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1. Well done, sir!

   Those involved in the preparedness field run the gamut, from those putting aside a month’s supply of food, to those who are preparing for a total societal breakdown.

   While most of the readers of this blog have particular concerns about physical security, the great majority will have no military experience or, at least, experience in military occupational specialties that will help them very much in employing effective concepts that will enhance their security position.

   These people will benefit from the ideas you’ve addressed. If readers actually act NOW and accumulate the material and devices you’ve described, they and their families will be much more secure should times turn “spicy.” As in many other areas of preparedness, to attempt to locate and to obtain the “fixins” after the balloon goes up may well fall in the category of being “a day late and a dollar short.”

2. Trip wire operated actived device with high intensity ChemLight (very bright):

   https://www.amazon.com/Cyalume-ChemLight-Military-Ultra-High-Intensity-5/dp/B00CJI6TTM/ref=pd_bxgy_img_3/143-7408127-8902205?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00CJI6TTM&pd_rd_r=65e5137b-d003-42cf-be01-cf7ed7f71d4e&pd_rd_w=iEbWK&pd_rd_wg=8ch8J&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=Q56NBYKW1QQ1KDZCTTMS&psc=1&refRID=Q56NBYKW1QQ1KDZCTTMS

   Replacements:

   “Cyalume ChemLight Military Grade Chemical Light Sticks – 5 Minute Duration Light Sticks Provide Intense Light, Ideal as Emergency or Safety Lights and Much More, Standard Issue for U.S. Military Personnel – Orange, 6” Long (Pack of 10)

   https://www.amazon.com/Cyalume-ChemLight-Military-Chemical-Sticks/dp/B0052ZAO5Y?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-brave-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0052ZAO5Y

3. RE: Infrared ChemLights, as mentioned,

   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B7N6O72/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00B7N6O72&linkCode=as2&tag=survivalcom-20&linkId=255c3557251578179cd55ac1a079b71d

   To save money, once used, remove the liquid and install an LED, or other low light bulb. For example, solder wires to an automotive dash light, or any other bulb that fits in the tube of the expended ChemLight from the parts store that is 12vdc, and run it on 6 vdc, if need be, to reduce the intensity of the light produced.

4. Why reinvent the wheel when DYI videos save one time and money? Spend the time to research and learn, then do. I prefer the simple using common materials, and construction techniques that lend itself to inexpensive and mass production. This type of device can be reproduced by neighbors as well.

   Some devices need to be rugged, and others can be disposable. Begin with the simple, then move to the complex. All or none? Nope. A mix of devices, makes for an adaptable and efficient use of resources. For example, use lower noise shotgun primer devices up close, and the louder versions at distance. Same principle with light bombs. This makes near and far differentiation, and tracking possible.

   3 examples:

   RE: Rat trap on a wire trick replaces the 30 dollar Amazon offering:

   Two DIY Mouse Trap Alarms for SHTF

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EecNWa34Ub4

   ————-
   Modern version of the classic trip wire alarm demonstrated:

   A light can be activated, instead of a fuse, or attach fireworks.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4cYERKlGKU

   ————-

   DYI, simple and inexpensive shotgun primer alarm how to video:
   (1/2″ or 3/4″ aluminium bar stock from the hardware may work as well)

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G69EabaOOe0

5. Night vision is a terrible thing to loose, so make sure they loose in a *FLASH*. Get creative, get some flash, and have some fun….it is child’s play with flash bulbs. Treat’em like the rats they are, and put’em though a maze that will daze. Simple switches massed produced can operate a variety that can, amaze, distract, and disorientate, not just let ya know they are a’coming.

   Shop Ebay:

   The Ultimate in Light Bombs:

   0.47 cents each, requires 3 volts dc. Solder wires and attach to line with wire nuts. Disregard polarity. A 9 volt battery from the dollar store is convenient and 1 dollar = extreme bright flash that can be intensified with a reflector backing. Add something that goes ‘BANG’ if you’d like. I have a box of 100 acquired over time, and purchased at a thrift store located in Nowhere, Montana. Average cost, 0.05 cents.

   Mini, and Mighty, 0.21 cents each:

   Lot of 49 Vintage Flash Bulbs (Photo, Camera) GE, Sylvania (M2, M3B, AG1B, DYV)

   https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-49-Vintage-Flash-Bulbs-Photo-Camera-GE-Sylvania-M2-M3B-AG1B-DYV/183806378666?hash=item2acbb6c2aa:g:xP4AAOSww7Nc1dAV

   This the ye’old flash cube that is set off with a mechanical trigger. Very simple, compact, and the easiest to deploy. Batteries not required is a huge plus. Push a probe onto the tiny wire located in a slot in the underside to find out how it works. Wear heavy leather gloves to protect hands, or best yet, use channel-lock pliers to hold the flash cube. Flash is smaller, yet intense. Best for the buck.

   Sylvania FlashCubes Camera Flash Cubes Lot 12 (144 Total Flashes) New Old Stock
   https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sylvania-FlashCubes-Camera-Flash-Cubes-Lot-12-144-Total-Flashes-New-Old-Stock/383098571218?hash=item59327449d2:g:wW4AAOSwFpddUBya

6. Mousetrap/rattrap devices are certainly effective in alerting a defender that an intruder is present. Sometimes, however, pinpointing the intruder’s point of entry and likely whereabouts after the report is heard can be difficult. This can be a problem especially when multiple traps are being used.

   Cheap solar lights used along sidewalks can be purchased for $1.00 at dollar stores. By mounting them on trees or poles, for example, and by attaching the trip wire, say, fishing line, to the piece of plastic that comes with the solar light (the plastic piece separates the contact and the battery so that the light is not activated until it is sold) the light will remain unlit until the trip wire pulls the plastic piece away from the battery. Once it is illuminated, it will help narrow down the specific area where the intruder is likely to be.

   By mounting the light at a place well above the average person’s height and on the defender’s side of the tree/pole, it is quite likely that an economy grade solar light will not be noticed by an intruder as he continues walking toward the defender’s position, oblivious to the fact that his presence has likely been discovered.

   So, a decision needs to be made by the defender. Is it more desirable to scare away an intruder with a device that uses a loud bang, only to allow him to return and test the perimeter elsewhere on another occasion, or is it more desirable for the defender to be alerted to an intruder’s presence and to allow the intruder to continue walking forward, unaware of the fact that the defender has been alerted about his presence and that the defender is well-prepared to meet him, thus ending the threat once and for all?

   I expect that for most people “it all depends.”

   One last thought: using trip wires with mousetraps or rat traps will be troublesome in high winds, so anyone living in areas where high winds are common should consider this issue when making decisions.

   1. Re: mouse/rat traps……and bear traps (Conibear, not short seller traps)

      Good point about wind. Modify the trigger? I prefer they did not come back….with no stories to be told. It is a can’t loose proposition. Whether razzled and dazzled, and disoriented for easier pick’ns, or are convinced that there is lower hanging fruit elsewhere, is their decision. That decision can be enhanced with tracers. And that would be an individual’s decision.

      1. Just a quick thought, but a circular shroud around the solar lights that is pointed in the direction of the defender would help keep the intruder clueless about having hit a trip wire because there would be even less light shining downward on the ground. The light would still be very obvious to the defender on a dark night.

         1. If going that route, high intensity LED area lighting, aka prison yard style, to light them up in the funnel, that would deny NV (night vision), and put them in the ‘spot light’.

            A better option would be NV, PVS-14, as you see everywhere and it is passive. A couple of guys with PVS-14 and commo, would have an unfair advantage. And that is what we are striving for, one way or another, not parody. Sculpt the battlefield, make sure you will win the fight before it happens. Read Sun Tzu and other. “Your first best weapon is your mind”.

            1. The issue in the article and the comments was small, inexpensive devices that would add to a security “package.” My point about the shroud was that it would be a way to alert the defender while not alerting the bad guy.

               Using a PVS-14 is obviously an excellent choice in night vision, but it is in an entirely different universe. A $3,600 price tag is simply not doable to the average guy. When compared to small devices that might help improve security, it is like saying, “Just nuke ’em.”

7. Thanks everyone for the great comments! Some of what’s been proposed will be covered in later sections of this article, so please continue reading and keep the comments coming.

8. RTL SDR’s don’t transmit, they only receive. Are you perhaps thinking of a different technology?

9. Petra,

   Thank you. I did some additional research after I submitted this article and discovered that the RTL-SDR could only be hacked into a weak transmitter. I’ve submitted a follow-up article that goes into detail about how to add a radio transmission capability to a security system, so stay tuned.

   JM

   1. Outstanding, sir! I’ve made some attempts to build my own and haven’t had a lot of success. That’s hard to admit since I have been a lifelong electronics hobbyist, as well as an electronics tech in the Air Force and a ham of 30+ years.

10. Hi Survivormann99,

    Cant’ reply directly, so I’ll try it here. I apologize as I did not understand the idea behind your invention. I am all about inexpensive alarms, and innovation. I struggle to get by myself, so completely understand. I am fortunate to have NV.

    PVS-14 is terrible expensive. Bob Griswald at Ready Made Resource was advertising that he’ll finance the purchase at his store. I agree with him that this PVS-14 is worth going into debt for. It is that useful, and in some ‘eyes’, expert opinion, that it is 7+ force multiplier. 3rd generation PVS-14 is amazing. Once one has experienced it, they will understand. NV is much more pervasive today than it was 10 years ago, and those who are the most motivated and potential threats, might have some form of NV.

    We should attempt to find some method to defeat NV. High power lighting would level the playing field if one knew attackers were use NV. OF course inexpensive alarm can help.

11. Wow, I am impressed by the quality of the article and especially your comments.

    On trick the VC used during the War in Vietnam was an obvious tripwire that someone would see and step over or cut. The now smug individual would move forward with less caution and set off a boobytrap or alarm.

    A lot of Marines were crippled and killed by this simple ruse. Many others were detected and ventilated
    in their over-confidence.
    Carry on

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