Letter Re: A Useful Reference on Amateur Radio Band Designations

Jim, Here is a useful link for a free, downloadable, “.pdf ” format, frequency allocation chart. It is located on the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) web site. It delineates the U.S. amateur bands and their assigned usages from 1.8 MHz to 1.3 GHz. Regards, – Joe from Tennessee JWR Replies: Thanks for sending that link. The radio band designations can be confusing to folks who are newcomers to the short wave listening and amateur radio worlds. I highly recommend that all SurvivalBlog readers at the very minimum buy themselves a short wave radio and a multi-band police scanner, and …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Fall: “The median price of a single-family home fell to $219,800 last month, a drop of 2.5 percent from the price in September 2005. That was the biggest year-over-year price decline in records going back nearly four decades.” I’ve been warning SurvivalBlog readers about this since I first started the blog, back in August of 2005. Buckle your seatbelts, folks! We are about to witness the part of the roller coaster ride when everyone screams. (So far all that we’ve heard have been a few nervous whimpers.)    o o o Vic at Safecastle mentioned …



Note From JWR:

I still have room for a few more Retreat Owner Profiles. I’d particularly appreciate reading profiles from overseas readers. If you “live the life”, just write your own profile (following the same format as the other profiles, and answering the same questions) and e-mail it to us. Just be sure to fictionalize things slightly (especially geographic details), to preserve your anonymity.


Letter Re: Pandemic Reference Guides Now Available

Dear Jim: Bruce Beach, the driving force behind the Ark Two nuclear shelter in Canada, mentioned the Pandemic Reference Guides web site in his e-mail newsletter. (By the way, Bruce’s article “You Will Survive Doomsday” is just one of the must-read highlights of his informative web site.) With some very wise forethought, the Pandemic Reference Guides are set up to be easily downloadable to your hard drive or CD. So you can copy it now, before the site gets buried with requests in the event of a real pandemic emergency. Are there any qualified medical folks that read SurvivalBlog who …


Two Letter Re: MURS Radios and Microphone Connections

Jim, I am considering buying a set of the MURS radios from your advertiser [MURS Radio] but I have a question for you and the readers. I want to use a microphone setup like this but the plugs seem to be incompatible. The radio is a Kenwood K1 plug and the microphone is listed as Motorola Pro Series 2 pin. Are there adapters to connect the two or are there similar or better throat microphone setups that will work with the K1 plug? Thanks, – W. in Wyoming [I forwarded W.’s e-mail to Rob at MURS Radio, and he sent …


Letter Re: Gas Masks, Fire, and Chlorine Gas

Jim, Thank you for your hard work on maintaining the SurvivalBlog. I was first introduced to survival ideas in the late 1990s when I read your novel “TEOTWAWKI” (I read it again when it was [expanded and] re-published as “Patriots”.) I truly appreciate the time and effort you spend promoting a self-reliant way of life. I am an Air Force NBC instructor (have been for about 8 years now) and I am concerned that recent posts on your web site will lead people to believe that military gas masks will protect them from industrial chemical releases. Military masks (M17, M40, …



The Memsahib’s Quote of the Day:

“It’s in our fallen, sinful nature for tyrants to rise up in every nation. And unfortunately, it’s also in our nature that the vast majority in every nation is either too stupid or too apathetic to do anything about it until the tyrants have put up their barbed wire and spilled a lot of blood.” – James Wesley, Rawles, Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse


Note From JWR:

When you write your obligatory Christmas card insert “brag letter” this year, please mention that you’ve been reading SurvivalBlog. If you send an electronic version, it would be greatly appreciated if you’d include a SurvivalBlog link logo or link text. Every bit of publicity helps. (Our goal is to double the SurvivalBlog readership in 2007.) Thanks!


Two Letters Re: Sources for Plumbed-In Reserve Water Tanks?

Jim, The black poly tanks ($600 for a 1,550 gallon tank) are better than the clean septic tanks that you mentioned because not only are they buriable, but the black poly is UV-proof and algae will not grow in the black tanks. I use one on top of the ground to supplement the hot water supplied by the water heater. If you can’t bury the tank, then I recommend setting it on the surface and build a protective wall around the tank with native rock and mortar. This will [absorb or] turn away bullets in case your enemies decide to …


Two Letters Re: Gas Masks, Fire, and Chlorine Gas

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Jim: Just something I would really like to beat to death, and that’s Chlorine, Fires and Gas masks. I just keep getting this really creepy feeling that there are a lot of folks out there that aren’t clued in on the limitations of gas masks and may kill themselves. First:, grass fires, forest fires and house fires. A gas mask will keep you from choking on the fumes and stop your eyes from watering but it will kill you! The mask will stop the particulate matter that irritates your eyes, throat and lungs but it will not make oxygen where …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Frequent content contributor (and top notch novelist) Michael Z. Williamson mentioned two interesting articles posted over at the Box O’ Truth web site: New tests on pistol shotshells, and will school books stop bullets? (To explain: A candidate for the office of Texas state superintendent of schools recently said that he wants to distribute thick used textbooks to students so they can shield themselves from school shooters.)    o o o London Underground contact surfaces to get anti-flu disinfectant silver spray.    o o o There is currently an interesting thread about walking sticks/staves over at The Claire Files. Yes, …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Freedom isn’t purchased or held indefinitely, it’s more like a loan that’s never paid off. The “payment” is constant vigilance against government encroachment; by our grandfathers, our fathers, and us. If the payments are ignored, the penalty will be collected in blood from our sons and daughters." – Jim Howard, 2003


Notes From JWR:

You may have noticed that the blog page was unavailable for several hours last night. It was at temporary problem at the ISP’s server. (Which is usually rock solid.) It is back up and running this morning. Sorry about the inconvenience. If you know of any potential advertisers for SurvivalBlog, please contact them and encourage them to sign up for a banner ad. Our advertising rates are dirt cheap. Be advised that we sell ad space only to advertisers that offer top quality products and services.