Category: Communications & Receivers

After 10 Years–Some Observations and Lessons Learned by a Y2K-Era Prepper

It was June, 1998. Y2K was a salient topic of conversation. It got my attention. When the electricity went off and there would be no water to drink, and no fuel to move food to the JIT grocery stores, I could see things getting very ugly. I had been willing to fight for this nation as a member of the US Army. Now it was time to fight for my household. I bought a Springfield Armory M1A. I bought a safe to store it in. I bought another M1A (for the spousal unit of course!) I bought ammo. Lots of …


A Citizen’s Band (CB) Radio Installation Primer, by C.G.

Citizen Band (CB) radio requires no FCC license to operate so it is a good choice for local communication. If cell phones fail to work for whatever reason, it may be the best method for remote communication since its range is better than FRS and GMRS. When I installed my first CB in a vehicle, I was happy just to get it in and be able to transmit to my buddy who lived the next block over. I’ve matured since then and my tolerance for white noise is less than what it used to be. I’ve learned over the years …


Letter Re: Amateur Radio Frequency Bands and Licenses

Mr. Rawles, Concerning the mention under the “Communications Gear” category [in a recently-posted Profile]: “CB and base station with modified ham frequencies”. One bit of warning – if you don’t have a FCC Amateur Radio license, who do people think they are going to talk to on the ham frequencies? Amateur Radio is not the free-for-all situation that is commonly found on Citizen’s Band (CB). In addition to the FCC Rules & Regulations (Part 97), it tends to be very self-regulated. Even in an “emergency situation” you might find it difficult to find anyone willing to answer your bootleg transmissions …


Technology After TEOTWAWKI, by JLG in Texas

“A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.” (Proverbs 24:5-6) Most survivalist planning focuses on physical needs—food, shelter, clothing, first aid, self defense. While the physical essentials rightly belong at the top of the list, there’s almost always some empty space left in the locker/bunker/trailer/back-of-the-truck for…something. What to put in there? Human beings are social animals, and we need each other; God has woven this into our genetic code. A “Lone Ranger” survivalist might have an edge in the short-term, but a group of …


Two Letters Re: Observations on a Tour of a Telephone Company Central Office

James: The batteries are why the phone still works when the power goes out. That is if you still have an old style (hard wire) phone and not all cordless phones. The cordless phones need 120 VAC power to run the base station. You should maintain at least one all wire somewhere in your house. I believe the [common design for COs is that the] whole building is built in such a way that it is a big Faraday Cage. It would take a pretty close proximity EMP to take one out. The EMP danger is in the above ground …


Letter Re: Observations on a Tour of a Telephone Company Central Office

Hi Jim, I just came back from a tour of one of our local phone company’s central office (CO) and this is what I learned: Besides finding out how our phone lines work, I found out that the hardware there runs on 48 volt DC power. There is a large battery bank in the basement and the batteries are charged by the grid. It is made up of large clear cylinders and you can see the acid level and the plates inside. In the case of the grid going down it has a generator back up. Many of these offices …


The Precepts of My Survivalist Philosophy

In the past week I’ve had three newcomers to SurvivalBlog.com write and ask me to summarize my world view. One of them asked: “I could spend days looking through [the] archives of your [many months of] blog posts. But there are hundreds of them. Can you tell me where you stand, in just a page? What distinguishes the “Rawlesian” philosophy from other [schools of] survivalist thought?” I’ll likely add a few items to this list as time goes on, but here is a general summary of my precepts: Modern Society is Increasingly Complex, Interdependent, and Fragile. With each passing year, …


The ABCs of WTSHTF, by Mark B.

The ABCs of When the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF.) aren’t what you have prepared, acquired or stowed but even more basic in the preparation processes that we sometimes take for granted. The A is the ability to learn, to adapt and to try. No matter how many classes we take or how much we have stored away there is the potential that we might have missed something or prepared for one scenario and ended up with another. We may be in the middle of TEOTWAWKI and not be fully ready but guess what, we aren’t scheduling it. Ability is …


Letter Re: Alternative News Sources When The Grid Goes Down

James In the early 1990s–before Internet was ubiquitous–I remember a well-connected VHF packet remailer network that was nearly on par with the old Fidonet dial up network. Unfortunately while many hams played with packet 15 years ago, the complex mailbox routing networks are now mostly replaced by the Internet. I don’t expect any data network resembling the Internet to evolve if the grid goes down. This is not to say that local networks using sound card data modems on CB or FRS radio or with Wi-Fi gear might not spring up, but it would be a low priority in both …


Letter Re: Surplus Ambulances as BOVs

Dear Mr. Rawles, Perhaps an overlooked, but wonderful option for a BOV is an ambulance. You can often find used ambulances on eBay or at [fleet dispersal] auctions. They often have fairly low miles, have been well maintained and are most often diesel. They come with lots of storage compartments and equipment built in, as well most have propane fuel systems, generators, inverters etc. There is usually at least one “bed” in them as well. The outside storage compartments are often ready to go for the prepper as they are often diamond plate on the interior and have webbing for …


Letter Re: Alternative News Sources When The Grid Goes Down

Sir, I have been hooked to your blog for weeks now and have a topic suggestion for you. The only news I can trust comes from independent blogs with communities of users working together to bring critical information to light. Web sites like The Housing Bubble Blog have saved me tens of thousands of dollars by being months ahead of the mainstream media (MSM) and by reporting honestly. With the internet we have the means to organize grassroots efforts to support candidates like Ron Paul. We can be kept up to date with the latest injustices and know when our …


The “Come as You Are” Collapse–Have the Right Tools and Skills

In the Second World War, the United States had nearly two full years to ramp up military training and production before decisively confronting the Axis powers. In the late 1970s, looking at the recent experience of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Pentagon’s strategic planners came to the realization that the next major war that the US military would wage would not be like the Second World War. There would not be the luxury of time to train and equip. They realized that we would have to fight with only what we had available on Day One. They dubbed this the …


Letter Re: AA Cells and Mobile Power

There was a discussion about batteries a few days back on SurvivalBlog. The writer advocated using AA NiMH cells almost exclusively, with adapters for devices requiring C and D cells. While I do agree that this is a good approach for some devices, there is certainly some merit to having full size 10 Amp Hour (10,000 MAH) batteries in high [current] draw or long term use devices. Not only is capacity significantly higher on larger cells, but the maximum safe current draw is higher too. Good NiMH C cells have 2-to-3 times the capacity of AA cells, and NiMH D …


The Big Picture — Grid Up Versus Grid Down–Oil, Soil, and Water

Before selecting retreat locale, It is crucial that you decide on your own worst case scenario. A location that is well-suited to surviving a “slow-slide” grid up scenario (a la the deflationary depression of the 1930s) might not necessarily be well suited to a grid down situations. As stated in my post on August 15, 2005, a grid down situation will likely cause a sudden onset variation of TEOTWAWKI with a concomitant mass exodus from the big cities resulting in chaos on a scale heretofore never seen in modern memory. My own personal “best case” scenario is an economic depression, …


From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Start With a “List of Lists”

Start your retreat stocking effort by first composing a List of Lists, then draft prioritized lists for each subject, on separate sheets of paper. (Or in a spreadsheet if you are a techno-nerd like me. Just be sure to print out a hard copy for use when the power grid goes down!) It is important to tailor your lists to suit your particular geography, climate, and population density as well as your peculiar needs and likes/dislikes. Someone setting up a retreat in a coastal area is likely to have a far different list than someone living in the Rockies. As …