One of the first things that happened on September 11th was cell phone service going out.   In a real emergency you have to have the mindset that you might not be able to use it, so many people depend on their cell phones, but in any major event, phone lines will be over loaded and if you are lucky, you might be able to use it for texting but that’s about it.    Having a Police scanner might also be something worth while so at the very least you will still have some idea what is going on your local community but keeping a CB radio or a couple Motorola radios around for communicating in your neighborhood.   There are large networks of people still  using these and the ranges can vary so look up the reviews on realistic ranges before purchasing, also be real careful about not using Marine frequency radios on land.    At the very least you can use them to listen and communicate with others by relaying info.

There is a lot for even us to learn about compatibility between various headsets and I would highly recommend using headsets because it’s much easier to operate at lower volumes which can reduce energy drains.  Many of the Motorola Radios we sell can be used with batteries and rechargeable batteries and I have personally used these just to get accurate NOAA weather reports whenever hurricanes hit the region and we lost power.  Just knowing when and were the bulk of a storm is hitting and estimating when it will pass over can be comforting.   There are several radio pouches we sell that can be used on Molle or belts so that is something else worth considering.