I carry a Sony shortwave receiver that is very small and uses easily replace AA cells (2). It is model ICF-SW100 and about the size of a Tobacco tin.<br><br>Last March we had an Earthquake in Seattle that severely damaged my worksite. This radio was semi-useful in gathering information about the rest of the city. My primary concern was whether the bridges across the lakes and cuts were open so that I could get to my Wife and then home. Local radio stations kept reporting on the major damage areas and unfortunately did not cover the other much less severely damaged sections. This was frustrating.<br><br>The cell phone network near my worksite was completely overwhelmed with calls and while useful was very difficult to get through.<br><br>Fortunately, I also carry an old Icom Handheld 2m band amateur (Ham) radio. This turned out to be the best source of information after the earthquake. We have a good system of 2m repeaters and excellent control operators and members. They communicated much better and relevent information than the public airwaves. I was able to contact my Wife by phone patch, get eyewitness bridge information, and find out that the earthquake severity near my home was much less than at work.<br>