Category: Contest

Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) There is a serious weakness in the Baofeng UV-5R and several other similar radios, since there is no off-the-shelf charger made to charge these radios from a standard 12vdc source. Fortunately, we can make our own 12vdc step-down charger power supply by putting together the parts that I list below. It can charge up to four Baofeng UV5R radios, or any brand handheld radios, and even some Kenwood and Midland radios (transceivers), or any radio that requires 9vdc  to 10vdc at its charger base. It can charge more than 4 handhelds at …


Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3.) CB Radios Cobra has time-tested models that are sure to please you. However, there are less expensive brands that may be just as reliable, but lack some of the useful features that Cobra offers. Regardless, 40-channel handhelds and mobile CBs are limited to 3.5 watts. As a practical matter, I would be inclined to buy several of the least expensive CBs before getting something as nice as a full-featured Cobra, or better yet, a CB with SSB. I apply this approach to all my purchases in order to create as deep a supply as possible.  Logistics …


Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) Test All Antennas for Acceptable SWR The antenna manufacturer of the Tram 1481 boosts an impressive gain on the VHF side of 8 dBi. Given the low power tests conducted, I found this figure plausible as 3.5 watts sent to the dual band Tram 1481 antenna mount only a few feet off the ground was easily received by a Baofeng UV5R on a J-pole located at a distance of 18.3 miles away LOS, and on the other side of a small mountain. The signal was reflect around the mountain. The SWR on low power at that …


Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) Antennas, Expedient Techniques, and Construction Methods A radio tech should be sure to have several SWR meters, one of which is for the 11-meter band, and have the ability to improvise and construct antennas of all kinds — even if it is only a dipole.  For CB, an expedient 1/2 wave dipole (216-inches long) made from coaxial cable propagates much better than a 52″ long 1/8-wave ground plane CB antenna. CBs have a very long radio wave as compared to UHF/VHF radio and thus require much taller and larger antennas to propagate to their full potential.  …


Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Long-term survival necessarily requires a community that can sustain itself.  As I have no family, I am more focused on this objective than those who must be concerned with a family to feed.  However, this topic should be of more concern to those with progeny to consider.  Without a plan in place and in action now, we might as well be planning to fail. A plan, any plan, is better than no plan.  The process of continually planning is also more important than any one plan,  As a rule, we should be continually be assessing a changing environment and discovering …


Moving to the Country: If Not Now, When? – Part 3, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Financial Concerns, Taking a Vow of Poverty In my case, retiring early and cashing out most of my 401k took a leap of faith to say the least. It helped that I was debt-free and willing to put up with almost any inconvenience and suffer financially if necessary if it meant finally getting to live my dream life in the country. That was my primary goal above all else. How to get by if the funds ran dry was only a secondary concern that I’d deal with later if necessary. That’s how …


Moving to the Country: If Not Now, When? – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued From Part 1.) Design Features and Customizations Every place I’ve ever lived had a large living room and a smaller kitchen. I made the kitchen the largest room in the house since we spend a lot of time cooking, baking, and playing board games. There’s a loft on both sides of the kitchen leaving an 18’ ceiling with a large skylights above, giving the room a much larger feeling as well as making it bright and cheery, even on cloudy days. There’s a large 4’ x 6’ picture window to enjoy the view. The cat wanted 8” wide window …


Moving to the Country: If Not Now, When? – Part 1, by St. Funogas

With winter ebbing and spring headed our way, some folks are probably thinking a little more frequently about getting out of the city once and for all. Having “been there done that,” it saddens me to read comments on SurvivalBlog from people wanting to start living a simpler more self-reliant lifestyle in the country but they just can’t seem to make it happen. For some of those, I’m confident they could turn their hopes into reality if they could learn to think out of the box, rethink normalcy, toss some of their fears aside, and make some sacrifices to make …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 105

We’ve completed the judging for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize-winning writers are: First Prize First Prize goes to Greg X., for Finding, Buying, and Improving My Bugout Location.  (Posted March 14-16, 2023.  See: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.) He will receive the following prizes: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 …


When War Comes – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) The People’s Land Army During the Second World War, young women were enlisted to leave the cities to go work in the countryside on English farms. Given that our modern Argibusiness will fall due to the lack of replacement/repair parts, Bio-robots will need be used, that is humans. There is a long history of the draft for war for conscripting soldiers and sailors but what about a draft for factory and farm workers? We may have a clue that “conscription” for non-military functions may be planned for our post-apocalypse life. In the …


When War Comes – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

Just like before World Wars One and Two, the war drums are beating louder and louder. Politicians are also saying that they do not want war and war is unlikely, very much like they did in the United States before we entered both World War One and two. This article is intended to cut through the bull manure and present a very logical case that we are marching to another pivotal point in history, what life on the home front may look like and what you should be doing to prepare. The Definition of Insanity If you look at the …


Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 3, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Resources and Recommendations Sorry, I don’t have a free full curriculum link for you. All new homeschooling parents look for it and I was no exception. Now, with a few years under my belt, I am suspicious of things claiming to be a complete curriculum let alone a free one. Every teacher supplements the curriculum and it’s a surprisingly fine line between supplementing and building. Your job is to keep your child challenged and working at their best. Too rigid a curriculum, or sticking too rigidly to one, will hamstring your child. …


Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1.) Three principles for educating your child Educating your children is going to take a lot of investment. In beginning stages the things you need are free or cheap but you will need to invest a lot of time. As the student gets older the materials will cost more but each student will be capable of more independent work. Regardless of where they are on that journey some principles will always be guiding you as you parent and teach. I’ll suggest 3: Homeschooling is a way of life. Follow and grow interest. Be brilliant in the basics. …


Homeschooling, a Report From the Trenches – Part 1, by N.C.

I was surprised to see that homeschooling was a topic of interest for SurvivalBlog but given homeschooling’s growth over the last few years, I ought not have been. So first, why should you listen to me? Well, I was homeschooled K-12, graduated college, got two advanced degrees, taught at the university level, and am now homeschooling my own kids. My wife’s much more practical choice of major means that this is the logical choice for us. I am a homeschooling success story and I believe in it enough to shoulder the cost and the work (as my children shoulder the …


Bank Failures are Driving What I’m Doing, by Sara Sue

I’ve been trying to figure out what The Powers That Be (TPTB) are up to and how it’s going to affect me. I can only speak of my own strategy for the coming deep recession and/or depression. I can’t solve the big picture crisis. I can only attend to my own farm and family. My primary goals have been to grow food as if our lives depend upon it, and to get as far away as possible from any big city without being so remote I can’t get help. Additionally, since I rely on banking, a year or so ago …