MURS Dakota Alert IR Sensors and Antennas – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

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

a Radio Survey

Performing a radio survey of the area first is a necessary step before purchasing or fabricating the appropriate antennas. You might find that no directional antennas will be necessary, the cost reduced, and the remaining budget used to purchase additional sensors.  The range of any transmitter is in the end limited by or enhanced by the surrounding terrain. Given that very low power transmitters are being used, the 1 watt transmitted by these sensors, versus the 5 watts of a handheld transceiver, the challenge is greater. Having favorable terrain is necessary to extend the range of low-power transmitters. And even if the terrain is not entirely favorable, 1 watt of power is still adequate enough to refract over several hills to a receiving antenna. However, there is a significant loss of signal strength in the signal making that transit.

You must understand how an antenna propagates. Even a high gain omnidirectional antenna, such as a Slim Jim, can be aimed at the crest of a hill in order to send the signal farther.  This antenna does concentrate its propagation lower and toward the horizon as compared to a unity gain 1/4 wave antenna that evenly distributes RF in all directions, and therefore has no gain.  Aim the Slim Jim by placing the crest of the hill 90 degrees, or perpendicular to the length, or axis of the antenna, so that more of the signal is sent toward the top of the hill and will be refracted over and downward on the opposite side.  A higher gain directional antenna is not always needed, but should the hill be high enough, additional power in terms of Effective Radiated Power (ERP) might be used to refract the signal over the hill.  This is where a high gain directional antenna can be used to solve a problem.  But first, we must find out where it would be best to use these sensors, given the low power of the transmitter, and where and what kind of external antenna, if any, might be needed.  Therefore we need to perform a radio survey.Continue reading“MURS Dakota Alert IR Sensors and Antennas – Part 2, 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, we look at the recently-announced increase to Social Security payments. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Bank of America still sees gold price hitting record highs and silver price pushing to $30.

o  o  o

After Nickel Rush, Silver And Gold Are Next – Ed Steer.

Economy & Finance:

Oil over $100. DXY over $100. US 10yr almost 3%. IMF cuts global GDP growth forecast. China’s economy slows.

o  o  o

White House says it will extend student-loan pause again before Aug. 31 or finalize plan by then on canceling student debt.

o  o  o

Brandon Smith: Basic Solutions To Our Economic Problems That Establishment Elites Won’t Allow.

o  o  o

City of Detroit Displaces 100,000 Residents After Tax Error.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 21, 2022

On April 21, 1836, with their victory in the Battle of San Jacinto, Texas won independence from Mexico.

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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

 

MURS Dakota Alert IR Sensors and Antennas – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

The case for using directional antennas to contain signals within an area of operations (AO), has hopefully been adequately made in my previous SurvivalBlog articles. Today, I will describe how directional and omnidirectional antennas can be used with MURS Dakota Alert Sensors.

With the advent of HF equipment that can now be operated on very low power, there has been a growth in interest among some Amateur radio operators in QRP (low power).  It is a style of HF (High Frequency, a.k.a. shortwave) radio that challenges operators to communicate very long distances using only very low powered transmitters.  This style of radio includes small pocket sized transmitters to modern full power sets that can communicate a crossed oceans using only very low power.  The pursuit requires more skill and different techniques than is required when operating full powered HF transceivers.  It usually requires the use of digital modes and CW, instead of voice.

Operating VHF/UHF transceivers instead of HF sets on very low power also comes with certain technical challenges that are different than what is required for QRP using HF. QRP is not usually associated with VHF/UHF Amateur bands above 40 meters, and so there is little interest, and little known about how to go about it.  Yet there is little new under the sun. Military operators in past eras have done so on a regular basis.
Continue reading“MURS Dakota Alert IR Sensors and Antennas – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit”

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 examine the expanding threats of hacking and cyber-warfare.

Risk of Hackers Targeting Industrial Control Systems

Over at Tech_HQ: US Fed warns of state hackers targeting industrial control systems. Here is a pericope:

“Known as Pipedream, the malware toolkit is said to be the most versatile tool ever made to target industrial control systems like power grids and oil refineries.

The DOE, CISA, NSA, and the FBI are all urging critical infrastructure organizations, especially energy sector organizations, to implement the detection and mitigation recommendations provided to detect potential malicious APT activity and harden their ICS/SCADA devices.”

SIG Wins Contract for 6.8mm M4 and SAW Replacements

Army chooses SIG Sauer to build its Next Generation Squad Weapon. Some more details on the news weapons and the bi-metallic 6.8×51 cartridge were published back in February by Guns & Ammo: NGSW Update: More Details on the SIG Sauer-U.S. Army Contract.

NATO Conducts Cyber Wargame

NATO launches cyber wargame amid looming Russian threats.

The Changing Character of War

Reader A.K. sent us a link to an hour-long video that is heavy on demographics charts and maps, but well worth watching: Peter Zeihan: The Changing Character of War — Maneuver Center of Excellence. Note that Zeihan has a strongly Statist outlook, but some of his observations are quite cogent.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America.” –  John Steinbeck

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 20, 2022

Several SurvialBlog readers relayed some bad news: Fire destroys Azure Standard Headquarters Facility, in Dufur, Oregon. Thankfully, there was no loss of life, but the facility was consumed by the fire. (Photo Credit: Alana Lackner, Columbia Gorge News.)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Note: We are running low on articles to post for Round 100 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. If you are writing an article, then please complete it and e-mail it to us. Thanks! – JWR

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.

The Solar Clothes Dryer, by St. Funogas

I know, you were expecting some sort of a solar box that held heat in for drying your clothes, perhaps even with a squirrel-powered tumbler to make the clothes come out fluffier, so my apologies. I had planned on making one of those to go along with my solar panels, solar food dryer, solar beeswax melter, and solar water heater among others.

While waiting to build my solar dryer I used the old-fashioned kind my mother, grandmothers, and everyone has used since rope was invented. By the time I was ready to build a box-type solar dryer, I discovered the rope one was working 51 weeks of the year and had some advantages of its own so I decided to stick with it.

Your second thought is, “How can there be a whole article on something as basic as hanging clothes?” It seems pretty simple, string a line and hang clothes on it right? But there’s a lot more to it than that and since most of us are accustomed to electric clothes dryers and are far removed from the old-fashioned kind, it’s something easily overlooked when prepping. Here are a few thoughts for our preps, those trying to live a self-reliant lifestyle as well as those who realize that electric dryers won’t be working too well if the grid goes down for a long time.

See my article on a Amish-style clothes washer so if you bookmark both of these on your SurvivalBlog archive stick, you can have a complete post-TEOTWAWKI washer and dryer set when your Maytag pair gets relegated to holding targets on the shooting range.Continue reading“The Solar Clothes Dryer, by St. Funogas”

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.

Cody Wilson Thwarts Another Attempt To Stop Ghost Guns.

o  o  o

Reader Doug C. suggested this: Tucker Carlson on Elon Musk’s bid to buy out Twitter.

o  o  o

Tim J. recommended this video from “southernprepper1”: Night Vision PVS14…Most important combat multiplier for the prepper.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Let me be clear, inflation is a tax, and today’s historic inflation data tells another chilling story about how these taxes on Americans are completely out of control. Hard-earned wages and financial savings are disappearing faster every month as prices continue to climb, while the pain and frustration of spending more on everyday items linger over us all, especially among those who can afford it the least. Americans are seeing some of the largest increases in goods such as gas up 48%, beef up 16%, chicken and milk up 13%, and staples like coffee and eggs are up 11%.

When will this end? It is a disservice to the American people to act as if inflation is a new phenomenon. The Federal Reserve and the Administration failed to act fast enough, and today’s data is a snapshot in time of the consequences being felt across the country. Instead of acting boldly, our elected leaders and the Federal Reserve continue to respond with half-measures and rhetorical failures searching for where to lay the blame. The American people deserve the truth about why record inflation is happening and what must be done to control it.

Here is the truth, we cannot spend our way to a balanced, healthy economy and continue adding to our $30 trillion national debt. Getting inflation under control will require more aggressive action by a Federal Reserve that waited too long to act. It demands the Administration and Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, support an all-the-above energy policy because that is the only way to bring down the high price of gas and energy while attacking climate change. The United States of America is equipped to be energy independent from Russia and other terror-sponsoring countries while also working to fight global climate change and break our dependence on the critical mineral supply change from China.

The [8.5%] inflation number today is only the beginning unless we take immediate action to address the pain being felt across our nation. This is one problem facing the American people that one political party alone cannot fix. The American people cannot wait any longer.” – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, April 12, 2022

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 19, 2022

April 19th is the original Patriot Day which marks the multiple anniversaries of the battles of Lexington and Concord, known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”. This first battle, leading to our nation’s independence, was the then-dictator’s (United Kingdom King George III’s) failed attempt at “gun control”– an act being carried out in too many parts of our nation right now. This first gun control of the colonies was a failure, because of the will and determination of a small part of the population (about 3% actually fought for our independence actively, with many others supporting) to stand up to an oppressive, controlling government (England). Without the sacrifice by those few Patriots, we could very well still be “British subjects” rather than independent citizens. Note that due to corporate bureaucracy, the celebration has generally been moved to the third Monday in April to facility a postal/banking holiday.

It also marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis in 1943, the BATF’s costly raid on the Branch Davidian Church in Waco, the gun turret explosion on the USS Iowa in 1989, the capture of the Boston Marathon bomber in 2013, and very sadly also the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

April 19th is also the birthday of novelist Ralph Peters. Coincidentally, Ralph and I both have the same literary agent, Robert Gottlieb.

—

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

Garden Architecture, by R.B.

It’s always surprising how much “stuff” gardeners need and can use in order to grow the simplest crops. My son always shakes his head at the number of T-posts, sticks, concrete blocks, strings, wires, fences, plastic sheets, bedsheets, etc. that appear in and around my gardens from time to time. Here are some of the “architectural ideas” that help me produce a widely varied harvest.

Plastic Jugs

Ya ha ha! You an’ me, Little Plastic Jug, How I Love Thee! Farmers and gardeners have always had to rely on their own ingenuity when confronted by surprise conditions that threatened their crops and their livelihoods. In more recent times, it’s sometimes easy to assume that most solutions come in the form of chemicals and the machines that apply them. But often this assumption misses easy, safe, and cheap solutions that turn out much better in the long run.

One of my favorite garden problem solvers is the plain old gallon plastic jug. You know the kind—you get them weekly containing milk, juice, or distilled water (from CPAP machine users), and maybe throw them into recycling just as frequently. Worse still, they may end up by millions in public landfills. But wait! This is a highly usable treasure that is well worth your time in propagating your crops and protecting them when they are most vulnerable.

So take your dear little milk jug, rinse it out thoroughly, and cut off the bottom just at the line where it joins the side. I use a box cutter-type knife to start an opening, and go around the jug with a heavy-duty plant scissors. Be careful because the plastic is bendable and you can cut yourself. You now have a mini-greenhouse that will perform magic! Plant a few seeds in a space that can be covered by your jug, add a little fertilizer and water, then heap up soil about half-way up the sides of the jug so it won’t blow away in the wind. Make sure you take off the cap so the inside can “breathe,” but save the cap.Continue reading“Garden Architecture, by R.B.”

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 comes news of a coyote hunting controversy in Wyoming. (See the Wyoming section.)

Idaho

Highly contagious bird flu found in two Idaho chicken flocks.

o  o  o

Grizzly bear suspected to have killed livestock in North Idaho.

o  o  o

Alleged ‘cult mom’ Lori Vallow mentally competent to stand trial, Idaho judge says.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”  – Captain John Parker, issuing orders to his company of Minute Men on Lexington Green, April 19, 1775