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Your FriendlyNeighbor

Secure family communications

A paper plan for code words, check-ins, an out-of-area contact, phone apps, and licensed radios.

General information. Use it at your own risk. Follow the law. Seek a clinician, a licensed tradesperson, or the authorities when you can.

Written for a household in St. Johns County and northeast Florida. This is a planning aid. Orders, zones, and shelter instructions come from the county and the state.

All guides · One-page card

Before

  • Pick two short code words. One means “I am safe.” One means “I need help.” Practice them once, then keep them off social media.
  • Write check-in times, morning and evening or whatever the household can keep. Put the same times on the household form.
  • Choose one out-of-area contact, a person outside the usual storm path. Every adult has that name and number on paper.
  • Signal and other encrypted apps help when the phone network is up. They do not help when the towers are down. Paper and a radio are the backup.
  • FRS radios are short range and, on the FCC page, do not need a license. GMRS can reach farther and needs an FCC license. Read the current FCC page before you buy a radio for that service.
  • Ham radio needs an FCC amateur license before anyone transmits. The ARRL getting-licensed page is the plain start.
  • Meshtastic is a text mesh for people who each have a small radio node. It can pass a short written note nearby. It is not a promise that a message will cross town.

During

  • Use the check-in times. A missed check-in is a reason to try the next path, not to panic.
  • Text before you call if the network is busy. Use the code word if you need it.
  • If phones fail, use the radio you already licensed and practiced. Do not transmit on a service you are not allowed to use.
  • Radio discipline under occupation or collapse: one short call on the schedule, then silence. No inventory, no cache, no route, and no names of who is hiding. Assume a listener you do not know is on the channel.
  • The out-of-area person is the relay. Tell them where you are and whether you are staying. Do not describe the roads you used.
  • If the phones stay down for weeks, switch to the paper schedule, a whistle or bell, and a runner between houses. The life-without-phones guide is that longer plan.

After

  • Tell the out-of-area contact when you are home and safe.
  • Charge radios and write down what failed.
  • Replace a lost paper card. The household print has a blank card you can fill.

Checklist

  • Two code words written on the card
  • Check-in times on paper
  • Out-of-area name and number
  • Encrypted app installed, and a radio that does not need it
  • License checked before any GMRS or ham transmission
  • Printed card in the grab bag and at home

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Sources

Official pages only. Open them for the full instructions.