Radio Communication Methods During Emergencies- Part 5, by R. in NC

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So far, you’ve learned about the FCC and non-FCC license communications devices and equipment that is used with them. I touched on the use of Ham devices in an emergency, if you don’t yet have your Ham license. Now, let’s wrap up by learning how you can obtain your Ham license and move on to establishing and planning your communications.

Getting Your License

Ham radio licenses come in three levels, increasing in complexity of test and allowable frequencies. The FCC does not charge for the license, but your local Ham radio club usually has a $14 fee for giving the exam.

I usually describe the Ham radio licenses in the following way:

  • Technician class: a test on what you can’t do and why you can’t do it, along with an overview on what you are allowed to do and how not to electrocute yourself. After passing it you have access to VHF/UHF/50MHz with limited access to some HF.
  • General class: a test on how things function and an overview of the new things you can do, plus a reminder of how not to electrocute yourself. This includes access to almost all amateur frequencies.
  • Extra class: a test on the theory behind what you are doing, plus a few extra frequencies, oh… and bragging rights.

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The Editors’ Preps for the Week

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, 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!

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,
We just had another beautiful Autumn week at the Rawles Ranch.  The fall colors are at the peak of their splendor. This is our favorite time of the year.

This week was mainly devoted to deer and elk hunting. We’ve had no luck yet, but we aren’t worried. There are still several weeks of the season remaining. Even when we come home empty-handed, it is still great fun. Hiking around the woods at this time of year is such a blessing. This week it was Jim and our eldest daughter who have been hunting. Once they get their deer or elk, I may go hunting with Jim.

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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 “HJL”. Wait till you hear about the housing nightmare in Denver!

Preps Work!

Reader GWH sent in this article on two women who attempted to sail from Honolulu to Tahiti and ran into trouble. The engine on their boat failed and they were unable to sail it by themselves. Stranded at sea for five and a half months, they were finally spotted by a fishing vessel who called the U.S Coast Guard. They survived because they had over a years worth of food (dry goods) on board and a water system. Their basic preps were good enough to keep them alive, but they needed better communications ability.

Reason #5048 to Leave Public School

Middle school parents in Jay, Oklahoma were shocked to find that their children were in a “sex education” class that was terribly graphic in nature. The curriculum being taught included masturbation, oral and anal sex, among others. The classes were co-ed and taught by both male and female instructors. As notice of the class, children were given pamphlets that they were supposed to give their parents, but the information did not contain any warnings about the graphic nature of the class. Thanks to K.A. for the link.

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A married substitute teacher has been charged after luring a student to her home where she seduced him. According to the news report, the teacher spent time with the student, often eating lunch with him at school, then progressed to talking about sex and eventually sending nude photos of herself to him through Snapchat. On more than one occasion, the teacher invited the student to her home where she undressed and sexually assaulted him.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

Radio Communication Methods During Emergencies- Part 4, by R. in NC

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We’ve previously covered non-FCC license dependent communications devices and are wrapping up our examination of FCC license dependent communications options, with special consideration for their use in an emergency. Today, we’ll also begin looking at resources and accessories that help us improve communications.

VHF/UHF Radios

Almost all of the “base station” VHF/UHF radios are designed as car Ham radios. Because of this, they can be very flexible in usage. Most of these are 25-50 watts, and some are even stronger. With the limited range of VHF/UHF, I think that going over 50 watts is probably not needed. FM is the primary modulation for these kinds of radios, and today it is rare to find one that supports AM/SSB. Some vendors support Echolink, D-Star, DMR, and or APRS. Most of these radios also cover the NOAA stations. These (NOAA) emergency radio stations usually report weather but can relay other information. Having access to those stations is a must when I’m looking at a model.

“HT” or Handheld radios are also very useful. (See comments on inexpensive Chinese radios below.) For quality HTs, I recommend paying attention to the IP ratings on these radios. Expect to use this radio in bad weather. These are almost always 5 watt radios, with NOAA and FM radio receive. Some are “smart phone like” with apps for repeater selection based on location. Just make sure you also get the following, if they have them available: programming cable, ear bud, upgraded antenna, and VOX support.

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Freeze Dried Friday:

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Welcome to Freeze Dried Friday on SurvivalBlog! We’ve been making so many things in the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer that we want to share some of them with you. If you have something wonderful you’ve prepared in your freeze dryer that you would like to share with SurvivalBlog readers, take a photo of it and send it in along with a description. We might just feature you here!

Winding Harvest Down

The garden harvest has finally slowed to a crawl and the Harvest Right freeze dryers are getting a break this week. This was a tough summer for them as we ran them pretty hard. Both machines are in need of some TLC. Towards the end of the season, we ran quite a few batches of basil. As you can see from the photo, the chlorophyll apparently gets sucked out of the leaves and while the final product is excellent, it sure is hard on the oil. Both pumps are starting to show a buildup of green gunk despite the fact that we drain the oil after every batch and filter it.

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Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest 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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today, I’m issuing a U.S. stock market crash warning. (See the Stocks section.)

Stocks (Crash Warning):

The New York Stock Exchange just recorded its 71st “all time high” trading session since the November 2016 Presidential election. The market is now essentially stair-stepping upwards. The P/E ratio of the Dow Jones stocks now stands above 31 to 1. There have only been two times since the early 1880s that U.S. stocks have been so grossly overbought: Just before 1929 stock market crash and just before the 2000 “dot.com” bubble implosion. Consider this an earnest stock market crash warning. It is now very likely that U.S. stock markets will drive into a mountain, in a rocket-propelled vehicle that lacks an Oscillation Overthruster. It is that time, folks: “Eject, Bukaroo, Eject!”.

I now strongly urge my readers to soon reduce your stock and stock ETF holdings to less than  20% of your portfolio.  Retain only a few individual stocks that you deem sufficiently crash proof. it is best to hold stock in companies that manufacture crucial consumer products. Think in terms of what will be needed by families regardless of the business cycle, as a safe haven. A few such stocks come immediately to mind.  They include:  Clorox (CLX), Exxon-Mobil (XOM), Fortune Brands Home and Security (FBHS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Lamb Weston (LMB), and perhaps Medtronic (MDT).  Again: Limit these stock holdings to less than 20% of your portfolio. The rest of your net worth should now be in: A.) Your primary residence; B.) A retreat property that is sitting on productive farm or ranch land; C.) Precious metals; D.)  Firearms, magazines, and ammunition;  and E.) Other barterable tangibles. Ideally, items A and B on this list should be combined.  (It is best to live at your retreat year-round!) – JWR

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day

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“No amount of statistics or facts will sway either side in the gun control debate, because they are all looking for simple solutions to complex problems. The facts of those complex problems are uncomfortable and nobody really wants to come to grips with them.

For example, we don’t really have a single America with a moderately high rate of gun deaths. Instead, we have two Americas, one of which has very high rates of gun ownership but very low murder rates, very comparable to the rest of the First World democracies such as those in western and northern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, South Korea. The other America has much lower rates of gun ownership but much, much higher murder rates, akin to violent third world countries.

The tough questions are those like, why do we have these two Americas? But that’s an uncomfortable discussion to have. So instead those on the left favor simple minded restrictions that target first world America, with its high gun ownership but very low murder rate, but don’t address the root causes of third world America’s violence at all. Meanwhile those on the right correctly feel their civil rights are constantly threatened, so they are constantly in a state of ‘better stock up before they finally ban it’ and the guns and ammo fly off the shelves. The left’s constant gun control rhetoric is the greatest thing ever for arms manufacturers.

Meanwhile, over the past 40 years, while the number of guns in private hands has doubled, the murder rate has dropped by half. The left are constantly prattling about ‘assault weapons’ which are almost never used to commit murders (about 1% of gun murders; all rifles combined are around 3%). More murders are committed with baseball bats than ‘assault rifles’; the vast majority of gun homicides are committed with handguns, but it’s easier to sell restrictions that target ‘assault weapons’, even though such restrictions, even if 100% effective, would make no detectable change in the murder rate (especially because of substitution effects). They favor ridiculous measures such as bans on “high capacity magazines”, as if magazines weren’t cheap and easily swapped out in a fraction of a second.”  – Michael Owen

Preparedness Notes for Thursday – October 26, 2017

October 26th is the anniversary of the death of American-born RLI Trooper Joseph Patrick Byrne, in Rhodesia, in 1978.

Edward Wilson Very (born October 26, 1847, died March 1, 1910) was an American naval officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading flare pistol that fired flares that bear his name.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today features another entry for Round 73 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 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. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. 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,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value), and
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
  6. 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).

Round 73 ends on November 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.

Radio Communication Methods During Emergencies- Part 3, by R. in NC

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We just took a look at non-FCC License Dependent Communications, including use expectations and purchase considerations. Today, we begin examining FCC license dependent communications devices.

FCC License Dependent Communications

GMRS

GMRS radios operate on the same frequencies as FRS along with a number of additional channels. They can use up to 50 watts, and the FCC allows for better antennas and repeaters. GMRS will require a license. No test is needed, and the FCC license covers all residents of a household. On last check, the license cost $85 dollars. Pros and cons, along with distance, are similar to FRS, with the exception of additional power, use of repeaters, and better antennas. (See FRS radios for details.)

Amateur Radio – Ham Radio

Ham Radio Overview

Ham radio covers frequencies ranging from 135 kHz to above 275 GHz (as of March 28, 2017). The range of frequencies is immense and covers a wide range of possible communications distances. In addition to the features of each band of frequencies, Ham radio operators have access to satellite-based communications and EME (Earth Moon Earth) bouncing. EME is a technique where signals are bounded off of the moon to a distant location. As long as both antennas can point to the moon at the same time, this can greatly extend range (though it requires significant amounts of power and special antennas). Satellite access is typically setup as a repeater and/or APRS. (See below for information on APRS.) It is even possible to chat with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) when they are overhead and on their Ham radio.

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Internet Censorship is Now Rampant — It is High Time to Bookmark Your Alternatives

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The New Censorship

With every passing week, we are seeing growing censorship of the Internet. The key  mass media phrase of 2016 and 2017  has been “Fake News.” But much of what  is being called fake news isn’t, while much of what the mainstream media is pushing is indeed what is “fake.” Meanwhile, The Powers That Be are enforcing their view of “Community Standards” to quash free speech. I won’t re-hash this with a huge laundry list of particular incidents, because they are too numerous and have been well-documented. Rather, I will suffice with just a few summaries:

  • The Google search engine now routinely uses special algorithms to deemphasize some search engine results. Meanwhile, they over-emphasize others, in an overt “pay for play” arrangement. In essence, if your site is conservative, it often gets pushed far down the list of search results, out of view from all but the most doggedly persistent searchers.  (Most people don’t scroll down to see the second, third, or fourth page of search results.) Even religious sites are now being targeted. During the 2016 presidential election campaign cycle, Google was caught red-handed in corrupting the “auto-complete” feature of their search box.
  • YouTube (a subsidiary of Google since 2006) has become notorious for de-monetizing anyone who isn’t sufficiently pagan, homosexual, anti-gun, and/or leftist.  They now delete or un-index some speech they deem to be politically incorrect. Most recently, they have been “disappearing” many videos on civilian-owned firearms. If you search many topics using the YouTube search box, you simply will not see a lot of content that has been blacklisted or “pushed down.”  And unless you actively subscribe to some content, it will just disappear from view. Poof!  Down the Memory Hole.

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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 “HJL”. A disturbing escalation of hometown surveillance is on the horizon now.

Ruger P-Series Mag Identification

Commander Zero recently posted this great tutorial: Ruger 9mm P-series mag identification. If you have a Ruger P-series collection, this tutorial will be a welcome addition to your viewing as you try to make heads or tails of the different magazines out there.

Death of a Bread Machine

We don’t use a bread machine much around here anymore. One of my sons has taken a liking to making artisan breads by hand and the family is happy to indulge him. In fact, we often end up eating alot of bread as he hones his skills. He often remarks that baking a cake is like science. You add the exact amount of ingredients and do the same things every time and you reliable get the same product. Bread baking, however, is more of an art because you are dealing with live cultures to create it.

Not all of us have the will (or the time) to devote to learning an art though and the “science” method is very appealing. Enter the bread machine. It’s an amazing device that very nearly makes baking bread as easy as baking a cake. But like all appliances, there is a limit. Here is some practical wisdom from Patrice Lewis: Requiem to a bread machine.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day

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“When I was a lad it was required of all able bodied men to go kill Jerrys and Japs, at government expense, one at a time for the common folk, in batches if you showed an aptitude for heavy machinery. We stood shoulder to shoulder with the USSR fighting to free the world of tyranny. It was simple and majestically pure, like life itself at that age.

Then, in my first years at school there were air raid drills with Silent Hill-style sirens wailing because the Reds were going to attack us, and our brave allies too—Germany and Japan. We didn’t know what “world domination” might be, exactly, but the USSR was guilty and it was badder than bad.

Were these the same Russians as our former allies, those brave folks who fought the forces of evil to a standstill and harvested fields of grain in their off hours? What happened? They seemed so nice.

Meanwhile, Germany and Japan, having lost the war, had achieved victimhood, which meant … but no, that was unthinkable.

The unintended lesson was: Things change. A lot. And fast. How today, for instance, do you fully endorse Equal Opportunity, once a non-negotiable principle of racial justice, now outright hate speech. So here’s a thought: don’t get too attached to the normalcy of the day, in not much time you’ll be holding it by the stinky end.” – Ol’ Remus, in his Yer Ol’ Woodpile Report blog