Six Letters Re: Oral Rehydration Solutions

Jim,
During my many travels in Asia and Central America I never brought along medications to stop diarrhea, only to prevent it. Diarrhea is natures way of getting rid of something your body doesn’t want in it. Preventing that can lead to serious problems. Water and food born bugs (bacteria, not parasites) can be dealt with by taking Doxycycline Hyclate as a prophylactic.
Prior to the likely encountering of suspect food and water, such as a bug out situation, a pill a day will keep you reasonably safe. You should be able to talk your doctor into proscribing for emergency use only or you can pick them up over the counter in any Third World country.
I also take along Keflex in case of wound infections. Google has a wealth of info on these and other medications if you can’t find a doctor willing to advise on TEOTWAWKI situations. – LRM in Perth, Western Australia

Sir:
My mother was recently hospitalized and learned the hard way. She had taken some antibiotics to fend off an infection. Antibiotics kill off the bacteria in our intestines (the good and bad kind). In her case, it killed off a larger portion of the good bacteria which led to an imbalance. The bad bacteria began to thrive. The diarrhea she had would’ve helped get rid of the build up of that bad bacteria. However, she took an anti- diarrhea

When the bad bacteria builds up like that and your body can’t get rid of it, the bad bacteria begins to poison you (as it did her). She couldn’t eat or drink anything without throwing up because her stomach was no longer in a condition to absorb any water or nutrients. She suffered from severe dehydration and malnutrition.

Her condition [Clostridium difficile] is commonly referred to as “C-Diff”. She was in the hospital for a week and a half and is slowly recovering now.

So, if you get diarrhea after taking antibiotics, it may be best to just let nature “run” its course. Just be sure to drink lots of fluids. – Daron in San Diego, California

 

Jim,
You recently posted a letter from a reader inquiring about oral rehydration solution. I have chosen to stock up on oral rehydration salts instead of pre-mixed solutions such as Pedialyte.

The salts are packaged in little foil sachets. When mixed with water, each sachet produces one liter of oral rehydration solution. They can be purchased in bulk from a company called Jianis Brothers either by the carton (125 sachets) or by the case (5 cartons = 625 sachets). I don’t recall how much I paid but I believe the unit price was around 50 or 60 cents per sachet – much less expensive than Pedialyte.

The sachets are convenient, compact and durable and I believe they would make a great little barter item if the need should ever arise.

The web site of The Rehydration Project contains a wealth of information on dehydration due to illness as well as treatment using oral rehydration therapy: Contact information for Jianis Brothers is also available on the same site. Sincerely, – Michael in California

 

Dear Mr. Rawles,
In reference to the recently-posted question/answer concerning anti-diarrheals, I have just a couple of comments from a pharmacist’s perspective.

1. As the poster mentioned, loperamide (aka, Imodium) is available over-the-counter (without a prescription) in the same strength as the old prescription product. This effective anti-diarrheal is not considered an opioid, and does not appear on the DEA‘s Controlled Substance list, as does diphenoxylate/atropine (aka Lomotil – Schedule V). Be aware that individual states can add drugs to their own controlled substance list, but I don’t know of any that have done so with loperamide. The dosing depends on recurrence of diarrhea episodes, but take no more than 8 tablets (16mg) per 24 hours period.

2. The bismuth subsalicylate-containing anti-diarrheals, such as Pepto-Bismol and Kaopectate and their generics, contain an active ingredient similar to aspirin, and in quantity, can have a similar effect on bleeding (inhibits platelet function). Therefore, be sure to stay under the daily maximum dosage of 8 30ml (1oz.) doses. Also, if you have any ongoing bleeding problem, such as active gastric ulcers, shy away from these products.

Thank you for all you do! Best Wishes, – S.H. in Georgia

Sir,
The most effective anti-diarrheal medications are usually sulfa drugs.

In my travels there have been times when I have lost 20 lbs. in a few days time due to the effects of diarrhea. I’ve had it so bad that the Air Force took a C-141 out of service to decontaminate it.

And my travels started when I was three years old (42 years ago now) so I have lots of practice in dealing with this issue. Outside of the US and Western Europe you have to assume that the water supply is contaminated and you will come down with something at some point. I’ve reached the point where I routinely add purification tablets to even bottled water in some countries.

First and foremost, if diarrhea is not caused by a virus then usually it is caused by a bacterial bloom in the body. When you travel from one area to another the normal flora and fauna in the body change to match what is local to the environment. As a result the balance of the flora and fauna in the body gets out of whack and you end up with the common traveler’s diarrhea. If you have not drunk/eaten food in your home environment that was not processed/packaged/etc. etc. then you can get the same effect the first time you eat natural foods (farmer’s market …). A low dose of a sulfa drug usually is enough to take care of this problem. (Sulfa drugs are usually over the counter in most countries outside of the US.) In the US the doctor will normally prescribe Ciprofloxacin. Living and working in Turkey I learned to say “Streptomagma var mu?” or “Do you have Streptomagma (a sulfa drug)” — and the same phrase will work across the near east (from Turkey through Afghanistan).

One of the tips/tricks that I have picked up over the years is to eat yogurt or other foods that contain live bacteria and/or drink a shot or two of hard alcohol. This helps stave off but does not 100% prevent diarrhea. But it is critical to continue to eat yogurts once you are treating the diarrhea symptoms with medicines as it helps to re-balance the flora in your body and prevent a second round of problems.

For viral infections (or protozoa) you just have to suffer unless you can get your hands on prescription only drugs. Nitroimidazoles seem to have the best effect on Giardia but when I’ve taken them in the past (seven Giardia infections to date) they are rough on the body. Hence oral rehydration is probably the best route unless you have a severe case of it. Amoebic dysentery is also common in many parts of the world — and is almost untreatable and you have to suffer with it for years after your initial infection. Again oral rehydration (and having a wee bit more than 7% body fat) helps the most.

One of the better oral rehydration products out there is Ceralyte. Gatorade and other sports drinks usually are too much sugar and the wrong types of salts for long term oral rehydration (such as during an attack of Giardia which I have now had several times). You will also find Crystal Lite (and the store brand generic equivalents) makes a sugar free rehydration mix. My preference for these two routes comes down to portability and long storage life. (I mentioned that I carry several packets of rehydration powder with me in my travel kit.) I also lean towards using the Crystal Lite mix as I have a tendency at my age to pack on pounds even with a vigorous workout schedule.

The other tip to add? Always carry toilet paper with you. It is horrible to have dysentery in a country like Indonesia where the public toilets (even in office buildings) don’t have toilet paper and you are using leaves and newspapers in a vain attempt to clean up afterwards. – Hugh

Hi,
I read the recent post about dealing with diarrhea, and while I have made sure we have some OTC pills such as Imodium stored, I have also stocked up on dried Blackberry Leaf and made tinctures. It works extremely well in ending diarrhea, our family has had the chance to use it a few times over the years and it does indeed work. My darling husband says it tastes kinda ‘woodsy’, and I admit is is not the best flavor, but it certainly works. Just a teaspoon at first and maybe another teaspoon if there is another ‘episode’, but we have found that one teaspoon usually does the job the majority of the time, only a few times have we had to use a second dose. It can also be put in water or juice and taken that way.

I just wanted to pass this on. Dried blackberry leaf can be found at any online herbal store like www.MountainRoseHerbs.com [in Oregon] and a one pound bag is very inexpensive, around $8. Id suggest that interested people buy two bags and tincture them up right away with any 80 proof vodka to have it on hand when needed. Though it can be made into a tea or decoction, I prefer to tincture for long term storage.

All the best to you and yours and God Bless. – Karen F. in Colorado

Letter Re: Parabolic Dish Shoutcasting

Mr. Rawles,
Regarding Skyrat’s and other SurvivalBlog.com readers that may be interested in obtaining large C-Band dishes for Shoutcasting, I have a potential free source: I work in the satellite industry and often receive calls requesting that decommissioned and obsolete C-Band dishes be removed from the roofs or ground mounts of hotels throughout the country. When the hotel management receives the estimated cost for the removal, more often than not, they reluctantly decline to have the eye-sores removed. Some enterprising readers may be able to negotiate a deal with a local hotel manager to remove a dish at no charge to the hotel. It’s a Win-Win scenario for all concerned. The hotel gets an eye-sore removed and the Shoutcaster gets a free 8, 10, or 12 foot diameter dish [to supplement] secure communications at a retreat. Best Regards – RPH

Economics and Investing:

Jesse sent this: Short-Term Economic Boost from Fiscal Stimulus Outweighed by Long-Term Output Loss

Also from Jesse: Why the Stock Market Should Crash

From reader HPD: Bank Regulators “Reign of Terror” on Small Business Loans

Items from The Economatrix:

Stimulus Watch: Did the White House downplay errors in rush to take credit for job data?

Stronger Dollar, Weak Economic Data Pummels Stocks

Dollar Gains as Homeowners, Job Seekers Struggle

Weak Jobless Claims, Future Economic Activity Data

Foreclosures Hitting More People with Good Credit

AOL Offers Buyouts to 2,500 (33% of their workforce)

Treasury to Sell Warrants as Three Banks Exit Bailouts

Geithner: Some Bailout Funds to Help Lower Debt

AARP Received $18 Million in Federal Stimulus Money–For a job training program that has not created any jobs

Roubini: Unemployment to Worsen

Commentary from Richard Russell: I Sleep Better With The Metal

Odds ‘n Sods:

We’ve had a tough deer and elk season here at the Rawles Ranch. Thusfar, we’ve filled just two deer tags, and haven’t yet got an elk. The season has been difficult because there have been two hard winters in succession with deep snow that have taken their toll on the herds. The local wolf population seems to be increasing as well, and their depredations have been obvious. (And so are their big piles of scat that we see all-too frequently when we are out in the woods!) After they’ve cleaned out the deer, I suspect they’ll move on to consuming domestic sheep, dogs, cats, and perhaps even unarmed people. BTW, a bumper sticker is now popular in our region: “Too Many Wolves! Smoke a Pack a Day”

   o o o

Reader Joe K. spotted this at the VOA‘s web site that provides one more reason to have a deep larder: More Americans Than Ever Experiencing Food Insecurity

   o o o

Walt H. was the first of several readers that wrote to mention a deadly home invasion robbery in Utah that had “prepper with bad OPSEC” written all over it: Neighbor describes a horrifying scenario in man’s slaying in Payson.

   o o o

Damon sent this article link illustrating another close call: Meteor illuminates the Utah sky

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The new danger was that when the peasants finally refused to deliver produce to the towns, the towns would go and fetch it. It had happened in Austria during the blockade. It had happened in the Ruhr and the Rhineland under the provocation of French militarism and enforced idleness. Now there were reports from Saxony -unoccupied Germany — that bands of several hundred townspeople at a time had taken to riding out into the countryside on bicycles to confiscate what they needed. Anna Eisenmenger’s diary included a first-hand account of the plunder of Linz and its neighbourhood in Austria — the place which Hitler regarded as his home town. She transcribed a letter from her daughter who had been staying there for a few weeks with cousins who ran a small farm with eight cows, two horses, twelve pigs and the usual poultry:

I had driven with Uncle and Aunt to church at Linz. The nearer we approached the more crowded became the usually deserted high road. All kinds of odd-looking individuals met us. One man wearing three hats, one set on top of the other, and at least two coats, excited our amusement … We met people drawing carts piled high with tinned foods of every description … A man and a woman were seated in a ditch by the side of the road and, without the least embarrassment, were changing their very ragged garments for quite new ones. ‘Hurry up’, the woman shouted to us, ‘or there’ll be nothing left!’ We did not understand this remark until we passed the first plundered shops.

Peaceful Linz looked as if it had been visited by an earthquake. Furniture smashed beyond recognition littered the pavements. But not only provision shops, inns, cafes, and drapers’ shops had been looted. Jewellers and watchmakers, too, had been unable to defend their wares. We saw that the inn at which Uncle and Aunt usually stopped after Mass was completely devastated. The old innkeeper caught sight of us and hurried up, almost in tears. He could not open his inn because all the furniture had been smashed and all the provisions stolen; and he strongly advised my uncle to drive home, since the ringleaders of the mob were inciting their followers to ransack the neighbourhood.” – From When Money Dies (1975), as recently quoted in Bison Survival Blog

Letter Re: Oral Rehydration Solutions

Sir:
My recent trip to the library and skimming through a few books on diseases led me to the conclusion that some of the secondary or follow-on effects are often bigger killers that the diseases themselves. I’m talking about pneumonia and diarrhea. Respiratory bugs often develop co-infections like pneumonia. And stomach bugs often cause diarrhea, which can cause such severe dehydration, that the patient dies. Obviously, [some forms of] pneumonia can be avoided by getting a pneumovax innoculation. So how do we deal with diarrhea? It can be controlled with over the counter (OTC) medicines. According to FamiliyDoctor.org, some of the best available OTC meds include loperamide (such as Imodium) and bismuth subsalicylate (such as Kaopectate and Pepto-Bismol).

My questions to you are: what about prescription antidiarrheals? And what should I store for re-hydration? Thanks for your great blog and books. The number of lives that you will save, by encouraging people to get really and truly prepared will go beyond counting! Sincerely, – H.F.I. in St. Louis

JWR Replies: OTC antidiarrheals are usual sufficient in all but the most severe cases. Most of the prescription antidiarrheals are opium-based so they are on the controlled list. As my late wife learned in the last few weeks of her life, heavy opium-based pain medicines slow down the gastrointestinal tract dramatically. (And in fact, many pain patients have to take stool softeners like colase and laxatives like docusate and senna, to keep their bowels moving.) Because of their scheduled drug legal status, it would be almost impossible to get opium-based drugs by prescription from your friendly local doctor to keep on hand for contingencies. However, some of opium-derived meds to keep in mind for disaster situations include diphenoxylate (with atropine) and the industrial strength version loperamide (a synthetic opioid). Because of their side effects, and obviously because some of them are addicting, these meds are reserved for only the most severe cases of diarrhea

As you noted, and has been previously discussed in SurvivalBlog Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORSes) are very important to keep on hand. Every family should storing a few bottles of Pedialyte (or better yet, one of its many commercial equivalents, which are identically-formulated and often self for about 40% less). It is vitally important to know how to make your own ORSes. This is described in detail in the “Rawles Gets You Ready” family preparedness course.

Seven Letters Re: Getting a Christian Wife Involved With Preparedness

Dear Mr. Rawles,
I just came across a post that might give some more ideas to the gentleman who wrote in about getting his wife “on board” with preparedness efforts. It’s titled “All Aboard” and was posted over on Kathy Harrison’s The Just In Case Book Blog. (As may be obvious, Kathy is also the author of the [nonfiction preparedness] book entitled Just in Case.)

As a side note, my husband and I “came together” on our preps about two years ago while watching the television show Jericho. We had seen some episodes in passing earlier in our marriage, but I finally rented the DVDs at one point to see what all the hubbub was about. Lesson learned: despite the Hollywood “angle”, we learned a lot and more importantly found out that we were each quietly prepping without mentioning it to the other. He has his specialties and interests and I have mine, and both of us were silently tackling them. Ahhh, the fun of two very independent newlyweds finally figuring each other out. <Chuckle>. I admitted I’d been stocking the pantry for more than just a rainy day and he admitted his interest in gear wasn’t just so we could try out camping sometime. We later found that his interest in things mechanical and my interest in topics “green” worked out quite nicely when he mentioned a preference for diesel engines and I brought up biodiesel – oh, the topics we’ve covered since.

If “L.K.” thinks such a show might interest his wife, it might be worth a shot. Best wishes, – M.K.

Mr. Rawles,
The writer of this letter in your blog today might be interested in referring his wife to my blog, TheSurvivalMom. I try to break down preparedness into very small pieces, provide lots of rationale for getting prepared, and overall, it’s a very woman-friendly site. – Lisa

Mr. Rawles,
I would like to comment on this letter about questioning the need for preparation. This wife needs to look at the situation from her motherly perspective. My husband and I watched, helplessly, as our 4 month old daughter suffered for six weeks from a blood infection contracted while in the hospital for a heart issue. We knew she was going to Heaven to live with God, free from all pain; however, watching her suffer was the worst thing we had ever endured. My understanding is that starvation takes 60 plus days before a person dies. From my reading of history (pioneer times and war times), starvation is a very horrible death. Would this wife be comfortable standing by, watching her precious children suffer, knowing all the while that she could have prevented this by storing up food (like Noah and Joseph in the Old Testament did) for the difficult times? Yes, our daughter is in Heaven but we would have done anything to protect her from the suffering she endured for six weeks. Our larder is full and constantly being rotated so that we will not have to watch another of our children die if it is within out power to do so. To God be the Glory. Condolences to you and your family, the pain is great, I know. – Brenda from Virginia and sometimes our West Virginia retreat

For L.K. in Boise:
I must remind you that we don’t just prepare for TEOTWAWKI , but for everything between now and then. We may never experience a severe, life changing event, but we do have power outages, blizzards, floods, drought, unexpected car trouble, unemployment, & so on. Those are the things we prepare for, not for TEOTWAWKI. We really don’t know how to prepare for that – it’s never happened to us. So we do the best we can and prepare for the little things.

Our preps have gotten us through very personal hard times. I wouldn’t want to be without them.

Have your wife read Proverbs 31. We have a duty to be prepared so we can look after our husbands, children, and others who come into our lives.

God Bless, – Bonnie S.

Dear Mr. Rawles,
I first want to extend my concern condolences for the passing of you dear wife “The Memsahib”. Second: I have been in my mind, a “survivalist” for many years, I guess out of necessity. I have been in the Air Force for over 17 years now in the communications field but haven’t had lots of money to go out and the things that I needed or wanted so I just learned how to build them. With this mindset and financial situation, I have become more and more suspicious of government particularly in regards to fuel and food prices. My first dream was to just be left alone with my family in a remote cabin in the mountains. My wife always giggled every time that I threatened to purchase a generator. She figured that once that I went through with it, that the gig would be up. I had not yet been into preparedness or knew anything about it. I was naive in all ways.

While I was on Temporary Duty (TDY), I met and began chatting with an older gentleman. We talked about scouting, firearms, reloading etc. I mentioned my dream alone in a mountain cabin and that’s when my life changed. This gentleman educated me that my dream was a good one but flawed. He told me that I needed friends to watch my back, which would allow me to sleep in that cabin. He also recommended that I read this novel called “Patriots”. I immediately after work, found a book store and purchased it. I devoured that book in three days. I’m currently reading:

One Second After by William R. Forstchen, and
World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler

[Once I started reading the novel,] I was so excited that I called my wife and began explaining the different chapters to her. She was interested probably due to my excitement as I explained. Once I returned home, I begged he to read the book. She was hesitate so I begged her to just read the first chapter. She agreed. I quietly watched her as she began to read and her eye brows began to raise and lower. First Chapter completed, she continued until she finished. My wife’s outlook changed that day also. We live in base housing so we plan to rent a garden plot in the spring for a garden, I’m slowly stocking up on ammo and we plan to can what we grow. To sum it up. I was able to get mt Christian wife involved with Preparedness by begging her to read your novel “Patriots”. Thank You Mr. Rawles, I’m eternally indebted to you for opening my eyes. Very Respectfully, – T.S. Wichita, Kansas

Hi,
I have a suggestion. Maybe he could gently suggest preparedness things she might be interested in. A good example is a scrapbook. Most women (even if we aren’t crafty) enjoy scrapbooks of their family. Start a family project of a scrapbook for your car evacuation kit. She might get stressed out on what to exclude so you might want to buy her two. I saw at Sam’s Club they have gorgeous “ready made” scrapbook albums where you just insert photographs or documents you wanted to save for $20. That is perfect for someone that wants one but doesn’t have the time or postpones it to be perfect so it never gets finished. It might be a fun family project for the holidays. 🙂 I think the digital scrapbook and photo albums are awesome but I have no experience with them.

Your dilemma shows what a good provider you are, she has probably never been hungry or seen her kids go without a need to understand how she won’t just stop and starve with the hope of heaven and not fight and find ways of providing for her children. – Lisa

James:
Wow. This is letter that really disturbed me. If we allow ourselves to carry is wife’s sentiment to its logical conclusion, we should all lay down right now and stop moving until we die of hunger or exposure. God did not create us to be mindless moochers. Once we have committed ourselves to his will, we are to contribute to the order and abundance of his world, to seek out evil and counter it, and to heal those damaged by it. We are extensions of his love and grace through right living and must not be meek or passive in times of tribulation. If through her rebirth this flame was not kindled within her, I’m not sure how to help her get it lit! – Gretchen R.

Influenza Pandemic Update:

Radio Nederland reports: Ukraine paralysed by “superflu”

Receptor Binding Domain Change D225G Confirmed in Ukraine

H1N1 Receptor Binding Jumps in China, Australia Raise Concerns

In rough translation: Forensic Physician Told UNIAN, From What People Are Dying

Ukraine Dead Increase to 315, Still No Sequences. Poland now reporting fatalities, Belarus also reporting severe cases

Record Number of H1N1 Pediatric Deaths in US

Swine Flu: Previous Infection Could Offer Some Immunity

Economics and Investing:

Tom B suggested this from WorldNetDaily: $120 Trillion in Derivatives. “They are privatizing the profits and socializing the losses.”

Evi recommended this: Glenn Beck comments on a dollar collapse and global government.

Items from The Economatrix:

Stock Market Falls as Home Construction Slows

Where Are Stocks, Economy Headed? Even Pros Disagree

Goldman Says “Sorry” and the World Moves On

Gold is Getting Frothy

US Wants China to Buy Into Its Small Banks

Gold at $5,000 an Ounce? Don’t Discount it

Speculators Accused of Forcing Up Fuel Prices

Core US Deflation Continues to Gather Pace

AIG $85 Billion Bailout was Botched, Report Says

Gold in the Face of Fiat Fallout

John Galt: The Day the Dollar Died (Fiction)

US Job Losses Demystified

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Chris B. wrote to mention that a software update glitch caused him to lose all of the address book data on his Blackberry. He wanted to remind folks to periodically write down (or upload and print out) all of the phone numbers, addresses, and e-mail addresses that you keep stored on hand-held devices. Chris wrote: “I felt pretty sheepish, using my laptop to e-mail everyone for their cell phone numbers because I don’t know them and didn’t have the foresight to write them down.” Nothing beats a hard copy backup!

   o o o

Gun Sales Shoot Up Amid America’s Fear of Rising Crime and Terrorism

   o o o

Cheryl mentioned some Free Downloadable Survival Books

   o o o

Don’t miss out on the special two-week 25% off sale on canned Mountain House foods that runs through the end of November, at Ready Made Resources. For even greater savings, they are offering free shipping on full (unbroken) cases lots. But because of the higher handling costs, if you “mix and match” cans within cases, shipping will be charged.

Letter Re: Getting a Christian Wife Involved With Preparedness

Mr. Rawles,
I’ve been into the survivalist genre since I first read [the novel] Alas, Babylon [by Pat Frank] about 10 years ago. Since then i’ve read just about every book on the subject I can get hold of. I ran across your novel “Patriots” about six months ago and it has really lit a fire under me. When discussing the subject with my wife, I was surprised when she asked me, “why?”. She said that if our great country collapsed, what would be the point of surviving? Why keep struggling to go on when our Father in Heaven is waiting with open arms? I told her that I believe in our country and our ideals. I believe we are a force for good in the world and provide freedom and God-given rights that are found in almost nowhere else. That I believe is worth fighting and dying for. But I still struggle with her question. How do I get her on board? I know it’s a personal decision and motivation comes from within but I just wish I knew what was going to do it for her. In the meantime, I will continue to be the head of my household. I will prepare in an effort to care for and protect my family and I know that with many issues of family, when a godly man leads, his family will follow.

Do you have any advice? I know there are probably many folks in the same situation that could use some encouragement.
Very Respectfully, – L.K. in Boise, Idaho

JWR Replies: You need to talk with and pray with your wife about God’s purpose for your mortal lives. Although our lives are brief in the grand scheme of things, they can and should be used for God’s glory. (That is our Great Commission.) I can think of no better Christian witness than being well-prepared and hence being in the position to share copious Christian charity in a time of crisis or catastrophe. The bottom line is that you can’t share the gospel when you are room temperature.

You also need to think in terms of your progeny. Parents have responsibility to protect and provide for their children. That is Biblically mandated. And on a longer time scale, it would serve God to pass on Christian values to future generations. But that can only happen if your children survive to have children of their own. Parenthetically, I’d like to mention that I’m a descendant of Dr. Rowland Taylor (who’s life and death is described in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.) He was burned at the stake for holding to the inerrancy of the Bible. He died singing hymns, amidst the flames. Part of Taylor’s legacy is not just in that book, but also in the witness of his descendants, like me. Ask your wife: What will be your legacy? The certain fact is that our lives matter, in many ways, and some of these may not be apparent until after we’ve left this mortal life.

Letter Re: Parabolic Dish Shoutcasting

Mr. Rawles:
I had thought I had seen mention of it on Survivalblog, but have been unable to find it. “It” is a commo system for line of sight communications, which could be employed between adjacent homesteads. The technique is to situate two dish type antennae, as in the “C” or “Ku” band (roughly 1.5-2 meter) earth station antennae used for rural satellite television reception, pointing at each other. With gain on the order of 30-35 dbi, they provide roughly 8 to 10 fold amplification of the signal inputted into it. Now, if I were to face the dish, pointing at my neighbor’s place, and speak at a normal tone, my voice would carry roughly 8+ times farther than I could shout, and also have a beam spread of around 2-10 degrees, providing considerably greater security of commo than bellowing. (breathe).

Can you help me find the reference I am recalling? I want to toy with such an apparatus, and am looking for guidance. Thanks!
BTW, if someone has leads on how I might obtain surplus or used dishes for a song, that, also, would be welcome. Thanks, – Skyrat

JWR Replies: The letter you mentioned was posted in SurvivalBlog, way back in November, 2005. Since 90% of the blog’s current readership came on board in the interim, I’ll re-post it, in full, below:

Letter Re: HF Radios and “Shoutcasting” Parabolic Dish Communications

Dish Communications

Jim:
[In response to an earlier letter,] a HF network is a good idea. A local network also has its merits. There are lots of methods and frequencies for local area usage. Some use military surplus equipment, some CBs, some ham, some TA-1 field phones with wire, some use Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) access points (a great idea if you’ve planned ahead for electricity and it actually works.).

Shoutcasting
I know three people in Colorado who use old solid [metal-coated fiberglass or sheet metal–not expanded metal mesh ]satellite dishes to be able to stand on their hills and talk to each other over several miles using a normal speaking voice. It must be strange facing away from someone several miles away and having a conversation. It works surprisingly well, but I was told that the rare scream of a hawk flying between the dishes can be slightly unnerving.

Local Networks
Many people aren’t aware that the Atlanta, Georgia ham community has a city wide internet that’s not part of the [International] Internet. All courtesy of Wi-Fi. Now that’s an interesting concept. Voice, Phone, Data and Video on a parallel internet. Kinda like the Fed, huh?

Long Haul HF
Lots of ideas and most are good for their particular arena. But here’s the but). But HF can link the continent together so you know what is happening all the way across the continent, even to the other end of the continent. It beats restricting yourself to only knowing what’s going on 20, 40 or 60 miles away.(Not to mention talking worldwide or just listening worldwide, Hmmm?). Check out this article on the Regency Net and GRC-215s radios to get an idea of how the government planned to use HF to provide trans and post attack communications among nuclear capable units in the European Theater and then applied the concept for use in CONUS for FEMA.

Excellent idea overall. [For example,] I look forward to seeing where people suggest landing. One suggestion might be similar to the HF Backpack net, all USB. Geared to HF with less than 20 watts and the ability to carry it on your back while talking on the radio. Rough times? Conservative power requirement! Excellent capability. Perhaps someone will show up there and suggest moving to a quieter spot to start a discussion?

OBTW, the web page cited above states that the units could regularly communicate over 400 miles. Not quite accurate! From Colorado, I regularly talk to San Francisco, San Diego, Maine, and Georgia [the U.S. state]–all from this little radio which fits in a flight bag. It is 20 watts and has a 10 foot vertical whip antenna powered by a 28 volt, 7 amp battery which I can (and do) recharge with solar cells. And it’s about the same size as the venerable PRC-77! Best Regards, – The Army Aviator

JWR Adds: Please note that this letter was first posted at a point in the sunspot cycle,when HF propagation was still good. But since sunspot numbers are presently “scraping bottom”, HF is now “deader than disco.” I’m confident that this pitiful propagation situation will turn around in a few years, but for now, it is a good time to just accumulate bargain HF equipment, as hams give up on HF, in desperation. (In many cases selling their HF gear at “desperation” prices.)

Letter Re: Converting Precious Metals ETFs to Physical Metals

Jim,
A reader wrote in and was posted with a letter called Converting Precious Metals Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)s to Physical Metals. This is pretty good advice but I would consider one change. I would not invest my IRA or 401k into ETFs or mining stocks as they are too volatile. Like his idea that investing in food companies wouldn’t feed his family like physical food, investing in ETFs and mining stocks guarantee nothing as far as actually getting any money out if things fall apart. Rather, what I recently did was convert them to physical metals. The IRS allows this with the metals being held by an approved storage facility. While there certainly is a chance that those facilities could be seized by the government, it may be possible to take possession of the metals if we see the end coming and move quickly at that time. In the meantime, you actually own physical metals in your retirement fund instead of stocks. The only issue for a 401(k) is that you may need to check with your plan administrator to see if they’ll allow you to choose that investment. In my case, I am self-employed and had an old 401k with a former employer that I converted so I didn’t have to work within their system of investment choices. – Dave R.

JWR Replies: Since starting SurvivalBlog in 2005, several times I’ve mentioned that Gold Eagle IRAs are available through Swiss America. I set up one of these accounts through them in the late 1990s, and have held it ever since. My largest contributions to the account were made in 2000 and 2001, which was when gold dipped to a 20 year low. While not as absolutely safe as gold in your hands, these gold warehousing IRAs are a great way to shelter dollar-denominated funds that are presently parked in 401(k)s and IRAs. In most cases you can roll these over into a gold IRA without taking a tax hit!