TO:    ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
       ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
FROM:  KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
       WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED

WOOD COUNTY BULLETIN NR 15.06          DATE: February 8, 2015
SUBJECT: CHEAP AND EASY EMERGENCY KIT

A cheap and easy emergency kit can be put together with some plumbing material.  The plumbing material is nothing more than a piece of plastic pipe, a cap to fit on one end, and a threaded cap on the other.  How big a pipe you need depends on how much emergency material you want to keep handy.  Using plumbing pipe will keep your emergency supplies dry, even if is dropped in water.  The pipe should even float.

Before you start to build your emergency kit, think about what you want to put into it.  When you sit down and start to think what you might need in an emergency, your list will grow pretty fast.  To start with, you should have a flashlight and batteries for it.  How about matches or a lighter to start a fire.  Then there is rope and tape.  It might be nice to have a sewing kit and a whistle.

As communicators you will think about a radio.  It doesn't need to be an Amateur radio, but if you have an extra one, it wouldn't hurt to put it in there, but just remember, it should be one that will operate on non-rechargeable batteries.  The radio could also be a CB radio or a Family Service Radio (FRS), just don't forget to have batteries, and change them out from time- to-time, to keep them fresh.

Now that you are thinking about it, start your list and buy the material for you kit.  It doesn't mean you can have only one kit.  Maybe you might want to have two or three; to make sure you can have what you need in a emergency.  You can also store some kind of food, you might get hungry.

(Idea for this bulletin from Joe Hickman KD8WHO

Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV