I wanted a USB memory drive for emergency information and photos but when I looked around I could only find one made specifically for this use and it was nothing special for its high price tag. I decided to make my own and when I saw this red unit with the cap and body designed with a substantial loop for a lanyard (550 cord loop) I figured I could use this one. A bonus is this USB drive ended up costing less than $6 (because we ordered a few things at the same time to cut down on the shipping cost). It was designed for kids so I did need to modify it a bit to remove the logo aimed at kids, this left me with a solid red, sturdy USB drive with a cap for the plug that ca not be lost because it attaches to the loop of cord I added to make it easier to stow the drive in a bag or in the car
Why have an emergency memory stick?
I am a member of an interesting message board / forum that focuses on tools and gadgets people carry every day (EDC forum) and a few threads are about USB memory sticks. After reading a few of these threads and getting other people's opinions on the subject I decided to set up a dedicated USB stick for emergency information.
I did not label the stick, although that would be easy to do. I anticipate keeping this around for my refrence, not as a medical alert item for first responders since I have no critical allergies, etc.
This USB memory stick will contain things like, photo scans of my drivers license, insurance, vehicle registration and other important documents. These copies may not be legal to use as ID, but might be useful if I ever loose my wallet. I will also keep photos of my dog, and his ID chip information. Photos of my truck, licence plate, insurance etc may also prove useful if it is stolen. If I had kids I might put recent photos, fingerprints etc. Of course I will keep a copy of my medical history on there as well. Contact phone numbers and addresses are also going in here. It is a 1 gig memory stick, so it can easily hold all of this and a lot more. I will encrypt and password protect the information in case it is ever stolen. There will also be room for some micro versions of popular software in case I need to use access the information on a crude or damaged computer.
I will cover the software in another review on this emergency USB drive project
It arrived in a static charge elimination bag (which might be a good way to store it in the bag where it will live too..) The USB memory stick is marketed to kids so it has some kind of logo painted (screened) on the front, and some kind of FCC info on the back. THe stick is small, but not the smallest USB stick around, the feature I like best is the large sturdy loops at each end for a lanyard
First I tried paint thinner to remove the logo (paint).. all this did was clean the stick.. no paint came off at all, the stick and logo were un affected
So I moved to a 'real' solvent, Toluol (Toluene) I held the paper towel to the opening on the can, tipped it slightly to splash some solvent onto the towel, which resulted in a damp area on the towel about as large as the USB drive.. I used normal pressure and wiped the towel three or four times against the painted logo...
I'm glad I looked at three or four wipes, because the logo was completely gone already, it's residue is a stain on the paper towel
I wiped the white lettering off the back too, so the USB drive is solid red now
I knew I was going to add a loop of 550 cord, but I wasn't sure of the color.. the orange 550 cord I have is brightest, but the USB drive is red, so I went with red 550 cord too
At first I tied it like this.. not sure why. It did fit well in a pocket this way with the knot at the end of the short lanyard. Once the cap is off it is retained.
But after a while I re-tied it in this way, which I like much more. The bag I use has a small clip sewn on that is designed to keep keys? or something near the pens, etc I will clip that to this lanyard then push the USB drive into one of the larger pen slots to keep it stowed but available. Now that I know these work well and are easy to modify and cost less than $6, I will buy a few more, one for the truck and a few for gifts.
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