The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

9

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”.

Careful Where You Swim

Reader H.L. sent in this article on toxic algae that killed two dogs in California. Apparently, this sort of situation is not all that uncommon. If you are not aware of it and you swallow the water, you’re in trouble. It’s worth noting that most camping filters do not remove the toxins. Purification tablets as well as boiling also do not remove or neutralize the toxins.

Violation of Rights

The ACLU has sued South Dakota over the use of a forced use of a catheter to take a urine sample from a 3-year old boy who was being tested for exposure to drugs as part of a child-neglect investigation. I can certainly understand why the state felt the need for the drug test. I am troubled by the fact that the victim was only three years old. There are other methods of testing for drugs that are used all the time. It’s worth noting that Social Services threatened to take the child away if the mother did not allow the test. It’s worth noting that the child tested negative.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things”  – John 3:10-12 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – July 01, 2017

July 1st, 1863 is the anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg.

o o o

California’s draconian gun ban was just blocked by a federal judge, days before it was to take effect! Judge Roger Benitez ruled that the law was likely unconstitutional. This is a temporary injunction to give the courts time to consider the pending lawsuits.

o o o

Happy 150th Canada Day to all those north of the 49th parallel!

Guest Article: Gear System- Philosophy, Set Up, Use, Fitness & Mindset- Part 1, by Max

6

This article is a follow-up to the recent “The Practical Application of Tactical Gear, Load, and Weight Considerations”.

Questions

I get many questions about gear setup. It is also a perennial topic on the MVT Forum, and of course across the Internet. It’s an important subject. Many people ask me specific questions about my gear setup and make/brand of equipment items. And so here I will attempt to give some guidance, but not in terms of specific brands of gear. This is what I am trying to do when I set up my equipment. It is also important to note that gear is no use without training, and the focus by so many on gear is often either 1) part of the process of getting ready for training, or 2) a dead end pursuit that has limited purpose.

Be in the first group. You must actually use your gear, and see what works for you, and not fall for that common mindset that gear can be bought, tried on, and then left on the shelf for a rainy day. I will therefore talk a little about physical readiness and actual use of gear, as part of this article.

Gear Discussions

For questions on gear brands and specific examples, there are plenty of experts on the MVT Forum. I urge you to start discussions there. Why this post? Because I want to help those who are genuinely attempting to set up a gear system as part of a training and readiness program. And on the flip side, I will attempt to wake up those who are simply bluffing themselves in terms of their physical and training readiness and their ability to even function in their chosen gear when necessary.Continue reading“Guest Article: Gear System- Philosophy, Set Up, Use, Fitness & Mindset- Part 1, by Max”

The Editors’ Preps for the Week

10

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 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 also welcome you to share your planned activities for increasing personal preparedness in the coming week. (Leave a Comment with your project details.) Let’s keep busy and be ready!

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers, and שש 🙂

It was a beautiful week weather-wise here in the Northern American Redoubt. We accomplished many projects this week.

Building Infrastructure and Maintenance

Jim finally completed the plumbing and electrical projects this week.

Jim also dropped a few more small dead-standing Larches, cut them into five foot lengths, and stacked them.

Continue reading“The Editors’ Preps for the Week”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

12

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”. The predominate news stories seemed to be centralized around the decay of society today.

Decay of Society

Reader J.C. sent in this article where the writer reflects on the changes in downtown Minneapolis in the last 15 years. The city was once a relatively friendly and exciting place but is now decrepit and debase. The Writer is a police officer and is well acquainted with the crude culture that permeates the inner city these days. While the article is about Minneapolis, you can see shadows of practically every major city in America here. These are areas that are hostile to your survival.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day

2

“Civilization is just a thin veneer. In the absence of law and order, men quickly revert to savagery. As was illustrated by the rioting and looting that accompanied disasters in the past three decades, the transition from tranquility to absolute barbarism can occur overnight. People expect tomorrow to be just like today, and they act accordingly. But then comes a unpredictable disaster that catches the vast majority unprepared. The average American family has four days worth of food on hand. When that food is gone, we’ll soon see the thin veneer stripped away.”- James Wesley, Rawles

Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 4, by J.T.

1

In this article series, I am sharing a better solution for protecting sensitive electronics stored in a Faraday cage made from metal military surplus ammunition cans. Parts 1, 2, 3 provided instructions on how to build the cans. Today, I will share more about how I use my cans and also offer some enhancements that can be added.

Using These Cans

Inside each can are silica gel dry packets to keep the inside dry and to prevent corrosion. A florescent paint symbol discreetly marks each of the cans. A label on painters’ tape for eases identification. Only the trickle charger for the Emergency Battery Bank is connected to the household electrical service.

1. Emergency Local Communication

This can contains a 50 Watt Quad Band Yaesu FT-8900R radio for emergency local communication. It is powered by two 7.5 amp hour batteries but with internal PowerPole connectors that may also be connected to the larger 140 amp hour Emergency Battery Bank (see below), plus a rollup j-pole antenna and LED flashlight with rechargeable batteries. All of these are included in this can.

Continue reading“Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 4, by J.T.”

Economics & Investing for Preppers

4

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’s focus is on buying Sterling Silver. (See the Tangibles Investing section near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

First, the big news this week is that spot gold gave up about $5 in early trading on Wednesday. This left the Gold Bull “Longs” unfazed.  They know that the long term trend for paper currencies is down, and gold is up.

o  o  o

Frank Holmes: Brexit One Year Later, In Five Charts

Continue reading“Economics & Investing for Preppers”

Notes for Thursday – June 29, 2017

Seed for Security is having a sale. Their Non-GMO Flint Indian Corn is now on sale at 25% off with shipping included. They offer 1/2 Pint, which is Approximately 960 seeds, in a moisture proof Polly pouch with a desiccant. This corn combined with dry beans provides precious complementary protein from your garden. This offer is for a limited time.

Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 3, by J.T.

7

I am sharing a better solution for protecting sensitive electronics stored in metal military surplus ammunition cans made into a Faraday cage. In the Part 1, I talked about the ammunition cans that can be used and began the instructions for building ammunition can gaskets by listing the materials and tools required. Part 2 of this series consisted of the bulk of the instructions of how to make and assemble the RF and EMP shielding gasket, and we are continuing with these today, in Part 3. The following instructions are for a 20mm M548 ammunition can.

16. If you want to “belt-n-suspender” the conductivity between the sheet metal gasket and the lid, then remove some of the paint to reveal bare metal so that you have a good bare metal contact between the sheet metal gasket and the lid.

The sheet metal gasket with the copper mesh tape will be the gasket that will attenuate any electromagnetic radiation. The highly-charged radiation will stay on the outside of the metal can, which is where you want it rather than inside the can. You also may tack a strip of tinned copper mesh to the bare metal areas of the lid to ensure good conductive and bonding between the sheet metal gasket and the lid.

Continue reading“Protecting Electronics in Metal Military Surplus Ammunition Cans- Part 3, by J.T.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

2

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”. Rain water collection is the name of the game today.

Rainwater Collection

Are you thinking of moving off-grid and want to use a rain water collection system but you don’t like the blue barrels? Reader B.L. ran across an innovative system with barrel kits that are much better looking. You may not even recognize them for what they are until you look closely.

Communications

Reader P.S. sent in this article on 6 meters: Survivalist Magic. I have a couple of Icom T90As that I’ve kept handy. They are tri-banders with 2m, 6m, and 70cm. The article is right, 6m is highly underutilized and of considerable use if you have the equipment. The stock rubber ducky antenna doesn’t work very well for anything over about a mile, but I’ve had decent performance with the MFJ-1720S. You can also use the military manuals shown in the article to make some portable antennas with much better performance. (They just aren’t as convenient.)

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