Rapid Radios are a popular new radio being hawked as instant communication nationwide for Emergency / Survival radios . But there is a catch and could back fire big time on you.

 There the hottest new thing in the radio world Rapid Radios  they work very similar to the old Nextel Push to Talk Radios 

These are license free nationwide and at little to no cost to use. 

HOWEVER THERE IS A  BIG CATCH 

These radios depend on Cellular Towers staying operating. 

NO CELL SERVICE NO RADIO SERVICE

 They operate on the Cellular LTE Side Data Band so while they will work when regular cell service is disrupted  as long as the towers stay powered up you should be able to communicate . But what like happened down in North Carolina  this summer after the hurricane even the cell towers got taken out by the storms .

 So now your Shit Out of Luck.

The only Radios working in that case where Citizen Band , GMRS ,FRS and MURS  and Amateur Radios  . Radio to Radio which means only a few miles.

Now luckily one of the 2 meter VHF Amateur Radio Repeaters stayed up and for those lucky enough to have the right equipment to make contact to it  and license they where able to extend the range and get messages out.  As well as Amateur Operators who had normally expensive  HF Radios and appropriate  license

So before you go plunking down money for Rapid Radios thinking your covered think again.

 

If your serious about survival radios get on the numerous websites and lean about radios which will work for what you need . Dont just buy a Baofeng or other cheap radio  and think your going to be able to use it to talk to the next town over.

There is much to be learned about how two way radios work  and avoiding issues with FCC .

 

It is rare when it happens but it does happen a Gas hot water tank collapsing in on itself and can be very dangerous

 Was recently called to inspect a hot water tank for a insurance claim  and I always heard it could happen but for the first time in my 45 plus years in the field I actually got to see one .

The  tank in pictures as you can see has its pipes bent and fittings around tank are melted .

The tank actually collapsed in on it self shutting off the top vent and sending Carbon Monoxide directly into the basement.

Had the lady who owns home not heard the strange noise and gotten the strange smell checked by gas company the CO could have killed her and the tank could explode violently .

The reason this can happen is 

1# the small  air buffer tank next to hot water tank fills up not providing a buffer and building up pressure on tank

2# the high pressure reief valve failing to blowon a pressure increase from street.

3# failure to clean the dirt and crap out of bottom of tank and it builds up.

This is one lucky lady.

Contractor could have burned down building due to not wiring Industrial Heater to correct specifications

With the recent deep freeze in Pittsburgh I had a customer call me to hook up an Industrial Salamander  style Electric Heater .

He had borrowed from a contractor friend. The only problem the contractor did not have it wired up properly and was using an undersized extension cord and plug. 

The problem this 230 volt heater is 15000 watts which means it draws 62.3 amps and requires a no#6 gauge wire to it hardwired 

The contractor had it wired 1 size lower than required and the extension cord was 2 sizes too small.

The heater ran but then extension cord started heating up. when i got there I rewired the heater with proper no 6 wire straight to fuse box and wire never even got warm.

Contractor claimed that's how he bought unit new with that undersized cord. unfortunate for him the web site clearly says hardwired no 6 wire

Extreme subzero temps in North east causing strange problems to ocur like these fuses poping out of thier holders

 It was the coldest week in many decades here in Pittsburgh Region with several days of subzero temps dropping to  minus 17 below at night .

One of the strange things I had happen at an Oil Distribution Facility 

Where 480 volt 60 amp fuses started working their way out of the fuse clips which hold them because the metal had contracted from the cold 

Because the switch and outlet where not being used and electricity flowing thru it you can see how left fuse popped out and middle one is working its way loose.

No one was in plant so this is not a case of tampering and we found several other switches and fuses  doing similar .

Because the switches where mounted on the cold block walls this helped contribute to the problem because those in middle of plant had no such problem. The plant is not heated  so temps quickly drop as the sun goes down. 

I have forwarded this information to manufacture to see if anything can be done to prevent this