Low Power Amateur Radio Transmitters and Transceivers, by David in Israel

I have been playing with my ham radio stuff for years but I wish I had started out in high-school with a high frequency (HF) low power (QRP) radio kit instead of playing with 2 meter handhelds and repeaters. I would have had a better grasp on circuit and antenna design and gotten into Morse code more quickly.
For about $15 or less a transmitter kit around the size of a silver dollar can be made that can be picked up by a larger station sometimes hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Moving up form there are transceivers which are made to fit into an Altoids mints tin and can communicate around the world. Of course more power is useful when you need to get through right away but a 20 meter band (day), 80 meter band (night), or 40 meter band (both day and night), set built into an Altoids mint tin with a battery and some cut to frequency magnet wire for an antenna provides a good survival radio for cases where a survival group is separated across the country like in Jim’s novel “Patriots”, during the long winter nights.

Expensive kits can work multiple HF bands but are mostly larger or cost much more. Some interesting kits are the $160 range AT-Sprint 3 which is a multi-band 80M, 40M, 20M surface mount kit that can fit in an Altoids mints tin. (BTW, it won’t be back into production until late summer, 2007.)

Another larger and easier to build kit is the $55 SW+ series in 80M, 40M, 30M or 20M from Small Wonder Labs,
Wilderness Radio makes some good kits like the $90 SST which can be built to cover on of the following 40m, 7.032-7.042; 40m/novice: 7.105 – 7.115; 30m,
10.105-10.120; 20m, 14.046-14.064.
QRP radios as a general rule are Morse code only but some radios get past the old primitive key and use a built in paddle instead which is quicker, smaller, and easier to use after about a day of practice.
Combined with a rechargeable battery and a very small solar panel you can carry a low power station in your shirt pocket at all times.
Many SurvivalBloggers love their [EMP-resistant] tube technology and this is an option with QRP kits but these are larger and hog power.
Readers should know that [in the U.S.] once they pass the easy Technician level test they can operate on the 80, 40, 15 (code) and 10 meter (code and voice) HF bands as well as
higher frequencies all without having to pass a Morse code test.

Letter Re: On Spring and Well Water, and Some Water Treatment Basics

Mr Rawles:

You are dead on with the advice on water on July 19th.

Even a fairly small spring is a great resource. We have used ours for 25 years now, even though I had a well drilled last year as a backup. Sometimes in the fall, our spring gets down to less than a pencil sized stream of water output.

Several other points to mention for springs. For gravity feed, figure about 1/2 pound of pressure on the output end for each foot of elevation between the spring and the output. Also, run at least a 1″ line if you have any distance and/or your elevation difference is minimal, to reduce friction loss in the pipe. And you might want to consider going larger.

Storage is also an important factor, since a spring may not put out much volume, but does run 24 hours a day. For example, my spring may get down to a low of 1 quart a minute in a dry fall time, but that is 15 gallons per hour, and 360 gallons in 24 hours. In a typical day, we might only use 100-200 or so gallons between showers, toilets, etc…..but come wash day, the washer along with the ‘normal’ household use will exceed that 360 gallon figure by far. This is where adequate storage overcomes “peak” loads.

My first storage was a 1,000 gallon concrete septic tank, in ground, I had the tank company cast a 1″ pipe fitting n the bottom for connection. Later, I changed to 2-1,500 gallon plastic tanks housed in a 10’x20′ concrete block building built back into the mountain. If you plan to use plastic tanks above ground, they should be housed away from sunlight which will promote algae growth. These tanks are available at most farm supply stores, already have a 20″ manhole top fitting and a 2″ bottom drain fitting installed.

We also use a UV light as a sterilizer, though only installed that a few years ago….the first 20 years, simply had a sediment filter on the line, and never suffered any ill effects from the spring…..the UV light is simple me getting cautious in my old age. – Andy in Tennessee

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Matt B. forwarded us a link to the new White House Fact Sheet: Implementation of the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza

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Jericho Convention in Kansas: Oakley officials hope nothing shy of nuclear bomb will keep ‘Jericho’ fans away. If you can attend, there is an opportunity to give a presentation and/or be a preparedness panelist at “Jerichon”. Send an e-mail to: Stacey.Adams@guardiansofjericho.org. OBTW, let me know if you definitely plan to attend and I’ll be happy to send you a free SurvivalBlog t-shirt to wear while you are there, as a conversation starter.

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From The Financial Times: UN warns it cannot afford to feed the world

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed." – Norton v. Shelby County, 118 US 425 (1885)

On Spring and Well Water, and Some Water Treatment Basics

Plentiful fresh drinking water for drinking, cooking, washing, and gardening is the most critical resource for all societies. The vast majority of the residents of First World countries are dependent on grid power to supply their water. When the grid goes down for more than a few days, water towers will soon be drained and huge numbers of people will be forced to draw water from open sources. Thankfully, there are streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds in walking distance of most homes. Rainwater from roof downspouts can also be used. But the logistics of hauling water will just by itself be a challenge. Next, people will need treat all that water, or face infection. Most families don’t own a water filter. Boiling water is an option, but only for those that have natural gas, propane, or wood cooking stoves, since electric ranges don’t work without grid power. Even folks with well water will face difficulties, unless they have a backup generator, or better yet a fully capable alternative energy system. (Coincidentally, we recently addressed emergency well buckets in SurvivalBlog.)

Spring Water

Gravity-fed spring water is the ideal water supply for a rural retreat. There is no need for power, relatively low installation expense, low maintenance and little risk of frozen pipes. But unfortunately very few properties are blessed with a spring that is situated to provide gravity flow to a house. When I advise my consulting clients, I urge them to make gravity-fed spring water a top priority when they are evaluating properties when relocating.

Well Water

Grid-powered wells are problematic, since most wells use just a small pressure tank. Whenever there is a power failure, the water pressure drops to nil in just a short time. Photovoltaically-pumped well water is a good solution, albeit with a fairly high installation cost. With a large cistern that is positioned to supply gravity flow to your house (typically 35 to 60 feet of “head”) you can skip putting a battery bank in your system. When the sun shines, it pumps, and when the sun sets it stops. Simple. A float switch on the cistern will insure that you prevent needless wear and tear on you pump.

Ultraviolet (UV) treatment is an interesting innovation that was first embraced by fish farmers and by koi pond enthusiasts. The UV technology is quite promising for anyone that has a shallow well or spring that has an unacceptable bacteria count. (This typically happens during a flood, or seasonally with heavy rains that increase surface water that can get into a well or spring.) The UV method of treatment is growing in popularity in the US and Canada because there is no need for chemicals. Ultraviolet light rays–just like those from the sun that produce sunburn, only stronger–alter the DNA of bacteria, viruses, molds, and parasites, so that they cannot reproduce. They are not killed, but are merely rendered sterile. Thus, they safely pass through your digestive tract, but cannot reproduce–which is otherwise the cause of intestinal illness.

The three questions that readers ask me about well and spring water are:

A.) Is well or spring water safe to drink?

Generally, yes. And because it is not fluoridated, it is probably much healthier than public utility-provided “city” water.

B.) Do I have to worry about pesticides, MTBE, or heavy metal contaminants in well or spring water?

Yes, and you should have the water tested before you buy a property that has a well. Any certified lab will test for these contaminants, as well as bacteria. Do a web search for your state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), or equivalent. The DEQ web site should list some approved/certified commercial laboratories that do water testing. In some states, spring and well water testing is also handled by state universities. The good news is that you will only have to do this once, unless you hear about some drastic change in local water conditions.

C.) Do I need to chlorinate my well or spring water?

In most cases, no. As preciously mentioned, it is possible that your well might get contaminated by a flood, or seasonally contaminated with coliform bacteria from rain water run-off. The best solution is to use a UV sterilizer year-round, so that you don’t have to worry about it. Alternatively, if you know that there has been a contamination, you could add a calculated quantity of plain hypochlorite liquid bleach solution down your well shaft, as described at this web site. But if there is continual bacterial contamination of your well or spring then again the best solution is to use a UV sterilizer year-round.

Open Sources

As mentioned previously, water from open sources must always be treated before use. Typical chlorine concentrations will kill bacteria but not all viruses. So I recommend a three step approach to treating water from open sources:

1.) Pre-filtering. This remove particulate matter. Pouring water though a couple of thickness of t-shirts or tightly-woven bath towels works fine. The water that comes through will still look like tea, but at least you will have removed the crud and larger particles. By pre-filtering, you will also extend the life of your water filter. (You avoid clogging the microscopic pores in teh filter media.)

2.) Chlorinating. This can be accomplished following the time and concentration guidelines previously discussed in SurvivalBlog.

3.) Filtering. I recommend the large Katadyn or British Berkefeld filters. Some filter elements available for Katadyn or British Berkefeld filters can even remove chlorine. (Complete filter systems and spare filter elements are available from Ready Made Resources, Safecastle, and other Internet vendors)

Compact Water Treatment Systems

I am often asked about compact water filters for backpacking, hunting trips, and “Get Out of Dodge”/”Bug Out” situations. For this, Katadyn makes an excellent compact water filter/pump called a Pocket Filter. The volume of water that they can process is limited, but they are perfect for their intended purpose. Another option is the recently introduced Hydro Photon SteriPEN–a compact battery-powered UV sterilizer. This is a miniatur version of a home water UV sterilizer. Very clever! We are currently testing one here at the Rawles Ranch. Look for a product review of the SteriPEN that will be posted on SurvivalBlog next week. SteriPENs are available from Safecastle, Ready Made Resources, and several other Internet vendors.

An even more compact water treatment method for lightweight backpacking is Polar Pure–essentially just iodine crystals in a mesh-top bottle. This is used to create a strong iodine solution that is in turn used to treat a quantity of water. As recently mentioned in SurvivalBlog, the US government is about to ban the sale of iodine crystals and iodine solutions over 2%, since they now deem iodine to be a “precursor” chemical for illicit drug manufacture. Therefore, I strongly recommend that all SurvivalBlog readers in the US get themselves a lifetime supply of Polar Pure, as soon as possible. It is sold by Ready Made Resources and several other Internet vendors.

It is important that every prepared family make plans in advance on exactly how they will handle their water supply in the event of a long-term grid-down situation. Buy the gear. test is extensively. Also research a primary, secondary, and even tertiary source of water in your area. You need to plan ahead for transporting that water, even if fuel for vehicles is not available. Think in terms of a two-wheel garden cart or a bicycle cargo trailer with “Slimed” tires–or better yet, foam-filled “airless” tires (available from PerformanceBike.com or Nashbar.com). A cart or trailer can be loaded with 5 or 6 gallon plastic buckets or water cans. (For planning purposes, each 5 gallon water can will weigh about 42 pounds, so you’ll want a cart or trailer with at least 200 pound capacity.) Oh yes, and don’t forget that if times get really bad you’ll need to plan for a security detail, to protect the water detail. This is starting to get complicated, isn’t it? And if you are unfortunate enough to live in an area that lacks open water sources available in every month of the year that are within walking distance, then you ought to seriously consider relocating to area with more plentiful water .

Make plans to to be able to distribute water purification supplies as charity. (Pool Shock chlorination tablets can be bought in a five gallon pail–enough to treat many hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. Make some photocopies of of directions for using hypochlorite tablets. A few plastic zip lock bags of hypochlorite tablets (roughly 6 ounces per bag) along with direction sheets could save hundreds of lives.

Letter Re: With Inflation Ahead, Why Be Debt Free?

Jim,
I was wondering, as perhaps some other readers are, why you advocate paying off your fixed rate mortgage in preparation for inflationary bad times ahead. It would seem that, short of Zimbabwe-style economic collapse, leaving your money in investments that more or less track inflation, and using those increasingly deflated dollars to pay off a fixed rate, constant dollar mortgage that will become increasingly cheaper with time, is to your benefit (and very much not to the bank’s). What am I missing? Regards, – Lou P

JWR Replies: I advocate being debt free for several reasons. The first and foremost reason is Biblical. Clearly, modern-day interest rates are usurious. (See Nehemiah 5:4-13.) That alsone is enough to keep me away from the banksters and their money. I have never taken a loan from a bank, and, Lord willing, I never shall. (I do use a credit card, but purely for convenience. I pay the full balance each month so that I’m not charged interest.) My other reasons are purely pragmatic:
A.) The times to come may not be inflationary. There is a chance (albeit far less likely) that times might turn deflationary, a la the 1930s. Those were dreadful times for debtors.
B.) You might lose your job and not have any income. At that pont, you might not be able to make your payments, even in inflated dollars.
C.) Never underestimate the ability of well-intentioned of governments to over-react in an “emergency.” Governments are quite likely to institute wage and price controls, as they have done in the past. They might impose limitations on mortgage pre-payments. They might place limits on savings account withdrawals. They might index interest rates to match inflation. They might issue a new currency and reschedule/recalculate all recorded mortgages. And they might even decree that the remaining principal of mortgages be indexed to match inflation! (A banker’s fondest dream is an installment debt that can never be fully repaid.) For some documented cases of government over-reaction in the recent past, see Dr. Gary North’s book “Government by Emergency“. (IIRC, it is available for free download, along with dozens of other books at I.C.E. Free Books.)

Odds ‘n Sods:

Coutrtesy of SHTF.com, and also recommended by SurvivalBlog reader KB, comes this article about Zimbabwe from The Economist: How to stay alive when it all runs out

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Zuke in Iraq sent us this one: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds are now worth nearly nothing. We read further details in The Daily Reckoning: “Last week, all three rating agencies – Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch – announced downgrades of subprime linked debt. And this week, Bear Stearns said investors in one of its hedge funds that bought CDOs on a
leveraged basis would get none of their money back. They were wiped out, said the letter reported by Bloomberg, buying Triple-A bonds. Just how subprime CDOs, suspicious byproducts of a disreputable industry, came to be rated AAA is a story worth telling, but today we will stick to the news. Bear went on to say that while investors in one of its two endangered funds had been wiped out, investors in the other fund could breathe a sigh of relief – they had only lost 91% of their money.” (OBTW, I consider The Daily Reckoning a “must read.” Subscriptions to the e-newsletter are free.)

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Rourke recommended this interview of Comptroller David Walker, head of the GAO, on 60 Minutes. Walker gives some dire warnings. “I would argue that the most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan but our own fiscal irresponsibility,”

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From NewsMax: Experts Agree: Major Terror Threats Loom

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature … laws not preventive but fearful of crimes.:" – Beccaria

Note from JWR:

Please mention SurvivalBlog whenever you call in to a talk radio show to discuss survival, preparedness, or emerging threats. Thanks!

Consumer Credit in America: Winding Up The Big “No Joy” Buzzer

I recently read a piece in The New York Times, (linked at SHTF Daily) titled Somehow the Spending Doesn’t Stop. The author made some astute observations on consumer spending. But he didn’t go on to analyze some underlying phenomena. I have observed that here was a subtle yet profound shift in the psychology of indebtedness that took place in the late 1990 and early Aughts: Somehow the average American gradually stopped thinking about the total amount that he owes his creditors, and instead started focusing on his minimum monthly payment. Consequently, consumer spending soared. For more than a decade, Americans have been wanting it all, and getting it all. Collectively, their debts have been accumulating and compounding horrendously. It is as if they’ve been winding up an enormous spring. Imagine one of those novelty “joy buzzers” that pranksters used to conceal in their palms. But American have been winding up an enormous “No Joy” Buzzer.

Thanks to the monetary policies of “Easy Al” Greenspan and his successor “Helicopter Ben” Bernanke, credit has been free and easy. Credit card offers arrive in the mail like manna from heaven. Millions of Americans that do not deserve any significant credit have had lots of it. Enough to buy $300,000 houses. With this credit, like a child set loose in a candy shop that they have bought just about everything they’ve wanted: big screen televisions, home makeovers, fancy cars, and McMansions. They have maxed out their credit. Inevitably, however, the elasticity of credit is not infinite. At some point the piper must be paid. America’s credit spending spree will someday come to an abrupt end, most likely immediately following a sharp stock market correction. We will be startled by the noise and vibration of the big No Joy Buzzer. Bzzzzzzt! The party is over! At that point discretionary spending will drop to nil.

As consumer spending plummets, every business from mega corporations down to mom-ann-pop stores will start to lay off employees. Millions of employees. Those layoffs will mean that millions of monthly minimum payments will not be paid. Debt payment delinquencies, then defaults and finally bankruptcies will explode tremendously. Then it will take perhaps 20 years to unwind all the amassed consumer debt. It will be a very traumatic time–probably much more so than the Depression of the 1930s.Why? In the 1930s, nearly half of America’s families were farmers, ranchers, or fishermen. But now, just 2% of the population feeds the other 98%. If unemployment jumps into double digits, most families will no longer have “country cousins” that they can depend on to help feed them.

Got your storage food? Got a big vegetable garden? Got a gun and plenty of ammo? Got the training to know how to use it? You may need all of that, and more. Pray hard. Stock up as much as you can, so that you can dispense copious charity. You neighbors will likely need it.

Letter Re: Sterilizing Medical Instruments with a Pressure Cooker

Hi Jim…
I noticed and read the letter from “NotDave” on, among other things, the use of a pressure cooker as an expedient sterilizer (autoclave). I would like to expound on what he wrote.
First of all I would like to state that he is correct in his statements of time, temp, and pressure.

To achieve steam-driven sterility you need to satisfy two requirements…time and temperature. In the medical, and lab/scientific field steam is the prevalent sterilant medium. This is due to the ability of steam to penetrate that which is being sterilized. At 20 psi [(g)auge (psig)] the temp is 250.3 degrees F. (There are other sterilants but suffice it to say that would be another dissertation.)

The point I want to make is in the form of a tip or two for all the good folks in blog land. It is important to select a pressure cooker that can
maintain a pressure of 20 psi. although most only have valves for 15 psi. Select one that has the “twist the lid in place” and screw down fasteners rather that the lollypop shaped lid that twists in place only. The former is far safer than the latter. Bob at Ready Made Resources provided me an “All American” pressure cooker that doubles as a sterilizer nicely. It is very well built and is a gasketless design. Needless to say stock up on gaskets
if you select a pressure cooker that has one.

In the course of sterilizing anything in a pressure cooker it is important to ensure that those items are placed above the water that is boiling. The goal is to expose the item to pure steam. If any or all of the items are immersed in the water then complete sterilization may not or will not occur. This is due to the fact that the item will be exposed to the temperature of the water not the steam. The pure steam will give off it’s BTUs on contact with the item while water may not and will not do so as efficiently because water is an insulator as well as a medium for storing those BTUs. Even though the water is superheated due to the pressure (15-20 psi [(g)auge]) you would have to re-calculate and increase the exposure time to ensure the item has been sterilized. There also may be some air trapped in the cooker. Air is an insulator and no friend to sterilizing. Because most pressure cookers have the pressure gauge, not the vent, located at the highest point of the lid some air may remain near the top so. Do not place item in the uppermost region of the lid.
There is a technique for sterilizing in a pressure cooker and it is easy to do. A perforated or wire mesh, without handles, stainless steel deep frying/”Fry-o-lator”-type basket, of the appropriate size, placed open end down inside the p-cooker will act as the “shelf” for the item(s) providing the item(s) to be sterilized will fit in the pressure cooker with the basket. It must be tall enough to raise the item far enough above the anticipated water level to prevent being splashed by the roiling water surface. Chose a basket that has free swinging handles if possible so it can be used for par boiling things when not acting as a shelf. If free floating handles are not available just cut off the fixed handle and file the stubs smooth (“…cut to size, file to fit…”). A smaller perforated basket placed on top of the inverted one is handy for holding the items and convenient for handling that being sterilized but not necessary given the availability of space. Just be certain to use a perforated basket (or whatever) versus something solid such as a pan. Air will get trapped inside and, because the water is boiling, may get tipped over dropping the instrument (item) into the water.

In general terms, a few guidelines:
1) The boiling point of water drops approximately 2 deg. F. (1.1C) per 1,000 feet rise in elevation above sea level therefore the pressure of the steam needs to increase to cause the steam temperature to rise to 250 Deg. F.
2) When using a pressure cooker to sterilize something it is imperative that the pressure control valve/weight is left off to allow the air trapped inside to be driven off. A good rule is to allow 10 minutes to pass after steam is seen flowing out of the vent. Be certain to add sufficient water. Dry heat is a poor sterilizing medium and needs to be about 320 deg. F. for 2 hours minimum to effectively sterilize something such as a towel clamp.
3) 15.3 psi (g)auge) equals (approximately) 250 deg. F. This is the low temperature sterilization point used in hospitals, labs and in commercial
applications.
4) 10.3 psi (gauge) equals approximately 240 deg. F. This is used in labs and in commercial application where the items are temp sensitive.
5) The lower the temperature, the longer the exposure time required.
6) The minimum exposure time at 250 Degrees F (15.3 psig) should be 30 minutes.
7) The minimum exposure time at 240 degrees F. (10.3 psig) should be 1 hour (well, actually 45 minutes, but be safe and err for the longer time as there are too many variables and at the lower temp. it is too risky).
Above all, proper sterilization requires items be very clean prior to sterilizing. Any “debris” in an instrument will act as an insulator and prevent that zone from reaching temperature. The critters you are trying to kill may not die beneath that zone and replicate. If you are putting the item in storage there will be more than a sufficient amount of time to re-contaminate the item. If you use that improperly sterilized item in a surgical procedure then you may contaminate the op-site. In a SHTF condition a nasty infection in a surgical site is something you don’t want to deal with. Just ask John O the M.D.
Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading this. I hope it helps. – J. at East Tennessee Sterilizer Service

Letter Re: Advice on Under-Slab Underground Shelters

Mr Rawles,
I was looking at the construction of different areas of my home and trying to think of the best area for a fallout shelter or bunker. I have a basement with access to the area under my garage and under a slab addition. I figure that it would be too dangerous to tunnel under the garage but was wondering if it would be feasible to tunnel under the addition slab. If this were an option I could really have a large bunker area, especially if there is a way to use the garage slab. Thanks, – ART

JWR Replies: Use extreme caution when digging under slabs. In essence, if a slab was not originally designed to span an open space beneath it, then is shouldn’t be expected to handle doing so. For most typical 8+ inch thick residential re-bar reinforced concrete slabs other than those in garages, poured on clay or loam soil, a maximum 3-foot wide tunnel that doesn’t extend more than half the width of a building would probably be fine, but anything wider or longer, or any excavation in sandy soil would require the close scrutiny of a qualified structural engineer. Garage slabs deserve a special of caution: Unless a slab is specifically designed to support the “live” load of a vehicle atop it and span a void beneath it, then you should not attempt to do any tunneling beneath it! Perhaps an engineer would care to chime in here, with further guidance.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Perhaps the greatest disservice of Hollywood movies is their cartoonish villains. In real life, I promise you, the devil will look more like Julia Roberts than Snidely Whiplash. Evil does not arrive with a flashing neon sign: MEPHISTOPHELES! LUCIFER! SATAN! FOR ETERNAL DAMNANTION, APPLY HERE! Evil arrives packaged as a winsome movie about a long-legged brunette who manages to marry a rich, handsome bachelor and live happily ever after — all by turning tricks on Hollywood Boulevard! There’s a reason Beelzebub is known as the prince of lies.” – Ann Coulter