Monday morning at 7:40 AM CST electric power was cut taking KDX Worldround Radio entirely off the air. The power outage was not expected since it had been a whole day since an intense wind storm which caused a 2-minute power drop on Sunday.
A day without power requires re-learning what can be done without electricity, and the answer is, "not much."
I took an auto-tour of the area and saw an army of utility crews all up and down the main corridors. They were doing very big system wide work.
Down the street a couple of guys were trying to get a car from underneath a giganto tree, and when they finally got it, the windshield was shattered and the top compressed like an elephant had bounced on it.
A neighbor solved the log that had fallen on his garage by tossing it into my yard, so I'll need to have a talk. I view these neighbors as "special school dropouts," so I want to be gentle with them so they can continue to be falsely friendly in the future. They are not unlike politicians, corporate executives, and many others who are loose in society.
At exactly 12-hours, 7:40 PM, the power nicely returned, in time to warm the house for the 30-degree overnight temp. KDX returned to streams and airs, and will spend all-night doing makeup programming.
How are you?
Glad you are OK.
Bruce, DOGRADIO
Today was a rare day off the air and offline, so I needed to find things to do.
Over at the Save-So-Much store, my social center, I found that I didn't feel like the same guy, what without an active radio station. I think I even looked more like a stranger than usual.
A bag of snacks was important. I was able to sit in the executive window watching the primitive non-electric day go by while crunching. It is important to consume junk food otherwise there might be an over-supply, so we must keep up.
The most you can say about a non-electrified house is that it's better than being in a tree.
Now here's the good part. When it got dark I faced several hours in total blackness, but luckily I remembered battery powered radio, and DXed America. The dial was noise free with no power lines, but 99% of all stations had sports talk.
Back to you.
Hi Carl I'm glad your ok and didn't loose anything thats good. Now it's time to talk about having information on back up system and equipment in basement ( if have one or safe house) with a kit design down below or on the phillipines blog., need portable broadcast equipment with power and with back up program and also make sure you have back up food,water,cloth,portable tent,cots,blankets,portable camp stove with pot pans & silverware,knife,saw,portable radio wind up,rain barrel to collect or have water already, etc. Use emergency check list plans that they have set up for hurricane,tornado do to you never know when you need it so many people get caught off guard and it's to late. But in my opion you should have more then what they say for the basic do to if take longer to get thing restore to normal !
Hi Guys Good Idea you can make your own portable station and save money by using pelican casses!
Here is some ideas to help out!
Have TWO SETS and keep in two different places For Safety!
label each casses contents.
Test units once in awhile !
Have 2 AM & FM Transmitter With Cable Hook Up!
Have 2 Am Antenna Systems & 2 FM Antenna Systems With Transmission Line !
Have 2 Swr,Power & Field Strength meters!
Have 2 Transmission Line Cables For Fm For back Up!
Have 4 Ground Rods, Ground Wire, Ground Clamps Water Clamps For back up!
Have 2 Pushup Poles with Guide wires and Supports! ( Crank Up Poles ) OR (Crank Up Tower )!
Have 4 Clamps And Mounts For Transmitters On Poles!
Have Allot Extra of Audio Cables Note: To your Needs ! Example : RCA, XLR, Mic Balance Transformer, 1/8 , 1/4 inch jack ETC.
Have 2 Compressor/Limiters With Cables to Your Needs!
Have 2 Mics, Stands, And Extra Mic Cables to Your Needs ! With Balance Transfomer If Needed !
Have 2 Small Control Boards. Like the Tascam DP-008 For Example !
Have Portable Mp3 Players Note: As many as You need!
Have 2 Weather Alert Radios!
Have Spare Power Supply's, Battery's, Inverters, ETC. And cables For Hook Up's As Many As You Need ! Spare Electrical Connectors Plus Crimpers!
Have Portable Solder Gun, Flux, Solder, Solder wick, Cleaner, Desuck Tool, With All the Nessary Tool Kit As Much as You Need !
Have Portable Propane Torch With Solder And Flux And Cleaner As Much You Will Need For quick antenna Repairs!
Have Spare Antenna Parts And Plans laminated to make new antenna Just in Case!
Have Sets Of Plans Laminated For your Systems Set up and hook ups Etc!
Just some ideas for portable set up !
There is so many ways you can do it just set it up to your needs!
Go to junk yard pick up stuff, yard sales, flea markets,military surplus stores.
Carl, some of your wind blew through North East Ohio. Here in Cuyahoga Falls (between Akron and Cleveland) there was some rain early in the evening. Later that night the winds blew through with sustained gusts around 40 mph.
A few small branches came down here and there but not much if any damage. I don't recall hearing of any power outages in our immediate area and all of my traffic signals stayed up and working. North of here, Cleveland area, had numerous reports of wide spread outages.
My station and streaming reamained online thoughout but the backup generator was gassed and ready to go.
Good to hear you check in Cuyahoga Falls, glad all your systems withstood the onslaught.
Waiting for word from Neil in Dublin and Rich in Illinois.
Besides the well publicized massive destruction in Washington Park by Chicago, there are other tornado sites that have been under reported, including Granite City, Illinois, a skip across the Mississippi from here, with demolished buildings.
One of our programmers in Chicago checked in with this message:
Hi Carl: Thanks for your concern. Our (programming) family is safe as far as I know. The tornados did their damage at least a hundred miles from Chicago and its surrounding near suburbs. It was a very ominous storm here in the city. It went from bright white (no sun) to very black in the middle of the day and the rain was falling side-ways with the wind howling at about 60 miles per hour.
to report weather wise from here. We had a little wind and rain but no damage and no loss of power. The trees around the neighborhood effectively block the wind gusts with the highest wind gust ever measured by me here being around 15 mph. Unfortunately, we are losing many of the trees to the emerald ash borer so this moderation of wind may change for the worse.
Radio related, my dipole antenna in the back woods has been up since 1988 and except for feed line water contamination there has been no mechanical or wind related damage despite the antenna ends being attached to trees. To mitigate the effects of the trees swaying with the wind the antenna ends are attached by means of pulleys and weights so the wire is under constant and controlled tension. If you use a dipole this is a good way to suspend it.
It is good that you came through your "down day" OK.
Neil
All my neighbors were without power for hours. I heard the generators running. Collected some rain to top off my reserve storage. XM still pumped throughout the woods via my yardcaster..
I love being totally off the power grid..
In the days leading up to Thanksgiving the news media was blaring about "Major Arctic Storm" which would interupt travel and close down the north-eastern states.
But as all the news reporters took time off for their holiday, I never heard any reports on the actual outcome of their predictions.
If any of our stations in the northeast still have power, can you file some reports about your Thanksgiving weather?
Thank you and the best of luck to everyone.
Much of Northeast Ohio was subject to sporadic solar bombardment and uneventful seasonal temperatures over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The abscence of howling and blowing wind driven snow was unnerving with temperatures well below 70 at 5 degrees below freezing. Winds were in excess of 0 mph at nearly 40,000 feet per hour.
Travelers were subjected to lightly falling di-hydrogen oxide crystals the day before with ankle deep accumulations likely to remain until it melts next week. This will certainly leave wet spots covering most of the area.
I can only tell you the lights are on in Cuyahoga Falls. We will survive...
Are you sure the lights are on in Cuyahoga Falls, or are those sparkles from the solar bombardment.
Weather is a very serious thing and we must obey its will.
I am indoors but the big weather eye is looking in the window.