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Expensive readers, I’m stunned by the previous couple of years (utilizing an 8-year-old smartphone now) of how folks, usually in a decent monetary state of affairs, change their telephones inside 2-3 years, it doesn’t matter what. Behind these sensible devices lies a major quantity of know-how, and the programmed obsolescence mindset of producers works towards customers, forcing them to exchange their completely usable telephones.
That generates lots of waste!
Current advances, corresponding to quick wi-fi charging programs, are nice for eliminating the necessity for twiddling with wires and plugs that can finally fail. As a matter of truth, that is my important motive for altering my handphone within the close to future.
Digital waste is far worse than “common” or “regular” waste. The extremely poisonous chemical compounds within the batteries and the possibly dangerous results as soon as they leak into the water tables have deep results on our well being. The authorities are merely scratching the floor relating to this concern. In some Asian international locations, there are already regarding statistics on the lithium content material within the residents’ bloodstream.
In a world stripped of mobile networks, Wi-Fi, and satellite tv for pc alerts—whether or not by a photo voltaic storm, EMP assault, or catastrophic societal collapse—your smartphone may seem to be a ineffective brick.
Nevertheless, maybe one other tough state of affairs will come up first whereas we watch for that sort of situation: a battle, financial collapse, or a localized pure catastrophe.
As a middle-aged man, these pocket-sized, extremely superior computer systems and every thing they will do by no means stop to amaze me. They constituted an nearly impossible-to-imagine gadget barely 25 years in the past. This ‘thingy’ has resulted in a dream come true for many of us. I gained’t enumerate all that we are able to do with it right here; as an alternative, I’ll use this area to debate how these units will be utilized as a instrument to broaden and fortify our capabilities within the homestead or a survivor setting.
Now, let’s discover what we are able to do with our (maybe discarded) units when typical networks are gone for good, diving deep into sensible steps, instruments, and real-world examples to make sure you’re ready. This text is loaded with good info I hope you recognize!
1. Offline Navigation & Survival Mapping
The primary and doubtless one of the crucial essential capabilities, aside from calling or texting, is: Offline Navigation & Survival Mapping. As a unfavourable trait, GPS satellites should still orbit above, however with out maps or apps, you’re misplaced. Nevertheless, so long as you might have prevented it with a minimal of frequent sense, it’s straightforward to cowl this. An answer will be pre-downloading topographic maps; apps like OsmAnd or Maps.me enable offline navigation, which is the function that matches our aim right here. Storing detailed maps of your area, together with water sources, elevation adjustments, and evacuation routes. For instance, you can use it a lot quicker than a compass and map if you happen to’re not that skilled with them.
Which many people usually are not. My orientation abilities usually are not too robust, so I contemplate this a precedence.
- Celestial Navigation: Apps like SkyView (pre-downloaded) can flip your telephone right into a star compass. Align with constellations like Orion’s Belt or the North Star to seek out route. This works when you’re within the countryside and compelled to stroll at evening.
- Monitor Motion: Allow airplane mode, then use your telephone’s gyroscope and accelerometer to log routes. That is all the time helpful if you wish to have some caches out someplace. Apps like GPS Logger (Android) or MotionX GPS (iOS) are used to provide “breadcrumb” trails. Mark secure zones, contaminated areas, or useful resource caches with geotagged images. Superior.
By the best way, be sure to get a number of devices that absolutely will make your life simpler on the market: an excellent photo voltaic charger, and a energy financial institution can be needed. I’d go together with at the least one or two 40-60,000 mAh financial institution. Even a 20,000mAh energy financial institution can preserve a telephone alive for a number of days.
Relying on how tactical you need to go, getting headsets for the group is a good suggestion for future duties like scouting, or close-range communication. I personally don’t like wi-fi headsets, however there are some fashions utilized in working environments on the market that possibly any individual will like.
2. Digital Library & Emergency Information Financial institution
Books can get broken by water, or set ablaze. However your telephone? It’s a vault so long as you don’t lose it or break it. Ensure that to make use of an excellent sturdy onerous case.
An sudden use I discovered, and a fairly nice shock was that it may be used as a plant ID Database. Utilizing pre-loaded apps like PictureThis or iNaturalist to differentiate edible vegetation (wild garlic) from poisonous lookalikes (loss of life camas), this operate must be an excellent enchancment. Particularly for guys like me who can’t inform a potato from a carrot.
- Doc Scanner: {Photograph} important data (property deeds, vaccine playing cards, maps) and encrypt them in a password-protected folder utilizing apps like Cryptomator.
- Flip your telephone right into a ham radio cheat sheet. Retailer frequency lists, Morse code charts, and emergency protocols. There are lots of apps to translate Morse code these days.
3. Barter System & Native Communication Hub
That is an fascinating one; however solely usable in conditions the place there isn’t a forex or web. After the S has hit the F massive manner, all of the commerce depends on belief and record-keeping.
Barter Log: Use spreadsheet apps (like Easy Sheets) to trace transactions: “1L water = 5 bullets, 3 eggs = 1 antibiotic dose.”
Bluetooth Mesh Networking: Apps like Bridgefy or FireChat allow you to ship texts by way of Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Direct to units inside 200 meters—no mobile wanted. (Thoughts you again in 2019, Hong Kong protesters used these apps to arrange below authorities surveillance)
QR Code Foreign money: Generate offline QR codes (by way of QR Code Generator) to signify commerce credit. Scan with one other telephone’s digicam to “switch” worth.
Take away the SIM card to avoid wasting energy or put it in your new telephone, and put the “survivor’s version” telephone in a Faraday cage when not in use to dam EMP residual waves. With this, the institution of an area community is manner simpler. (I may write extra particulars about this if you happen to ask for it within the feedback!)
4. Medical Diagnostics & Emergency Care
When hospitals are overwhelmed or nonexistent, the perfect consideration we are able to get is the one we are able to discover.
- First Support Guides: Apps like First Support by Crimson Cross (pre-downloaded) present step-by-step directions for stitching wounds, treating burns, or performing CPR.
- Important Indicators Monitoring: with a $20 pulse oximeter that pairs along with your telephone (by way of Bluetooth), you might have the potential to each observe coronary heart price and blood oxygen ranges. For any personnel with medical coaching, that is invaluable info to evaluate a affected person’s situation.
- Telemedicine Cache: Retailer movies out of your favourite channels for offline playback.
5. Safety & Surveillance Software
Your units can execute a universe of functions; together with movement detection, primary evening imaginative and prescient, and lots of others.
- Movement Detection: Apps like Alfred flip previous telephones into safety cameras. Set one up at your homestead entrance and obtain alerts by way of Bluetooth.
- Evening Imaginative and prescient: Use your digicam with an IR illuminator (or a modified distant management) to see at nighttime.
- Decoy Machine: Load a dummy telephone with faux knowledge to distract thieves whereas hiding your major gadget.
6. Environmental Monitoring
Some refining for our mobiles to enhance our NOAA’s radios:
- DIY Climate Station: Use your telephone’s barometer (present in high-end fashions) to foretell storms. A sudden strain drop usually precedes extreme climate.
- Radiation Detection: Pair with a $50 Geiger counter (by way of USB OTG) to watch fallout zones.
- 7. Neighborhood Coordination & Democracy
Possibly that is an utility out of the “bizarre”; however, as I’ve by no means seen it anyplace I believed it might be a good suggestion. Anarchy thrives with out construction; and utilizing telephones to register votes with the correct apps, gives an additional layer of safety to the method.
- Blockchain Voting: Use offline apps like Horizon State to conduct safe, tamper-proof elections for neighborhood leaders.
- Useful resource Database: Create a shared spreadsheet (by way of Bluetooth) to trace meals, drugs, and instruments.
- Disaster Radio: Modify your telephone’s FM chip (with apps like NextRadio) to broadcast alerts to close by units.
What We Can Do Now
For starters, get an excellent, rugged, sturdy, heavy-duty onerous case to guard your gadget: fall safety, impacts, and so on. The usual specification utilized by the army forces is MIL-STD-810G. Get an excellent display glass protector as that is the weakest level in your gadget. You might need to get a few spares for the tactile interface, too.
- Obtain Crucial Apps: OsmAnd for offline navigation, Kiwix for offline info storage, Bridgefy to ship messages utilizing your Bluetooth interfaces inside a spread of 100 meters, and Cryptomator secures and encrypts your delicate knowledge in your cloud service.
- Encrypt & Backup: Use VeraCrypt to encrypt your knowledge drive; retailer backups on a Faraday-protected SD card. Be very cautious with this course of.
- Construct a Faraday Cage: Line a steel ammo can with foam and a few Al sheeting to protect your telephone, reminiscence SD playing cards, and thumb drives from EMPs.
- Follow Offline Abilities: Check navigation, Bluetooth messaging, and photo voltaic charging earlier than catastrophe strikes.
Your smartphone isn’t only a instrument—it’s an ideal improvement of human ingenuity. Prep it now, give it a second life. There’s no want to attend for the grid to fall.
- Possibly you need to use some exterior lenses, to make use of them for surveillance actions.
- Broad-angle, macro, or telephoto lenses to degree up your smartphone photographs. How a few good gadget to reinforce the marksman’s surveillance spotter area of view?
What do you assume?
Making essentially the most out of each single merchandise is a trait that I consider each prepper ought to have. Gladly, new applied sciences give us instruments that we are able to broaden past the boundaries we by no means thought attainable.
Do you employ an outdated telephone or another related gadget for yet one more function?
Tell us within the feedback and shock us!
Thanks for studying, and keep in mind, your sponsors assist quite a bit to maintain us going!
Keep secure, and preserve tuned,
J.
About Jose
Jose is an higher center class skilled. He’s a former employee of the oil state firm with a Bachelor’s diploma from probably the greatest nationwide Universities. He has an previous however in fine condition SUV, an excellent 150 sq. meters home in a pleasant neighborhood, in a small however (previously) affluent metropolis with two center measurement malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival tales from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. Jose and his youthful child are at present again in Venezuela, after the intention of establishing a brand new life abroad didn’t go effectively. The SARSCOV2 re-shaped the labor market and South American economic system so he determined to present it a attempt to homestead within the mountains, and make a dwelling as greatest as attainable. However this time in his personal land, and surrounded by household, mates and acquaintances, with all of the gear and tools collected, because the preliminary plan was.
Comply with Jose on YouTube and acquire entry to his unique content material on Patreon. Donations: paypal.me/JoseM151
