Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 10, 2020

28

On August 10th, 1984, Red Dawn, the first PG-13 rated movie, starring Patrick Swayze was released. The movie (the 1984 original, not the 2012 remake) is a favorite of both JWR and HJL. The movie embodies the independent, indomitable spirit that created this country.

—
Two newly-listed properties, over at SurvivalRealty.com:

70 acres outside Kamiah (inside the reservation), with “almost Artesian” well, for $200,000.

and,

Off-grid cabin on 5 acres, north of Cedar City Utah for $250,000

Jonathan Rawles (My #1 Son), who owns SurvivalRealty.com mentioned: “We’re continuing to see extremely low property inventory in many rural regions, and a surprising number of properties selling before even being listed on the MLS, or before being advertised publicly.”

—

Today we present another review by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

FNS-9 Compact, by Pat Cascio

If you’re old enough to remember back 50-years or longer, you’ll recall that guns we called “compact” back then, were quite a bit different than what we call “compact” today. Back in the day, a compact handgun was still quite large, compared to those made today. Sure there were some compact guns back then, but most were revolvers on a small frame that only held 5 or 6 rounds. Maybe back then, 5 or 6 rounds was more than enough to end a gunfight. Today, things have changed – a lot! We live in a very violent world, and odds are good that you might have to face down multiple attackers. A semiauto handgun with 10 or 12 rounds is a bit more comforting, and with spare magazine or two, you are well-armed.

I recall when the Glock 26 first came out – that was around 1992 – and they called it the “Pocket Rocket” for some reason – I never carried one in my pocket – it was still a bit too large for my tastes. However, place that same  Glock 26 in an inside the waistband holster or in an ankle holster and you had a lot of firepower, in a very small gun. Of course, these days, Glock and many other gun makers have even smaller pistols that hold a lot of ammo on-tap. And, of course, we now have sub-compact handguns, like the SIG-Sauer P365, that also holds 10 or 12 rounds in a very small and tidy package. Make you wonder how much smaller the gun makers can go with this…perhaps micro-compact?

Most days, I can be caught wearing my Glock 26, it’s one of my favorite concealed carry handguns. I added a +2 pinky catcher floor plate, that it turns the 10+1 mag into a 12+1 mag, all in a nice little package on my right hip. Of course, since Glock came out with the Model 26, most big-name gun makers have been playing catch-up with Glock, and they are producing their own compact handguns – most chambered in 9mm – the most popular pistol caliber in the world.

Today, we’re looking at the FN FNS-9C – that is their quasi-clone of the Glock 26–at least in terms of form and function. This is one tough little pistol. It appears to belarger than a Glock 26, but it’s only an illusion — since they are really very close in size. And, the FNS-9C seems to fit my hand a little better. So it feels more like a mid-sized 9mm instead of a compact version.Continue reading“FNS-9 Compact, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Eggs A La Caracas

1

The following recipe for Eggs A La Caracas is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book will be one of the bonus items in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021.

Ingredients
  • 1  tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup tomatoes
  • 1 Tablespoon grated cheese
  • Onion-juice
  • Salt and Peppe, to taste
  • 1/4 pound dried beef
  • 4 eggs
Directions
  1. Melt the butter or butter substitute in a frying pan.
  2. When hot, add the dried beef and cheese.
  3. Toss lightly until the beet is slightly frizzled.
  4. Add the tomatoes, the seasonings, and the eggs beaten until light.
  5. Stir and cook gently until of a creamy consistency.

—

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

28

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 Expatriation. (See the Off-Shore section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Forecast: Could Prices Continue to Soar Higher Over the Next Decade?

o  o  o

Alasdair Macleod: Gold At $2000+. So Why The Fuss? Here is a snippet:

“In the investment industry it is monetary debasement that gives you your living. For the rise in the general level of prices of financial assets, measured by various indices, is little more than a reflection of the loss of purchasing power of your state’s currency. The world has been enjoying the phenomenon particularly from the mid-1970s, four years after the last vestiges of Keynes’s barbarous relic, when President Nixon removed pet rocks from the monetary scene. A continual decline in the dollar’s purchasing power ensued. Apart from the occasional hiccup, from 1982 when the S&P500 Index rose from 291.34 to today’s 3,270 the general public has appeared to make money.

It has not been an easy environment to convincingly challenge, being populated by group-thinkers believing their stock and property gains have been the consequence of their individual financial acumens. But one of those periodic hiccups is now upon us, threatening to be more disruptive than anything seen hitherto in our lifetimes, which the macroeconomists in the central banks and governments tell us will require virtually unlimited inflationary finance to resolve.”

Economy & Finance:

U.S. jobs data shows coronavirus weakening economic rebound

o  o  o

H.L. sent us this from Zero Hedge: Farmageddon Continues As Bankruptcies Rise 8% 

o  o  o

Washington talks on vital COVID-19 rescue money are teetering on the brink of collapse

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: End of QE, Week 8: Fed’s Assets Fall by -$4 Billion for the Week, Down -$224 Billion Since June 10. JWR’s Comment:  Has the can received its last kick?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 9, 2020

2

August 9th, 1831 was the birthday of James Paris Lee (August 9, 1831 – February 24, 1904). He was a Scottish-Canadian and later American inventor and arms designer, best known for inventing the bolt action that led to the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  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. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

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. 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.
  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!

Round 90 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.

Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI – Part 6, by J.M.

20

(Continued from Part 5. This concludes the article series.)

Pilot of the Airwaves

Another area where mobile electronics can provide some useful tactical functionality is communications, even if cellular networks and the Internet aren’t available. There are a lot of good articles here on SurvivalBlog.com about radios, so I’m going to focus on other areas.

One very useful option for communications is a goTenna Mesh paired with each mobile device on your team. They’re around $180 a pair, but goTenna frequently has them on sale for 20% or more off. It’s a small device that you clip to the outside of your gear and pair with your mobile device using Bluetooth that allows you to send text messages to other goTenna users. It uses MURS frequencies (151/154MHz) to communicate between goTennas, and all communications are strongly encrypted. They advertise up to a 4 mile range between devices in the open, and I’ve been able to exchange messages with another user over two miles away through broken terrain; there are even stories of people being able to connect over a distance of 25 miles in perfect conditions.

Being able to exchange information via text messaging can be a huge advantage if you need quiet communications in tactical situations, and there’s a lot less chance of your communications being intercepted than with radio. There are also instructions available on how to make your own solar-powered goTenna repeaters, which you could deploy on some high points around your AO to extend your range – the goTennas will ‘hop’ a signal between devices to get it to its intended recipient. Once the goTenna app is installed on your device, no Internet access of any kind is required to communicate with other users. Note that goTenna provides an optional subscription service called goTenna Plus, which allows you to do things like download and use topographic maps to share your location, have messages relayed via cellular service when one user in the mesh has cell service, automatically send your location to someone at a regular interval, etc. These options are pretty nice, but since they require Internet access and GPS so I wouldn’t recommend counting on them in a post-SHTF scenario.Continue reading“Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI – Part 6, by J.M.”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

4

 “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.

Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” – Luke 12: 32-40 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 8, 2020

4

August 8th is the birthday of Terry Nation (August 8th, 1930 – March 9th, 1997), who was a Welsh television writer and novelist. Nation wrote two series, Survivors and Blake’s 7, in the 1970s. Survivors was re-made a few years ago.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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. 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)
  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. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. 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.
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for the delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 90 ends on September 30th, 2020, 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.

Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI – Part 5, by J.M.

9

(Continued from Part 5.)

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

One of the most useful capabilities of mobile devices is their ability to take pictures and videos. If you’re out on a patrol you can photograph people you encounter, potential enemy locations, plants you discover for future foraging, abandoned material for future scrounging, etc. Pretty much every mobile device has a built-in camera, and most have both a front and rear camera. My Armor X5 has a 13 megapixel (MP) camera, which can take high-resolution pictures. I recommend that you always use the highest resolution possible for photographs, since that will allow you to zoom in and make out small details.

Every mobile device that has a camera comes with some kind of built-in camera app, all with varying levels of quality and capability. You shouldn’t be too worried about things like the ability to add funny features or beauty filters to your pictures – focus on something simple that lets you easily control the quality of your photos and allows you to store them on the SD card. I like to use an app called Open Camera, which allows you to do things like add date/time stamps and GPS coordinates to pictures and stitch multiple pictures together for panoramic shots (they also provide a nice online users guide). I set the extra programmable button on my phone to open up the camera app, since you never know when you’ll need to take a picture in a hurry. For videos I recommend recording at a resolution of at least 1080p, as that will provide a good level of detail.

Beyond the built-in camera, having the ability to zoom in to capture details in photos at long distances can be useful in field situations. For example, you may want to set up an observation post (OP) on a hill overlooking a road and get pictures of everyone going by and determine if they’re carrying weapons, or take detailed pictures of a property you need to check out and share them with other team members to plan your approach. You may have seen mobile device clip-on telescopic lenses on places like Amazon, and believe it or not they actually work pretty well.

Alternatively, you could get a universal lens adapter and use your monocular or binocular lens with your camera. I’d also recommend getting one of those hated selfie sticks with a built-in tripod, which can be used to hold your device still while you take pictures. You can use it to take pictures/videos around corners or from behind cover without exposing yourself, and it has other uses which I’ll discuss later.Continue reading“Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI – Part 5, by J.M.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

99

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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I had a trip to town this week, where I received a golden crown. Shunning any titles of nobility, I won’t call myself a Prince or King. Nay, I am from the common folk. But upon examining the bill from the dentist, I wished that I had been granted an annual royal stipend.

This week I did some ATV cleaning and repair.  I also filled some gas cans, cut some firewood, did some weed trimming for Lily, down in the Annex Garden on the part that we left fallow this year.   A few weeks ago, our neighbor brought manure down to that section, that Lily is going to spread and rototill under and plant Winter wheat this fall. An aside: For weed-whacking, I prefer to use our Cub Cadet string trimmer that uses the fat .155″ monofilament.  That machine is a real brute that can cut down 2-foot tall weeds–even Bull thistle with stout stalks–without bogging down. I always enjoy work when I have the proper tools.

I shipped a few more orders this week. Despite my best efforts, my inventory for Elk Creek Company is dwindling. I did manage to find a few old big-bore S&W top-break revolvers and a Winchester M1873 Saddle Ring Carbine chambered in .44-40, from an estate. I should be able to add those to the catalog, this coming week. Other than a few guns that are currently off for Cerakoting, I won’t have much else to add to the catalog in the next few weeks. Speaking of which: If any blog readers have any pre-1899 cartridge guns or barreled actions that they’d like to sell, then please drop me a line. I can either pay you cash, or sell them for you on consignment. See our Want List, for details.

UPDATE (Saturday P.M.): Success! just left a gun show, where I bought or traded for seven pre-1899 antique cartridge guns to add to my inventory: A refinished Winchester Model 1894 Saddle Ring Carbine in .30-30 that was made in 1896, a first-year-of-production Winchester Model 1894 takedown rifle chambered in .38-55, a Remington-Smoot .38 revolver with elephant ivory grips, a Model 1896 S&W .32 S&W (this was their their very first swing-out cylinder design), a Marlin. 38 spur trigger revolver, an Adams (British) revolver in .455 Eley (Webley), and a Chilean contract Ludwig Loewe Model 1894 Mauser 7×57 Saddle Ring Carbine.

This coming week, I hope to finish up the wood cutting to be ready for the coming winter. Since I have some travel planned for September, the last of the splitting and stacking might not be done until October.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

3

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations.

He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.

So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.” – Psalm 61 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 7, 2020

6

August 7th, 1933 The birthday of Jerry Pournelle. He, along with Larry Niven authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  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. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

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. 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)
  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. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. 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.
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for the delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 90 ends on September 30th, 2020, 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.

Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI – Part 4, by J.M.

8

(Continued from Part 3.)

There’s an App for That

The ability to run thousands of different apps is where the power of a mobile device really comes into play. It allows you to have access applications, files, sensors and other things in the palm of your hand. One of the most obvious app uses for mobile devices in field operations is maps – you can use them to figure out where you are, plan you need to go, note your findings, etc. I’ve standardized on mapping apps that utilize Open Street Maps (OSM) data files and support GPX files for exchanging tracks and other information. My primary mapping app is OsmAnd+, along with the contour line plugin; it’s not as detailed as USGS topographic maps, but the terrain in my area of operations (AO) is only moderately hilly so I don’t really need that level of detail. I make sure to download offline maps for every area I could conceivably end up operating in, and they don’t take all that much space. OsmAnd+ also allows you to create markers on your maps, which can be exported via GPX files to other systems to share, and there are plugins that allow you to take pictures/videos/notes and associate them with map locations as well as do freehand drawing on maps.

Yes, I realize that GPS may not be available, but you can still use the apps just like you would a paper map and compass, without the problem of constantly marking up your paper maps. In addition to the OSM map apps I also have PDF copies of USGS topo maps files for my AO stored on my SD card, and high-resolution satellite map screen captures I got by connecting my laptop to a friend’s 4K TV using the laptop’s HDMI port.

Taking notes is another thing I do frequently in the field, and using my mobile device allows me to stretch out the stash of paper notebooks in my preps. You’re not going to write the next ‘War and Peace’ on a mobile device, but for quick short notes it works well. I use an app called Joplin Notes, which allows me to synchronize with a Joplin Notes server running on my home base network when I return home, supports insertion of pictures and other files (like recordings) into notes, has full end-to-end encryption and allows you to create simple checkbox lists (for my to-do items). It’s not as powerful as something like Microsoft OneNote, but there’s no cloud required and I have full control over all of my information. Note-taking in field operations can be a useful way to keep track of discoveries, create reminders, follow checklists and get a leg up on after-action reports (if you’re into such things).

An audio recording app is another useful tool for field operations. You can record quick spoken notes, interviews, capture ideas, etc. One feature you should look for is the ability to save your recordings to an SD card – the one I use is called Voice Recorder (original name, I know), and is one of the highest-rated apps on Google Play. Another possible application for a voice recorder is to record intercepted radio communications you encounter while you’re out in the field. You can just hold your mobile device’s microphone up to your radio’s speaker and record, or [if the impedance matches] you could connect the audio out from your radio to the microphone jack on your mobile device using a microphone-compatible cable. Note that this is a good solution for recording radio traffic for short periods of time – I’d recommend no more than an hour or two, since most of the recording apps don’t support voice activation, and it’ll quickly consume the battery on your mobile device. If you want the ability to do voice-activated recording of radio traffic for long periods of time I’d recommend getting a small dedicated voice recorder that supports line-in so you can directly connect it to your portable radio/scanner with the afore-mentioned cable and let it collect recordings for hours and hours.Continue reading“Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI – Part 4, by J.M.”