Lessons From a Road Trip, by Richard T.

In April of this year we made a road trip from our home near the upper Mississippi River to the southern tip of Florida. In a previous article I covered navigation, communications (between driver and passenger), and maneuvering in traffic on that trip. This article is about other aspects of the same trip and what worked, and what didn’t.

This trip had a two-fold purpose, to make a visit and to deliver cargo. Late the night before we were going to leave we decided to take the truck instead of the car as we needed the room for the cargo, to recline the seats to sleep in the cab and to take some gear to camp out. This would give us more flexibility to pull over anywhere and save money on motel rent. We would then have room to also take our bicycles. I also took a tote full of tarps that I wanted to donate in the vicinity of tornadoes that had been occurring along the route we were going to take. As we already had the car packed, this delayed our trip by one day.

We made a checklist to assure that we weren’t taking too much, but to also have enough to avoid making a lot of stops. In the spring of 2023 there were concerns over a possible banking collapse, devastating weather, civil unrest, the likelihood of fuel shortages, economic collapse and of course war. We did not prepare for any of that, in fact, quite the opposite. We took whatever we needed for our basic needs and would trust that whatever we needed from the infrastructure would be there when we needed it.Continue reading“Lessons From a Road Trip, by Richard T.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week: Soylent Green New Deal

The latest meme created by JWR — with special thanks to SurvivalBlog reader John H. for the tagline idea:

Meme Text:

Kamala Harris says: “When we invest in clean energy and electric vehicles and reduce population, more of our children can breathe clean air and drink clean water…”

To Me, That Sounds Like A Soylent Green New Deal

News Links:

VIRAL GAFFE: VP Kamala Harris Calls To ‘Reduce Population’—She Means ‘Pollution’

They corrected her Freudian slip in the transcript at the White House website: Remarks by Vice President Harris on Combatting Climate Change and Building a Clean Energy Economy.

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Blanket permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provide that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.

And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.” – Mark 9:1-10 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 29, 2023

July 29th, 1805 was the birthday of Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville. He died April 16th,1859. He is best known for his lengthy treatise titled Democracy In America.

—

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.

 

A Low Power Communications Station in a Bucket – Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.)

RTL-SDR and SIGINT

The photo at left shows a 2.GHz panel Yagi (a directional antenna) that was installed on a field expedient 30-foot wooden pole that is stabilized with guy wires. It is for use with a RTL-SDR dongle and a laptop to detect the signals controllng the movement of line of sight (LOS) drones that would emanate from the direction of the most likely avenue of approach. Its range of detection would be greatest when placed above the top of trees. In the world of radio, ‘Height is might’.)

The link to the RTL SDR dongle and the software for the RTL SDR, that can be downloaded for free, can be found at the manufacturer’s website.

A communications station in a bucket can be used as a part of a remote station located on key terrain (a hill) that overlooks the area and can be used for Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). This will likely be the most valuable intelligence collection method in the future, and it would be wise to learn how to develop intelligence to the best of our ability, as opposed to simply collecting information, or simply maintaining visual situational awareness. The process involves asking the most pertinent questions and using signal interception as a means to answer the questions posed.Continue reading“A Low Power Communications Station in a Bucket – Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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 the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

We had a delightful visit with our four grandchildren, who stayed at the Rawles Ranch for a full week.  During their visit, I split some firewood, and one of my older grandsons helped me stack it, in the woodshed.

I whipped up a quick batch of Huckleberry syrup. Yum!

Now, Lily’s report, with all of the details on our Grandparenting Time…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?

And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.

And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the Lord is your way wherein ye go.

Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.

And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?

And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.

When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.

And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.

And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.

Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.

And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.

And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.” – Judges 18:1-16 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 28, 2023

Today is the day of shame for Patton, Eisenhower, and MacArthur “just following orders”. On July 28, 1932, the US Army in cooperation with the DC Police, demolished the Bonus Army encampment on Anacostia Flats, Washington, DC.

—

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.

—

Today, in place of my usual Economics & Investing column, I’ve selected a guest article written by our friend  Brandon Smith, Editor of the great Alt-Market.us blog.  This article was first published at Birch Gold Group, and is reposted with permission. – JWR

A Low Power Communications Station in a Bucket – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3.)

Crossband Repeaters
A dual-band UHF/VHF J-pole that would work with a cross-band repeater.

The Anytone AT5888uv, or the TYT TH-UV8000, a 10-watt handheld ($79) are examples of what I prefer in a open-banded transceiver with a crossband repeater. These use only one dual-band antenna, and are true two-way cross-band repeaters. For low-power operations, the TYT TH-UV8000 is the most practical. The Anytone AT5888 moblie with 50 watts of power, can do the same job and be a base station transceiver, yet it would draw more power, and when in use as a repeater, it can not be a base station transceiver. So, get both!Continue reading“A Low Power Communications Station in a Bucket – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit”

Globalists Suggest ‘Finance Shock’ and Climate Controls, by Brandon Smith

At the end of June government leaders and think-tank power brokers from around the world met at the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris. Participants include United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President Ajay Banga.

The supposed purpose of the summit was to find financial solutions to the goals of tackling poverty while simultaneously curbing “planet-heating emissions.” As with all climate change related events the discussion in Paris inevitably turned to international centralization of power and the formation of a global consortium to fix the problems that they claim sovereign nations cannot or will not fix.

However, what I’m seeing more and more in the past couple years is a convergence of narratives – Central banks and international banks are now suddenly more concerned with carbon taxation and global warming than they seem to be concerned with stagflation and economic collapse. Likely because this was the goal all along and economic collapse is part of the plan.Continue reading“Globalists Suggest ‘Finance Shock’ and Climate Controls, by Brandon Smith”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 27, 2023

On July 27, 2003, British-born American entertainer and comic actor Bob Hope, who was known for his rapid-fire delivery of jokes and one-liners, died at age 100.

—

July 27th is the birthday of Captain Samuel Whittemore (born in 1694, died February 3, 1793). He was an English-born American farmer and soldier. He was eighty years of age when he became the oldest known colonial combatant in the American War of Independence.

—

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.

A Low Power Communications Station in a Bucket – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.)

Photovoltaic (PV) Power

Power can be supplied by an internal or external source. For long-term fixed installation, a single wire pair can deliver power from a 12 to 24 vdc from a PV panel to a battery stored inside, or placed outside, or directly to the voltage step-down converter inside. A Baofeng battery eliminator can accept the higher voltage of a PV panel and step it down to 7.4 volts that the transceiver requires. However, there is no battery present to be charged and consumed after sunset, whereas with the voltage step down covert charges the transceiver’s battery. This is the most efficient use of PV power.

Anytime electrical power is converted into a chemical form and then reverted back to electrons (on discharge), there is power lost in the conversion, approximately 15% by some estimates. Bypassing a storage battery and a charge controller, and the usually long runs of DC wire that can represent an additional 5&% loss, improves the efficiency of a small PV system, greatly. And an expensive MPPT charge controller that can improve efficiency during cloudy periods is not needed. The step-down voltage converter is a homemade item, and is detailed in ny SurvivalBlog article Commo for Family, Group, and Community, Part 5. This allows one to use either solar direct power or battery operation, or both.

For the more sunny six months of the year, when no storage battery is used, 10 watts of PV power is a minimum for each one handheld transceiver that needs to be in operation 24/7,and when, and where one transceiver is turn on and receiving, while a second transceiver is off and charging from the same power source. As a minimum, 10 watts is needed for northern latitudes, because the crossband repeater has two transceivers that are turned on 24/7. Ideally, they should both be outfitted with the large 3800Mah batteries that will supply power during overcast days when the PV panel output drops to 10 to 20% of full production.Continue reading“A Low Power Communications Station in a Bucket – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit”

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, we look at fighting shotguns.

Some Defensive Shotgun Wisdom

Reader B.G. suggested this piece written by Sheriff Jim Wilson: Thoughts On The Defensive Shotgun.

Nine Best Home-Defense Tactical Shotguns

From PewPewTactical: 9 Best Home-Defense Tactical Shotguns 2023 [Hands-On].

Nauru: The Best Tech Elite Retreat Money Could Buy?

FTX lobbyist tried to buy Pacific island of Nauru to create a new superspecies, lawsuit says.

Two Women Found Dead in State Park Near Las Vegas

Reader F.J. sent this, from The New York Post: Two women found dead in state park outside of Las Vegas. JWR’s Comment:  Their first clue should have been the name of the park.

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