Travel Technology - Hurricane/earthquake natural disaster tip

Buy automobile chargers for all your devices.

At a recent meeting, we learned that many people who survived the hurricanes in Houston were unable to charge their phones, etc. for several days or longer due to power outages. Not a shocker. But the people who had car charger cables had no problems using their cellphones, blackberries, etc.

Remember just about every communication and data device you own these days will be useless once your power goes out (including internet via cable/dsl modem, TVs, etc.) So spend a few $ on ebay or amazon and stock up on chargers for each car. Be prepared. :)

Total cost wise, you might be better off getting a few of $8 AC-to-DC-cigarette-outlet-adapters, and use car charger adapters in home.

Examples: http://www.cellphone-store.com/ac-dc-universal-adapter.html
http://www.ioffer.com/i/For-Car-Power-Outlet-Adapter-Inverter-110V-AC-to-12V-DC-80410166

I get these for $5 at computer and electronic flea markets in the warmer months. They're great for travel, only need to carry the car adapter, never the 110Vac charger.

In theory you could be a 100%-all-car-charger-adapter household, but in reality this doesn't work because most devices come out-of-the-box with a 110V charger, but no ciggy-adapter charger.

Total cost wise, you might be better off getting a few of $8 AC-to-DC-cigarette-outlet-adapters, and use car charger adapters in home.


I think the point of the OP is that in a natural disaster you won't have any power at home, thus the benefit of having a car charger.

Why waste $ paying too much on eBay? Another FTer turned me onto monoprice.com a while back (via this forum, I believe). @:-) Make sure to also stock up on gasoline for the car! @:-)

You dont need to buy oodles of individual chargers. Buy a single 12vdc to 120vac inverter for $10-$20. A 75-100 watt unit should do nicely and even handle your laptop.

MisterNice

I think the point of the OP is that in a natural disaster you won't have any power at home, thus the benefit of having a car charger.

The point was don't buy 110 VAC chargers, buy car chargers use the 110 Vac to 12 Vdc converters.

Along the a similar note, has anyone ever used on of those solar power chargers for use in similar circumstances? Do they actually work, I would imagine they can't power too much?

You dont need to buy oodles of individual chargers. Buy a single 12vdc to 120vac inverter for $10-$20. A 75-100 watt unit should do nicely and even handle your laptop.
I have an inverter for exactly this reason. It's too big and bulky to use on a regular basis or keep in the vehicle, but it will be just the ticket for rechargng devices if I ever have an extended power outage at home. ^

...or live where neither earthquakes nor hurricanes are expected occurrences? :D :D :D

...or live where neither earthquakes nor hurricanes are expected occurrences? :D :D :D

I live in Maine. But the power still goes out, on occasion for days at a time.


That's why I have a generator. :)

There is a lot of great advice in this thread, and all of it is very practical and useable. I myself have a gas-powered generator which makes a lot of this more or less academic, since we just need to plug in phone chargers, etc. However, my genset won't run the central air, cable TV or (biggest gasp of all! cable internet -- that was the hardest part of Ike for us.) But yes, by all means, there are a number of options now available that people should think of in a situation like a hurricane or other natural disaster.

Inverters are good, just remember that after a couple of years they will start to decline in effectiveness. Whether you can stay top on the high-tech stuff or not, rememeber to keep batteries for your flashlights. I would also recommend some of the great buys right now on the battery operated LCD candles from places like Heartland America to maintain some basic light and a totally friend atmosphere of calm and relaxation.

Deleted duplicate - since that is too short, I'll say I screwed up, OK? Sorry.

I was at the black and decker factory outlet over the weekend and they have 12 volt to 110 volt converters for as low as like $12. One of those can power pretty much any charger you have, for cells and the like probably a half dozen at once.

An added bonus, you can put christmas lights in the car now too.

And you can plug them into AA power ports in all classes of mainline service :) They use a cigarette lighter plug.

Ok....a few other things...

a simple old telephone that will work off the phone line and does not need 110v,

a hand operated can opener ,

a campstove and a couple bottles of propane and matches/lighter

water purifying tablets,

and a battery powered radio .........

Rally

Ok....a few other things...

a simple old telephone that will work off the phone line and does not need 110v, ...as long as you have Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) and not service via VOIP, cable modem, FiOS, etc.

...as long as you have Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) and not service via VOIP, cable modem, FiOS, etc.

Even so, if you've got a POTS line, chances are you can still make emergency calls without a service plan.

Lots of Motorola, RIM Blackberrys, and cell phones from HTC uses miniUSB as chargers. If this is the case for you, I recommend buying the EarHugger PowerUp charger

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Earhugger-MP3-8370-PowerPod-Charging-System/dp/B000QTTKSS
Brookstone link: http://www.brookstone.com/sl/product/2649-powerpod-portable-cell-phone-charger-level-2.html

I initially bought this as a charger for my iPod, but I actually found it VERY useful to charge my cell phone (HTC), my bluetooth headset (Plantronics), and even my GPS (Garmin) because they all use the same miniUSB which is the default charging tip on this PowerPod. It's been so handy now I never leave home without it!

Not only does this baby allow you to charge from the car's (or the plane's) DC plug, it also has the ability to charge from a direct USB connection from your laptop, from the regular wall AC outlet, and even a standard 9V battery. Best of all, it's lightweight and small enough that you can carry with you all the time without carrying the extra weight that the other chargers have.

Plus, this company is based in Utah, so you'll be helping out an US based company instead of throwing your money at China :)

I would advise against the cheap inverters found at most retailers like Radio Shack. If you want something you can depend on, go with a Tripp Lite model (http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/product-series.cfm?txtSeriesID=320&EID=14597).

I would advise against the cheap inverters found at most retailers like Radio Shack. If you want something you can depend on, go with a Tripp Lite model (http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/product-series.cfm?txtSeriesID=320&EID=14597).

The cheapo ones work fine for cheap DVD players and cellphones since they don't suck up much juice and the technology is pretty simple.

For laptops which require more wattage one one should probably invest in decent hardware. But then a laptop won't have internet access unless you also have a wireless setup that doesn't require juice.