, were necessary to survive in an unpowered house for a week. We didn't have them and were eventually driven out by the stifling humidity.

"Other lessons:

"I already knew this, but several people warned me not to use a gas powered generator indoors. Apparently quite a few people show up at emergency rooms with carbon monoxide poisoning.

"Generators are loud. Someone suggested building a noise-abatement box out of plywood and old sections of carpeting.

"I need to think of a way to transport gasoline cans in the trunk of my car in such a way that the gas does not seep into the floor of the trunk."

"Maintenance of emergency generator engine

"Even though I used a gas 'stabilizer' in my 6KW generator, I did not 'drain the gas' from the carburetor bowl (let it run until it quits) when shutting (the) engine down after routine checkout every 3 months. As a result, my carburetor float was contaminated with gas caused by today's gasoline's additives. A small engine repairman told me that gas should never be left in the carburetor over long period of time because the alcohol and other additives can be very corrosive to metal (including the needle valve), gaskets and plastic parts (my float!). Indeed, he is correct. I had to replace the entire carburetor. A partially filled float will not allow the needle valve to 'shut off gasoline' and as a result, gasoline will flow out of the air intake (air filter) creating the possibility of fire (not to mention my patio sealant on the floor that was 'attacked' by the gas and discolored it)! Another reason to keep a fully charged deep cycle battery(s) and inverter handy too!"

"1. A number of people got generators to run their refrigerators or freezers, and they did not work. It seems that either the generator(s) put out to square of a sign wave, or they were just underpowered. Soooo, if I (were) to ever buy an emergency purpose generator, I will be sure it puts out the right, and clean, signwave and is at least 5 KW.

"2. I had tested by batteries for my radios, both VHF and HF, and found they were adequate. They proved so again.

"3. I had more battery power that I needed to simply run my radios, so I was able to use them to run a small, portable TV set. This was extremely good for keeping up on the weather and recovery situations during the outage.

"4. Since I had my vehicle available (actually 2) during the outage, and there were some gas stations reasonably close that were functioning, I had an unlimited supply of 12VDC.

"5. As a backup fuel source, I found that it is smart to keep my lawn mower gas can topped off. Although I did not need it this time, I realized that it could be a real saver. It was only half full when the power went out."

"Batteries. We didn't have enough batteries of the right type, despite previous efforts to standardize battery types and to stock up. I blame gremlins.

"Flashlights. We didn't have enough, despite having enough in the past. They seem to vanish over time, so it probably best to do a head count from time to time. Having flashlights that provide good area lighting are especially important. Oh, and you need batteries for them. (See above.)

"Refrigerator/Freezer. I hope to never have to throw out so much food again. I need to find sources of dry ice for the next time. Even empty refrigerators get nasty when left hot and closed up, so it is important to dry them out, put in baking soda and leave the doors ajar. (Which means it needs to be unplugged, which isn't such a bad idea either.)

"Ice. Sold out quickly where there wasn't power, should buy some sooner.

"Hotels. In a large scale outage, the hotel rooms fill up quickly. Making reservations is better done sooner than later.

"Gas. When the power goes out, gas stations can't pump gas. Always a good thing to keep your gas tank off 'E' so you don't have to deal with the hostile people waiting in long lines at the stations that do have power.

"News. I didn't have a good source of information about what was going on. I ended up listening mostly to KMOX (1120 AM). The repeaters were pretty quiet after the storm.

"TV. Talking to neighbors is a surprisingly effective entertainment replacement. Unfortunately, they don't know anything more than you do, so they are a lousy source of news."