At 05:36 PM 6/27/2008, you wrote: >I was told the that the Internet was still available in parts of New >Orleans after Katrina eventhough the power and the telephones were >out.
Yes, that's what I heard as well (read my notes on the most common failure mode for Internet linked repeaters). >http://www.renesys.com/tech/presentations/pdf/Renesys-Katrina-Report- >9sep2005.pdf > >I wonder how many internet users THINK the internet is out but its >only because their cable modem went dark when the AC power quit at >their location. A simple car battery and a $39 12 volt to 120 volt >inverter from Wallmart would have solved that problem. > >Should part of every ham's emergency kit contain a way to operate >their cable modem from battery power? Yes, my experience here is that cable Internet often does survive power outages, provided you have a means to power your equipment. My current cable modem could be run directly off 13.8V, so I could even ditch the inverter. :) I haven't bothered yet, because I haven't decided how best to manage the IRLP PC (which is also the router at that site), so there's no point keeping the cable modem up. The repeater will stay up though, as it has battery backup available. 73 de VK3JED http://vkradio.com
