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Messages - NCGunDude

#61
Licensing / Re: Do you REALLY need that ham license?
February 14, 2015, 07:51:24 AM
Freax, very good. My empathy is with you on government control.

You're correct about going Galt. No issues there.

Communities are what will survive in post TEOTWAWKI, which may be fast approaching from a banking and finance standpoint, or worse if it spills over into a hot war.

Gill mentioned several options. Another one you may not have considered is satellite repeaters. You can hit one of those for 15 minutes or so with a baofeng and a 2m yagi, at least what i've seen on the Tube of You.

We take for granted a lot of things here in the US, which we'll lose if we don't exercise them.  73's
#62
There's a really nice one for sale on eBay bidding for the next hour.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yaesu-FT-817ND-HAM-Radio-Transceiver-With-LOTS-of-Accessories-/331454699592
#63
I got involved with a home fellowship based Christian ministry 24 years ago, after having been raised in the church, serving in the military and graduating from a 4 year university. I had lots of odd jobs, started my own business, got into IT in 1997 and currently work in the public sector.

With all of the volatility in the world, there's isn't much hope anything is going to change for the better anytime soon. It's possible, but not very likely. The current world system could be tweaked to work for everyone, but it's being used to exploit the many for the gain of the few. The only sanity I have found, is the truth of God's word. The alternative is to accept people are greedy. I accept that people are greedy, that it is a part of human nature. That is a correct view. Is the solution then, to do as they do, or worse, since it seems the only way to beat them, is at their own game? Of course not! So, what is the answer? I had this same question, and I looked for the answer a lot of places, in world history books, etc. The history books are good at telling us what happened, but never the why. Of course, historians can postulate.

I didn't find any answers until I got involved with this Christian ministry 25 years ago, who taught me to read and understand the bible for myself. I don't proclaim to know everything, but I know who does.

I would encourage you to go around to different churches, until you find one you like. Just be yourself. A word of caution, however, if the leaders of the synagogue in Jesus' day were of their father, the devil, there's no reason to think the church is any different today. Christian doctrine was compromised with pagan beliefs to form a state religion in 3rd century Rome. This is where we get Sunday worship, Spring fertility rites at Easter, and Christ's mass at the winter solstice. However, we also have the truth of the one true God in his word, which has survived and is entrusted to us. Find a bible fellowship and don't give up on God. He hasn't given up on you.

So as not to offend anyone with my personal religious views, I'll pm you my personal e-mail and we can continue this discussion offline.
#64
If you read James Rawles' Survival Blog, you can look up "golden horde". You can also consider WROL. Lookup Ferfal, Selco, and Rhodesia defenses. Sure, hidey holes are an option, but you've got to come out sometime.

I added comms to my preps and found this blog. There are plenty of sites which deal with the above scenario. There aren't too many which deal with communications in the event of WROL. I know Gil is going to be tapping out CW from an undisclosed location :)
#65
What makes sense to stockpile is long term storage food, reloading components, and survival skills.

Things to purchase in bulk are those you use everyday, like toilet paper, six months worth of food, batteries, toothpaste, detergent, cleaning supplies. We keep an inventory spreadsheet for a family of four and order a lot of stuff online, delivered to the door. Opsec isn't really an issue, since who cares if a case of toilet paper is delivered at someone's house, and I don't waste my gas or back getting it out of the vehicle and into the house.

Walmart.com has become my friend. Food isn't the only thing that's going to disappear off the shelves if WROL happens.
#66
A good set of ski googles, or polarized driving glasses will do better in fog/snow/rain conditions than fog lights.

The problem is the reflected light from the precip, which the lenses take out of the equation.

I'm looking at nutnfancy's debunking bug out vehicles and researching compact SUV's for if/when I need to replace our V6 minivan with tow hitch. It looks like maybe the Toyota Rav4 with a 6 cyl.
#67
Technical Corner / Re: New guy on the block
January 03, 2015, 08:22:59 AM
My suggestion is to build the insert, but with the intent of pulling it out only to access the components and wiring. It should be operational once the lid is lifted, and power and antennae connections are made.

I went with an 8u Gator Case and includes a 3u drawer. It's fine and suits it's intended purpose. In hindsight, I would get a smaller case like the one PuJo is setting up, but mounting everything becomes an issue. An open ended wood box held together with corner braces would provide a mounting surface, and the ability to slide out providing access from the front and back. Most radio components come with mounting brackets, and I used velcro straps with an adhesive backing for the power supply. A couple of screws would hold the velcro straps in place within the cabinet. Two straps should hold most anything in place that doesn't have it's own bracket.

I have a box with open ends and a handle on top similar to what I described that I use for public service events. I take the top off to work on anything and there's plenty of room to get to everything. It seems that would work for what PuJo is setting up. Slide that into a Pelican case and it's off to the QRP races!

73's,

#68
Technical Corner / Re: New guy on the block
December 30, 2014, 05:59:42 PM
Welcome to the forum!

What are you thinking about in terms of battery, gel cell? Assuming you have access to 120v current, a deep cycle 12v and standard 12v charger should be sufficient.

I haven't built my box out with connections yet, but I've been looking at power poles.

In terms of your box, and assuming you'll want to mount your equipment, you might consider a simple 4 sided wood frame for mounting equipment that slides out easily for access. I like corner braces for putting wood boards together at right angles. I find myself wanting to get to my equipment on a regular enough basis to make ease of access a consideration.

My portable setup an HT with a battery eliminator and a dual band amplifier from MFJ both wired using 14 ga wire to a copper terminal, and a DC accessory adapter plug also terminated on the copper terminal. I run it from either a power supply with a DC accessory female plug from power werx, a vehicle DC outlet, or the DC outlet for the emergency battery backup I have for each vehicle from Clore. I plan to convert to power poles once I have a power line run in my vehicles, but the DC adapter works for the 8 amps the HT and amplifier pull.

Have fun with your build.
#69
Quote from: Lamewolf on November 26, 2014, 02:27:17 PM
Quote from: Luigi on November 26, 2014, 01:32:53 PM
Bacteria treatment for water that has been stored for a long time:
Filter the water. Coffee filters work well. This removes some of the material causing cloudiness. It does not purify the water.
Mix unsented bleach (5-8% strength) with the water. 5 drops for every liter.

It is best to use a new clean container to purify the water. Sterilize the old container for future storage.

As stated before, turn over the water supply.

If you are using lifeboat water, keep in mind that the water and the containers are sterilized as they are packaged. They do not build up bacteria if they remain sealed.

Even if they do, I guess its better to be hydrated and sick, than to be dehydrated and dead !  :)

Not exactly. Drinking contaminated water will cause gastrointestinal illness and diarrhea, which can kill you.

A great movie I saw recently was "All is Lost" starring Robert Redford. He was stranded on a disabled sail boat, and went to extraordinary lengths to distill water using evaporation. There is also some good radio in the movie. A great story of survival and if you haven't seen it, it's worth seeing.

I don't know a lot about water storage, but we've got a couple of liters in our car kits. If they froze, I expect the caps would split and wet everything down when it thaws. Maybe I'll pour a little out so there's more room to expand. I've been following this thread as more people have commented, and hadn't given it a lot of thought since we don't get too many hard freezes. But, it does happen, and I would just as soon not have to deal with a wet or mildewed kit.
#70
Dude, that's awsome! Obviously, a lot of time, effort, and thought has gone into your PC setup.

I'm not sure a PC is going to be needed if we're thrust into a 19th century agrarian society overnight. There's also the security aspect of being connected.

How about winlink 2000? I'm using Linux, and haven't done anything with it, however...

Since you didn't mention digital comms or winlink, thought I'd ask  ;)

73's
#71
General Discussion / Re: Toward Food Self-Sufficiency
October 03, 2014, 07:04:08 PM
I had considered ghee, condensed butter, from near east stores, but went with powdered dairy instead. Agreed we all need to be as self sufficient as possible.  My bucket list mostly involves skills at this point.
#72
So, you're in the southern hemisphere? I saw a headline today about the heat wave in AUS and blaming it on climate change.

I also saw a computer model predicting the spread of ebola. The interior of AUS was not over taken, I'm assuming because of the lack of population density, which I've just confirmed here, http://i.imgur.com/Np74KFZ.png

I just ordered another Baofeng/Pufong UV-B5, since my wife wants to start using one in her car, some masks, gloves, and recently got some pool shock for disinfecting surfaces. A little bit at a time. It helps to have a partner, and my wife has been pretty spectacular.

Here's a link to an older article on EHV/EVD from the CDC http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/abroad/vhf-manual.html. There's a checklist of materials to stock. Treatment is symptomatic, meaning you treat the symptoms, mostly related to loss of fluids.

The CDC is still saying the risk of ebola becoming a global epidemic is low, but now is a good time to check your health care preps.

Should the epidemic spread and in the event cell phone towers are down or over-loaded, it will be good to be able to communicate and get outside news without having to leave the house or depend on cable and telephone infrastructure.

I may need to move up my HF capabilities timeline.



#73
I rented a decent movie from Redbox yesterday, Noah, starring Russel Crowe. The plot is basically the same thing you're describing, and of course, it's biblically based.

So, biblically speaking, Noah was the only righteous person left on the face of the earth, and for the sake of one righteous person, through him, God spared the human race.

Could society go full blown zombie apocalyptic in a SHTF grid down scenario? Sure, and I don't keep all of my preps in one location. Life is not without risk, and I would respectfully suggest that one not neglect the most important prep of all, spiritual.

We can't plan for everything, but we can put our faith and trust in God Almighty, the God and Father of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Creator of Heaven and Earth and all that is in them, and who is able to save to the utmost.

Who among us wouldn't do things differently if we had a do over?

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

I'll hang on to my preps, and continue to add to them. Whatever happens, I know I've done my best, and that includes not being a door mat for the zombie horde. If everyone prepped, it would facilitate forming communities post SHTF, which offers the best opportunity for long term survival. Those who haven't prepped are going to find it tough going, but the worst case scenario is going to be mind numbing difficult for anyone, since modern societies just aren't prepared to revert to 19th century agrarian practices. Bottom line for me, believe God.

"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16 ESV)

If you don't believe the truth of God's word, that's OK. You can still be thankful for those of us who do, remember Noah.

"And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short." (Matthew 24:22 ESV)

You might even take this opportunity to save yourself,

"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10 ESV)

I've been giving some thought to starting a Sunday morning prayer net. It would be awesome to use the technology to bring the Word of God to the amateur radio community, starting on one of the local repeaters, and eventually adding another net on HF.

Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to share a little bit about why I prep. It's doing my utmost for his highest. God bless and god speed.

73's,

KK4TTR
#74
VHF and Above / Re: Baofeng UV-5R+
September 29, 2014, 07:06:04 AM
I've been using a Baofeng UV-B5 daily for over a year with a mag mount and external speaker mic with no issues and have 2 of them programmed identically.

Deal Extreme sells a Kenwood brand mic for less then $10 which ships directly from China, http://www.dx.com/p/kenwood-kmc-17-heavy-duty-speaker-micphone-w-earphone-jack-106859. The baofeng external speaker mics sound like crap, and you can instantly pick out someone using one. Not that it's a drawback, it's still intelligible, I just prefer the cleaner modulation.

As far as buying Chinese, they're using the equivalent of slave labor, but that's a moral argument that goes beyond the scope of this discussion. Who is John Galt?

Regarding cross band repeat and a quad copter, that might be a little noisy. Why not a lighter than air balloon tethered to the ground? A light blue or grey color would be hard to spot. On a low duty cycle, it would last as long as the batteries. In fact, it's not a bad way to run an antenna. Cool idea, Gill. I was thinking through how to keep a balloon aloft, and how much temperature differential and volume would be required to use air only, or how to seal Helium semi permanently. I don't know if anyone's seen the balloons the feds use around FL. I'm pretty sure they're helium. Anyway... thanks for the discussion, as always. 73's. 
#75
Tactical Corner / Re: Building a radio 'Go Box'
September 23, 2014, 11:21:29 AM
Quote from: gil on September 23, 2014, 11:00:35 AM
QuoteIf I'm going to be bugging out with radio gear and computers I want everything including the kitchen sink to come with me.

What if you end-up on foot?

Gil.

Shoulder straps?

Seriously, my go box has everything in it, but it was too heavy to easily maneuver up and down steps for radio events outside of the house, so I put my HT dual band amp in it's own case for weekend work. Granted, it's still a vehicle kit. It'll be just me, go bag, and HT on foot, to bug in.

I need to set up protocols with the spouse to monitor local repeaters, and simplex if one of us ends up in a bug in situation. If we bug out, we're golden if we can move in vehicles. Substantially less so on foot.

Maybe pull out the absolutely essential radio equipment for a road trip on foot, or cache redundant equipment at the BOL.