Kind of a screwy idea but what do you think of incorporating a Kindle as a survival item? I got one for Christmas this year and am realizing the benefits.
The Kindle is small, flat, weighs almost nothing and can hold 3,000 books. The battery lasts for a month or two, and with a good quality solar charger, could go on indefinitely.
You can purchase almost all of the top survival books via the Kindle and can upload and view pdf files so you could create topo maps, though they would be in B&W. The psychological value of having one would be good too, having classic novels or other fiction books, games to play, and a host of other books that could possibly help in a long term situation (cookbooks and gardening books come to mind).
The only drawbacks I can see is that the screen isn’t lit, so some type of light would be needed to view in the dark and that no one seems to make a quality, rugged case for them yet.
I got a Kindle for Christmas as well. Ive down loaded virtually everything survival and military Amazon has to offer onto the kindle. I also have CD’s with the same stuff Ive down loaded as back up.
I like the kindle yet have grave concerns regarding re-charging it and durability in a rough situation. FYI I had to replace my Kindle a week ago after it started to flake out on me. No issues with the new one yet.
Great way to store tons of data and not have to store the hard bound books. Hope you like yours aswell.
Dirk
Yes, durability is a serious concern as I see it. Good luck so far with mine (8 months) which included a 3 day backpacking trip. There also is the “EMP” issue.
I use my kindle for this as well. Also have a portable solar charger for it.
The battery life on the Black and White version is quite long, compared to the new color version.
Kindles (the B&W versions at least) are very fragile. Break-em-by-setting-a-cup-of-coffee-down-on-them-accidentally fragile. My dad did that.
I trashed one by dropping a lint roller on it from less than 18" up.
I have a similiar tablet that I also use mainly for data storage of manuals/survival info and angry birds too of course. The main problem I see with using it as a survival tool is exposure to the elements. You dont want to get it wet and they arent made very tough either. Reviews on most tablets will show that they are easily broken if dropped/mishandled. Battery life is another issue especially for me with the colored screen. Continued use of mine will only get me 2-3 hours before it needs charging. But as previously stated, a solar powered outlet will fix this. While it is a great tool for hoarding survival info, I doubt MINE would last long in an actual survival situation.
Ninja what charger are you using and where did you get it.
Dirk
I just got my sons black and white model after he picked a Fire. Downloaded Cody Lundins book, pretty good read that is not your typical presentation of information, which I like.
I have had a kindle for about 8 months, standard B&W model, have travelled all around the country with it,air and auto. Its held up exceedingly well, been dropped twice onto marble floor :(, (while in its cover) and no damage at all, battery life is fine; have been really happy with it…now to find a solar charger !
It’s a good concept, but I’d still want some form of backup. Hopefully you’d have all of those books on a computer somewhere too.
I had been thinking about getting a small laptop a cheap one just to put all my prep info on and to store in an emp proof case but now I may have to look into the kindle.
I’m not sure if it’s “EMP ready” but the IBM T-series (they’re called Lenovo now) are used by the military. The case is made of some sort of metal impregnated plastic (I used to discharge large static (carpet) shocks on it!). The prices are very reasonable and parts are very much abundant as they used the same drives and such across several generations. If you don’t need “gaming” power, an IBM T-series would be the way to go.
I will look into that model. I don’t play games and luckily my daughters aren’t into games either. As for emp protection I keep an extra ham rig and other electronics in a aluminum case that is insulated and grounded. It was originally a portable radio case used by hams for EMCOM exercises and has a grounding point. I keep it stored under the cabinet where my main radio sits so I went ahead and grounded it also.
People are just now starting to get concerned with EMP but before I retired from the AF we did alot of research on protecting electronics, vehicles and even HVAC equipment (CBRN). So as after reading everything we could find, mainly government reports that contradicted each other and reading reports about Iran and their interest in EMP I decided, why not I have extra radios and inverters why not protect them.
I have always been anti-kindle. I might have to re think it. Does anyone worry about them erasing, or altering what you have downloaded? I know several people that had stuff erased off their kindles, by amazon. Amazon made it right but…
Question for you: From say 500 or more miles away from a blast you have some electronic gear, shut off, sitting in a basement . . . also a car in a garage, also off, would an EMP blast be an issue?
From the studies and reports I read small electronic components like say a handheld radio or a lap top that was no powered up and from that distance it stand a good chance of surviving. But like I said there is alot conflicting reports. We had reports that showed most modern autos would be affected but then other reports said some would survive and only be knocked out for a short time. It does seem the smaller devices, shielded items and grounded equipment have the best chance. But then distance also matters. There is no way short of placing everything in a farady cage to protect most electronics. You can easily make a simple faraday cage using a card board box and aluminium foil but yoou would also need to ground it somehow. I have some extra VHF radios and 1 hf radio that are boxed up which I decided to protect but I’m not getting into protecting everything it would be to much trouble. I may buy a cheap lap top or kindle to throw in there also.
I guess for a short answer it would depend on the garage if it is metal it could act as a faraday cage and some researchers think that simply grounding your car could protect it. As for the basement if you have it boxed up anyway you might as well build you a small faraday cage to protect it.
Awesome! Thanks for the info.
All your Kindle books live in the Amazon “Cloud” so you can download them again at any time. I’ve taken to downloading PDF files of the books I purchase (another option) so that I have them backed up on my main computer.
That being said, the Kindle and the computer (along with the iPod, CB, GRMS radios and all other electronics) will probably be toast if we get hit with an EMP.
Honestly, I plan on actually learning as much survival information as possible so I don’t have to rely on the Kindle or books in the event of a disaster. I mean, how many ways are there to build a fire, filter water and obtain food? A good poisonous/non-poisonous plant book and an advanced emergency medical book are the only two that I’d even consider necessities if the lights go out. Everything else should be in your head.
Wife’s got a kindle I’ll rely on what Dad and Grandpa taught me in order to survive. Grandpa lived to 99 so I’m feeling good about his advice.