I have been rethinking a lot of things in the bug out bag because of the hours Im working at night because of the time it gives to think when I'm locked into a room to work on things for my job . One of the guys I work with has a samsung mega .6.3"inch screen phone with two large g,b. s.d. Card installed in the phone unit along with extra s.d. Cards in the bag filled with diff things that he thinks he might needed If he needs to leave the area on foot In his bag he has a solar charger set up to charge the phone along with with extra battery for the phone to replace the other battery when it runs down with a fresh one It seams to me that one of the so called benefits of having the android platform is the function of there phone system is the fact that you can use s.d.cards in the unit and change them out as it needed for use in a case of shirt has hit the fan So what are your thoughts on using a smart phone preloaded with extras on the s.d. Card and packed away for use as it needed
Are you talking about using it for communication/internet or just using it as a small handheld computer for accessing offline content such as "how-to" stuff? I would be a little wary about having something the government can track me with. Will those things work at all without a Simm card?
I have an older smartphone with a short battery life (why it was retired) but has full function, except as a cell phone(removed from service) it works just fine as a reader, phone number storage, info storage, medical book, photo storage, and will recharge as needed from solar charger or backup USB battery. Still has all stored maps, and waypoints, and will still work off of WiFi for internet access. Currently has four books on audio/ SD card. And lots of spare SD cards. So yes, viable concept.
It more of something has happen and you have to get out of town or there is a fire in the area or many other things that can happen .my point is something that has preloaded maps and other point of reference on them could be a great tool in the future .plus with most of the samsung phones you can pull the battery out of it when not in use . My iPhone I have to leave in a locker when we are working on the projects at work when we are in the I.t.rooms of work .
Yep, many jobs we do, have camera restrictions, and cell phones must be turned off or left in the trucks.
Showing my paranoia with this but in a real bug out I would not have one near me or allow one in the area. If one did want "someone" to know your location then cut one on and do some talking/texting--and see how long it takes for visitors to arrive. Locations can work both ways.
The Radio Portion of the Cellular Unit (for the iPhones/iPads/iTouchs) can be dePowered, which also, dePowers the GPS chip, as well. If one uses the AirPlane Mode Switch, this also dePowers both WiFi and BlueTooth as well. This drops ALL RF Emissions from the device, except the normal Digital Processing Hash coming from the digital circuitry, CPU and Screen Drivers) which have very limited Range, due to Frequencies, and Power involved... ..... YMMV.....
Why not print out a map? I wouldn't trust technology in case of emergency nor would I rely on it. I think having a topo map would be the safest. I personally think relying on a modern convenience is a mistake.
We have maps of many counties surrounding us and state road maps of many states also. We have topos of most counties nearby and several from state/national areas. Long walks with your "eyes open" in your local area are important for several reasons.
Good thought, @Motomom34 , but anything on a map can be read by anyone who has taken it from you. (Theft/force) cellphones at least have pass code / diagram screen locks. I could use both, but mark nothing on a map that could be understood by someone else.
That is true. Due to being an anti-cellphone, hand held device person I never thought of the pass code/locking feature.
Also you can put it into a so called emp bag and it will not be able to send or get any signals from the nearest tower etc
Yes, in iPhones, AirPlane Mode kills the Cellular Chipset, which DOES include the GPS function, as it is built into the cellular chipset.
Maybe I'm just a luddite or something. I've got a prepaid cell phone to make calls, nothing else, no camera, no gps, no bluetooth. It just makes calls. And it's hardly ever on/used. And, when it runs out of minutes .. I might just pitch it (or take it to the local greyhound station and accidentally lose it with a few minutes on it) Smartphones .. unless there is some must have capability that i can't get with laptop, free McDonalds wifi (or any other source) and an external gps reciever .. then I'm really not going to go there.
I've been driving trucks long-haul for about 10 years. I don't use a GPS and I never mark anything on maps. If I marked stuff in my road atlas, by now it would be covered with so many marks it would be unreadable. (Especially my Chicago low clearance map which is non-laminated paper.) But anyone who got a hold of my 2005 or 2008 road atlases could quickly figure out that I run a lot of miles in Iowa, Illinois & Indiana because those pages are worn and Iowa is halfway fallen out of the spiral binding. That's not the case with my 2010 atlas though, since by now I've got just about the whole state memorized. For local directions I just write them on the inside of the windshield with a dry-erase marker.
