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:

I’m still in my quarterly travel groove: Round-the-clock bedside care of an elderly relative, and as time allows: writing, editing, exercise, running some brief errands, sleeping, and eating. Not a lot else.

I had an interesting conversation with a foreigner, while on my travels. As I was standing in a very long post office queue, we struck up a conversation. When discussing the recent Afghanistan debacle, this man from Belgium said that he had doubts about “the resolve of the Americans.” I reminded him that he shouldn’t confuse the lack of resolve of the Former Vice President — now occupying the White House, and the steadfast resolve of The American People. This is, after all, the country where we shoot privately-owned machineguns for fun, and the country that invented both Figure 8 Racetrack Trailer Demolition Derbies and freeride extreme mountain biking (where our Europeans friends are invited, and often win.) Oh, and even our ladies catch giant fish by hand.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.” – Proverbs 1:7-19  (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — September 10, 2021

On September 10, 1776, George Washington asked for a spy volunteer. Nathan Hale stepped up to the challenge of an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City. Unfortunately, the British captured and executed him. He is probably best known for his last words before being hanged: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” He has long been considered an American hero, and in 1985, was officially designated the state hero of Connecticut. It is good for us to remember that every American patriot and hero from the times leading up to and during the American Revolutionary War would have been considered traitors to the crown and would have suffered much the same fate as Hale had America not won her independence.

Radios for Emergency and SHTF Use – Part 4, by Rufus King

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.)

A friend of mine suggested that I include some discussion of less costly MURS radios for those prepping on a modest budget. There are not nearly as many options for MURS radios as there are for GMRS. A bit of research reveals that a Hong Kong-based firm called Retevis offers Chinese-made radios that it markets for MURS use. Their model RT21V is available in a two-pack for $44.99. They are CTCSS capable, but they do not come with any tones already set up. The Retevis units have the five MURS channels ordered in the sequence they appear in the FCC regulations: channel 1 is 151.820, channel 2 is 151.880, channel 3 is 151.940, channel 4 is 154.570, and channel 5 is 154.600 MHz. Here is a chart comparing the channels on the two units:

 

Frequency Retevis Channel Motorola Channel Allowable Bandwidth
151.820 1 3 11.25KHz
151.880 2 4 11.25KHz
151.940 3 5 11.25KHz
154.570 4 1 20.0 KHz
154.600 5 2 20.0 KHz

 

I ordered a pair of Retevis RT21V radios and evaluated them for this article. My first impression was that you get what you pay for. The cases, batteries, antennas, and chargers all looked okay, but as soon as I started turning the knobs, they felt loose with a lot of slop in them. I charged the batteries for the two units and started testing them. The two would talk to each other with no problems. Where I ran into limitations was when I tried to get them to interoperate with my Motorola RMM-2050’s.

I mentioned above that the RMM-2050 comes from the factory set up to use a sub-audible tone of 67.0Hz for both send and receive. In contrast, the RT21V’s are not set up to transmit tones by default, so out of the box, I could hear the RMM-2050 on the RT21V but not the other way around. My goal was to configure the RT21Vs to work seamlessly with the RMM-2050’s, so they could serve as a less costly alternative. I was only partially successful.Continue reading“Radios for Emergency and SHTF Use – Part 4, by Rufus King”

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 boom in British classic car prices. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

CPM Group: Silver Shines.

o  o  o

The latest from Arkadiusz Sieroń: Bond Conundrum – Boom or Bust for Gold? A pericope:

“But now we can observe rising inflation and declining bond yields at the same time. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is 1.3%, which is 4 percentage points below the inflation rate, so investors who buy bonds lose a lot of money in real terms. Something is clearly wrong here. Let’s solve this bond conundrum!

The first potential explanation is that bond investors trust the Fed and believe that high inflation is mainly transitory. If so, the bond yields are more or less accurate and could stay around current low levels, and the inflation rates will adjust. The supply disruptions caused by the pandemic will eventually resolve, while the Fed is going to tighten its monetary policy, adding to disinflationary forces.

At first glance, the scenario in which inflation is declining seems to be negative for the yellow metal, as it implies lower demand for gold as an inflation hedge. However, in this case, interest rates could stay at very low levels for a long time. And gold likes the environment of low yields.

The second possible reason for the decline in interest rates is that bond investors expect slower economic growth than previously thought.”

Economy & Finance:

Biden’s Economy: The Black-White Unemployment Gap Soared in August.

o  o  o

Desperate Money Printing Leads to Depression – Dr. Marc Faber.

o  o  o

By 2022 only these 12 states will tax Social Security benefits.

o  o  o

At Mises Wire: This Is a Sign that Price Inflation Will Soon Get Worse.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — September 9, 2021

On September 9, 1492, the fleet of Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo / Cristóbal Colón) set sail west.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 96 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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 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!

—

More than $700,000 worth of prizes have been awarded, since we started running this contest. Round 96 ends on September 30th, 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.

Radios for Emergency and SHTF Use – Part 3, by Rufus King

(Continued form Part 2.)

General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS)

GMRS is a personal radio service that uses the same frequencies and channels as FRS, but more power is allowed, and there are greater equipment options. The FCC defines GMRS as “A mobile two-way voice communication service, with limited data applications, for facilitating activities of individual licensees and their family members, including, but not limited to, voluntary provision of assistance to the public during emergencies and natural disasters.” 47 CFR 95.1703. Note that unlike FRS or CB, GMRS requires a license. 47 CFR 95.1705. There is no test, and the license covers you and your immediate family. It costs $70 for 10 years, and you will be assigned a call sign. GMRS stations are required to identify themselves by their call signs at the end of each transmission and periodically during transmissions. 47 CFR 95.1751. Many people operate on GMRS without a license, but doing so is illegal.

In addition to blister-pack type handhelds, it is legal to operate mobile, fixed, and base station radios as well as repeaters on a subset of the GMRS frequencies. GMRS covers all 22 of the FRS channels, and there are an additional 8 GMRS channels available that are exclusive to GMRS: 467.5500, 467.5750, 467.6000, 467.6250, 467.6500, 467.6750, 467.7000, and 467.7250. 47 CFR 95.1763. These additional channels are, however, reserved for use by fixed GMRS stations and stations using repeaters, so they are not useful for simple communication between handheld radios. For use between handheld radios, the frequencies are the same for FRS and GMRS.

Transmitters must be certified by the FCC to be legal on GMRS, and the rules expressly provide that if a transmitter has the capabilities to operate in the amateur radio service it can’t be GMRS certified. 47 CFR 95.1761 (c). This means you cannot use a Baofeng UV5R for GMRS (or FRS) without breaking the law.

The power limits for GMRS vary depending on which channel you are on. It can be up to 50 watts for some channels and is limited to 0.5 watts for others. 47 CFR 95.1767.Continue reading“Radios for Emergency and SHTF Use – Part 3, by Rufus King”

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 further examine the failed Covid-19 mRNA gene modification “Vaccine”.

Israel: Highest Infection Rate in the World

Andre mentioned this article: Israel: Highest infection rate in the world. JWR’s Comments: Ponder this… Israel also has just about the highest vaccination rate in the world.  So we’ve obviously been duped, folks. The mRNA gene modification “vaccine” does not work. And with both false positives and false negatives, PCR testing doesn’t work. Masks do not work. Socialist distancing doesn’t work. Nothing works. The Plandemic Wu Flu has a 99.75% recovery rate for those under age 70, yet the peoples of the once-Free World have surrendered their freedom, their right to travel, their right to visit their dying loved ones, their economic vitality, and their once-robust supply chain. For what? I think that the people of France have the right idea. Ditto for The Netherlands. Mass protests!  And if need be, change governments. Vote the bastiches out. And if that doesn’t happen? Well… Take at the many quotes from our Founding Fathers that I’ve archived at SurvivalBlog, for guidance.

Forced Vaccinations: Can Americans Legally Opt Out?

Here is some food for thought: Forced Vaccinations: Can Americans Legally Opt Out?

Glenn Beck Group’s Planes Held In Afghanistan

Newsweek reports:  Taliban Holds Up Glenn Beck Group’s Planes; At Least 100 Americans Among Passengers.  This article begins:

“Six private charter planes seeking to evacuate at least 1,000 people—including more than 100 Americans—out of Afghanistan have been grounded by the Taliban amid negotiations with the U.S. State Department, an official with an NGO working on the evacuation told Newsweek.

The would-be passengers have yet to board the planes in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which were chartered by Mercury One, a charity founded by Christian conservative media personality Glenn Beck.

Three other evacuation flights—two on a plane chartered by international development organization Sayara, and one by Goldbelt, Inc., an Alaska Native corporation. According to a second senior NGO official Sayara is set to carry 700 passengers, with at least 19 of who are Americans, have also been grounded by the Taliban awaiting clearance., a second senior NGO official told Newsweek.”

Some more news coverage: GOP Lawmakers Drop Bombs: Stranded Americans Being Held ‘Hostage’ By Taliban Who ‘Want Something’ In Exchange for Release.

JWR’s Comment:  My prediction is that the Biden-Harris Regime will refuse to use the word “hostages” to describe these Americans held against their will, unless this drags on for weeks.

Facebook Flags Those Who are “Too Prepared”

Facebook Giving Out Warnings Now Against “Extremists” that are “Too Prepared” for Disasters.

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 8, 2021

On September 8, 1565, the first permanent settlement in what would become the United States of America was formed. (St. Augustine, Florida)

—

A reminder about a northeastern listing on SurvivalRealty: It is a secluded 53.4-acre property in North Central Pennsylvania’s Tioga area. It has a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with a basement. The nearest town is Mansfield. It has great hunting and an established garden, fruit trees, nut trees, and berries.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 96 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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 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!

—

More than $700,000 worth of prizes have been awarded, since we started running this contest. Round 96 ends on September 30th, 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.

Radios for Emergency and SHTF Use – Part 2, by Rufus King

(Continued from Part 1.)

Back to the matter of radio spectrum: It is regulated by the government, and it pretty much has to be. No matter how libertarian you lean and no matter how dim your view of government power, somebody has to regulate the spectrum, or it would be completely useless, with would-be users interfering with each other left and right. Every developed nation has a government agency that allocates radio spectrum to different uses, and in turn countries cooperate internationally via various treaties and agreements.

In the United States, this responsibility has been delegated by Congress to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Setting aside the Constitutionally dubious nature of such a delegation, that is the legal reality. The FCC hands out licenses for people that entitle them to use different parts of the radio spectrum for different purposes, such as broadcast radio and TV, public safety, mobile phones, military, etc. As a basic rule, you are not allowed to make any radio transmission without a license. There are a few slices of spectrum that are available for the public to use for personal communication, and I discuss those later in this article.

Obviously, if we suffer a complete breakdown of the rule of law, then much of this may go out the window (along with the National Firearms Act, for that matter). However, radio communication takes practice to be useful in an emergency, and it is much more likely you will need your radio gear in a situation that is short of a complete societal breakdown. As a result, it is helpful to know the rules, at least in broad strokes, and to have a plan for how to communicate within them.Continue reading“Radios for Emergency and SHTF Use – Part 2, by Rufus King”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: 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.

First, and foremost, from Patriot Nurse: There’s No One Coming: It’s Up to Us to Check the Feds. I now concur that the benefits of a Constitutional Convention now outweigh the risks.

o  o  o

Tim. J. sent these three solar project links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AQFUYMgZe8
https://4patriots.com/products/sun-kettle-solar-cooker  [16.9 Fluid Ounces]
https://4patriots.com/products/sun-kettle-xl  [33.8 ounces]

o  o  o

Pfizer To ‘Require’ Twice-Per-Day COVID Pill Alongside Vaccines. Subheaded: Pfizer is so confident the pill will be approved and likely mandated that it has started production before the end of clinical trials.

o  o  o

Peter mentioned this Joe Biden meme, that says it all: Joe Tzu.

o  o  o

Reader C.B. spotted this: Study reveals threat of catastrophic supervolcano eruptions ever-present.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“…The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere.” – Thomas Jefferson

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 7, 2021

Today is the birthday of novelist Taylor Caldwell (born 1900 – August 30, 1985).

Today is also the birthday of Dr. Ludwig Vorgrimler (born 1912 in Freiburg, Germany; died 1983). Vorgrimler was the designer of the Spanish CETME rifle, from which sprang a plethora of roller-lock descendants from HK, including the G3, HK21, and MP5. His bolt design was also copied by the Swiss for their excellent PE57 and SIG 510 rifles. (Although the Swiss felt obliged to mount a “beer keg” charging handle on the right side of the receiver, for the sake of familiarity to Schmidt-Rubin shooters.)

—

I have put Elk Creek Company on another ordering hiatus, for the month of September, 2021. I’m now traveling, in part to gather more inventory. I plan to reactivate our shopping cart system on September 29th. Please mark your calendar. Thanks for your patience. – JWR

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 96 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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.

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. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 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!

—

More than $700,000 worth of prizes have been awarded, since we started running this contest. Round 96 ends on September 30th, 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.