How to get internet during a power cut

kelper · Dec 1, 2023

We had a two-hour power cut this morning, which also affected the only local cell tower. There was no mains power and no cell signal, so I couldn't use tethering as I can when the power cut is less widespread. Fortunately, I had a Maplin universal charger which has a mains input and a 12V input. I had recently bought a small, 7AH motorcycle battery. My modem/router uses about 14 to 18 Watts and this would have given me about 5 hour's use. The Maplin device can output voltages of 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22 and 24. I guess it will maintain the 12V my router needs, even as the battery voltage falls below 12.

Unfortunately the N40HJ is no longer sold and the similar model does not have a 12V input.

This has inputs of 12V dc, 120V and 240V dc.

Amazon.co.uk

Ghot · Dec 1, 2023

Q: How to get internet during a power cut

A: Go to McDonalds.

kelper · Dec 1, 2023

My nearest is three hour's drive away.
Three times I got in the shower and three times the power cut off! Five times it has come back on for a few minutes.

Ghot · Dec 1, 2023

kelper said:
My nearest is three hour's drive away.
Three times I got in the shower and three times the power cut off! Five times it has come back on for a few minutes.

Sounds like there's a simple solution.
Don't take any more showers.

Or... just light a candle and break out the single malt.
I'd imagine you could find some single malt, less than three hours away.

Seriously... maybe look into an alternate power source. Solar, wind, gas generator, etc.?
I've heard those Highland homes can get a bit drafty, too...

kelper · Dec 1, 2023

I can find three bottles within ten paces!

Ghot · Dec 1, 2023

Hark now the night is falling
Hear, hear the pipes are calling [Hear now the malt is calling]

Loudly and proudly calling
Down through the glen.

I'm 50/50 Scot and German.
(Stewart Clan)

garioch7 · Dec 1, 2023

I have the benefit of having a 12 Kw Kohler standby generator here. It is powered by propane. No gas to mix and store. When the power goes out, and the generator comes on 3 seconds later. Combine that with my APC UPS, and I am always good for electrical juice! The electrical mains are fed through the Kohler transfer switch, so I have whole house power. I have to watch it in the winter because I am on electric heat, but it comes with software so that you can monitor the load on the generator and turn off unnecessary heaters until the load lessens.

They cost a pretty penny to install, but after living in Port Hood with a 16 Kw Generac, I would not be without a standby generator. No worries about food going bad, no water (I am on a well), and living in the dark. Hurricane Fiona, which hit Atlantic Canada hard last year, left some folks without power for two weeks. My sister was without power for eight days, and she lives in Charlottetown, the capital city of Prince Edward Island. When my three propane tanks are full, I have enough propane to run the generator 24/7 for eleven days.

I love a good single malt. My favourite was a 25-year Glen Garioch, hence my Forum name. The "7" was added just to make life a little tougher for the spammers, though they have caught up with me, so MailWasher Pro is indispensable.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

cereberus · Dec 1, 2023

Fortunately where I live in Aberdeen, powercuts are very rare.

Having said that Scotland is changing over all its telephones from analogue to digital by end of 2025 (UK a bit later).

This means all phones will need to be connected to a router and if a power cut, all landline phones will not work without being connected to a router.

I am changing to full fibre on Monday, and biggest issue was my telecare hub (in case I fall) will no longer work as they are analogue based.

I called up Telecare organisation (council run) and they brought me a new hub today which works via the mobile phone networks instead.

In UK at least, you can make emergency calls from a mobile phone via any national ISP provider even if no credit or contract has expired.

The telecare hub essentially works the same. It took a couple of minutes to hook into strongest signal and has battery backup for up to 48 hours.

The digital changeover is going to be a major challenge, particularly for elderly persons and people in remote areas.

I foresee many pensioners being scammed into expensive broadband contracts just to use a telephone.

Marie SWE · Dec 2, 2023

kelper said:
We had a two-hour power cut this morning, which also affected the only local cell tower. There was no mains power and no cell signal, so I couldn't use tethering as I can when the power cut is less widespread. Fortunately, I had a Maplin universal charger which has a mains input and a 12V input. I had recently bought a small, 7AH motorcycle battery. My modem/router uses about 14 to 18 Watts and this would have given me about 5 hour's use. The Maplin device can output voltages of 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22 and 24. I guess it will maintain the 12V my router needs, even as the battery voltage falls below 12.

Unfortunately the N40HJ is no longer sold and the similar model does not have a 12V input.

This has inputs of 12V dc, 120V and 240V dc.

Amazon.co.uk

Hi there

Internet when power is out... and sell tower is out..
That can be a really easy one or an expensive one

If your lucky,
you have a fiber cable up to the hose witch has UPS power on the nods/switches along the way from the base line that branches out up to your hose.. Then you only need to have power to your fiber converter sitting in your house and your router and a laptop/smartphone.
That can easy be solved with a small/mid UPS to get a few hours of internet when power is out.. after that you need a generator or a bigger battery powerbank setup..

If you are unlucky..
Then its start costing some money... you need a generator or a battery powerbank that have some juice... and then you get one of those satellite internet solutions as Starlink.

iko22 · Dec 2, 2023

kelper said:
Three times I got in the shower and three times the power cut off! Five times it has come back on for a few minutes.

Sounds like a humidity or condensation problem - you ought get it checked out.

kelper · Dec 2, 2023

iko22 said:
Sounds like a humidity or condensation problem - you ought get it checked out.

No, I had five power cuts. Three occurred as I was about to go in the shower. Only one happened while the shower was running. 1,394 customers were affected and the company told me it was due to a failure of their equipment.

iko22 · Dec 2, 2023

kelper said:
No, I had five power cuts. Three occurred as I was about to go in the shower. Only one happened while the shower was running. 1,394 customers were affected and the company told me it was due to a failure of their equipment.

O, okay

, thanks for the extra detail - that changes perspectives somewhat. Sorry I cannot be of anymore help.

kelper · Dec 3, 2023

I ran my modem/router on battery for seven hours! I stopped when the battery voltage reached 11.7 to avoid damaging and recharged it immediately.

MisterEd · Dec 3, 2023

kelper said:
I ran my modem/router on battery for seven hours! I stopped when the battery voltage reached 11.7 to avoid damaging and recharged it immediately.

A lot of people have a UPS for their main computer but fail to think about backup power for the modem/router. My current Gateway (modem/router) has no provision for an internal battery so I have it plugged into a 400VA UPS. Last time the power went out the Gateway didn't stay powered on as long as I would have like so I may get a higher VA UPS one for it.

glasskuter · Dec 3, 2023

My rural area is prone to power outages on the regular but they're always fixed in a matter of hours. It took my area getting hit by a large tornado last year to completely sell us on the importance of having a generator. Power was out for 22 days.
Generators were no where to be found. A friend loaned us his gas generator but couldn't get it in to us as every road was impassable so we didn't get it for nearly a week. It wasn't large enough to power much and we had extension cords running everywhere but something is better than nothing.

MisterEd · Dec 3, 2023

glasskuter said:
My rural area is prone to power outages on the regular but they're always fixed in a matter of hours. It took my area getting hit by a large tornado last year to completely sell us on the importance of having a generator. Power was out for 22 days.
Generators were no where to be found. A friend loaned us his gas generator but couldn't get it in to us as every road was impassable so we didn't get it for nearly a week. It wasn't large enough to power much and we had extension cords running everywhere but something is better than nothing.

Wow! that's a long time to be without power. Hopefully, the weather wasn't too cold or hot. BTW, if you would have had the generator for 22 days would you have had the fuel for that long?

Back in 2011 because of a rash of tornadoes our whole county lost power for at least five days. The county has two major sources of power. They are a coal-fired power plant (20 miles to the east) and a nuclear power plant (20 miles to the west). Each has an independent set of power lines. The tornadoes took out both of them.

I had no problem driving around but had to drive to a neighboring county to get gas. Food was more challenging since the obvious things to get when there was no power were picked over. Fortunately, it was the end of April so the temperatures were moderate.

glasskuter · Dec 3, 2023

MisterEd said:
Hopefully, the weather wasn't too cold or hot. BTW, if you would have had the generator for 22 days would you have had the fuel for that long?

From a temperature standpoint, it was still fall in Texas-Nov.4. The friend that managed to get the generator to us after the first week brought fuel too, but by then we could get in and out. Couldn't go down our drive though as our neighbor's horse barn was sitting in the middle of it. Another friend who is a roofer had his crew come in on four-wheelers to wrap most of our house in plastic. He pretty much saved us before it started raining. But we were luckier than some whose places were leveled. Damn-est experience I've ever gone through. How no one was killed was an absolute miracle.

Berton · Dec 3, 2023

I use Wireless DSL and the antennae site of my ISP is on a different electrical provider than my city and with my UPS' working if my power is cut I have 12 to 15 minutes for my Desktops to finish. My Notebooks will have longer. If the power to my ISP's site, about 2 miles away, is cut I can still play games. Might have to check my cellphone system to use as a hotspot.

kelper · Dec 4, 2023

The laptop has the advantage that it runs off DC and is fanless. I was well impressed that my modem ran for seven hours. My laptop will run all day on its battery

How to get internet during a power cut

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