NY family members — stage the kit.

1 · Food & water (New York)

Two weeks minimum per person. Tap each item once it's stocked — it saves on this device.

• Water — 1 gallon per person per day, 2+ weeks
• Non-perishable food (shelf-stable, no fridge needed)
• Electrolyte packets / sports drink mix
• Manual can opener
• Pet food + water pets

2 · Supplies (New York)

Light, power, first aid, documents. Tap to check off — progress saves.

• Flashlights + batteries + headlamps
• Candles / lanterns
• First aid + meds
• Cash in small bills
• Power banks + solar / USB chargers
• NY cold plan: blankets, layers, hand warmers
• Wet wipes + trash bags + duct tape
• Multi-tool + whistle
• Waterproof document bag
• Paper meetup plan with Florida family shared
• Starlink / inReach-class backup charged shared
• Nades (family-safe foam / party only) fun

3 · Radio Off-Grid (New York end)

When phones and internet die, this is how the Crespos talk Florida ↔ New York. Follow the steps in order.

How to set it up

1. Get your ham license — about $15 exam fee. You need this before transmitting on ham bands.
2. Order one assembled TR-uSDX pocket radio (~$93) for this end. Florida gets one, New York gets one (buy two total so both houses match). Search eBay for “tr uSDX assembled” or use newdiytech.com TR-uSDX. Manual: dl2man.de. Used: QTH swap.
3. Order one matching QRP end-fed half-wave (EFHW) antenna for 40/20/15/10 meters (~$39) — search “QRP EFHW 40 20”. Buy two identical so both ends match.
4. Optional build path: QRP Labs kit (~$50–$150) if you want to solder and learn the gear — qrp-labs.com.
5. Optional mesh path: RNode. SMA connector = antenna. USB-C or micro-USB = power/data. Bluetooth = pairs with your phone. You need at least two nodes for a mesh. Get them at unsigned.io/rnode.
6. Hook up: antenna first, then power. NEVER power or transmit with nothing on the antenna jack.
7. Agree a check-in with the Florida end: Eastern Time + frequency. Example: 40 m after dark, 20 m by day; e.g. 7.040 MHz Morse (CW) around 9 PM ET. Try Morse/digital first — voice is harder at ~5 W over ~1,000 miles.

Radio checklist (New York end)

Tap items as you finish them. Progress saves on this device.

• Ham license (~$15) done
• TR-uSDX radio ordered/received for this end (~$93)
• Matching EFHW antenna ordered/received
• Antenna connected before any power/transmit (never key without antenna)
• Power/data cable ready (micro-USB / USB-C as needed)
• Check-in time + frequency agreed with the Florida end
• (Optional) QRP Labs kit
• (Optional) RNode + SMA antenna + Bluetooth paired
• Hand-crank/battery AM/FM/NOAA radio for weather