Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in green frame Glocks. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

I don’t want to sound like some gloating “I told your so”, but the recent run-up in spot silver is noteworthy. It is interesting to see that the silver-to-gold ratio is starting to shift back more toward normal. It is down from the absurd 91-to-1 and now at around 83-to-1. I expect that trend to continue, with the silver-to-gold ratio at 72-to-1 by the end of 2019. This is still a good time to ratio trade out of gold into silver. And for those of you who hesitated to buy silver: Please don’t feel that you’ve missed the boat. You can still buy on dip days.  I believe that silver is headed to at least $55 per Troy ounce, in this bull run.

o  o  o

Next is this from Gary Christenson: The Silver K.I.S.S. Strategy.

o  o  o

I noticed that Rhodium is now up to around $4,700 per Troy ounce.  I’m curious: How many SurvivalBlog readers took my advice in 2016 and bought Rhodium? Back then, it had dipped to under $700 per ounce. For any of you who did buy some, I should mention that this is a good time to sell at least half of your physical Rhodium. Buy low and sell high, folks.

Economy & Finance:

On to his at Zero Hedge: US Manufacturing Weakest In 10 Years As New Export Orders Collapse

o  o  o

Reader H.L. sent us this news from London: Laid-off bankers abandon bikes worth thousands in car parks

o  o  o

Just when you think you own your own private property…

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“When the day of our departure was approaching, we went to the regular passport control office to get permission to leave the country. Bengt stood first in the line as interpreter. “What is your name?” asked a ceremonious little clerk, looking suspiciously over his spectacles at Bengt’s huge beard. “Bengt Emmerik Danielsson,” Bengt answered respectfully. The man put a long form into his typewriter. “By what boat did you come to Peru?” “Well, you see,” Bengt explained, bending over the mild little man, “I didn’t come by boat. I came to Peru by canoe.” The man looked at Bengt dumb with astonishment and tapped out “canoe” in an open space on the form. “And by what boat are you leaving Peru?” “Well, you see, again,” said Bengt politely, “I’m not leaving Peru by boat. I’m leaving by raft.” “A likely story!” the clerk cried angrily and tore the paper out of the machine. “Will you please answer my questions properly?””  – Thor Heyerdahl, Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — September 8, 2019

2

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

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 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 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 84 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.

Southern California Prepper, by M.J.

48

I’ve been a longtime SurvivalBlog reader. I’m glad to say that I’ve learned a lot from reading the blog. Herewith are my two cents:

I’m sick of city life. I’m sick of the endless traffic jams. I’m sick of the endless laws, rules, and political correctness. Yet I’m still here; I am not ready to move at this time. The main reason is getting more job experience. I’ve only been in the IT business for about a year and there is still much for me to learn. I’d like to learn more so that I can be more employable wherever I end up. I also enjoy writing and proofreading and would like to make a business of that as well. Small towns and rural areas have a lower cost of living, which is great – but the tradeoff of less people also means less job opportunities. My need for cash will not go all the way down to zero, so I need to be as employable as possible before I pick my new rural home. In the meantime, I’m prepping while I’m here.

Here in Southern California, the disasters I am most concerned about are earthquakes, riots, and electromagnetic pulse. I think I’m far away enough from the beach to not worry about a tsunami. Other readers may have different concerns depending on where they live.Continue reading“Southern California Prepper, by M.J.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at weaponized drones.

FAA Reminder: Don’t Weaponize Your Drone

Reader G.P. sent this: The FAA Apparently Needs To Remind Users Not To Weaponize Their Drones. Here is how the article begins:

“The drones that are designed for consumer use typically come with a camera attached to it. However, in theory, if you could attach a camera, you could attach all manner of objects, including weapons like guns, a flamethrower, and so on. Obviously this is illegal but apparently it’s not a fact that is obvious to some.

So much so that the FAA had to issue a notice on its website where they are reminding drone owners that they should not be weaponizing their drones. According to the FAA, “Operating a drone that has a dangerous weapon attached to it is a violation of Section 363 of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act enacted Oct. 5, 2018.”

Florida Red Flag Laws and a Case of Mistaken Identity

H.L. sent us this: Florida Red Flag Laws and a case of mistaken identity.
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:4-13 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — September 7, 2019

2

Today is 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.)

September 7th is also the birthday of Richard Cole, born in 1915. He passed away on April 8, 2019, at age 103. Cole was the living Doolittle Raider. He was General Doolittle’s co-pilot.

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

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 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 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 84 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.

Elements of a Security System – Part 5, by J.M.

Observation

As I mentioned earlier, direct observation of an intruder approaching is another form of detection, but I’m focusing on situations where you may not be able to have eyes everywhere 24×7. However, if an alarm does go off you’ll need some way to get ‘eyes on’ to determine what caused the alarm without unnecessarily exposing yourself to potential danger. There are a number of possible options to enhance your ability to observe a potential intruder.

The simplest and most obvious option would be magnified optics, such as binoculars or a monocular, assuming you have a line-of-sight to the area where the alarm was triggered. I’m not going to provide a detailed overview of optics, but you should at least understand how they’re rated. Most optics have two numbers – a magnification and a lens diameter, so a 10 x 36 device would magnify what you see 10 times, and the objective (front) lens is 36mm in diameter. Magnification means how close the image appears to be, so 10x means that something 100 feet away would appear to be 10 feet away. For the objective lens diameter, the larger the lens the more light it gathers, so larger lenses tend to provide clearer views and work better in low-light situations.

There are a ton of factors that impact the quality and usefulness of optics, but the two rules I try to follow are a) get the lowest level of magnification that’s appropriate for the distance you need to view, since higher magnifications tend to reduce your field of view, and b) get the largest diameter objective lens you can afford, consistent with other quality factors. There are a number of good articles on SurvivalBlog.com about various optics – take some time and do some research. You may also want to consider setting up an elevated position like a hunter’s treestand or a widow’s walk platform to increase your viewing distance. This ties back to the earlier discussion about mapping and planning your security system to understand your potential fields of view in relation to where you set up your sensors.

For observing really distant alarm points or for locations where you don’t have any line-of-sight, you may want to consider getting a camera drone. These are available in a wide variety of capabilities and costs, so do some research before investing in one. Note that most reasonably-priced commercial drones have a limited flight time, typically less than 30 minutes, so they really aren’t that useful for general patrolling, but they’re perfect for a quick check-out of the location where a sensor was tripped. Practice guiding the drone to your sensor locations to get a feel for what landmarks look like from the air and typical wind conditions. Drones tend to produce a unique and noticeable sound, so try to avoid hovering over one area where an intruder can take a shot at it before you can see them.Continue reading“Elements of a Security System – Part 5, by J.M.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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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 the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I was quite busy this week, preparing for the long drive to the Kalispell, Montana gun show. I will have three tables there, September 6-7-8, 2019. If you’d like to drop by to chat, look for three tables in a U-shape, with black table drapes, mainly populated with AR-15s and AR-10s. For OPSEC, no photos, please.

This week I also finished hauling limbs and a few rotted deadfall logs to four slash piles, and tarping them. This was in preparation for my planned burns, in late October.

I also assisted Avalanche Lily with the first phase of the potato harvest from our main garden. So far, we’ve hauled in about 275 pounds of red and yellow potatoes.  But I’m estimating that this is only somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of them.  It will be quite a crop, this year! I feel so blessed to have such a great gardener, as my wife.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.

All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.

Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.

A just weight and balance are the Lord‘s: all the weights of the bag are his work.

It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.

Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.

The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.

In the light of the king’s countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.

How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.

The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.

A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.

 A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.

He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass.

The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.:” – Proverbs 16 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — September 6, 2019

1

September 6th, 1757 is the birthday of Marquis de Lafayette (often known simply as Lafayette), a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was a close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington met him through his connections in the Free Masons and was impressed with him. After he offered to serve without pay, Congress commissioned him as a Major General and he was an integral part of the battles at Brandywine and Valley Forge.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any 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 (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made 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 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 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.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  5. 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).
  6. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 84 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.

Elements of a Security System – Part 4, by J.M.

10

(Continued from Part 3.)

The second type of alerting – remote signal back to a centralized alarm console with a wired or wireless connection when the tripwire is tripped – can be a bit more complicated. In either case you can use something as simple as the clothespin switch to connect two wires to close the circuit, or to ‘press’ the button on a remote transmitter to trigger a relay that set off a light/buzzer.

Regardless of the use of local versus remote alerting, if there are any electronics or other components that could degrade when exposed to the elements (like primers, flares, etc.) used in your alerting device you should protect it. This can be a simple as placing it inside a plastic bag, covering it with a condom, or enclosing the alarm in a waterproof container. Run the tripwire connector out of the container at a slight downward angle to ensure water doesn’t run down the line and into the container, and paint the container to match whatever surface it’s attached to. Ensure that you have some method of easily attaching the alarm container to a tree or post – I bolt on vertical strips of thick plastic with holes drilled in them to the back of my alarm boxes so I can easily attach them using nails, screws, wire or zip ties.

If you’re using a local alarm like the personal noise alarm or a flashing light you may also want to consider installing it up high and out of the reach of anyone that trips it – that way they can’t quickly smash it, giving you more time to localize where the alarm is coming from. Use screw eyes to route the tripwire where you need it.

You can also trigger multiple signal types and combinations of local/remote alarms with a single tripwire. For example, you could tie the alarm end of the tripwire in a ‘Y’ and connect one tail to a clothespin that activates a remote transmitter and the other to an aerial flare that fires when it trips. This can be useful for creating alarms that will alert you in a wide variety of lighting and weather conditions – a flashing light might not be noticed during the day and a siren may be difficult to localize at night, but when combined the two provide a much better solution.

Tripwires also don’t have to be physical wires – you can also use lasers or infrared light to set up a tripwire. This typically requires a device or reflector at each end of the virtual ‘wire’, and some of them can cover a very long distance. I use an active infrared sensor part of my system to cover a row of windows in the front of my house (from the inside). Even though some of these devices are rated for outdoor use I’d recommend caution when doing so – heavy rain or snow, falling leaves, etc. can generate false alarms.

Continue reading“Elements of a Security System – Part 4, by J.M.”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

6

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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in Colt Competition Rifles. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Michael Gayed, over at Seeking Alpha: From Poor Man’s Gold To Rich Man’s Gold. Here is a key quote:

“Over the past three months, the silver ETF (SLV) has outperformed the gold ETF (GLD) as demand for the precious metal rises.

Gold/silver ratio has reached new peaks of 89.6, which suggests that a strong rally in silver prices is impending.”

o  o  o

“Pet Rock” Indeed: Bank of America Says Buy Gold As Central Banks Lose Control

Economy & Finance:

At Wolf Street: Near-Record Low Mortgage Rates No Relief for Dropping New House Prices

o  o  o

How the Ecommerce Boom Crushes “Mall Retailers” One by One

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Elements of a Security System – Part 3, by J.M.

16

(Continued from Part 2.)

There’s another potential option for alerting that could be categorized as ‘mobile centralized’ – it’s possible to set up a radio transmitter connected to a centralized console that would transmit a pre-recorded voice alert (e.g. ‘Alert in zone 3 North’) to a radio that you carry around with you. Some of the sensors I’ll be discussing later have this capability built-in, but you could implement a similar function using a Raspberry PI computer to monitor the sensors, connected to a RTL-SDR software-defined radio to transmit pre-recorded audio alerts. Implementing this would be moderately complicated and is beyond the scope of this article, but I’ve started experimenting with it and I may submit another article with more details in the future. (Remember that ‘never-ending project’ my wife complains about?)

Wired vs. Wireless Remote Sensors

When planning and selecting electronic remote sensors that trigger an alert back at a central console, you’ll need to consider how to get the signal from the sensor location to the console. There are two approaches you can take – wired or wireless. Wired tends to be more reliable, especially when dealing with long distances, but it does require that you purchase, run and connect the wiring, which typically means digging trenches and burying it for outside sensors or running it through walls for interior sensors. Longer wires can also impact the behavior of the system, since the electrical resistance will increase as the wire length increases and can vary with temperature, and longer wires can also act like antennas and potentially pick up interference from other electrical sources. Wired sensors tend to be simpler to design and implement, since the sensor can act like a simple switch that’s either ‘on’ or ‘off’ – you don’t need to worry about powering a remote sensor.Continue reading“Elements of a Security System – Part 3, by J.M.”