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  • 8 minute read
AAll Articles

Off-Grid Comms: Text and GPS via Smartphone with goTenna

Smartphones can now be found just about everywhere on the planet. It’s no exaggeration to say that these incredible devices have changed everything, especially how we communicate. As device functionality and cell service reliability have increased, so has our dependence on this technology. But what happens when there’s no service?

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  • 5 minute read
AAll Articles

Against All Odds: Garmin Fenix 3 ABC/GPS Watch

For some time, I have either had to put up with a watch that ran slow, or use or make watch bands that separate the watch from my wrist. But with the invention of ABC watches (Altimeter, Barometer, Compass), I started taking a more serious look at digital watches. I didn’t like the watch function being digital any more than I ever had, but the other functionality definitely made up for it.
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  • 5 minute read
AAll Articles

Against All Odds: Etón FR-300 Emergency Radio

About 15 years ago, we were without power for ten days when a 220-inch snowfall snapped pine trees and took down power lines throughout Northern Alabama. I realize that a major snowfall doesn’t seem like much to all of you who live up North, but down South we don’t have the equipment to deal with it, since snowstorms in these parts are a rare event.
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  • 7 minute read
AAll Articles

Against All Odds: Signaling & Self-Rescue

Maybe it’s just the media giving more airtime to stories about human tragedy, but this past year seems to have had more than its fair share of people getting lost and dying in the wilds. While some of these events had heroic efforts at self-rescue, others showed signs of the victim just giving up and dying without a fight.