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How to keep informed and keep talking
Emergency communication for families: radios, emergency alerts, walkie-talkies and an out of area contact, so you stay informed.
By Slightly Anxious
1st July 2026 18 minute read
IN SHORT
At the very least, have a radio, spare batteries and a whistle. A pair of walkie-talkies is the next step, and they are handy in normal times too.
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Whatever kind of emergency or crisis you may suffer you will need stay informed and you will need to talk to other people. You will need to hear what the authorities have to say about what is going on, what they need you to do and hopefully when they think things will go back to normal. You will need to talk to your family and friends to ensure that they are OK and if one of your group, needs to go out on their own – only if it’s safe and allowed of course – then you will want to be able to contact them.
If you remember Covid-19, our usual forms of communication and receiving information carried on working perfectly. We sat and watched the news and were told about Lockdown and then we could ring our mates and discuss it. Unfortunately, in the future, some emergencies or crises could see us losing TV, internet and mobile phones. This will most likely happen if there is an electricity black-out but phones and the internet could go also down due to their own specific technical issues. If you’re preparing for the worst, you therefore need to think of ways that you can keep informed and communicate that don’t depend on what we usually take for granted and this is where Slightly Anxious can help.
We have put together a number of options for you that allows you to hear the news or talk to you best friend without either there being mains electricity, a phone signal or wifi. Keeping the devices we recommend in your emergency kit will ensure that when the unthinkable happens, you are prepared and can stay in touch.
Satellite internet
The first suggestion is the one that we think may be only of interest to a few of you and that is Starlink. For those of you that don’t know, Starlink is a system whereby using a form of personal satellite dish you can access high speed internet from hundreds of low-earth orbit satellites, courtesy of one Elon Musk. This is a subscription service starting at c.£35 per month. It has to be said that it is more expensive and not as good as fibre broadband and that is the key issue. It’s an expensive choice as your home’s internet provider, unless you live in the middle of nowhere, so can it work as only there for emergencies when land-based internet system is down? The answer is that we’re not entirely sure as it seems that it is possible to pause the service and reactivate it only when you need it but we can’t confirm whether this completely pauses your subscription costs as well. If you’re wealthy enough that another chunky subscription doesn’t matter, it may be worth it to keep having an internet back-up. But, we have to make it very clear, there is no guarantee that if the UK land-based internet system goes down that the Starlink system won’t also be effected and the system needs power to work, so if the electrical mains has gone out as well, unless you have a power station it will just be expensive junk.
It is also worth pointing out here that most of the devices we discuss will still require electricity to get them working. Therefore, if the mains goes out you will be dependent on power stations, battery chargers and batteries. In our article ‘What to do when the power goes out’ we look in detail at all the emergency power options there are available. We strongly recommend that you read it because you will need emergency power for a wide variety of devices that are invaluable in a crises.
Staying informed and in touch
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Mobile networks can fail or become congested in an emergency
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A basic phone such as the Nokia 110 4G lasts over a week on standby
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Walkie-talkies on PMR446 need no licence
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Starlink starts at about £35 a month
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A whistle costs a few pounds and needs no power
Television
We also need to consider the television. This, traditionally, has been where most of the government’s emergency messaging has been communicated through. However, most television these days is accessed digitally via the internet. There is Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) such as Freeview which via an antennae you can receive on your television. This allows you to watch TV without the internet and is definitely something you should consider if you’ve already dumped it in favour of internet based streaming. Check that your TV can receive DTT channels as you may not even have an aerial. If you don’t then you have to make a decision, the government has said that DTT will end in 2035 such is the take up of streaming services, so you need to weigh up the costs of an aerial versus the fact it might be useless in less than decade. If you live in a city you can probably get away with an indoor set-top aerial which costs c.£40, if you live more remotely you will need a rooftop aerial and that can cost c.£400 to get installed. Whatever you choose, your television will need the equivalent of mains power to work, so you will need a power station if the electricity has gone out. You will also need to check you aerial as many are mains powered, a USB‑powered aerial amplifier is a solution and can cost as little as £20.
One option is a battery powered TV with Freeview built in. The Desobry 14.2 Inch LCD 1080p Portable TV which provides 2-4 hours battery life and can be recharged, reportedly by a USB-C power bank, and definitely via a mains plug so will work with a power station or 12v power bank and only costs c.£80-£110. A more expensive option is the supposedly more dependable August DA900D 9" Portable Freeview TV at c.£130-£170 and for this you will definitely need either the mains, a power station or 12v power bank to recharge.
Not technically to do with either getting informed or communicating is getting entertained, do see our article on the importance of entertainment in times of crisis. If you want to watch films or box sets then you need to get a battery powered DVD player. The Boifun 17.5'' Portable DVD Player at c.£80-£110 has a 6 hour battery life. The Yoton 17.5" Portable DVD Player at c.£80-£100 has a 4-6 hour battery life. Both need the mains, a power station or 12v power bank to recharge. Both can provide about two movies worth of watching on one charge. We recommend taking advantage of the low cost of second hand DVDs and choosing a few days’ worth of binge watching. Remember its best to keep your choices uplifting and guaranteed to put a smile on your face, you’re under enough emotional overload as it is in an crisis situation without adding to it with a tear-jerker or hair-curler. We provide a selection of recommended film and TV choices on the website. You will find a large array of options at these websites: Musicmagpie or WorldofBooks. Other websites are available.
A possibly more elegant solution is a combined battery powered digital TV and DVD player like the August DA383 10” Portable Handheld TV With Built-In DVD Player at c.£130-£170. This only has a battery life of 2.5 hours before it needs recharging, so its just about one movie. A cheaper option is the KCR 15.6 inch Portable TV/DVD Player Combo at c.£80-£100, with a smaller battery at 2 hours so not even every movie one. Both need either the mains, a power station or 12v power bank to recharge and this can take c.4 hours so if you can recharge you’re still looking at one movie per evening.
Radio
If you don’t need pictures and can survive off just audio then a how about a battery powered radio. This is one of the most guaranteed methods of picking up emergency broadcasting due to its heritage, the existing technology and the range of radio stations available. This is also where you make the decision to how far you want to dive into the sea of preparedness because there are radio options that are just normal, as battery powered radios have been around for decades or there are those designed specifically for emergencies and these are quite something.
For the normal radios, these are powered by standard batteries and designed for radio listeners in normal conditions. But we have to be careful as they can become rapidly obsolete in an emergency if they don’t have the right features. As with television, many radios have migrated to a digital (DAB+) signal rather than an analogue one and while there is no more reason to believe that these stations will go off air more than the analogue FM/AM/SW stations, DAB+ fails at low power whilst analogue just reduces in volume and clarity, but can still be heard, so are more useful as your batteries degrade. A basic radio that comes with two aerials to boost reception is the Prunus J-02 AM FM SW Radio at c. £25-£30. This has the advantage of a rechargeable battery via a USB-C (phone charger) or 2xType D batteries or even by solar due to a tiny panel attached which we think could charge it, given enough decades. Battery life is not reported but we guess it’s in the 18-22 hour range. More expensive, but smaller and sleeker in style and with more radio bands is the XHDATA D-808 Professional Portable Radio at c.£70-£90. This covers SW/MW/LW/FM radio bands as well as picking up HAM radio, aviation and maritime channels. Its battery can be charged via USB-C or, as it’s replaceable, by just inserting a new 2000 mAh lithium battery. Battery life is about 20-25 hours for one charge. Replacements cost c. £10 each and a charger that can take 4 of them is c.£20.
Radios and phones compared
Device
Power
Guide Price
Prunus J-02 AM FM SW radio
Batteries
c.£25-£30
Philips TAR1659 radio
AAA batteries or hand crank
c.£30-£45
Rocam emergency radio
Hand crank, solar, rechargeable
c.£40-£50
Nokia 110 4G feature phone
Over a week on standby
c.£30-£40
Motorola Tlkr T92 H2O walkie-talkies (pair)
Rechargeable, waterproof
c.£70-£90
Garmin inReach Messenger
28 days standby, satellite
c.£200-£300 plus subscription
Emergency radios
Now for the serious stuff. These are rechargeable radios designed specifically for emergencies so they come with extra features. The main one being the crank handle so you can charge the battery using physical exertion and boy do you need a lot! This is a last-resort option and about twenty minutes of cranking will give you enough power for just a few minutes of radio reception but that is all you may need! Fortunately, they also come with rechargeable and/or replaceable batteries.
The Philips TAR1659 Portable FM/AM radio at c.£30-£45 just uses AAA batteries and has a hand crank, has a solar panel but this is mostly decorative. Its Prepper credentials come with the built in torch, flashing light and SOS alarm. Battery life is not reported but we guess it’s in the 20-25 hour range. But the real ‘daddy’ is the Rocam B0FBR863GW Emergency Radio at c. £40-£50. This has a crank, but also has a serious solar panel that looks as if it could actually charge the battery, it takes AAA batteries and a USB-C (phone charger). It also comes with a flashlight, torch and SOS alarm, Its massive 12,000 mAh battery provides up to 60 hours of radio and can be used to charge other devices. This is our preferred option.
Keeping your phone going
With internet (Starlink), television and radio to keep you informed and a DVD player to keep you entertained, you now need ways to keep in touch with your loved ones. As seems to be a persistent theme, we are drawn to older technology due to its lack of thirst for electricity and need for always on internet. When it comes to communication, the mobile phone is most pervasive tool we have and we shouldn’t dismiss it from our planning. Yes, there is a good chance that in an emergency, telephone masts won't be working, but there is equally a good chance they might, it depends on the type of emergency, and there is general rule that authorities try and get the telephone network up as running as quickly as possible as it's so vital for everyone. The issue is that modern smartphones are very power hungry and demand always on internet and that means in a crisis, we very soon end up with a useless brick instead of a phone.
Our article, 'What to do when the power goes out', explains all the means with which you can recharge your phones but if you didn’t have to that could mean that power was used for something else. We recommend you consider investing in what are called feature phones or as we knew them, phones from the 1990s and early 2000s before they got smart. These phones place calls, send texts, and have a very basic camera and have amazing battery lives. Do you remember the battery life of the classic Nokia 5110, it was a standby time of up to 11 days!
While those phones are only available to collectors these days it is still possible to find similar ones built for today. The Nokia 110 4G Feature Phone at c.£30-£40 has a battery standby life of over a week and 7 hours of talk time. If you want something more rugged and ‘emergency proof’ there’s the AGM M9 Basic Mobile Phone at c.£30-£40. This is tough enough to withstand a drop from 1.8m (5’11”), is dust proof and can withstand continuous immersion in fresh water and high pressure jets!. It comes with two replaceable and rechargeable 10,000 mAh batteries with each one having a standby time of 4-7 days and a talk time of up to 10 hours. Considering how cheap they are and how good the battery life is, you could purchase, charge up and then place them in your emergency store. You would then swap in the SIM card from your smartphone when your in the crisis and be prepared for the masts to come live again and when they do, you can call people and maintain a battery life until the mains comes back on.
Walkie-talkies
Unfortunately, emergency planning is ultimately about planning for the worst, so we have to factor in what happens if the mobile phone networks do go down. The best form of communication in that scenario is to use walkie talkies. For some of us, these were the original mobile phones many decades ago and fortunately, they have persisted and the technology has improved.
The Motorola Tlkr T92 H2O PMR446 2-Way Walkie Talkie at c.£70-£90 takes some beating. Not only is this a two walkie talkie kit, but they are built rugged, weatherproof (IP67) which means they can survive being submerged up to 1 metre underwater for 30 minutes, though we don’t recommend it. It comes with an SOS alert and light. They have a range of 10km in the open but in town it's probably 1-2 km. The batteries lasts 17 hours and are rechargeable. Additional ones can be bought for £20-£24. Possibly beating this are the Retevis RB648 Rugged Walkie Talkies at c.£60-£80 for two. These have been designed for outdoor use in particular in the cold. Similarly dust and waterproof as the Motorola, these are built to work in the snow and ice so manageable in gloves. The range is supposedly the same as the Motorola, the big difference is the power. It comes with a 2,000 mAh lithium-ion battery that lasts for 4 days and can be recharged using a USB-A or USB-C phone charger.
It is possible to purchase walkie talkies with more power and a longer range, but it's not legal to operate them unless you’re a business and you’ve obtained the appropriate licence from Ofcom. The issue is about transmitting over certain frequencies over distance. An alternative is to get personally licensed by Ofcom and for this you will need to pass an exam, offered by the Radio Society of Great Britain and then you can be registered by Ofcom. Once registered you can legally use a radio like the Baofeng UV-5RM Plus Amateur Radio Multi-Band Walkie Talkie (single unit) at c. £50-£70. Its range is 5km but as its has considerably more power than the unlicensed ones it has a far greater chance of making that range in a built up area. It also has a rechargeable battery that lasts about 5 days. If you are interested in CB radio type communication or listening into military/police/maritime radio then this is your thing but we’re not convinced that the getting licensed is worth the effort, especially as you can only speak to people who have been licensed as well.
Satellite messengers
We feel we should also include some satellite based emergency communication devices because there maybe some of you living in the wilderness and we hope because of your reduced housing costs, living in the wilderness, this will mean you can pay the exorbitant fees they charge. Two companies we have found provide a service whereby you can text people via satellite. This means you can keep in contact and also share your whereabouts and call on a SOS response team if needed.
Garmin offer their inReach Messenger at c.£200-£300. This uses the Iridium satellite network to allow you send and receive text messages when there is no mobile signal and have access to the Garmin 24/7 SOS response team. The device’s battery has a standby life of 28 days. They charge £40 just to activate the system and then offer either pay per use, e.g. 50p to write a short text message or 10p to send a pre-written check-in message at £7.99 per month or unlimited check-in messages and 50 short text messages per month for £14.99 per month. You can even go crazy and have unlimited check-ins and texts for £49.99 per month. An alternative that uses the Globalstar satellite network is Saved by Spot and their Spot X 2-Way Satellite Messenger with GPS Tracking at c.£250-£350. This offers much the same service of pre-written check in texts and free-form short text messages and access to a SOS response team. As well as offering monthly plans like Garmin, they also offer a flexible contract of one month’s minimum. After paying their version of an activation fee of £31.30 and then a fee of £36.53 for the privilege of the flexible contract, a month’s basic subscription at £18.95 gets you 20 short text messages and unlimited check-in messages. The next tier up at £36.53 for the month gives you 100 short text messages and unlimited check-in messages.
According to our maths to use these devices for what we expect that any emergency would last, which is a week at least. The Garmin would cost you £385.88, as you pay for a year’s subscription at the basic level, and the Spot X, would cost £386.78 just for one month’s flexible subscription. The 90p difference is in the unlimited check-in messages from Spot X. We think that if your emergency involves you sitting it out in your front room of a property in a town or city then this is probably a luxury where your money is better spent elsewhere. If you live in an isolated location or just in the countryside and maybe having to evacuate then, if you can afford it, consider it as a ‘belt and braces’ option. It is a system really for hikers and extreme sports people.
The humble whistle
At the opposite end of the scale for communicating your whereabouts with people is an emergency whistle. It does seem quaint but could prove extremely useful. A two-pack with lanyards is at c.£5-£9 and we think you should. Mainly because think how you would feel if you needed one and you hadn’t got one considering how cheap they are. Similarly, the flashing warning lights that cars in much of Europe must now carry with them in case they breakdown make excellent alternatives to signal flares, so have a secondary use and are only c.£25-£30. We can see a lot of crisis situations where you won't need either a whistle, flashing warning light or signal flare, but we can think of a couple where they would prove very useful. The question, as with all preparedness, is what’s your budget and what’s your view on risk.
What we would buy
As the very bare minimum we think you should invest in a radio and some batteries and a whistle. Next level up are the walkie-talkies as at that price, why not and you could probably find them useful in normal times, such as when someone’s in the kitchen and someone’s at the bottom of the garden. If you are in the middle of nowhere then Starlink and/or a satellite SMS system may make sense. As for the portable TV’s and DVD players, I would consider these as getting pretty close to a necessity, not just because of the information they can provide but the entertainment. As we explain in our article, 'Keeping entertained in times of crisis', keeping morale up is a vital task, the fact you will be able to hopefully see the news as well is a bonus. Whatever your choices, having emergency power is all-important, so do read the article, 'What to do when the power goes off' to work out your options. The truth is the more you spend, in general, will lead to you having an easier emergency, but you need to sensible about your budget. Having the best kit in your emergency storage may prove a waste of money if the world starts making sense again!
Your to do list is:
1. Buy a radio that does not need mains power, plus spare batteries
2. Add a whistle for each person
3. Consider a basic feature phone as a back-up
4. Get a pair of walkie-talkies for the household
5. Think about a battery TV or DVD player if you have no aerial TV
6. Read 'What to do when the power goes out' to plan charging
Remember, keep calm and visit us here.
