Jim,
I for one I’m very happy that your novel “Patriots” back in print. For a long time I gave this book away to friends who I thought might like it, and to some whom I wanted to “feel out” as to whether they thought preparedness was a good idea. I had to stop this of course when your book went out of print, and the cost went skyward. Now I can stock up again.
Also I wanted to thank you for turning me on to MURS Radios. I just made an order with Rob, and will be making another order soon. I also gave Kenwood Radio a call and spoke with their technical department regarding the AA Alkaline Battery Pack for the TK-2100. I wanted to know if my NiMH batteries would work, considering they only put out 1.2 volts each, as compared to the 1.5 of the alkalines. The short answer was yes. – Though range may be decreased a little. The specs say the radios will work just fine with + or – 20 percent of the rated voltage. And since with 6 AAs the [nominal] voltage is 9 volts. That means that 6 AA NiMHs at 1.2 volts each would [collectively] put out 7.2 volts. And this is within spec.
I thought I would also add my two cents about the Dakota Alert system. Though I have not yet received my unit, I would like to address passive infrared (PIR) detectors in general. At one time I was the station supervisor for a UL alarm company, and one of my jobs was to try and limit false and no alarms. The short and sweet of it is that PIR detectors work by “seeing” a change in temperature.
And for them to work best, their sensing beam (it’s not really a beam, but just where it “looks) must terminate on an object within its advertised working distance. That means if it is supposed to cover 80 feet, it should be looking at something within that distance…not just air. When these units have no solid reference, this is when the trouble starts. They may not go into alarm, or they may false alarm, literally at the drop of a hat…or the blowing of a breeze. So when it comes to the Dakota Alert, or PIRs in general, make sure the “beam” is hitting a solid object. Even the ground
would be just fine.
I also now have the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course on my radar screen, and will be getting it real soon. You take care now, – R.E.M.