Category: Communications & Receivers

Amateur Radio for Preppers, by Pastor R.V.

Introductory Disclaimer: I am not an expert in amateur radio in the sense that I have extensive electronics knowledge, nor am I an expert in prepping. However, I have some experience in disaster and lightweight, portable radio operations and have an interest in being prepared. I have been an amateur radio operator, or “ham,” since 1997 when I was first licensed as a fifteen year old. At that point I was drawn to the hobby because my grandfather has always been very active in the amateur radio community and a stickler for disaster communication readiness. In 2011 I finally upgraded …


Letter Re: Don’t Forget the Fuses

For  those of you planning on bugging out with a knife and a backpack when the SHTF, read no further because nothing in this article will be of value to you. For those of us who, for one reason or another, have to plan on bugging in, this might serve as a reminder to stock some cheap but necessary items that you may not have considered. Judging by the number of survival threads and articles that I have read, a number of us plan on maintaining, if possible, some sort of energy source should EMP, flood, hurricane, terrorist act or …


Letter Re: How to Convert an Ammo Can into a Faraday Cage

Sir: I have some of the larger military surplus ammo cans and would like to build my own Faraday cages to store my spare electronics [to protect them from EMP or a severe solar storm]. Do you have any sources to guide me? OBTW, I just finished reading your novel “Patriots”. That was a great read and I could not put it down. Regards,- J.L. (Former NYPD Officer) JWR Replies: What you plan to do is is pretty simple, since the can and lid are already great Faraday shields. The only issue is the gap where they join. That joint needs to …


Tradecraft: Going Jason Bourne, on a Budget

Hollywood movies often show secret agents tossing cell phones out of car windows, and grabbing new ones to activate. In today’s world of almost universal surveillance and tracking, that is actually fairly good tradecraft. When operating in guerrilla warfare mode, a cell phone that is used more than a few times is a liability. So is a cell phone that is “turned off”, but that still has its battery installed. (They can still be tracked.) In summary, here is some cellular phone tradecraft for times of genuinely deep drama: 1.) Don’t create a paper trail when buying clandestine phones. Pay …


Letter Re: A Recommended Retro Reference Site

James, I’m writing to recommend a web site. This guy’s main focus is vintage guitar amplifiers, but he has good repair advice for anyone keeping their vintage vacuum tube radio equipment running, as well. The Idiot’s Guide to Tube Testers…. The Idiot’s Guide to Oscilloscopes… The Idiots Guide to Using  your VTTM (Vacuum Tube Volt Meter)… Regards, – Florida Guy


Survival Tips From the May 20, 2013 Oklahoma Tornado

Let me first say thank you to all who have contributed to this blog for your columns and all your wisdom.  Without this site, my experience during the recent tornado would have been much different! For some background info, I have only been prepping for about a year. I have been an Emergency Medicine physician for over 10 years.  I treated patients of the May 3, 1999 Moore, Oklahoma tornado during my training years and I was involved in door to door search and rescue for the recent May 20, 2013 tornado. While my house was not hit, it did …


Letter Re: Tattletale Alarm Systems

Dear Mr. Rawles, A young friend recommended “Patriots” to me a month ago and, since that time, I’ve consumed it’s two sequels and “How to Survive…”  I was pleased to see that I have followed most if not all of your recommendations without having known them – my endless frustration in life has been to never had an original thought.  In re-reading “Surviving…”, the lighting, alarm and camera chapters, I note that you reference motion detector operated lighting, Dakota Alert MURS systems and webcams but not an alarm system as such. Back in 2008, as moving day to The American …


How I Spent $55 to Study for Two Ham Licenses, Pass the Exams, and Buy a Transceiver, by Allen C.

Until recently I thought of ham radio much like a boat or swimming pool.  Having known amateur radio operators most of my life, I saw it as something that was better to have a friend with one than expend the time and expense myself.  One of the first things I did after purchasing my retreat land was obtain the addresses of licensees in my area from the FCC database and plot them on a map just in case I need to seek their assistance later.  Having acreage in a secluded community deep in the wooded mountains of Appalachia means cell …


Letter Re: Ham Radio Standardization for Survivalbloggers?

Dear JWR, I read the Ham Radio Standardization Article with great interest.  Most preppers are integrating some type of VHF/UHF communications into their plans.  These communications could be MURS, FRS, GMRS, or Amateur (Ham) radio.  In a March 2, 2013 CNET article by Declan McCullagh, I read some rather unsettling information.  In detailing some of DHS’s specifications for their version of the Predator Drone, the author states: “CBP’s specifications say that signals interception and direction-finding technology must work from 30MHz to 3GHz in the radio spectrum. That sweeps in the GSM and CDMA frequencies used by mobile phones, which are …


Letter Re: Ham Radio Standardization for SurvivalBloggers?

Good Day James, I’m a long time fan of your books and your blog thanks for all that you do. There is some great information there. I am interested in finding out if your [local] group or another group has established any ham radio frequencies that may serve as a beacon of information in a SHTF situation or are you totally off the grid when that time comes. I do have your IP written down, but was just curious… Regards, J.M., USMC JWR Replies: The folks at Radio Free Redoubt are already doing a fine job of coordinating communications with their AmRRON …


Solar Storms: Their Impact and How to Prepare, By Tamara W.

Solar [coronal] mass ejections occur most frequently at the peak of the 11 year solar cycle.  Statistics show that Earth will get a direct hit from a major solar mass ejection every about every 500 years. This estimate comes from the number of solar mass ejections we see and frequency. Now figure in the size of the Earth versus the size of the solar mass ejection. The calculation is similar to the odds of a pin landing on a particular point on a globe, except Earth is the pin and the globe is the sun. In the end, we can …


Letter Re: A Prepper’s Guide to EMP

Mr. Rawles, I have to make a comment about information in this article that is just wrong and I have seen others wrongly assume on the internet before. There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to keep metal within the cage from touching the conductor that makes up the Faraday Cage. The reason is that the cage (assuming it has been constructed without gaps or holes, as it should be) forms an “INFINITE” barrier between the electric fields inside and outside of the cage. No electric field can go through the cage because they are dispersed across the surface and do not …


A Prepper’s Guide to EMP, by Chris C.

Those of us who frequent this web site, the prepper community, prepare for a host of potential crises that may befall our nation.  Some are more likely than others, but most share a common background when it comes to being prepared for them.  The event of an EMP strike, however, requires some very specific knowledge and safeguards.  This is a serious enough issue that a study was commissioned by congress several years ago, which found that the threat was real and that we were woefully unprepared. This essay will provide a brief description of the event itself with some supporting …


Letter Re: Advice on Dakota Alerts

Hi Jim and Readers, My Dakota Alert works great, as long as I can keep the batteries fresh, I find that they really use the current up fast. I did paint the outside of my "bird nest" box with paint that looks like bark and green leaf color that I purchased in the paint department at Wal-Mart. It really helps camouflage the box, and when hanging it on a tree, most people never notice it. As for protecting the antenna, I covered it with 1/2 inch black adhesive-lined shrink tubing available from Mouser Electronics. By shrinking it on the antenna is …


Letter Re: Advice on Dakota Alerts

Dear Mr. Rawles,  Greetings! I have enjoyed your blog site.  I noticed you have mentioned several times your use of Dakota Alert systems for your ranch.   This is why I am writing. I would like you input and thoughts.   I was viewing some customer comments on Amazon from those who had purchased the units.  Some complained about rust-out due to moisture (rain) after a few months.    I then followed this up with an e-mail to Dakota Alert manufacturer.    Bryon Pedersen of Dakota Alert responded by stating that most of the moisture issues have been resolved-except for moisture …