Is Satellite Communication An Alternative In a Grid-Down Crisis?

 This is an excerpt from my book Emergency Preparedness and Off-Grid Communication.

One option for communication when internet and cellular services are not available is a device that connects to a satellite network. A personal locator beacon (PLB) is a satellite-linked device that, when activated, sends a distress signal to nearby search and rescue units. Typically used for mountaineering, they can be used in other emergencies, but caution should be exercised. PLBs should only be activated in an actual emergency.

For years, two-way satellite communication required buying a phone and paying for a monthly data plan. Satellite phones and data plans can be cost-prohibitive. In 2022, top-tier Apple iPhones offered satellite communication for emergencies. The service is not available for messaging friends and family. It only works if your phone does not have wireless or cellular service. It allows you to send and receive text messages with emergency services near you. When used with an app, it can send your location to people in your emergency contact list.

In 2023, Qualcomm announced that it would partner with Iridium to offer Android phones that connect to a satellite network to provide similar services. Samsung announced it will soon offer phones with satellite connectivity. So far, phone manufacturers are only aiming to provide connection to emergency services. Off-grid communication with friends and family is not an option.

Satellite communication with friends and family via smartphone is available with a device that connects to a satellite network. These devices are sold by Zoleo, Bivy Stick, Garmin, and other manufacturers. They connect to a smartphone or tablet by Bluetooth and a mobile app. The communicator sends text or email messages composed on the app over a satellite network.

The Zoleo communicator allows text or email messages to be sent to any email address or phone number that has service, even if the receiving party is not on the Zoleo network. When a message is sent, the device will first try to send it over a cellular or wireless network. If one is not available, it will be sent over the satellite network. Since charges are incurred for each message sent, this reduces monthly costs. Zoleo’s monthly plans start at $20 per month. Once a user has had a paid monthly plan for three months, the plan can be paused indefinitely for $4 per month and restarted at any time.

It may sound like a bomb-proof solution, but there may be a fly in the ointment. Satellite communicators receive messages from a user who may not have internet or cellular access. The communicator sends a signal directly to a satellite. So far, so good. If the entire message chain were space-based, there would be no problem during a terrestrial internet disruption. But if, at any point, the message must go through a ground-based internet gateway, an internet outage that affects that gateway would render this option unusable. I spoke with a Zoleo technical support assistant who confirmed their system does use ground-based servers to handle messaging traffic. The assistant could not state confidently that their service would be available during a widespread internet outage. The availability of satellite service would seem to depend on how widespread the internet outage is. If traffic from an affected area could be rerouted to an unaffected area, messages may go through. When cellular carriers are not able to provide service, satellite communicators are a good alternative, but it is unclear just how reliable they would be during a widespread internet outage.

Satellite Internet

Many people have switched to satellite internet service providers like Starlink. Some believe that satellite internet service will be available when other internet providers don’t have service. As popular as this idea is, it has a major flaw. Although the end user receives their internet data via satellite, that data passes through the same ground-based servers used by all internet providers. Until satellite internet providers host their own servers in space, their services will be susceptible to the same disruptions as other providers.

One issue with satellite, cellular, and internet services is that the end user doesn’t control the network. While it’s convenient to use a communication network someone else maintains, the availability of service is completely dependent on others. In a crisis where communication networks are not available, it's preferable to have equipment that you control. That is where our discussion turns to the use of radios. With two-way radio, the end user controls the network.

Listening for Information During a Grid-Down Crisis

 This is an excerpt from my book Emergency Preparedness and Off-Grid Communication.

In a crisis, it’s essential to have information. When internet and cell phone services are unavailable, we must find alternate ways of gathering it. We can do that by listening to public broadcasts and emergency responder radio traffic.

AM and FM Radio

Some AM and FM radio stations have emergency backup power. During a crisis where cellular or internet service is not available, these stations should be able to provide information about the severity and duration of a crisis. Metropolitan areas typically have stations that are designated as emergency broadcast stations that provide information during a crisis. It would be wise to find out in advance which stations near you are designated as emergency broadcast stations. Write down their frequencies and keep them with other important information. Most vehicles have AM and FM radios, though some newer models may not have AM radio service. TIP: Many handheld radios designed for use by amateur radio operators, such as the Baofeng UV-5R, can receive FM broadcast stations.

Scanners

A scanner is type of radio that can be used to listen to law enforcement, fire, and emergency service dispatchers and responders. Scanners do not transmit signals. Whether a scanner will receive radio traffic in your area depends on the type of radios used by public safety agencies. Some public agencies use radios that can be heard with a scanner, but many have switched to encrypted radios. Traffic on these radios cannot be scanned. Radio traffic that is encoded, but not encrypted can be heard with a scanner capable of decoding the signals. Before purchasing a scanner, find out what type of radios are used by the agencies in your area whose traffic you want to listen to. You should also decide whether you want to transmit messages in a crisis. Some handheld radio transmitters also have scanning capabilities. You could scan local emergency traffic and transmit using a single radio. Prices for handheld scanners begin at $25. Models capable of scanning encoded radio traffic can cost as much as $650.

Weather Broadcasts

In the U.S., you can listen to NOAA weather broadcasts with a radio capable of receiving one of seven channels within the frequency range of 162.400 through 162.550 MHz, collectively known as the weather band. The frequencies are 162.400 MHz, 162.425 MHz, 162.450 MHz, 162.475 MHz, 162.500 MHz, 162.525 MHz, and 162.550 MHz.

Shortwave Listening

Hundreds of radio stations across the globe broadcast news, weather, and entertainment by transmitting signals that skip off the atmosphere, which are received by listeners thousands of miles away. (We will discuss this phenomenon in more detail in later chapters.) Many of these stations will be on the air during a grid-down emergency. You can stay abreast of current events if you have a shortwave radio capable of receiving these transmissions. Shortwave radios are not capable of transmitting voice messages, but they can receive them.

An inexpensive multi-band radio can receive transmissions from local AM and FM broadcast stations, weather channels, and shortwave stations. A radio requires a power source, and the usual power supply may not be available in an emergency. Kaito’s Voyager line of radios can be powered by a solar panel, hand crank, a home power outlet, and batteries. Some models come with a USB charger and 12-volt adapter.

C. Crane and Tecsun make more sophisticated shortwave listening radios that offer a broader range of frequencies and modes, such as single sideband, which amateur radio operators commonly use. For optimum listening, a long wire can be attached to the standard antenna of any radio. Some radios have an accessory port where an extension antenna can be connected.

A learning curve must be negotiated if one hopes to become adept at shortwave listening (SWL). It’s not as simple as turning your radio on. You must know what frequencies carry the information you need and when certain stations are on the air. That takes research and practice. Operating a radio is a diminishable skill. Over time, we tend to forget how to operate equipment. Wise preppers exercise survival skills regularly, and radio is no exception. If you want to be proficient in an emergency, practice using your radio at least once a month.

If you’d like to learn more about shortwave listening, check out the website swling.com. It has information about how to use a shortwave radio and program schedules.

How the Soul is Wounded and How It Is Healed

 This is an excerpt from my book Emotional Healing Made Simple.

At conception, God places a spirit from heaven inside a fertilized egg, and a soul is formed. When the soul is created, it is crafted in perfection. It is unblemished, and in a sense, it is like a clean slate—waiting to be written upon by the world. Every interaction with another spirit or soul leaves an impression on us. Our soul is shaped by the interactions we have. Every video we watch, each interaction we have with a coworker, all our demonic dreams, and every encounter with God impacts the person we are becoming. Positive influences cause our souls to prosper. Negative influences inflict damage. The cumulative impacts and effects upon our soul over a lifetime mold and shape us into who and what we are, for better or worse.

The person we are today is largely a product of our experiences—that and the DNA from which we were created. The soul has the capacity of free choice. The ability of the soul to direct itself cannot be overridden by any living being without the soul’s consent, and the will of God does not negate its choices. The soul can choose whether to love or to hate, to curse or bless, and to accept or reject all things in creation. The will of the soul—and the choices it makes—form the personality of an individual. The capacity to develop a unique personality based on collective choices and experiences is what the soul does. It creates the personality.

To explain the mechanism of emotional trauma, I’d like to illustrate how physical trauma damages the physical human body. When the body suffers physical trauma, several actions occur. If, for example, the trauma is a knife wound, the blood vessels damaged by the knife edge will bleed. Sensory nerves send electrical impulses to the brain that are interpreted as pain. If the wound is not cleaned, other living beings, such as bacteria, can inhabit the wound, and it may become infected. If the infection spreads, it may cause sepsis and affect the entire body. Physical trauma can be healed with the use of a cleansing agent, antibiotics, and proper wound care.

Similarly, the soul can be wounded by trauma. Since the soul is the place where emotions are processed, the trauma suffered by the soul is not physical but emotional. Just as physical trauma can involve burns, electrical shock, and blunt trauma, the soul can be wounded in various ways. Verbal abuse is perhaps the most common cause of emotional trauma. Physical and sexual abuse and abandonment all cause emotional wounds as well.

Emotional trauma changes us in at least two distinct ways. First, it affects the way in which we interact with others. If one has had traumatic experiences with law enforcement officers, for example, they are likely to be distrustful of the police. If one has been abused by their father, they may resist the claim that God the Father can be trusted. Emotional trauma also changes us physically.

In the same way that bacteria can inhabit a physical wound if it is not properly cared for, evil spirits can inhabit soul wounds. Just as bacterial infection can cause sickness affecting the entire body, demons can cause ailments that affect the physical body. Many diseases and chronic pain syndromes are manifestations of demons that are attached to emotional wounds of the soul. The degree to which the soul and body are affected is determined by the severity of emotional trauma and the particular types of demons involved.

If we have physical or emotional problems presently, they may be the result of events that happened in our past. If we want to change our present behavior and if we’re going to live in good physical health, we must change the way emotional trauma from the past affects us.

The healing of emotional trauma is poorly understood among believers, perhaps because it is not clearly demonstrated in the Bible. You can read through the New Testament gospels and find demonstrations of physical healing, miracles, and deliverance from evil spirits, but that is not so for emotional healing. However, the Bible does address the subject.

The book of Isaiah revealed much about the ministry of the Messiah hundreds of years in advance. Consider the following passage where Jesus taught in the synagogue:

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

LUKE. 4:16-21

Jesus fulfilled the long-awaited prophecy of the Messiah. One segment of the prophecy says: “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted.” The Hebrew word for brokenhearted, “sabar” (Strong’s #H7665), means to break in pieces. Jesus came to heal anyone whose heart (or soul) had been shattered into pieces. How is a soul shattered into pieces? Emotional trauma causes wounds to the soul. The parts of a wounded soul are the broken or shattered pieces referenced in this verse. Jesus puts the broken parts of the soul back together through the process of healing and integration. (Later chapters will cover in greater detail how these parts of the soul are created and how they are healed.)

Now, consider this prophecy about the Messiah:

He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

ISA. 53:3-5

In this passage, a prophecy is given that the torture of the Messiah (Jesus) would provide a way for us to be healed. This idea is usually applied to physical healing, but the prophet indicated that it applied to emotional healing as well. He wrote: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” Grief and sorrow are painful emotions caused by trauma. If Jesus has borne these negative emotions for us, we no longer need to bear them. We can literally give our negative emotions to Him.