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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: jaybelnz on Friday 16 September 16 00:18 BST (UK)
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My Mum always taught me that there is no such thing as a silly question. So here goes with my "non" silly question. ???
I had a letter from my power supplier stating that there would be two planned power outages on Wed. 5th October, while work is being done on local roading and cabling. One outage is from 6.30am until 8.30am, and the other is 8.30pm until 11.30pm!
Stupid times for power cuts, don't know why they're not doing them very much earlier in the morning - (thinking of people getting to work and school etc)).
Obviously, my PC won't be working, but I have an iPad, and wondered, if I have my battery on that fully charged, will I still be able to connect to Wifi and the Internet from the iPad. The thought of sitting in the dark for three hours without TV or Internet is driving me crackers, morning not so bad, as I don't usually get up before 8.30 anyway 😜
I've tried googling, not had any joy there, the results seem to all relate to iPad power problems, not local total power outages. Anyone got any answers to my non-silly question for me?
Thanks
Jeanne🌺
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What do most people need to power the wi-fi? Electricity surely. If you have no electricity then the wi-fi won't work.
Hhmm, you could run the internet provided your phone line is working, see link below:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-have-internet-when-there-is-no-power/
seems a bit fiddly though and you would need all the bits and pieces mentioned. Not necessarily items you would have handy in the house!
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If your Wifi is powered by a plug into the power point modem then no the iPad won't work.
If your iPad has a SIM card inserted it will work, as it will if you use a mobile modem which will also contain a SIM card.
Whether the iPad will last the three hours depends on what you are doing with it during that time. Surfing the net and posting on Rootschat, reading the news or downloaded books, yes it most likely will.
Jamjar
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Thank you Girl Guide and Jamjar. You replies indicate to me that this was indeed a stupid question!
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Thank you Girl Guide and Jamjar. You replies indicate to me that this was indeed a stupid question!
Never stupid, just 'senior moments'. ;D
J.
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Do the bus's in your district have Wi-Fi? Have you got a bus pass? Answer if yes to both, hop on the bus with your I pad.
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They have given you the times of the power cuts,but I bet they won't actually last as long as they say.
Won't you be getting up and dressed between 6-30am and 8-30am anyway.
Bit of a b****r that they're turning you off for up to 3 hours at night,when people need lighting and the TV?
I think I'd be asking them WHY???
Carol
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Do the bus's in your district have Wi-Fi? Have you got a bus pass? Answer if yes to both, hop on the bus with your I pad.
That's assuming buses run at those times! Where I live they don't run after 6pm :(
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You may have a number of options:
If you live in UK, you can download in advance a film or two or other programmes from the BBC iPlayer and then watch them off-line. You wiil need to make sure you have the latest version of iPlayer so check that first.
If you are an Amazon prime member and have their "Firestick" you can also download free films from there.
If you use BT phone and internet, you may live close enough to a live BT Wifi connection so you will need to remember establish your log-on credentials.
You might need to ensure you have fresh batteries in your radio.
You might finally read that book you've been meaning to get round to starting?
There was that letter from wotsername to which you've been meaning to reply.
Then in decreasing and desperate order of attraction;
Ironing
Cleaning out that cupboard - you know which one I mean!
Throw away all those bills you've filed (stuffed) into the draw.
When all else fails, I find red wine makes the time fly by.
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Thank you Girl Guide and Jamjar. You replies indicate to me that this was indeed a stupid question!
Not at all just incomplete answers.
Do you have a mobile phone, many mobile phones can also be used as a modem these days, I have used mine when away and have had no access to standard internet access points.
For an Iphone
Tap Settings.
Tap Personal Hotspot.
Switch Personal Hotspot on.
Choose whether you'd like to connect using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or using the USB cable.
On other mobiles you may have to use what is called tethering.
An alternative would be to take a trip to somewhere like a MacDonalds or Library or car showroom etc where they have an internet hotspot (public internet).
Buy a coffee and enjoy the internet. You will not have to travel too far to be out of the local power cut area
Cheers
Guy
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You may have a number of options:
Ironing
Er, ..... In a power cut?
Of course, if you have one of those handy Victorian irons that run on coals out of the fire ....
;D ;D
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Asking probably another stupid question. Your phone would then have to have data loaded onto it to use it as a modem during a power outage?
Probably not a feasable suggestion, but if you know someone who has a UPS (universal power supply) depending on the size it could power your modem for you. We do that during black outs. My son has one on the servers and only uses it to shut them down during a power outage and then plugs the modem into it and we get about 2+ hours with only the modem running off it so we at least have internet on our phones, all pc's are shut down..... ;D ;D
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I do have a mobile phone, but it's a very basic one. The morning's not a problem, as I rarely drag myself out of bed to face the world before 8. 30am anyway, (particularly at the moment where here in NZ we are are experiencing mid winter temperatures and storms in SPRINGTIME! It's actually currently colder and wetter than winter was)!
Thank you all so much for your amazing suggestions - you're all so clever! Unfortunately, I'm not too up with the play technology wise regarding most of them, but truly appreciate your input, (the idea of going to McDonalds is a good one - I could cope with that ;D. Now I'm thinking I might just head off to bed for an early night and read my real book by torchlight for a while - be warmer that way too, having only electric heating!
Diplodocus, on the lighter side (pardon the pun) your suggestion for cleaning out cupboards made me laugh, for one thing it'll be too dark to do that, and for another, I am currently in the midst of packing to move house! Most of my cupboard's contents are already packed into moving boxes! I do like your red wine suggestion though, a couple of those will probably knock me out and I'll sleep right through the outage and until the power goes back on! ;D
Thanks again everyone for your replies - you're all very kind!
Cheers
Jeanne 👏👏👍😄
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Jeanne, I sure do sympathise with your power outages ..... back track a couple of months, we received our letters of planned outages ... three planned one week, and another planned three weeks down the track. Some didn't go ahead on the day, because of the weather but when they did go off ... it was for all day.
So with the times for you, have you thought of filling your thermos for the moment you want a cuppa?
Cheers
KHP
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Thanks KHP - that's certainly an essential! ;D.
I'm moving soon, so have already packed up most of my kitchen, but the big thermos is already sitting out on the bench, and a few other necessities are still in the cupboard. Would die without my cuppa!
All I have to do is remember ??? to fill it before the power goes off! It's big and red, so can't miss it!
Contact Energy have advised that they will notify any change due to weather etc, by email AND text, so that's good. With a bit of luck, if it's delayed until after 8th October, that's my moving out day!
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Last year we had regular "load shedding" which meant that at least 3 times a week we were out for 2-4 hours. Invested in paraffin hurricane lamps, some solar lamps and a gas hob.
Lots of books were read during that time. Thankfully this year has been blackout free except for the few unplanned ones....
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It is the unplanned ones that take you by surprise, especially for Mr KHP, after a hard mornings work on the farm, to find that he can't have the lunch he was looking forward to :)
Cheers
KHP
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I know what you mean. That's why I love the gas hob that we invested in. Can still cook and have a cuppa even if it is in the dark. Nothing worse than missing your dinner/lunch or cuppa..... ;D ;D
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Check if a friend/family member who will not be affected if they have a battery pack for 'bump' starting a car. They often have a mains socket, which you can use to power the modem. Landlines have their own power for the phone. You need it 24 hours in advance as they often take that long to recharge if not used in a while. And check to ensure the power is not too 'dirty' for 'delicate' equipment.
Ken
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I'm chuckling here Jeanne at the some of the suggestions, especially as one outage is planned for 8.30pm - 11.30pm. I can't see that you'd want to be riding round on a bus at that time of night, especially with an iPad in your hand. ;D
Seriously though, I'd be questioning why they are planning to turn off the electricity at that time of night, in your winter, when it will be cold! It could cause a lot of serious problems for the very young or very old where electricity is the only form of heating.
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The elec supply company may need to prune or cut back tree branches which can encroach upon the overhead supply cables?
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The elec supply company may need to prune or cut back tree branches which can encroach upon the overhead supply cables?
Surely that would be done during daylight, not at night?
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I agree it does seem an odd time to plan an outage, specially considering the weather....surely the same objective could be reached during daylight off-peak times???
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Seriously though, I'd be questioning why they are planning to turn off the electricity at that time of night, in your winter, when it will be cold! It could cause a lot of serious problems for the very young or very old where electricity is the only form of heating.
That's what I said on Friday, I think I'd be asking them why they need to turn you off at such odd times?
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This thread is a big turn off. ;D
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The elec supply company may need to prune or cut back tree branches which can encroach upon the overhead supply cables?
Surely that would be done during daylight, not at night?
Yes, during the daylight, doesn't usually involve turning the power off, the flagmen are there navigating the traffic. When ours went off for the allocated days, it did involve cables, and a helicopter, as the power cables were being upgraded and going across the river.
Cheers
KHP
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I have absolutely no idea why they're doing it. They're always digging up the roads somewhere - road works, new subdivisions, ultra hi speed internet cables, fibre, etc etc.
Any people with in-home medical needs which require electricity get catered for through their care providers, and there's always a phone number to call on notifications about outages etc.
The one I understand less, is the morning one, when people will be getting ready for work, school etc. At least in the evening, everyone will be able to get their dinner over, and into bed to keep warm if it's cold.
Compared with all the poor souls who lost power for days on end during the recent storms, I've got no problem. I was just being pippy about no internet or TV - which is, after all, rather petty in the scheme of things - silly old woman that I am! ::);D ;D
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I think you've had the basic answer that wifi that comes from a hub/router connected to your phone line won't work in a power cut as the hub needs electricity too.
Someone's mentioned using a mobile phone as a modem to connect to the internet. That would depend how wide an area is affected by the power outage. The mobile phone masts need electricity too, and if the only ones within range of your 'phone are off, then you can forget that too.
During the storms that hit northern England last winter, Storm Desmond knocked out power where I am for about 4 days (though it felt much longer). This took out all the mobile phone masts too. The only link to the outside world (apart from driving to an area with power - though as there were impassable floods on the main roads out that wasn't much of an option) was a wind up radio, the landline telephone (once I'd unplugged my modern cordless 'phone and plugged in an old-fashioned one that got all the power it needed from the telephone network) and the car radio.
After a while the power company were able to set up a number of massive generators, though predictably my house wasn't covered by any of them, but I could as a BT Broadband customer wander the streets where there was power, looking for BT-WIFI access points.
Otherwise I read a few books, used up a lot of candles and simply went to bed when it got dark.
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I think that's probably what I will be doing as well Aulus, it's still pretty cold here, and with no heating, bed's going to be the best place to keep warm! I can make sure my iPad battery is fully charged so I can at least read on the kindle app!
Thank you.
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Are you all electric, or do you have a gas hob so you can heat water?
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I wish I did Jan! All electric! Have a good Hot water storage cylinder though that stays pretty hot - enough for a couple of days.
Just have to remember to fill the big thermos with boiling water for cuppas, and charge up the iPad and mobile phone before the power goes off on the evening cut.
The morning cut isn't a problem, by the time I haul myself out of bed, it will be back on again hopefully, but I will do a thermos and charge up just in case it goes on longer than anticipated.
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Have you got a hot water bottle in case it is cold - you could fill that from the hot water tank.
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Thanks Jan, yep I'm a hottie girl from way back! Still using it at the moment actually, still a bit nippy at night here! 😄