September is National Preparedness Month. It’s a month dedicated to educating people on the importance of have back up plans and emergency supplies on hand in the event of a natural or man-made catastrophe.
Sometimes things hit without warning – tornadoes, fires, earthquakes… It’s important that you be prepared 24/7.
Here in New York when people hear that a blizzard is coming they stock up on bread, milk and cereal. That always made me laugh. The most you’ll be stuck at home is for a day or two but some people treat upcoming blizzards as the apocalypse.
The things you really need to stock up on are non-perishable foods, water, batteries, pet supplies, diapers, medications and other things that will help sustain your family for a few days (if not longer).
If you are held up in your home for a few days without power, how would you know what was going on in the “outside world?” One way is having a emergency radio. The new Motorola TALKABOUT T480 would be a great choice. It’s more than just an emergency radio.
The latest Motorola TALKABOUT T480 helps families stay connected when the unexpected hits. It comes with a wall/desk stand accessory, so can be used as a traditional weather alert radio or as a two-way radio. The wall, desk stand allows it to remain fully charged at all times, so users don’t have to worry about battery drain. And, still receive NOAA weather alerts automatically. There is a flashlight that also automatically turns on when there is a power outage. And the T480, features an emergency alert button, safety whistle belt clip, NOAA weather channels for continuous updates and alerts, an FM Radio and up to 35-mile range. The color is white/red just like the American Red Cross colors. Families can take them on the road, to the park, camping, etc. and still stay connected to changing weather conditions. Plus in the event of a power outage when cell phones are down, two-way radios are an important and much needed communication tool.
We were sent a set of these radios to review. THANKFULLY we did not need to put them to the test (meaning there were no emergencies). I did play around with them a bit to familiarize myself with how they work.
One of the best things about this emergency radio is that it’s always on and charging. It’s too late to charge something when the power goes out unless you have a portable charger (in our home the portable chargers almost always need charging themselves).
I also like that it serves as a flashlight. When the power goes out it’s hard to find our way to the kitchen cabinet where we keep the flashlights. We can however easily make our way to the desk from every room. It’s not a strong flashlight, but it gets the job done. It is bright enough to help us manuevor to the kitchen cabinet to pull out the other flashlights.
This emergency radio is compact in size so it doesn’t take up much space on your desk or table top. It’s about the size of a regular walkie-talkie. The base that it sits in is small too.
We received two of these emergency devices. We have one at home and my husband has the other at work. My husband works about 24 miles from home. The two-way can work up to 35 miles, depending on a few conditions. Sadly, the two-way doesn’t work between home and his job. In all fairness the signal has to go through the mountainous Bear Mountain State Park. I think that has a lot to do with it. You cannot even get a cellphone signal in parks of the park (on the Palisades Parkway). I honestly didn’t expect it to work because of this reason and I was right.
My husband still keeps the other one at work so that he can hear weather reports from NOA. That way he can leave for home before it’s too late. He also likes having the flashlight option.
The walkie-talkies can pick up other signals. In the event you are lost in the woods you could use them to try and pick up signals from others using walkie-talkies.
Speaking of being lost in the woods, something like this is a must have for people who like to camp and hike in the woods. You should always have an emergency radio to listen to weather conditions, as well as have a way to reach others in case of an emergency.
With this being National Emergency Preparedness Month I would encourage readers to make a game plan on what you and your family should do in the event of a disaster or natural catastrophe, as well as put together and emergency kit (food, water, first aid…). Consider the Motorola TALKABOUT T480 too.
For more information about the Motorola TALKABOUT T480 visit the Motorola website. The product retails for $69.00 per radio.
You can also check them out on Facebook.
Do you have an emergency plan AND kit for yourself and/or your family?
What do you think about the Motorola TALKABOUT T480?
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.