The Elenco Two-IC AM Radio Kit – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska

Introductory Note: I purchased this kit for this article and I do not represent the Elenco Company. They have not paid me or provided any materiel for writing this article.

This article is a review on the Elenco Model AM-780K AM radio kit. It was designed for students in an electronics lab class, and when I was working on my associate’s degree in Electronics Engineering the college I was attending issued us both the AM radio kit from this company as well as the AM/FM version of it.

The knowledge I want to pass on here is that should you decide to purchase a kit for yourself or possibly for your children as a STEM project, it would be a great choice for learning basic electronics, electronics parts identification, soldering, reading assembly instructions, and general knowledge of radio theory. In fact, should you build this radio to operating completion you will have learned enough that it would suffice as a good portion of knowledge needed to pass the FCC ham radio test for both Technician and the General license classes. The rest of those exams would be FCC regulations and such.Continue reading“The Elenco Two-IC AM Radio Kit – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska”

SurvivalBlog’s American Redoubt Media of the Week

This weekly column features media 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.

Recent Redoubt Links

Send Your Media Links

Please send your links to media from the American Redoubt region to JWR. Any photos that are posted or re-posted must be uncopyrighted. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.

Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 12, 2026

On January 12, 1528, Gustav Vasa, Gustav I of Sweden was crowned King of Sweden. He ruled for 37 years, and became known as the “father of the nation.” His coronation started a succession of 23 monarchs with many of them known as “Gustav/Gustaf”. Their current king, Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus, was born on April 30, 1946. He ascended the throne on September 15, 1973. Carl XVI Gustaf is the seventh king of the House of Bernadotte. He is the longest-reigning king in Swedish history.

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And on January 12, 1913, after using other pseudonyms over the years, Josef Dzhugashvili signed himself as Stalin (“man of steel”) in a letter to the newspaper Social Democrat.

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Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog staff member Tom Christianson.

Tyrant Design TDC 002 Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson

The Tyrant Design T.D.C. 002 Folding Knife has a 2.75-inch Tanto blade that is 0.13 inches thick at the broadest part of the spine. It has a black nitride finish and is made of D2 steel. The blade opens smoothly around a ball bearing pivot point using nicely textured thumb studs. It is secured in the open position by a liner lock. Jimping on the spine of the blade gives better control during delicate cuts.

The grip of the handles is enhanced by textured EPDM rubber panels with a decorative chevron pattern. Chevrons on the accent spacer on the back of the handle harmonize nicely with those on the panels.

The knife is nicely machined and beautifully finished. The overall length of the knife when open is 7 inches. It weighs 3.2 ounces.Continue reading“Tyrant Design TDC 002 Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Rich Amish Cornbread is from SurvivalBlog reader Tractoguy.  He says: “I love the taste of cornbread, but don’t eat much of it because it is usually so heavy. This is the lightest, fluffiest cornbread that I have ever had, probably because of the sour cream in it.”

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick)
Directions
  1. Combine ingredients, mixing briefly.
  2. Pour the batter into a greased 7-inch square baking dish.
  3. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

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Do you have a well-tested 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 recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week 

Today’s graphic: A map showing recent U.S. Internal Migration — The Geography of Choice. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Note that majority of the states that are gaining population are conservative “Red” states.  Preppers moving to the American Redoubt, Texas, The Ozarks, and to the Cumberland Plateau undoubtedly were a contributing factor in these population shifts.

The thumbnail below is click-expandable.

 

 

 

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Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 11, 2026

On January 11, 1571 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II granted Austrian nobility freedom of religion.

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January 11, 1966: 550 people died in landslides in the mountains behind Rio de Janeiro after a huge rainfall.

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The 20th Anniversary SurvivalBlog 2005-2025 Waterproof/EMP-Resistant Archive USB sticks are available for Pre-Ordering.  Orders should start to be mailed in the last week of January.  To be sure that you get yours, order soon!

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Although it is quite blatantly pro-monarchist, the only fairly complete coverage of the anti-Khameni revolution in Iran seems to be coming from the YouTube channel Tousi TV. – JWR

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. 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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Introduction to Suppressors, by Subsonic Scribe

Effective January 1, 2026, the ATF eliminated the $200 tax on firearm suppressors. This change will undoubtedly encourage many shooters to purchase or make a suppressor. In this article, I will share information for those new to suppressors to be able to make an informed decision as to whether to pursue getting one (or several). As a disclaimer, I have no financial involvement with any companies or products mentioned here.

What are firearm suppressors?

A firearm suppressor is a muzzle device mounted on a shotgun, rifle, or pistol to reduce the sound made when the gun is fired. They are also referred to as silencers, moderators, or “cans”. I prefer to use the term “suppressor” since we are reducing the sound, not eliminating it. The term “silencer” infers that we are getting that Hollywood whisper-quiet shot, which is just not the real world. Think of them as a muffler for your firearm.

How do they work?

The sounds made when a gun is fired includes the muzzle blast from rapid gas expansion, the sonic crack from supersonic bullets, and the mechanical action of the gun. The suppressor reduces the muzzle blast using expansion chambers and baffles to slow down and cool the hot propellant gases, reducing pressure and decibels (typically a 20–40 dB drop) – exactly the same way a car muffler works.

Subsonic ammunition (generally, less than 1,100 feet per second) needs to be used to eliminate the sonic crack heard when the bullet breaks the sound barrier.

Continue reading“Introduction to Suppressors, by Subsonic Scribe”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

Learning Center

Leering Center

Learing Center

King Learing Center

News Links:

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

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” – John 14:1-21 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 10, 2026

On January 10, 1776, the “Common Sense” pamphlet by Thomas Paine was first published, advocating American independence.

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January 10, 49 BC: Julius Caesar defied the Roman Senate and crossed the Rubicon, uttering “alea iacta est” (the die is cast), signaling the start of civil war and his appointment as Roman dictator for life.

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And January 10th, 1776, was the day that North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin issued a proclamation calling on the king’s loyal subjects to raise an armed force to combat the “rebels”. This ultimately led to Colonel Donald McLeod leading the men on an assault on the Patriots that ended with fifty of his men dead and 880 captured. The Patriots lost only two of their number.

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Please pray for the millions of people in Iran who are protesting, seeking a restoration of their freedom and less government. Iran’s Islamic regime has tried to cut off Internet access, to create a news blackout.  Please pray that there are no massacres. The world is still watching! – JWR

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. 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),
  2. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  3. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
  4. HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
  5. Harvest Guard is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
  3. Preparedness author Jennifer Rader is offering a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café series, the Armageddon Pharmacy series, and the Medicine Surrounds Us series.
  4. 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 gun purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
  3. A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 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. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Introducing Your Community to Emergency Preparedness – Part 3, by A.F.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)

The final aspect of emergency cooking stoves that I cover are biomass units, in particular the Kelly Kettle. I appreciate the ability to configure these units to either “cook” on or quickly boil water with. The small feed openings at the bottom or the chimney opening on top of the kettle do restrict the size of materials used to feed the flames when compared to other small biomass cookers. None the less, the kettle’s speed and efficiency for boiling water as well as its lower weight and ruggedness impress me. The final thoughts I share regarding biomass cookers is that a cheap and easy source of fuel could be storing a few un-treated pine 2×4’s cut into short blocks for easy splitting and that no matter which alternative cooking method one has to use, to always have fire extinguishers on hand.

Next, we discuss heating strategies when the power is out. Wearing extra layers, adding extra blankets to beds, using chemical handwarmers and holding hot water bottles are provided as options for times when the temperature is only cool. For cold or freezing temperatures, the only emergency heating options seem to be portable kerosene or propane heaters. In this discussion I mention the difference between propane heaters rated for indoor use versus outdoor use. Indoor options include the propane wall mount ceramic-propane heaters as well as some of the Mr. Heater – Buddy model units. A few final points offered are using blankets or doors to trap warmth in the smallest practical area, opening a window slightly for air circulation, keeping a carbon monoxide detector near your sleeping area if you must run one of these heaters overnight and once again having fire extinguishers on hand.Continue reading“Introducing Your Community to Emergency Preparedness – Part 3, by A.F.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This past week I had to do my first bit of serious snowplowing for the winter.  There was only about 4 inches of heavy snow on the ground, but I thought it was best to keep up with the accumulation.

I also took some of my own advice and prepared to do some tax-free suppressor registrations with the ATF as home-builds. On Wednesday, I got a passport-type photo taken.  Next will be fingerprinting, courtesy of a deputy at our county jail. When I called to make an appointment, she said that they have been very busy doing fingerprints for SBR, SBS, and suppressor registrations. That is surprising, in a rural county with less than 20,000 residents.  I can only imagine how many new registrations are now in progress, nationwide! I still have five more used 2-D-cell MagLite flashlights on order, through eBay. Once I have those in hand, I can start drafting my Form 1 registrations, in the name of our family trust. My goal is to home-build a substantial pile of suppressors and a few SBRs, while that can be done tax-free. This is primarily to benefit my children and grandchildren.

I also helped Lily muck out one of the sheep sheds this week. I estimate that weighed about 1,800 pounds. She will let you know how that project went.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”