Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction lot is now at $120. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value) –both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources as well as seven other items: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), …


Letter Re: Potential for Gold Confiscation in the U.S.?

Hi Jim, I’d very much like your opinion on this matter. I’ve been investing in gold and silver bullion for a couple years now. One source from which I made one of my purchases stated that he believed that gold and silver are going to be confiscated from citizens by our government when the economy implodes and that the confiscation will take place soon after an announcement is made without warning, that the face value of the gold will be reset to $42.00, which will be the sum that’s reimbursed upon confiscation. He argued that investing in pre-1933 collectable silver …


Letter Re: Getting Yourself–and Your Rifle–Fitted for Body Armor

Dear Jim: Boston T. Party backs up your opinion on the value of Body Armor – to quote: “… An order of magnitude advantage” (“Boston on Surviving Y2K and Other Lovely Disasters“). you posted a good letter from Ryan that mentioned adjusting your buttstock length to account for Body Armor, web gear, etc. The main point to test all your gear – all at the same time – is a real nugget of wisdom. It’s amazing the glitches that pop up that you can never foresee until you test. One thing to note – 2″ is probably a little too …


Letter Re: Constructing an Improvised CB Radio Antenna

Jim, Regarding the recent blog article “Constructing an Improvised CB Radio Antenna”, here is a site that has good construction info and a few graphical images of custom built CB antennas This site by Signal Engineering adds some antenna theory for those inclined to learn more about CB antennas. If you are into experimenting with antennas, I recommend getting an antenna analyzer from MFJ. They are fairly inexpensive (as far as test equipment go) yet will yield very helpful tuning and optimization information. You can purchase one for use in nearly any radio service (ham, CB, VHF/UHF. etc).- Rob at …


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader “Rightcoast” mentioned that the new anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction titled Wastelands, from Night Shade Books, is now available for ordering. (I first mentioned this book back before it was available for ordering.) The authors include M. Rickert, Cory Doctorow, and Richard Kadrey.    o o o We live in a very remote, lightly-populated area “somewhere west of the Rockies”, so our daytime radio reception is pitiful. (Although at night, it is fantastic on the AM and shortwave bands.) Since we enjoy listening to Internet radio webcasts and podcasts such as sermons, I recently got a small FM transmitter …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 14 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 14 ends on January 31st, so e-mail us your entry soon! Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.


Constructing an Improvised CB Radio Antenna, by Dim Tim

I have put a great deal of the info I have gleaned from SurvivalBlog to good use in my own preps. To reciprocate, the following is one of hopefully many bits of survival information that I plan to pass along to all the readers, in the hope that it will help someone else. A short time back I read a few posts on some survival communications issues, and found them to be very helpful. They also got me to thinking about something that I did back around the start of the eighties, that I believe would be a great piece …


Letter Re: Ballistic Protection of Straw Bale Houses?

Jim, I love your blog site and appreciate the service that you provide. I stumbled on SurvivalBlog several months back and quickly ordered your novel [“Patriots”]; loved it and found it to be life changing event. I am a former Infantry Marine of 13+ years medically retired from wounds received in Fallujah in November of ’04. Needless to say, I have had some pretty major paradigm shifts (in the line of preparedness and government encroachment) since I retired in August of ’06. On with my question: I have done quiet a bit of ballistic demonstrations on the usual and conventional …


Letter Re: U.S. Climate Data Available Online

Jim: Some comments on studying climates and microclimates: I do a fair amount of this professionally, and there are a couple more things worthy of discussion: 1) when looking at a specific area, in which a subject property is located, pay particular attention to low areas where cold settles. These areas will freeze first. Crop performance will vary widely. Study not just the winds, but the exposure–the microclimate. Solar, wind, rainfall and snowfall patterns. 2) Do not build with haste. We encourage people to live with a property in as-is conditions for a year if they can, so that they …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “FFF” recommended some commentary from Patrick Buchanan: Subprime Nation    o o o For any of you that have been dragging your feet on taking a course at Front Sight: they just announced their biggest freebie offer ever. The Memsahib and I have both taken the Four Day Defensive Handgun course at Front Sight, and we can vouch that it is absolutely top notch training, even for experienced pistol shooters. And BTW, the Springfield Armory XD .45 that is included in the offer is a fine choice for self defense. Here in the States it is now just as …



Note from JWR:

Congratulations to Kevin B., the high bidder in the recent SurvivalBlog benefit auction for an HK Emergency Flare Launcher and 28 flares. Today we begin a new auction. This one is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel, kindly donated by Ready Made Resources (a $140 retail value) as well as seven other items: A set of Michael Z. Williamson’s sniper trilogy books, a copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of …


Letter Re: U.S. Climate Data Available Online

Jim, I’m not sure if this has been covered here before, but here are a few links to Government climate data and maps in the US. Microclimate data are represented as well, to a degree limited by the number of stations: Climate Maps of the United States – Lookup Page Monthly Station Climate Summaries – By Station U.S. Climate Normals For those interested in wind speeds and patterns across the USA for whatever reason, the map link above can be supplemented with the data for the major population centers. Thanks again for your hard work, – The DFer JWR Replies: …