I saw a commercial on the weather channel just now that was advertising A-pack ready meals. It stated:The government and the American Red Cross urge every family to be prepared to care for themselves for the first 72 hours after a natural disaster or emergency situation
That’s was a first for me, has anyone seen anymore commercials like that? If TPTB can’t push the public in the right direction maybe private companies will be the ones to advise/advertise to the public!
I saw the commercial this morning and I was really disappointed. It gives people the false concept that 3 days of emergency food rations is all they need to prepare for a disaster. No mention of water, medical supplies, flashlight and radio, etc.
Ouch, what an oversight! At least the suggestion of preparing is there, but certainly misleading. Maybe you saw the food one and they have others that will address water or medicines, etc. I haven’t seen one on their channel yet.
Yeah, and at $59.95 plus S&H I thought it was awfull high. I think I could feed my family for a week on that if I had to. They include a beverage mix but no water, I sure hope the outside of the box tells people to store water.
silversage & Hillbilly Bill, did either of you happen to catch the name of the advertser? I’d like to check out whether they have a website…I’ll go check Weather Channel and Red Cross sites now…
Amazon.com has “aPack Self-Heating Emergency MRE Meals (12 Pack)” for $85.00 here.
I don’t know how to make a link, it’s www.readymeal.com
The Weather Chamnnel was not involved except as a medium for the commercial. I thought the price was steep also for only 12 meals.
The Weather Chamnnel was not involved except as a medium
HBB --- I figured the same, but some TV websites will slap the advertisers name on their site for a few days in case folks saw a commerical that they actually liked…but, alas, not in this case. Nothing on either site…
Thanks, silversage. maybe private companies will be the ones to advise/advertise to the public. You’re right, but at what price? Seems there are a lot of companies out there, preying on BF fears, just like they do in Fla. during ‘cane season…
They DO include saltwater to activate the heater element in the food packs. No potable water, though, as you stated.
With GOOD information, a person could put that $60 to much better use.
I think it’s a good start…if more people just thought about getting a 72 hr supply, it could be easier to eventually accept the need for say a week’s worth, then 2 weeks etc..
It took me about 6 years to get together a 72-hour supply. That’s after 6 years of THINKING it would be a good idea but just never getting around to doing it. Three weeks later, it was a 2 week supply, and 3 months later, it is almost a 3 month+ supply (opf most things). Once you get started thinking 6 weeks it is just as easy to go to 3 months or more after all….
Where I live, hurricanes happen. It only took me one to learn to start prepping.
Average Concerned Mom, I did exactly the same thing, adding on little by little for longer length of time. And I’m constantly changing my packs so that I replace one item that I started out with, with something more durable or more efficient when I can afford it. One thing I want to add in place of the underwear I have in ours is some of the travel underwear you see in catalogs — extremely lightweight, no bulk, etc. I’ve just about completed my MRE’s — I realized I wasn’t adding in enough fruit! I used HeaterMeals back during Y2k, for practice & they were very good — I think some truckers use them a lot.
I’ve also seen magazine ads for a “Red Cross” emergency radio. The usual emergency set up with a dynamo. It had the Red Cross logo on it. I thought it was a little pricey but I cannot remember what the cost was on it.
Hey if the Red Cross can sell this stuff and make money that they put back into their relief efforts - more power to them!
I bought one of the Red Cross emergency radios. They have 2 types. One has local weather and radio stations, the other— the one I got— has radio and broad ban. The review for it on Amazon said the reception is not that great, but mine is very clear. The one I got is also water resistant , has a power cord, works off of batteries or hand crank. It also has a built in flashlight. Not real bright, but o.k. It is in my preps and I am very happy with it. I got a spcial price. I think it was $59.00 for the model I got.
I don’t own own yet but this model comes recommended by radio enthusiasts. I have a weather radio I’ve owned for 25 years that I got at Radio Schlock.
Melanie —
« grin »
Melanie
I considered that one, but it does not come with an ac adapter, is not weather resistant (which might make it more sturdy as well) and I cannot recieve local t.v. channels anyway and the regular radio stations would be off air in the worst case so the broad band would be more useful. Just the ability to recharge the battery with the ac adapter and being able to hear the world news when local sations are off air is well worth the extra $10.
I found the Grundig version (same manufacturer) in perfect condition in a salvage store for $20/each. So, I bought ten of them. That put quite a dent in my Christmas shopping list. I remain hopeful that I’ll need to distribute them before the holidays.
Dang fatigue induced writing errors!!! Let’s try, “I remain hopeful that I’ll NOT need to distribute them before the holidays.”
The radio guys have their favorites. I’m sticking with my Radio Schlock thingie from the ‘80′s.
While it wasn’t the weather channel, our local Visiting Nurse Association had a lunch and dinner to introduce the bug out bag, our term not theirs. Not much attendence, and basically a nurse unpacked a duffel bag, to show what they feel is needed in case you need to leave home and go to a shelter or evacuate quickly. Just basic things, as we all have discussed in the bug out threads. I think with all the weather changes, and even hurricanes considered in the North East, they realize that the people need to be educated in small doses to the possibilities of disaster in even disaster free areas.
The Red Cross radio is an Eton/Grundig and sells at Radio Shack for ten dollar more than the equivelnt Eton branded (also sold at Radio Shack). The profits (or % of) are supposed to go to relief efforts. Perhaps they do something similar to public broadcasting. Donate $500 and get free emergency radio. $!,000 and get a BOB etc.
Melanie- I prefer only the latest in radios for my emergency kit. Here is a photo of my arsenal, ready to go:
Eccles – at 17:27 --- I can only hope that the old…er, sorry! I mean NEW Dial-A-Magic sitting on top is encased in true, solid cherry wood, and not some knock-off veneer! :-)
Eccles – at 17:27 : I presume you are familiar with the adage that, if it doesn’t glow in the dark, it is not a real radio.
Eccles,
I grew up with the one in the front right. My dad was a radio announcer and I listened to him on that thing.
Bill- Actually, since about the beginning of consumer radio in 1922, the cases have been veneered. Hardly ever a solid wood case, even way back then.
Anon- An old adage, but one I still believe in and follow. (Remind me to tell you of the time when I and another guy got one of the first 2708 EEPROM chips off the line, and knew we were in trouble when it lit up internally like a light bulb.)
Bump
I was playing with an Eton crank radio at circuit city tonight. It seemed to work fine. Especially for AM, I could listen to the Cubs game! They have FR200s and the FR300s which gets tv channels also. Any opinions? I read the reviews on amazon, not sure which way to go here either one didn’t seem great. I would like one that works. That’s the only criteria I got. Anyone, anyone…
I got one of those radios for Christmas and we play around with it on occassion. It picks up SW radio signals pretty well. I like it. Anyone else?
This is the radio I got a couple of years ago
The sound is very clear, probably the best small radio I’ve owned. It doesn’t come with an ac charger, you have to buy that seperate, also the shortwave antenna. It runs for about 40 hours on a fully charged battery. About 60 cranks will get you one hour playing time. I have not tried out the solar charge yet. I love this one! Better than the Grundig I got years ago.
clv – at 12:18
I have one of these which I bought over ten years ago and I love it. It’s now a bit frayed looking, the antenna broke off several years ago, but I use the solar power option daily outside and it even picks up well w/o the antenna.
I also have the Eton (FR300?) wind-up with the cell-phone charger, tv stations, SW, Am/FM, light, siren,. I bought it at L.L.Beans. This I’ve used inside and have found it dependable. It’s $49.00 there. >>> http://tinyurl.com/pa8zw
bird dog, LL Bean site says that is no longer available
I found it at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/pnfty
It looks cool!, but got a couple of not so good reviews there I like the Freeplay for the shortwave, which the FR300 doesn’t have
Closed to maintain Forum speed.
