Communications: Bringing People Together – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.)

Broad-banded antennas are very useful. However, if forced to fabricate an expedient antenna, and we only had an antenna capable of 462 to 463 Mhz, we would be in business as the channels that come in the commercial radios are 1-7, and 15 to 22, are GMRS and are within the 462 Mhz to 463 Mhz range. FRS channels are 8 thru 14 and are between 467 and 468 Mhz.

Material requirements are much less for a J-pole, and these antennas can be made to be nearly indestructible. A larger-in-diameter radiator will typically have broader bandwidths. 3/4 inch copper pipe is better than the 1/2 inch copper pipe for this purpose, yet the larger pipe is more expensive and relatively hard to locate. FRS radios use 467 to 468 Mhz. FRS is transmitted using only 500mw (1/2 watt, mw = milli watt) or less Effective Radiated Power (ERP). Usually, the antenna on the handheld FRS transceiver is so poor that the ERP could be much less than the maximum allowed by the FCC. The actual ERP might be less than 1/4 watt (250mw).

Explain to neighbors not to use FRS frequencies to communicate if they wish to communicate at further distances. FRS channel 8 thru 14 should be avoided for this reason. Set aside these FRS very low power channels for in house use to increase security/privacy. It is also illegal to transmit with more than 500mw ERP on FRS frequencies. Fortunately the FCC recently updated its rules. Take note that current production Midland and other GMRS/FRS radios, can now transmit up to a maximum of 2 watts on GMRS frequencies without a license. Those who are licensed GMRS operators can use 5 watts in handhelds, and a maximum of 50 watts with mobile transceivers. The no-test license fee has recently been reduced to only $35 for a 10-year period.Continue reading“Communications: Bringing People Together – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit”



Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This past week I help Lily pack some long-term storage foods in buckets, gallon jars, and half-gallon jars. We try to keep to our “No foods left in bags” rule, as much as possible. I also spent the better part of a day cutting firewood from some deadfall trees, and hauling slash to slash piles to burn next fall.

I also did my semi-annual maintenance on our trusty old electric ATV.  It is now 14 years old, and it is on its second set of batteries.  It has a 48-volt DC battery array just like an electric golf cart.  But the suspension and winch are more like what is found on a regular ATV. This scheduled maintenance consists of checking the tires and suspension, checking the wiring, and “watering” the eight 6-volt batteries with distilled water. I found that three of the batteries were low and had dry tops visible on their plates — shame on me.  I also took the opportunity to use our Shop-Vac to vacuum out the accumulated mouse poop, pine needles, and bits of hay from around the batteries, under the seat, and on the floorboards.

I took a trip to town to get replacement all-season belted radial tires for our SUV.  Last month, when we had the snow tires switched out, I was advised that the tread on our “summer” tires was getting thin, and that I might get just another 3,000 miles of use from them. But given the worsening supply chain disruptions, I decided to go ahead and change tires now, while they are still available. The cost for the set of four, with tire pressure sensors, balancing, and mounting was nearly $1,600.  A year ago, that set would have cost around $1,200. Welcome to the world of Bidenflation.

Lily will fill you in on what is going on with her gardening…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Stand in the gate of the Lord‘s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.

For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.

But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;

Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.

For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:

But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:

Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.

Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.

But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the Lord hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.

And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.

And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.

Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.” – Jeremiah 7 (KJV)



Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 15, 2022

April 15th is the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic. 1,517 people lost their lives on the maiden voyage. As research into the incident has progressed over the last 110 years, it seems as if, one way or another, the ship was just going to sink. Impact with an iceberg, raging coal fires in the fuel supply, wrong turns, locked-up binoculars, weak rivets, too few lifeboats, and more. Perhaps this whole incident was really the result of man’s hubris.

Today, April 15th is traditionally Tax Day here in the United States. This year, it has been shifted to April 18th, to provide an extra weekend of angst. Oh, and for those who make quarterly Estimated Tax payments, don’t forget to get yours postmarked today.

Congrats to Commander Zero. His great Notes From The Bunker preparedness blog is celebrating its 19th Blogiversary today!

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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. 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,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 ends on May 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



Communications: Bringing People Together – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

As I mentioned in a previous article, I am making many kinds of antennas for fun and profit, but mostly for setting up neighborhood networks or small community networks that I will not be involved in. I have made many antennas, and over the last decade, I have programmed countless radios in my area, as a free service to my neighbors and friends. I have many extra radios and antennas that can be put into the right hands if it serves the community. I would rather invest in these, than fancy and expensive transceivers. I have a pile of such equipment for this purpose.

Background

I am not a professional radioman, but only another self-taught amateur who became seriously interested just a little over a decade ago. In decades past, my experience working with professionals in the emergency services and disaster preparedness communications sector in another life, has helped. I grew up with a grandfather who was a pioneer in radio and telephone, and who, with his team of engineers, made the first intranet connection that connected the early IBM to Hewlett Packard computers. He was an influence in my life. It does seem as if I missed another calling, because radio and telephone communications are in my blood. My apologies if I bore you. I am attempting to help someone else get started. I am certain that there is another potential radio nut like myself out there somewhere. We need as many nuts as we can get. I still agree with John Moore who believes that the two skills sets that will be in the most demand, yet in the shortest supply, will be medical personnel, and radio technicians. (Nuts like me!).

Unlicensed Radio Communications for a Community

Why all the antennas and radios? Different radio services can be used in a future and tiered communications plan. For example, FRS/GMRS, and CB can serve a neighborhood, while MURS could serve a security operation, and 2 Meters, the broader community. A dedicated medical team would have an exclusive service on frequencies that can not be used by others, so that they can avoid being interfered with by requests for help. If there can be a transportation unit, then they also should have a dedicated set of frequencies, and more powerful mobile transceivers.

In my part of the country, and over the last decade, the number of folks getting started with the Technician’s license has been encouraging. Interest in radio is growing, and a few local Hams have been programming radios for newcomers in a semi-standard way, so that MURS and GMRS frequencies are installed alongside Amateur frequencies on many new handhelds. We also have a plethora of new repeaters from 70cm to 6 meters, two new 2-Meter digitals, and two for GMRS. Our region is ‘wired’ for radio. Yet, given their dependence on grid power, I would avoid reliance on repeaters.Continue reading“Communications: Bringing People Together – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit”



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. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, I describe places to buy Swiss Francs. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.)

Precious Metals:

U.K. investment firm Ruffer increases its gold exposure.

o  o  o

At Currency ThoughtsRising Inflation Lifts Interest Rates, the Dollar and the Price of Gold.

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: China and Russia in Close Cooperation targeting ‘Win-Win’ across Gold Markets.

o  o  o

Up, up, up! Spot silver has climbed so much in the past few days that I’ve raised my multiplier to 24.6, for folks paying for their Elk Creek Company orders in FRNs.

Economy & Finance:

10-Year Hits Most Important Trendline in Finance.

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: As Treasury Yields Spiked, Junk Bonds Did the Opposite: Still Maniacally Chasing Yield in Riskiest La-La Land.

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At The Burning Platform: Crash Positions.

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Amazon adds 5% ‘fuel and inflation surcharge’ to seller fees.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”





Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 14, 2022

Today marks the birthday of actor Adrien Brody (born 1973). He played the lead role in The Pianist.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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. 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,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 ends on May 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



Got $5,200? Cut Costs Now!, by K.B.

Bloomberg News has announced that the average US family of four will need an extra
$5,200 per year to cover rising expenses due to inflation. Hmmm. How is that going to work out for most folks considering that 64% of Americans, as of early March 2022, are already living paycheck to paycheck? Where are they going to come up with a minimum of an extra $433 each month?

I’m already seeing signs of stress in our part of the country despite living in one of the “better off” regions. People are super cranky at the gas pumps and each day I read ads on craigslist from people trying to find homes for their large breed dogs and other pets. Starving large stray dogs with crazed eyes are popping up in the countryside. Sorry times indeed. However, we are not powerless. We can take action.

This article will cover tips on how to save in both big and little ways. Maybe you, dear reader, are in a secure situation, but perhaps you have family, neighbors, friends, or church family who are in need of some suggestions. This article is certainly not the be-all and end-all of lists, but includes some of the steps that we have ourselves taken recently and the resultant savings. We are acting proactively to decrease our bills. People who are already in financial trouble will have to act quickly and aggressively.Continue reading“Got $5,200? Cut Costs Now!, by K.B.”



The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— 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. Today, we look at China’s latest coronavirus lockdown, in tightly-packed Shanghai.

Red Sun: China’s Assault on Taiwan

A piece by Alex Adkins, over at American Thinker: Red Sun: China’s assault on Taiwan. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)  This article begins:

“Strategic relations between China and Taiwan are at their lowest point in 40 years. China views Taiwan as a province, while the government of Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state. The Nationalist Chinese government has ruled Taiwan since 1949. Following the Chinese Civil War, Chiang Kai-Shek, the Nationalist leader exiled to Taiwan and formed his own government there. In the early 1980s, China devised a governmental solution that allowed Taiwan to have autonomy known as ‘One country, two systems.’

Ukrainian Americans Supplying Home-Country Warfighters

This article is fascinating reading: One Seat in Coach, 36 Suitcases, and Enough Kevlar to Fight a War: The Ukrainian Americans supplying an army on their own.

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



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“All experience teaches that, whenever there is a great national establishment, employing large numbers of officials, the public must be reconciled to support many incompetent men; for such is the favoritism and nepotism always prevailing in the purlieus of these establishments, that some incompetent persons are always admitted, to the exclusion of many of the worthy.” – Herman Melville



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 13, 2022

April 13, 1743 was the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. (He died on July 4, 1826 just a few hours before the death of John Adams. How patriotic of both of them to pass away on the Fourth of July.)

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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. 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,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 ends on May 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



Solar-Battery Home Power – Part 2, by Jeff M.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

POWERING UP & MORE TO LEARN

Don’t expect step-by-step instructions. I found all the needed information but chronological steps for start-up or shut-down are not readily available. However, there is plenty of online info where people figured out the best steps. I powered up my inverter with battery power first, then went through the entire menu. Go slow, though it’s pretty easy. A couple of battery voltage settings from the battery manufacturer were the only deviations. Then I turned the solar panel input on and waited for the screen to recognize battery & solar power. I then turned my inverter on from standby to ON. I turned the main breaker in my subpanel on and was powering my house!

I left my utility feed OFF for the time being as I wanted to see how the system would perform. This was now October 2021, in the middle part of the US, so sunlight was waning significantly. I already had a significant shadow of the bottom 20% of my solar panels. I was later told by an expert who saw a photo of my install, that because I mounted my panels vertically, long side up & down, I was limiting my energy output more than the 20% shading. My first mistake, but performance was fine through the darkest days of winter so I did not react to the advice. I feel I need to see how this works before I begin changes.

As to electrical performance, now almost 5 months out, we are so happy with our system. Switching power sources is automatic, seamless and silent. We had a storm power outage and did not know until a neighbor called to point out only I had power. I’ll have to work on that, it was so obvious.Continue reading“Solar-Battery Home Power – Part 2, by Jeff M.”



SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: 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. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

We’ll start out today’s column with a caption for the photo, above. It is not a prop from the 1984 John Milius movie Red Dawn. Rather, it is a recent photo from Ukraine, where an immobilized Russian BMP-3 was tagged by a Ukrainian fighter — or perhaps a teen loyalist. Given the global nature of pop culture and movie-viewing, I suppose this was inevitable. Yes, life imitates art. A hat tip to my friend Commander Zero of the Notes From The Bunker blog who posted this photo several days before I did. Oh, and I pseudo-scientifically estimate an 87% chance that you grinned when you saw this photo, and a 71% chance that it made you chuckle.

o  o  o

Reader F.J. sent us this: Survivalist who faked death to avoid trial is found after six years.

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Well, it is now official, despite our protests: at the ATF website, 364-pages of new bureaucratic “frame or receiver” rules, without any action by congress.  We now have just 120 days to lay in our lifetime supply of unserialized 80%-complete rifle and pistol frames. I expect most dealers to sell out within a few days, so jump on what you need, NOW! Apparently, AR uppers will thankfully be grandfathered. They won’t have to be serialized, and they can still be transferred across state lines without going through an FFL. It will still be just AR lowers that are considered “firearms.” However, any newly-produced 80% receivers and frames, or any that are in the hands of an FFL holder for more than a day have to be serialized.

o  o  o

Mike in Alaska recommended this 27-minute video, by a fellow ham operator: Survival Radio & Emergency Communications Ukraine.

o  o  o

Lily spotted this news story: A 7-foot-tall robot at Dallas Love Field is watching for unmasked travelers and curbside loiterers.

o  o  o

A piece by David Deming, over at the Lew Rockwell site: Our Underground Future.Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”