Selecting Ham Shack Equipment, by Muscadine Hunter

When it comes to assembling equipment for a ham shack, there are about as many options as there are differing opinions about what one needs. Also, a ham shack for hobby and one for intel gathering post TEOTWAWKI is vastly different. With that said, allow me to share my experiences and background. I started fooling around with radios when I was about 10 years old. One of my dad’s best friends was an avid short-wave listener and introduced me to the hobby. I would sit in Hoyt’s den for hours listening to various overseas shortwave stations as well as occasional voice ham conversations while my mom and dad visited.

Dad bought me a small Hallicrafters shortwave receiver and strung up a long wire antenna. I was hooked! And Dad bought me my first two-way radio, an 8-channel crystal-controlled CB when I was 12. That was back in the day when you still had to have a license and callsign for CB. I still remember my dad’s call letters. There we only a few channels where you could legally talk to other stations, unlike today. While in high school I worked for one of the biggest radio and electronics stores in my hometown. I helped to install many antennas, even climbing towers.Continue reading“Selecting Ham Shack Equipment, by Muscadine Hunter”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the faltering Chinese economy. (See the Economy & Finance section.)

Precious Metals:

Kennedy Shows Crypto Chops – Vows To Back USD With Precious Metal, Bitcoin If Elected.

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At Gold-Eagle.com: BRICs – Gold Convertibility Is The Key.

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Gold Versus Silver – Which Is the Wisest Investment?

Economy & Finance:

From Larry Greenberg’s Currency Thoughts blog: Chinese Data Fail to Dispel Concerns about World’s Second Largest Economy.

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Reported on Wednesday (July 19th, 2023): Dow jumps 100 points for its eighth straight winning day, a first since 2019.

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Yellen: ‘We Have and Want to Continue to Have Deep Economic Ties’ with China.

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Another Day, Another Short-Squeeze For Stocks; Yield Curve Yells ‘Recession’.

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Bankrate: Survey: Economists see 59% chance of a recession by July 2024.

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J.P. Morgan: Mid-year market outlook 2023: Entering uncharted territory.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day: 

“The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed a standard citizenry, to put down dissent and originality.” – H.L. Mencken

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 20, 2023

Today would have been the 90th birthday of novelist Cormac McCarthy (born, 1933.) Sadly, he passed away on June 13, 2023 — just a month shy of his 90th. He is the author of the survivalist novel The Road, which later became a popular movie with the same title. He also wrote No Country For Old Men, which later became an even more popular movie.

On July 20th, 1969, At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, spoke these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $825,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 107 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Getting Ready For Winter in a Northern Climate, by Hollyberry

It may now be summer but it’s time to think ahead to those cold weather months. It has been said that in Maine there are only two seasons: winter, and getting ready for winter. Winter is beautiful in Maine with the white snow, blue sky, and evergreens. Winter is also dreaded by most people but a little preparation can go a long way in making it easier. It’s also a great time to get outside and enjoy the crisp, clean air (as snot freezes to the side of your face). Its soooo tempting to just forget about winter and head out on the lake in a kayak or just go play. Time flies by so quickly, especially in the warmer months. All work and no play equals no fun so a balance of time is needed. It’s important to find times to share with family and friends, no matter the season of the year.

As soon as the ground is bare and mud season is over, mid-May, time to get the firewood delivered. It is said that wood heats you three times, when you cut it, when you stack it, and when you burn it. We are not physically able to go out and cut down trees and then re-cut them into smaller pieces. We leave that for the young people. We have been purchasing our wood from the same family for years, usually 2-3 cords a year. We always have several years’ worth of wood under cover and ready to go. The wood is dumped into a large pile of 18-inch pieces. It takes up a good amount of space. Now the pile needs to be stacked on pallets to dry during those nice, hot summer days. We lay out pallets and start stacking, 2 pieces facing one direction, then next 2 pieces in the opposite direction, until we have a nice stack about 5 feet high. This whole process is repeated over and over again until the big wood pile is now a bunch of nice, even stacks on pallets.

As my husband and I are middle-aged, we have to do this stacking in stages. Early in the morning is best as the mosquitoes aren’t flying until the magic temperature is reached then it’s unbearable. It seems like for every piece of wood we stack, 2 more pieces take its place on the ground. It’s important that your stacks are stable and this is done by trying to match the size of the pieces you are stacking. A great sigh of relief is in order when this task is complete. After 2-to-3 months of drying and cracks are on both ends of the wood, it’s now time to re stack the wood in the garage. For whatever reason, that task seems to go faster.Continue reading“Getting Ready For Winter in a Northern Climate, by Hollyberry”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, some reporting on a large solar flare.

A Long-Duration M-Class Solar Flare

SurvivalBlog reader Tracy M. wrote to mention this news at Spaceweather.com: “Big sunspot AR3363 just produced a significant solar flare, a long-duration M6-class event during the early hours of July 18th.”

Australian is ‘Normal’ After Three Months Lost at Sea

Sydney castaway Tim Shaddock’s health ‘completely normal’ after three months lost at sea. Here is a pericope from a News.com.au article sent to us by Chris C.:

“Sydney Sailor Tim Shaddock is in good health after spending three months lost at sea with no access to food or clean water.

Shaddock lived off raw fish and rain water to sustain himself while being lost at sea with his loyal hound Bella.

The Sydney local ended up stranded in the Pacific Ocean due to a brutal storm damaging his catamaran and wiping out the electronics.

The pair set sail from La Paz in Mexico to French Polynesia in April, but disaster struck a few weeks into the journey.

He was eventually rescued by a tuna trawler after being spotted by a helicopter.”

“Something Like World ID Will Eventually Exist”

CEO of Worldcoin Says “Something Like World ID Will Eventually Exist…Whether You Like It Or Not”.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The crowning feature of the federal system is the supremacy of the judiciary over all other branches of government in matters relating to the rights of persons and property.” – Charles A. Beard

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 19, 2023

July 19th is coincidentally the birthday of handgun designers Samuel Colt (born 1814, pictured) and Gaston Glock (born 1929).
—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $825,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 107 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Assembling a Stealth Prepper Group – Part 2, by PrepperDoc

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article)

Developing your leadership skills

If you work at this, you’ll gain many skills in the areas of operational communications, and in logistics as well. You’ll find the Professional Development Series will help your skillset for leading a volunteer group– whether a prepper group or an ARES group. You’ll be well accepted by the local Emergency Management folks for your willingness to help forestall the onset of anarchy in your community. Most emergency managers realize that communications is a weak spot in their own knowledge base, and if you come across as likable, knowledgeable and professional — they are likely to be very interesed in helping you grow a volunteer group.

Leading Volunteers

But this still won’t be easy. Volunteers are the very hardest group to lead. You aren’t paying them; their allegiance is always subject to change. But the same thing is true of prepper groups. If you can’t build a solid group in “blue sky days,” don’t kid yourself that you will remain anything but a lone wolf in “black sky” times. Emergency managers have one extreme dislike in common: they don’t want “drama.” Ham radio groups are well known for drama. It is deadly to a group. And deadly to a prepper organization, too! You’ll be shown the door quickly if you allow “drama.” So do everything possible to get along.Continue reading“Assembling a Stealth Prepper Group – Part 2, by PrepperDoc”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Oregon’s tough voter-approved gun limits that ban large capacity magazines ruled constitutional.  JWR’s Comment:  Judge Karin Immergut (a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Law and a Democrat who turned RINO in 2003) has stood the “history, text, and tradition” Bruen test on its head. She will surely get slapped down for her decision, on appeal.  She claims “…the nation’s history and tradition of regulating uniquely dangerous features of weapons and firearms to protect public safety…” That is utter nonsense, or what is often called in courtrooms: “pure cant”. To clarify: The Bruen test requires proof of the enactment of a comparable firearms law that predates 1791. In 1791, it was perfectly legal for civilians to possess hand grenades, mortars, and cannon. And there were no laws limiting the size, the rapidiity of fire, features, or other characteristics of firearms. Most of the “gun laws” on the books circa 1790 were restrictions on gun ownership or carry of guns by American Indians or freed slaves.  And any of those laws were of course negated by the 14th and 15th Amendments. Show me the pre-1791 law “regulating uniquely dangerous features of weapons”, Judge Immergut!  No such law exists!

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The latest from the Outdoor Boys YouTube channel: I Bought an Abandoned Off-Grid Cabin in Alaska (Full of Abandoned Treasures!) JWR’s Comment:  With so much dead-standing timber, he should seriously consider creating a corduroy road on all of the boggy stretches of his road. And that could be built wide enough to accommodate a jeep.

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News and analysis from Louisiana: Plaquemine plant explosions, fire: What is ethylene glycol? What happens when antifreeze burns?

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The constitutions of most of our States assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves, … or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of the press.” – Thomas Jefferson

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 18, 2023

July 18th, 1954 is the birthdate of Ricky Skaggs, an American country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, mandocaster, and banjo.

—

At the request of a reader in Michigan, I’ve begun posting my SurvivalBlog meme creations to Twitter.  You can see them here.  Yes, that really is my Twitter account.  Now that Elon Musk has settled in at running the show, and seems to be keeping his Free Speech promises, I decided to reactivate my moribund Twitter account. By the way, your “Follows” and re-tweets are greatly appreciated.  Thanks! – JWR

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $825,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 107 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Assembling a Stealth Prepper Group – Part 1, by PrepperDoc

On the wonderful pages of SurvivalBlog, I have read article after article about hardy souls setting up individual homesteads and gaining hard-won knowledge at significant cost. But also, of course, of people bemoaning the out-sized risks of “loners” in a truly desperate time, and the need to find some way to establish a like-minded group. That adventure is fraught with risks, as leadership, membership, and governance are sticky but important issues.

I wish I were young enough and strong enough to have my own homestead, but that was not my path in life. (Someone has to be the doctor, engineer, manufacturer, right?) Nevertheless, I have succeeded in building a group and this article will explain how. For some readers, this may be a solution, and for many, it may lead to analogous solutions in their areas of expertise.

A side story: I have tried to add some attention to the response/rebuilding phase of a disaster. Pointing out the vast numbers of highly trained and efficient commercial operations that are so important to maintaining a quality of life beyond that of medieval times. Allowing the ability to get a child’s inflamed appendix removed rather than facing a significant risk of death. Providing anesthesia for the child, and sterile instruments, gloves, gowns for the operating room staff. Treatment of Neisseria meningitidus meningitis, which can kill in hours. (Initial broader spectrum therapy can be reduced to third-generation cephalosporin after culture confirmation; there are several alternatives as well–but all have to be manufactured.) Diagnosis and treatment of sudden onset childhood or elderly blood cancers — can happen to anyone. A shattered femur rodded for mending. A cut tendon (sharp-edge accident) sutured back together under highly sterile conditions, and therapy to make it glide again in its sheath. You or your family, sooner, or later, will need these resources at this level.

This can be summarized as:
Advanced Societal Division of Labor –> Far greater survival and quality of life for survivorsContinue reading“Assembling a Stealth Prepper Group – Part 1, by PrepperDoc”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on expanding grizzly bear territory.  (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

In the Northern Rockies, grizzly bears are on the move.  Here is an excerpt:

“Keane had lived on the plains 16 miles north of Loma, Montana, for 14 years. He married into the farm and he and his wife grew wheat, canola, flax and hemp. They kept chickens, but not cows. To the best of Keane’s knowledge, the closest grizzlies lived some 150 miles west in Glacier National Park — certainly not in the wide-open ranchland of north-central Montana. He reasoned that the bear followed the Marias River, which flows east from Glacier County, near the Blackfeet Reservation, and runs along the edge of the Keane farm. “I guess he happened to smell the chickens and came up out of the river bottom,” Keane said.

At the time, Keane’s grizzly sighting was the easternmost in the United States in more than a century. He had heard murmurings around town that the bears were moving closer, “but you just don’t expect one to be in your backyard,” he told me. As the grizzly pulverized his poultry, Keane dialed up the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to report the animal.”

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Pacific Northwest bracing for extreme fire risk this year.

Idaho

Davos Elite Meeting in Idaho?

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City of Moscow reaches settlement with members of Christ Church following arrests at mask protest.

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Over at Redoubt News: Idaho Must Cut Ties with the American Library Association.

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North Idaho College to retain accreditation status, for now.

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Three killed when freight train collides with a car in Bonner County.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There is no justification for the belief that, so long as power is conferred by democratic procedure, it cannot be arbitrary…it is not the source but the limitation of power which prevents it from being arbitrary.” – Friedrich A. Hayek