Letter Re: Questions About FRS Radio Capabilities

Dear SurvivalBlog: At my condo complex in Florida, we’ve been wondering if we could use consumer two-way radios–such as Motorola Talkabout two-way radios–to communicate successfully between (from inside) condo units. We would do this during scenarios such as a severe hurricane. The question is whether those radios (which, of course, come in several models with different specs) use the right frequency band and and have adequate power to penetrate the multiple concrete walls that would be line-of-sight between the communicating radios. We assume–in planning for worst possible case–that both line telephone and cell phone service would be down, and are …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mr. Lima mentioned a site with some useful videos on basic homesteading skills like gardening, fruit trees, growing grains, beekeeping, and so forth. They’ve promise to add more videos coming about alternate energy, raising rabbits and chickens, food storage and more.    o o o Philip N. flagged this: Depression survivors: ‘We lived the hard way’    o o o Jack B. sent this: Lights are on, but banks increasingly closed: James Saft. And meanwhile, several readers mentioned this ominous prediction: Credit crunch may take out large US bank warns former IMF chief.    o o o Susan Z. sent …



Note from JWR:

Today we are pleased to welcome our newest advertiser: SecurityPro.com. They have a very broad line of products including binoculars, hydration packs, flashlights, Trijicon scopes, knives, holsters, boots, helmets, body armor, BDUs, anti-vehicular barriers, and much more. They even sell armored vehicles!


Letter Re: Using 20mm Ammo Cans as Contingency Caches

Hi Jim, After reading “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse” a second time (and this time tabbing the pages) and making note of the ROTC cadet’s story, I acquired some 20mm-sized ammo cans. I thought I’d put together at least one contingency box [for an underground cache], in the event of losing everything else, due to being overrun by bad guys, etc. First off, instead of pavement/roadway emulsion, I took two of these cans to a Line-X [spray-on bed liner] shop, to have them painted with their material. They were happy to help, since they were shooting a metal surface with …


Letter Re: A Tasmanian’s Perspective on Preparedness

Hi, I have been reading SurvivalBlog now for several months and really enjoyed the articles. I live in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia . For those who don’t know the place and I imagine there are many who are unfamiliar with this part of the world, it’s an island at the bottom of Australia. I work on disease protection for the government. This involves responding to bird flu pandemics, terrorist attacks etc. Being an island at the bottom of the world with not many threats, it’s an easy job. But I do believe that there is lots of trouble coming in the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Bob S. pointed us to an interesting thread in progress over at the When SHTF Forum, about Bug-Out Vehicles (BOVs). I generally advise painting BOVs in a single flat earth tone color. A camouflage paint scheme can actually attract attention, which could be a bad thing. OBTW, most semi-gloss paints can be turned into flat paint by mixing in a flattener additive before spraying it on.    o o o The Russians continue to claim publicly that they are “withdrawing” from Georgia. If so, then why is their armor still heading south? Perhaps they’re planning to withdraw by way …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"I remember during the metals’ bull market of the 1970s when we were worried about gas rising to $1.50 a gallon, some enterprising gas stations put up signs selling gas for a dime a gallon. Of course, they wanted pre-1964, 90-percent silver dimes which had value in excess of a gallon of gas. If you were smart, you didn’t fall for it. You were better off keeping the coins to yourself." – Howard J. Ruff


Letter Re: Maintaining the Nuclear Survival Mindset

Hi, I won’t mention my name because of the privacy concerns you so eloquently pointed out in your blog, but here’s an example of what you were asking about in regards to preparations for a new cold/hot war. I was in the USAF in Security Police from 1980 to 1989, the height of the Cold War, when President Reagan was stepping up the pressure on the then Soviet Union. I served in ICBMs (Minuteman III’s and the Peacekeeper) at Warren AFB in Wyoming and overseas in Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCMs) at Florennes Air Base, Belgium. One of the things …


Letter Re: Health Saving Accounts in the US–Buying Retreat Medical Supplies with Pre-Tax Dollars

Hi Jim – Thanks for your blog. It is well worth the [voluntary] 10 cents a day. Just a quick tip on saving money. Many employers offer flexible spending [“Health Savings”] accounts [(HSAs)] that are funded with pre-tax money. These accounts are usually billed as letting the employee pay for office co-pays, prescription co-pays, etc. tax free. But depending on the program, many other things qualify for purchases through the account. For example, my employer’s program allows most over-the-counter [medical] products. Things like bandages, creams, contact lens solution, foot care products and more are all valid purchases. I’ve been able …


Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Precious Metals Purchasing

Mr. Rawles, Not long ago you mentioned the price of precious metals had fallen. Today the market ended with spot precious metals taking a sharp dive. If any reader does not have at least some silver or gold for when the economy really drops off, now is definitely the time to get them. Kitco is one source. I use the Northwest Territorial Mint for large purchases. For smaller buys, I have used Mint Products, but they are more for the collector, and not bullion speculator. I have been able to amass a large sum of bullion, in the forms of …


Odds ‘n Sods:

OSOM sent us this link from National Geographic: How to Survive (Almost) Anything: 14 Survival Skills    o o o Cheryl flagged this article from The Telegraph: Spanish government cuts short holiday as economy collapses    o o o Wes at WK Books has decided to give away one of the best survival manuals on the web, in HTML: U.S. Army Field Manual Survival 3-05.70 (FM 21-76) Print out a copy and leave a copy on your hard disk.    o o o Reader CJ mentioned a Russian web site with some uncensored photos of the war in South Ossetia. …



Note from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $350. The auction for a mixed lot that includes: Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans, (donated by Ready Made Resources–a $320 value), a NukAlert radiation detector, (donated by KI4U–a $160 value), a Wilson Tactical COP tool, (donated by Choate Machine and Tool Company, a $140 value), a DVD of 480 E-books on Alternative Energy (donated by WK Books–a $25 value). The auction ends on September 15, 2008. Please e-mail us your bid.


The Grand Illusion: G8 – 1 = Cold War II?

Perhaps Anatoliy Golitsyn was right. He was a high level Soviet defector that predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union, claiming that perestroika and glasnost were charades that had been planned for decades by the Soviet-era KGB leadership to strategically deceive the West into thinking that we had “won” the Cold War. Some evidence: the recent Russian invasion of Georgia, Russia’s nuclear threats against Poland, and Putin’s hints of positioning ICBMs in Cuba. (As I’ve written before, history doesn’t exactly repeat itself, but it often rhymes.) Was Golitsyn right? The West may have been the victim of the greatest dezinformatisaya …