Category: NBC

Letter Re: Storing Spare Vehicle CPUs for EMP Preparedness

Mr. Rawles,   I recently have been going through the PCM/ECM/ECU vehicle engine/transmission control module nightmare. And it is a nightmare. Dealers typically won’t warrantee or allow return/refund on the vehicle computers unless they perform the diagnostics first. That’s a couple hundred bucks right there, before you get to buying the computer – which in my case for a 10 year old truck was $480, before sales tax. Then you have the labor to install it. Oh, and only the dealer can program it.   So I started snooping around on Google.  Using the search terms “remanufactured PCM” and “remanufactured …


Two Letters Re: Storing Spare Vehicle CPUs for EMP Preparedness

Sir: Most computerized gas engine vehicles built before 1996 (OBD-I) have a permanent computer memory module called a Mem-cal or PROM (programmed read-only memory) which can be stored indefinitely or used as-is from a parts house or junkyard. OBD-II vehicles, generally 1996 and later, all use the writable E-PROM which requires a specialized program and equipment to re-write. Also, the newer the OBD-II vehicle, the more computers it is likely to have. However only the module(s) for the power train are mission-critical. E-PROMs are more delicate than the older PROMs and sometimes require “re-flashing” to restore functionality. Obviously, the older …


Letter Re: Storing Spare Vehicle CPUs for EMP Preparedness

JWR,   Thanks for the great blog and everything you do for us.   I was at my local Ford dealer getting some work done and ask the service manager about computer modules for my 2006 F250 diesel. He told there are three different modules; engine, fuel and transmission. I ask how much they cost and he told me “a lot” but they are fairly simple to install, basically unplug the old and plug in the new one. What he told me next I hadn’t thought about and had not read; the computer modules must be programmed to work. Also …


The Golden Hours, by Brad H.

The three main factors in determining who lives and who dies WTSHTF are situational awareness, overcoming inertia, and dumb luck. The first two you have some control over. The third is always going to be beyond your control, except for Divine intervention, so don’t worry about it. If you are at mid-span on the Golden Gate Bridge when Al Qaeda sets off a nuke in San Francisco, or “The Big One” hits. In such cases, acceptance of God’s will is all you have to do to prepare. For those who are lucky enough to not be killed immediately when disaster …


Letter Re: Increasing Preparedness Planning Through the Rules of Three

JWR,   SAA Joe makes some good points in his article. He states however that “Hopefully 3 minutes without oxygen is self explanatory.  You have to breathe to survive!” then offers no solutions to a scenario where that may become a problem.   Scenario: You are stuck in traffic on the interstate due to an overturned tanker truck a few hundred feet in front Of you when a cloud of unidentified gas starts rolling towards your car from the overturned tanker. What do you do?   Scenario: You are at home which is located ¼ mile from a heavily used …


Letter Re: Low Cost EMP Protection for Electronic Gear

Jim, While working on my preps I found electrical specifications in the data sheet for the mylar-foil bags I was investigating for my food storage.  This reminded me that many computer components (e.g., motherboards, hard disk drives, and expansion cards) are packaged in mylar-foil bags for ESD protection.  I reasoned that since the ESD protection is provided by the conductive foil layer in the bag one should be able to use the same mylar-foil bags as Faraday cages to protect electronic devices and components from EMP. One of the perks of my engineering career at defense contractor is that I …


Letter Re: Mobile Fuel Storage System

James, Let me introduce your readers to propane and the many possibilities it offers your planning and TEOTWAWKI preps, that you will likely never have thought of before. Over the last number of years I have carefully thought out and planned a “system” if you will of key pieces of equipment which all operate on a single, inexpensive and highly efficient and large mobile fuel storage system. Naturally, I have the standard wood stove and gasoline operated family vehicle(s), but what is most interesting is some of the items I have been working on and extensively testing/ using on the side.   …


In Defense of the Fortress Mentality–and Architecture

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I recently got an irate letter from an outspoken Peak Oil commentator who often stresses “community agriculture” and “sustainable development.” He castigated me for “advocating a fortress mentality…” and “encouraging gun-buying…” I think that he meant those as insults, but I took them as compliments. I am indeed an advocate of the fortress mentality, and fortress architecture. The two go hand-in-hand. As I pointed out in my book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”, modern American architecture with flimsy doors and large expanses of windows is just a 70 year aberration from a global …


Two Letters Re: New Data on Nuclear War Survival

Mr. Rawles, The U.S. government has released new advice for what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. What’s really disturbing is that with the low protection factors cited, someone essentially needs to come and rescue. On the plus side at least they’re thinking about what ought to be done. – Jake in Massachusetts Dear Editor: It shouldn’t come as a surprise to SurvivalBlog readers but the newest research in the June 2010 document, “Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation” concludes that rate of survival to a nuclear disaster climbs if people shelter in place. I …


Training Sources for TEOTWAWKI, by Christopher E.

The reality of the situation is that tactical combat, survival and self defense training is not something that can be mastered in a week or a month.  Training needs to be consistent to the point where the drills become as a reaction that you don’t even have to think about it…. The point is that terrorists and threats to you have been in serious training for a long period of time while many of us still see the concept of learning the inner workings of firearms as being premature. Private survival training in the present day has often been seen …


Letter Re: Assessing Those Electromagnetic Pulse Risk Assessments

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) risk assessments have been published by journalists, defense analysts, and foreign policy experts. Unfortunately, some of these assessments rely on incomplete or incorrect information and give the mistaken impression that EMP is not an immediate threat. For example, STRATFOR Global Intelligence recently published a report titled “Gauging the Threat of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack.” The report assesses that the risk from an EMP attack is low because “the EMP threat has been around for more than half a century and there are a number of technical and practical variables that make a HEMP [High Altitude Electromagnetic …


Effects of an EMP Attack or Severe Solar Storm on Nuclear Power Plants, by B.Z.

It is with some trepidation that I write this article, since what I write will be controversial and will alarm some members of the public as well as your readers. Some of my colleagues have urged me not to bring this subject into the open or to even discuss it in public. However, I think the topic is important and needs to be brought to the attention of the public. The issue is the effect that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, or for that matter, even a great geomagnetic storm created by a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun, …


Letter Re: EMP Attack and Solar Storms: A Guide

Sir: Mr. Hayden presented an outstanding, almost-verbatim review of the commission reports. After having read in the last few months both of the reports, I sought to find as much corroboration of them as I could find. My motive for doing further research was pretty elementary and is simply stated: “This is a government commission, right? Since when have I believed the contents of a government commission?” (I am a former and long-time employee, now retired, of a technology-heavy government agency, and so I am naturally skeptical when I read any government report.) That research has led me into some …


EMP Attack and Solar Storms: A Guide, by Kevin Hayden

An Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), is generated from the detonation of a nuclear device. A similar waveform is created by extreme solar activity, such as that which was experienced in 1859, 1921, 1989 and as recent as 1994. The US Government and military have studied these phenomenon extensively and several reports have been issued regarding EMP effects on vehicles, computer networks, critical infrastructure and more. In this report, we’ll briefly cover many of the topics discussed and researched in regards to geomagnetic anomalies, solar storm activity and the effects of an electromagnetic pulse. It should be noted, however, that Congress has …


Community Crisis Planning for Societal Collapse, by J.I.R.

I believe that in a severe crisis, most of the problems are going to have to be solved at the local level. State and federal government are too big and dependent on technology to survive a severe crisis once the grid drops and all services start to erode. Local governments, too, are ill prepared to assume this crushing responsibility, but they are much more resilient because their scope of control is smaller. Most of them have never even considered what they would do. This article is a discussion piece to stimulate thought on the subject of small community recovery after …