Day: July 16, 2006

From David In Israel: On Sheltering from Katyusha Rocket Attacks

James Our friends who live in Tzfat (also spelled Safed, Sfat, Sfas, etc.) recently came to stay with us to get away from the rockets which lit Mount Meron on fire and landed all around them shaking their house and breaking the window over my friend as he shopped. They are returning home still a bit shaken but feeling better after a two day break. They have been under 122mm Katyusha rocket fire. They have some Russian, Iranian, and Chinese stuff in Lebanon like the Fajjar-5 which has a range of 45 kilometers. The Israeli Saar-5 corvette Ahi-Hanita was struck …


Letter Re: A Practical PV-Powered Well Pump and Cistern System

James: I appreciate your web site, lots of good thoughtful info and no armchair commando nonsense. I rarely post on this or related blogs, but I’ve just installed two complete solar water systems and can perhaps add a bit to the backup-powered water discussion. A solar system is tailor-made for supplying water, IMHO, because instead of storing electricity in batteries for nighttime use, it stores water in a tank for use on demand, no inverters, no batteries, no fuel. Simple and effective. Both systems use Grundfos submersible pumps and two solar panels of about 170 watts each. One system pumps …


Letter Re: Brass Recycling

Jim, Just a note regarding Bill K.’s fired cartridge brass recycling idea to raise extra cash – it is a good money making idea with the continuing rise in the price of copper and other metals – our gun club here in North Carolina paid all its property taxes last year on the recycling of fired brass left after shooting events. The club insists that if the shooters don’t wish to take their fired brass home, they spend a few minutes between relays when the line is clear to police up brass and put them into specially marked/painted ‘brass buckets’. …