This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
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First up: With some web-wandering, I found this video, by Jon Gadget: ALL Victorinox Swiss Cards compared – wallet EDC perfection?
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Seeing the mass media and the Democrats rallying for Ukraine is quite amazing. Nancy Pelosi is now chanting “СЛАВА УКРАЙНА” (“Slava Ukrania“), along with all of ABC/CBS/NBC crowd. Something tells me that if the Russian invasion had begun during Trump’s term in office, their reaction would have been substantially different. We need to recognize that most of what we are seeing is propaganda. Granted, what the Russians are doing in Ukraine is horrible. But please don’t fall for the left-wing cheerleading that could escalate us into a Third World War — a potentially nuclear Third World War.
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There are some great observations and commentary on macro-level trends, from S2 Underground: Foreseen Consequences: Lessons Learned.
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From Mrs. Alaska:
“If you have never bought seeds and potting supplies, here is an easy way to start growing food. Many types of store-bought produce can be used to grow your own. If a potato sprouting? Cut the spud into several pieces, each with one of the sprouting eyes. Bury them a few inches deep in soil.
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Reader H.L. spotted this: San Andreas Fault’s creeping section could unleash large earthquakes.
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SaraSue sent us this snippet:
“Counting down the weeks until the calf is born. The Jersey cow is not halter broke – she’s not wild and will eat apples out of my hand (through the fence), but she’s not tame. I’m feeling the pressure to get the stanchion built and bringing her into it for some grain to get her used to being handled. I’m very intimidated still by her size and she’s very “food aggressive” so if she thinks I have grain she literally gallops towards me.
I ordered a rebuilt Surge electric milker. A SurvivalBlog Reader offered me the milking equipment, but alas we live thousands of miles apart. There’s so much to do in the next few weeks including getting the garden fencing in. I cared for my little grandchildren for a week and that was great fun.
One of the Nigerian dwarf goats broke his leg, don’t ask me how – they love to do acrobatics. I’m trying to decide what the best way forward is. He’s still doing most everything his brethren are doing, so he’s not down and out. I’m sure every farmer has to make tough decisions about the worth of the animal and whether or not a vet bill is in order. Ugh.
In my latest flock of layer chickens of about 30, three turned out to be roosters, so I’m trying to decide how many need to go to Freezer Camp. Believe it or not, I’ve never personally butchered an animal. I purchased the book Butchering by Adam Danforth, on the advice of another SurvivalBlog reader. I’m in process of ordering a plucker, knives, and other supplies for the meat birds that will come in soon. Busy. Busy. Spring is here y’all!”
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Peter recommended this instructional video: Best “Long Range” 2 Meter Telescopic Ham Radio Antenna?
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Dr. Steve Turley: Absolute Proof That All Fake News Is SCRIPTED!
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Don Shift sent this update to his recent article:
“I received an e-mail from a nuclear engineer in response to my SurvivalBlog post that better clarifies the issues and difficulties in employing the inverse square law. I’ve forwarded the email for your review and invited him to submit it to you as a reader’s letter or a snippet.
The engineer who was kind enough to write me in response to my article did a wonderful job of explaining the caveats better than I did. His information was more informative and expansive than the engineer I consulted with previously to establish the background of my post and book.
He cautions that the radiation dose reduction from planar sources, like the fallout contaminated ground and surfaces outside, does not fall directly according to the inverse square law. The rate will still decrease, but will be higher than the inverse square law would otherwise predict.
“With (approximately) five planar sources facing the occupants, reductions by moving from one side to the other are important, but will not fall off with the inverse square of the distance. (Dose rates from hot spots will approximate the inverse square law, but locating them may not be easy or even possible for most people.)”
The varying properties of plane sources appears related to exactly how the radioactive material is deposited. As cautioned in my post, and further in my book, how the fallout lands, the layout of the house, and hot spots will complicate any “neat” computations. In fact, for most citizens measuring radiation would be impossible, making the actual level ill-relevant and survival more related to the level of distance shielding one can achieve.
Some salient points from a Dept. of Energy publication (DOE-HDBK-1122-99) he referenced are:
Regarding linear sources, “The inverse square law becomes inaccurate close to the source (i.e., about 10 times the diameter of the source)…The inverse square law holds true only for point sources; however, it gives a good approximation when the source dimensions are smaller than the distance from the source to the exposure point.”
At near distances, “the exposure rate falls off a little slower than 1/d (i.e. not as quickly as a line source). As the distance from the plane source increases, then the exposure rate drops off at a rate approaching 1/d2.” So the inverse square law, as you are well removed from the source, is grossly approximate.
So the calculations used in my example should be illustrative of the principle rather than definite facts or a formula one should use. The inverse square law should be seen, in the context of nuclear fallout contamination, as a generic understanding of how distance contributes to the reduction of a radiation dose, not as an iron-clad rule.
Even so, there will be a significant reduction with increasing distance, enough that in low radiation count areas sheltering-in-place is viable. A very large building, like an office or church, may be a better choice than a home. Those in homes without a basement are best served by relying on improvised shielding in the center of the house.”
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Reader L.E. wrote to ask:
“I was reading the fictional scenario re the Charlottesville nuclear attack scenario, and my eye fell upon the steel fireproof file cabinet I use to store my vacuum-packed emergency seeds stash, and I went hmmm, I wonder if 10 or so of those stacked into a small covered cubicle in the center of my house, would afford enough protection from immediate fallout. Thoughts?”
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Reader Shirley C. had this OPSEC suggestion:
“There are a lot of discussions online and on this blog about purchasing long-term storage foods from Costco and other big-box stores. SurvivalBlog readers should remember that, even if you pay in cash, you have to have a membership card to buy from many of those stores. So even if you buy 1,000 pounds of rice or beans over a year’s time with nothing but cash, there is still a record of purchases associated with your membership account. If Big Brother wants to know who is stockpiling food, that information is readily available through those retailers. The same goes for those discount cards issued by grocery stores, pharmacies, farm stores and home improvement stores. Any time you have to provide a member number or your phone number, there’s a record in a database showing the extent of your purchases over time.
I think it’s better to spread out your purchases over multiple stores over time, paying in cash and declining discount memberships, if you want to maintain privacy in your purchasing. Spend your shopping days buying 20 pound bags of rice, beans and various other foods from several different Walmarts, dollar stores, and grocery stores, paying in cash and declining discounts that require identifying your identity. The shorter food supplies become, the more likely someone is going to be looking for ‘hoarders’ to punish.”
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Captian Nemo wrote:
“On the original Molotov Cocktail, there was no flaming wick like everyone thinks. They mixed sulfuric acid into the fuel (gelled, without sodium hydroxide or soap), and then used a potassium chlorate/sugar solution soaked into paper wrapped/glued around the bottle. When the bottle broke it would automatically ignite.
I did a lot of studying about improvised munitions while I was a Crewchief/Aerial Observer for OH-58 helicopters. Danger was no stranger to the Bell Jet Ranger!”
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Tunnel Rabbit sent this bit of advice on Moxon Antennas, for Guerrilla Radio:
“This kind of antenna is not widely known or appreciated. The primary advantage of using particularly a Moxon, versus a 5 element Yagi, is that it better contains a low power signal within an Area of Operation, while providing adequate coverage, and a very broad bandwidth that allows the antenna to be use for more than one radio service. Note that the antenna offered by this company could be used on 2 Meter, and on the first 3 MURS frequencies if a high VSWR can be tolerated. The SWR will be right at, or slightly higher than 2:1 at 152Mhz. MURS channels 1-3 are under 152Mhz. Inquire about a custom order for their antenna, designed for MURS frequencies, or ask the manufacturer about using their 2 Meter Moxon in this way. IHMO, use on MURS only with one watt of power, and the transceiver can tolerate short transmissions without damage.
One watt of transmitter power through a Moxon antenna will have an ERP (Estimated Radiated Power) of nearly 2.5 watts, if line loss is not a factor. This is usually enough for a 1 to 3 mile range in favorable terrain. Keep in mind, however, that in ideal terrain, a 1/2 watt signal through an external quarter-wave antenna with no gain, can be heard as far as 5-6 miles. My estimates are based upon my experience. Each location is different, so do a survey of your area. Because I have done a survey, this is why I would use a directional antenna as my terrain is at a high elevation in comparison to the surrounding terrain, and even a weak signal can travel far. Avoid using external antennas if at all possible if this the case, or use a directional antenna in order to block the signal. This manufacturer claims a conservative F/B ratio of 33Dbi when polarized horizontally. This is outstanding. A Dakota Alert sensor transmits a narrowband signal at 1/2 watt. If a Moxon is used, that 1/2 watt is sent forward and block to the rear so that will likely not be heard inside of 1 mile or much less than 1 mile, if a Moxon antenna is used. It also increases ERP to just over 1 watt to overcome unfavorable terrain at my location.
In contrast to a yagi, the Moxon can be mounted lower to the ground when polarized either vertically or horizontally without disrupting its VSWR. This is important if it will be used near its bandwidth limits as a handheld antenna. I’ve made a pile of these in various frequencies and have come to appreciate their performance during hours of testing each example. If you get one, get the balun option as it is required, as it is difficult to make your own, especially without test equipment. To best contain a transmission, use no more than 5 watts, or less if possible, and orient it horizontally. See the radiation patterns provided at the link.
One of many tests to demonstrate its ability and the importance of using directional antenna to understand their ability to block incoming signals and how that might be useful in several ways. This, and a second test can demonstrate how a transmission sent forward through the antenna would block, or more better stated, attenuate a signal to the rear of the antenna. To demonstrate it, first, it to listening to a NOAA broadcast while rotating the antenna 360 degrees. At some point in the rotation, the NOAA station cannot be heard, or heard very well. Do this when it is vertically and horizontally polarized. A second test can be done using a 2 Meter repeater.
Because repeaters are usually mounted in the highest location possible in an area, they can open on a weak signal, less than 1 watt from a distance of 1 to 10 miles away. Orient the Moxon antenna horizontally, and in the opposite direction of the repeater, and transmit using only 1 watt if only 1 watt is normally needed to operate the repeater. Use 5 watts if necessary. Use another receiver to hear the transmission from the repeater. The signal might heard by the repeater, yet can be so weak that the signal is below S-1. The signal will hopefully be accompanied by lots of noise, yet it is intelligible. This is ideal if one would like to broadcast an omnidirectional signal, yet the transmission is received by the repeater and other receivers with antennas not so advantageously located as the repeater. Thus, the transmission received is under S-1, and therefore cannot be easily DFed (direction found), or even a rough line of bearing obtained. This is a practical, or real-world application versus an academic understanding. Use your equipment now and find out what it can, or cannot do for you. If I could afford expensive digital radios and encryption, I would still put those signals through a directional antenna. However, it is less expensive for me to make antennas and use inexpensive radios to supply a larger group to obtain an advantage. It is also about logistics, and It will take a community to get through a worst-case scenario.
Wise use of certain antennas should be a part of a low power network. And yet another reason for a directional antenna? One can defeat the best efforts of a professional radio technician, and those whom might be a licensed Amateur Radio, who is working for the other side. It is so simple that even a Guerrilla could do it.
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