” I would not transmit any data until well clear of the trouble “
Dead wrong approach. Worrying loved ones will go out and search for you no matter what. They always do.
ALWAYS communicate your status!
It isn’t like you are some kind of international spy with the bad guys looking for you so you better stay quiet.
This is where these ideas are best practice:
1. Get your family to trust you and have confidence in you. Hint: If you tell your wife that you’ll get home because you have a gun, she doesn’t believe you and thinks you’re a fool.
2. I carry FRS on me. The FRS doesn’t work forever, but it works when I get near the house. If we have a power failure, she’s trained to turn it on.
3. Chances are GPS location isn’t going to die immediately. Phrased simply : There is NO ONE PERSON at any company whos job it is to shut off consumer GPS. That means it will take the government days to get one of their guys in to do it ******* THIS IS THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE YOU ***********
So I have shown my wife how to use my google location service. She logs into the computer with my password, types “where is my phone” into google and it tells her where I am. So if there is still power, cellular or whatnot (This works from the cell phone too) she can see where I am.
Lastly, I remember a day before cell phones when you would leave the house and people wouldn’t squirt blood from their eyes if they didn’t hear from you in exactly 30 minutes. Get your family back to this day and age. By building their confidence in your abilities to have a level head, avoid all people and walk back you’re doing them a great, big fat favor.
The BEST thing to do (in my opinion atleast) is what I do.
Before I leave the house, I tell family where I’m going, but also tell them that “should ANYTHING happen, and I mean anything do NOT come looking for me, I will call as soon as I can, IF the cells go down, I’ll try to find a land line, but know if at all possible I will get back here, might take me awhile, but I’ll get back if I can. Do NOT come looking for me”