In early September of 2026 I was on the island of Kauai. There was a category 2 hurricane that was expected to come within 150 miles of its coast. The hurricane came within 75 miles of the coast and knocked out power for the entire Island. I was staying in Princeville, which is the North Shore and the farthest point from where the hurricane struck. We were without electricity for the rest of the time I was there.
After a day, the power in our cell phones was getting low. There was no power in the condo I was staying at so I figured I could go to the car and charge it from there. The car I had would only power the cell phone if the car engine was on. That was not a problem the first day. So, if the car ran low of gas, I could go to the gas station and fill it up. Unfortunately, that was not possible because the Gas Pumps run on electricity and there was no power on the North Shore. Luckily, I left the Island before gasoline became an issue for me.
Without power, you no longer have television so you cannot see the news and know what’s happening. Without power you have no Wi-Fi in the house so you could not use Hotspots or radios that depend on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Without power you would lose your cell phone coverage soon. It is true that many of the Cell Towers have backups, but those towers would probably go dark after a few days unless they were backed up by solar cells and batteries. If the hurricane was much stronger it would probably blow down the cell phone antennas. Without power you have no hot water because many of the newer hot water heaters depend on a spark to ignite the gas that heats the water.
This hurricane experience let me see things in a new light. The first thing is you need electricity to lead a normal life. The second thing is you need to communicate with people in your area to find out what is happening. Almost all the stores on the Island were closed after the hurricane. I found out that there was a market about 20 miles away that was open, but you needed a flashlight to see and they only accepted cash. There was another market closer to me that would only let in about 10 people at a time, but they had light and they accepted credit cards. The only way I was able to find out about those two stores was because I still had gas in my car and was able to visit them. Luckily, most of the roads were open so I was able to drive there but if it wasn’t, I would want to find out from others what our options were.
I had a cell phone so I could call home 3000 miles away, but what could those people do for me. If I had a satellite phone, I could also call home but again, what would it do for me. If I had a Wi-Fi phone, I would not be able to do anything. What is needed is a way to communicate with people on the Island who you do not even know exist.
In the larger scheme of things, this hurricane was quite mild. What would happen if it was a category 4 hurricane, a major earthquake, or a terrorist attack on our infrastructure. In that case we would not have power for weeks or even months. We might also lose our water and gas.
This is where you need to think like a prepper. You need a solar system with battery backup for power, you need a way of generating water from the air, and you need a supply of food. You should have a way of cooking using electricity as the gas appliances might not have any supply of gas. How much you spend depends on how much you believe that could happen to you and how much money you have available.
Once you have covered the basics, you need a way to communicate with the people in your area. Because you do not know the people, you need a way to find them. The radio should have the following features.
A database of all the known amateur repeaters in the world.
A way of scanning a set of frequencies and if someone is transmitting, the radio should store that information so you can use it later.
A way of editing an Analog or Digital channel without a computer.
A way of encrypting your voice with military grade encryption so you can have a private conversation if necessary.
A way of determining the characteristics of an unknown channel so you can communicate with that person.
A way of telling a person your exact GPS coordinates so you can find them or they can find you.
Why would you want to speak to strangers? Maybe they can tell you if there are any sources of food you can obtain. Maybe they can tell you if there are any gas stations available. Maybe you just want to speak to someone.
The CS7000 M17 handheld radio and the CS800D PLUS mobile radio fits those needs.