Category: Contest

Practical Multigenerational Housing, by Hollyberry

Editors’ Introductory Note: Outwardly, the topic of this article might seem tangential to SurvivalBlog. But please consider that a natural disaster, a societal collapse, or even just sudden unemployment might throw some odd groups of people together to live under one roof. It might be relatives, or it might be some close friends. Or it might just be “that guy who you know from church” with the well-honed tactical skills. Take this prospect seriously, and plan accordingly. (The painting above is titled The Bedroom, by Pieter de Hooch, dated 1658.) — JWR Proverbs 16:31 teaches us: “A gray head is …


For Want of a Nail: A Preps Inventory System – Part 4, by J.M.

(Continued from Part  3. This concludes the article.) What I’ve covered so far are the absolute basic things you need to know to use Obsidian for an inventory management systems. There are a number of other potentially useful capabilities you can use to enhance your inventory system that I’ll cover next. Where’s Waldo? Another potentially useful feature of Obsidian is the ability to assign a geographical location to a note. Say, for example, you have a couple of buried caches that you want to include in your inventory and you’d like to be able to include a map of their …


For Want of a Nail: A Preps Inventory System – Part 3, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 2.) For security reasons, the Obsidian folks are pretty strict about letting you install Community plugins. You first have to go into the ‘Community Plugins’ section in ‘Options’ and turn off ‘Restricted Mode’ before you can install any plugins. Then after you install a plugin you have to verify you want to install it, and after it’s installed you have to click the ‘Enable’ slide switch to enable it. When a core or community plugin is installed a new button will usually appear for it at the bottom of the left pane of the Options dialog. If …


For Want of a Nail: A Preps Inventory System – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1,) The Obsidian UI The User Interface (UI) for Obsidian can appear somewhat complicated, but it’s actually laid out pretty well. Here’s a picture of the basic interface:         Starting on the left is the Ribbon, which contains a series of icon buttons that you can press to perform different actions. There are a couple of different core functions, and many of the additional capabilities you can add via Plugins (more on that later) will add additional action buttons here. Next is the Left Sidebar, which can display a number of different views, but …


For Want of a Nail: A Preps Inventory System – Part 1, by J.M.

If you’re a regular reader of SurvivalBlog.com you’ve probably collected at least a few things as part of your preps – canned food, radios, firearms, ammunition, medical supplies, etc. When you first start prepping, knowing what you have and where it’s located isn’t that difficult – you can probably remember the contents of your bug-out bag, the canned food in the basement, a medical kit, etc. But as your preps continue to expand it becomes harder and harder to keep track of what you have, where it is and what you need to do to take care of it. Not …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 118

We’ve announced the winners of Round 118 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 118 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to R.T. for: The Repair Teardown. See Part 1 and Part 2. It was posted April 12-13, 2025.  He will receive as 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 …


Using Military Principles to Improve Civilian Radio Comms – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Antennas As an example, factory broad band antennas can suffice, yet performance in terms of propagation and receive will be lacking, and the overall range shortened, and the transceiver’s life possibly shortened. And there are other issues to consider. The crude, yet effective Baofeng UV5R does not power back given an excessively high Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) from an antenna, and this situation will shorten the life of the ‘finals’ of this transceiver. If the back side of a Baofeng UV5R becomes warm to the touch, stop transmitting, drop the power …


Using Military Principles to Improve Civilian Radio Comms – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) Emergency Communications The Emergency level (the “E” of the PACE acronym) methods of communications are used exclusively during recovery or for link up in the field where no electronic means are possible or desirable. The injured may need to use a whistle as their only means to call for help. Linking up in the field is a very dangerous situation that carries the threat of ambush with it, or even casualties from friendly fire. How the Emergency PACE level methods are used to signal using a code or a procedure only known to friendly participants must …


Using Military Principles to Improve Civilian Radio Comms – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Introduction In my recent SurvivalBlog multi-part article, Communications Options for the Common Man, I looked at how to use commonly available license-free radios in a way that provided a low level of communication security by following a few basic rules, by mostly untrained people. Included in that article was the use of field phones that are easy to use, and provide the highest level of communication security that could be available to both untrained and trained personnel. In this article, I will describe methods that could only be used by trained and disciplined personnel who can maintain higher standards, and …


TEOTWAWKI Signals Intelligence – Part 2, by Mike in Alaska

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) I will devote the rest of this article to a USB “dongle” type radio receiver that I have on hand, and the amazing things you can do with it. I also intend to make mention of a device called a “Tiny SA” a signal analyzer that was made more for spectrum analyzing signals on the test bench but can also be used for SIGINT as well. The USB dongle I am currently using is the RTL2832U. This is a low-price unit costing just $40. But I do advise you consider buying the …


TEOTWAWKI Signals Intelligence – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska

There are many folks who know much more than I do about Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). A quick check at YouTube, or Internet sites will bring in tons of data if you wish to; my effort in this article is aimed at the individual who simply wants to know who is still broadcasting and know that they are not the only person(s) wondering if humanity has been wiped out. Imagine that there has been some apocalyptic event. It might be a solar storm event on the scale of the Carrington Event of 1859 where Earth was hit with a large X-Class …


Lehman’s Cordless Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer, by Mike in Alaska

I recently bought a Mason Jar vacuum sealer from the Lehman’s Non-Electric store located in Kidron, Ohio. The following is my informal review. Disclaimer: I paid full retail price for this jar sealer. Lehman’s has not paid me or otherwise compensated me, nor do I represent them. I am simply offering to readers of the blog our experience with this product. We have bought many items from Lehman’s over the years, from cast iron products, food, candies, to Aladdin Lamps. The quality of their products is what we call “generational quality”; that is, you can pass their products down to …


Prepping: Things That I Got Right – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Our first home had a gas forced air furnace and a wood fire place. I had a natural gas ventless heater installed in our basement. A few days after our daughter was born, we had another major storm and power outage. With a two year old and a new born we decided to bug out to her dad’s house until our power came back on. Before we left, I turned the ventless heater on low and left the basement door cracked open. When our power came back on just shy of 72 …


Prepping: Things That I Got Right – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

In a recent SurvBut ivalblog article, I shared with readers the things that I wish I could re-do in my preparedness journey. It only seemed logical that I also share some things that I got right in that journey as well. Starting the journey Number one has to be that I started the journey into preparedness. Many people write about preparedness being a lifestyle but I think it starts with a particular mindset. I can tell you the event that started me on my journey. It was one Spring in the early 80’s when I got home from middle school …


Communications Options for the Common Man – Part 6, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 5. This concludes the article.) Field Phone Line Circuits: The Platoon Hot Loop This method can to be used if the layout of LP/OPs is favorable. This method of connecting phones is referred to as the Platoon Hot Loop, yet the connection can be made to string the phones together, not in a circle but all along a singe line be it straight or in a circular shape that resembles a perimeter. The ‘loop’ is actually the electrical path created the connections made in a series in the same way Christmas tree lights were once supplied with …