by Jonathan Hunt
For a Massive Sell-off – In my opinion, the market is now perfectly positioned for a massive dollar sell-off. My gut is that the dollar sell-off will be sharp and swift. Once the dollar decisively breaks below last year’s lows, many of the traders who jumped ship in the recent rally will look to re-establish their positions. This will accelerate the dollar’s descent and refocus everyone’s attention back on the financial train-wreck unfolding in the United States.
The Fed Computers Ready to Fire Up Again – When debt to GDP reaches 90%, as it looks like it will, growth slows and bad things happen.
Can It Go Up Forever? – Here’s one of the only economic charts that really matters: Total U.S. debt to GDP. This chart shows the trend from the end of the Civil War until now.
Housing Collapse Getting Worse – The banking system has captured our government and frustration is boiling over. Yet those in the housing and banking industry seem complacent and even self congratulatory that we “have avoided Great Depression 2.0.” Really?
Retirees More Broke Than Ever – People don’t want to think about this.” Instead, everyone prefers to stick their head in the sand until it is too late to do anything.
Every Bank And Government Will Collapse World Wide – The collapse of currencies and nations won’t happen overnight, because their demise has been planned, and a subtle collapse is in process. Our guess is that next year is when the collapse will finally take place followed by one of the greatest deflationary depressions of all time.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
U.N.'s Agenda 21, America Taken By Stealth
by Jonathan Hunt ATU 757 Portland
Being a firm believer in the Constitution and our rights and freedoms as Americans, I could not live with my conscience if I did not SOUND THE ALARMS about this story.
I belong to several groups which fight to maintain our freedoms, and I got this information from Freedom Advocates. They have a booklet called " Understanding Sustainable Development Agenda 21." I recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to live in a communist America.
The way I understand it, the United Nations invented the global warming LIES, (using their OWN group of scientists, who have REWRITTEN global temperatures, to suite the lies...) You may have heard of this in the news recently, that emails were discovered, which showed how they were LYING... Well, what the news coverage NEGLECTED to tell us, was why the lies were invented in the first place.
The lies were invented as a SCARE TACTIC, so all of us gullible Americans, and others would believe that changes had to be made in order to STOP global warming to "protect the environment." The changes they are making are contained in Agenda 21, and according to the booklet, they are being used in all areas of our government. I myself have witnessed some of this first hand. Agenda 21 is being used globally, nationally,and locally.
This agenda never had to pass Congress, because it is considered 'soft-law policy.' It has basically UNDERMINED our Constitution and all other rights. Our government officials, (federal, state AND local,) have bought into this trash bin of COMMUNISM, thinking that they were doing something GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
Maybe some of them know what they are doing. Maybe not. Bill Clinton established it here..so I'd say HE knew what he was doing..(He is the one who gave most of our national parks to the U.N., in case you didn't know.)
The bottom line is this. According to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights,"Rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations." Government can grant, restrict, or withdrawal your rights according to what it needs. The product of your labor, and you yourself belong to the community. In other words, you HAVE no rights...
The booklet also discusses how the U.N. wants to control and ration our drinking water, HEALTH CARE, and other public services.They will create 'shortages' of things, and control our natural resources, making them forbidden to us.
They are planning to control our dietary intake,and they want to eliminate MEAT from our diets.They want to control the population, and force us to recycle.They want new modes of transportation.They want to brain wash our children to abide by, and promote 'sustainable development.'
Local colleges near me are offering courses that are called 'sustainability and going green.' From the brochure, these classes are teaching students agenda 21 principles, and how to build homes that restrict heating, cooling, appliance usage, and more.
The U.N. wants to take away our private property rights, making fifty percent of the U.S. OFF LIMITS to humans. This is so they can jam us in GOVERNMENT OWNED HOUSING, force us to work GOVERNMENT JOBS, and do exactly what they tell us. All of this is supposedly done to "PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT." The booklet explains how they are implementing this, and the scary part is, they are GETTING AWAY WITH IT!!!
Many of our U.S. cities have already joined with the group called ICLEI, The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. This group assists the local government in pushing this agenda. You may have heard of 'smart growth, sustainable development, the wild-lands project, or other "GREEN" terms.
Don't you believe the lies. This has NOTHING to do with SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT. It is PURE SATANIC COMMUNISM, and we have got to GET RID OF ALL OF THESE "GREEN" GARBAGE LIES AND RECLAIM OUR COUNTRY!! Please..get the booklet. I wish you all the best, and never give up! May God Bless And Keep Us From This Evil!
Being a firm believer in the Constitution and our rights and freedoms as Americans, I could not live with my conscience if I did not SOUND THE ALARMS about this story.
I belong to several groups which fight to maintain our freedoms, and I got this information from Freedom Advocates. They have a booklet called " Understanding Sustainable Development Agenda 21." I recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to live in a communist America.
The way I understand it, the United Nations invented the global warming LIES, (using their OWN group of scientists, who have REWRITTEN global temperatures, to suite the lies...) You may have heard of this in the news recently, that emails were discovered, which showed how they were LYING... Well, what the news coverage NEGLECTED to tell us, was why the lies were invented in the first place.
The lies were invented as a SCARE TACTIC, so all of us gullible Americans, and others would believe that changes had to be made in order to STOP global warming to "protect the environment." The changes they are making are contained in Agenda 21, and according to the booklet, they are being used in all areas of our government. I myself have witnessed some of this first hand. Agenda 21 is being used globally, nationally,and locally.
This agenda never had to pass Congress, because it is considered 'soft-law policy.' It has basically UNDERMINED our Constitution and all other rights. Our government officials, (federal, state AND local,) have bought into this trash bin of COMMUNISM, thinking that they were doing something GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
Maybe some of them know what they are doing. Maybe not. Bill Clinton established it here..so I'd say HE knew what he was doing..(He is the one who gave most of our national parks to the U.N., in case you didn't know.)
The bottom line is this. According to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights,"Rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations." Government can grant, restrict, or withdrawal your rights according to what it needs. The product of your labor, and you yourself belong to the community. In other words, you HAVE no rights...
The booklet also discusses how the U.N. wants to control and ration our drinking water, HEALTH CARE, and other public services.They will create 'shortages' of things, and control our natural resources, making them forbidden to us.
They are planning to control our dietary intake,and they want to eliminate MEAT from our diets.They want to control the population, and force us to recycle.They want new modes of transportation.They want to brain wash our children to abide by, and promote 'sustainable development.'
Local colleges near me are offering courses that are called 'sustainability and going green.' From the brochure, these classes are teaching students agenda 21 principles, and how to build homes that restrict heating, cooling, appliance usage, and more.
The U.N. wants to take away our private property rights, making fifty percent of the U.S. OFF LIMITS to humans. This is so they can jam us in GOVERNMENT OWNED HOUSING, force us to work GOVERNMENT JOBS, and do exactly what they tell us. All of this is supposedly done to "PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT." The booklet explains how they are implementing this, and the scary part is, they are GETTING AWAY WITH IT!!!
Many of our U.S. cities have already joined with the group called ICLEI, The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. This group assists the local government in pushing this agenda. You may have heard of 'smart growth, sustainable development, the wild-lands project, or other "GREEN" terms.
Don't you believe the lies. This has NOTHING to do with SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT. It is PURE SATANIC COMMUNISM, and we have got to GET RID OF ALL OF THESE "GREEN" GARBAGE LIES AND RECLAIM OUR COUNTRY!! Please..get the booklet. I wish you all the best, and never give up! May God Bless And Keep Us From This Evil!
Friday, March 5, 2010
How Much Fuel Does a Cruise Ship Use?
by Jonathan Hunt
I have no idea how much fuel a cruise ship uses, nor do I care - what I care about is getting your attention, so hopefully I can, give you advice to help further your preparedness level. You have to admit the title grabbed your eye, which was the intent. Now let's get started.
My fuel storage is small compared the amounts suggested by some other survival blogs and books, no 10,000 gallon diesel storage tanks or resupply trucks at my place. Mine is just some propane tanks and a few five gallon cans.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a huge set-up - unfortunately finances won't allow it.
My cook-stove, refrigerator and water heater all use liquefied petroleum gas (propane). When I bought my trailer it came with two 20lb tanks, which were fine for camping or other recreational use, but for full time occupation they weren't sufficient and were quickly replaced with 100lb tanks.
Used for cooking and refrigeration those tanks will last me about a year - longer if I do most of my cooking outside over an open fire or in my Dutch oven.
I also keep the two 20lb tanks that I replaced full at all times. I should have enough fuel to fire the cook stove and run the fridge for at least a year or more.
Propane is efficient and easy to store in the pressurized tanks supplied by the dealer, but can be extremely dangerous if leaks occur near an ignition source.
I don't know if it's true, but the guy working for the local LP dealer, told me about a man who was unloading one of the 100lb tanks from the back of a pickup truck and was blown to bits as soon when he touched the tank.
He said the tank had been laid on it's side and rolled around in the truck bed during transport, damaging the valve and causing a leak. When the guy took hold of the tank, static electricity from his fingers sparked an explosion killing him and his son.
Like I said, I don't know if this really happened or if it was just a warning from the dealer, but it made me think and become more cautious. Now I wear leather gloves whenever loading or unloading propane.
Propane tanks should be left in the open and not tightly enclosed. I have the 20lb tanks sitting outside on a platform made of concrete block and a half sheet of plywood covered with a tarp.
Gasoline is the hardest fuel to store for an extended length of time. I keep three, five gallon cans, full at all times - 15 gallons doesn't sound like much, but I don't plan on joy riding through town poking fun at those who didn't prepare.
My motivation for storing gasoline is to keep my chainsaws running. If you've ever tried cutting firewood with a crosscut saw you know how important a chainsaw is in your survival preps.
I treat my gasoline with Sta-Bil and rotate every 3-6 months, I don't know how long it would remain viable, but I think six months is a good cutoff period for rotation.
Kerosene and diesel (diesel Sta-Bil) are easy to store and have a longer storage life than does gasoline.
I store kerosene in blue cans and gasoline in red. Mistakenly pouring gasoline into a kerosene heater for instance, could have dire consequences. Following a color coding system helps eliminate this possibility.
The standard fuel container color coding system is blue for kerosene, red for gasoline, and yellow for diesel. I suggest you follow this system.
No doubt some of you have already worked out your fuel storage needs and have planned accordingly - please share what you've learned in the comments below.
I have no idea how much fuel a cruise ship uses, nor do I care - what I care about is getting your attention, so hopefully I can, give you advice to help further your preparedness level. You have to admit the title grabbed your eye, which was the intent. Now let's get started.
My fuel storage is small compared the amounts suggested by some other survival blogs and books, no 10,000 gallon diesel storage tanks or resupply trucks at my place. Mine is just some propane tanks and a few five gallon cans.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a huge set-up - unfortunately finances won't allow it.
My cook-stove, refrigerator and water heater all use liquefied petroleum gas (propane). When I bought my trailer it came with two 20lb tanks, which were fine for camping or other recreational use, but for full time occupation they weren't sufficient and were quickly replaced with 100lb tanks.
Used for cooking and refrigeration those tanks will last me about a year - longer if I do most of my cooking outside over an open fire or in my Dutch oven.
I also keep the two 20lb tanks that I replaced full at all times. I should have enough fuel to fire the cook stove and run the fridge for at least a year or more.
Propane is efficient and easy to store in the pressurized tanks supplied by the dealer, but can be extremely dangerous if leaks occur near an ignition source.
I don't know if it's true, but the guy working for the local LP dealer, told me about a man who was unloading one of the 100lb tanks from the back of a pickup truck and was blown to bits as soon when he touched the tank.
He said the tank had been laid on it's side and rolled around in the truck bed during transport, damaging the valve and causing a leak. When the guy took hold of the tank, static electricity from his fingers sparked an explosion killing him and his son.
Like I said, I don't know if this really happened or if it was just a warning from the dealer, but it made me think and become more cautious. Now I wear leather gloves whenever loading or unloading propane.
Propane tanks should be left in the open and not tightly enclosed. I have the 20lb tanks sitting outside on a platform made of concrete block and a half sheet of plywood covered with a tarp.
Gasoline is the hardest fuel to store for an extended length of time. I keep three, five gallon cans, full at all times - 15 gallons doesn't sound like much, but I don't plan on joy riding through town poking fun at those who didn't prepare.
My motivation for storing gasoline is to keep my chainsaws running. If you've ever tried cutting firewood with a crosscut saw you know how important a chainsaw is in your survival preps.
I treat my gasoline with Sta-Bil and rotate every 3-6 months, I don't know how long it would remain viable, but I think six months is a good cutoff period for rotation.
Kerosene and diesel (diesel Sta-Bil) are easy to store and have a longer storage life than does gasoline.
I store kerosene in blue cans and gasoline in red. Mistakenly pouring gasoline into a kerosene heater for instance, could have dire consequences. Following a color coding system helps eliminate this possibility.
The standard fuel container color coding system is blue for kerosene, red for gasoline, and yellow for diesel. I suggest you follow this system.
No doubt some of you have already worked out your fuel storage needs and have planned accordingly - please share what you've learned in the comments below.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Layoffs By U.S. Employers
The number layoffs by U.S. employers edged up in January as manufacturers stepped up job cuts, data showed on Tuesday, but probably not enough to alter views that the economy is on the brink of creating jobs.
The Labor Department said the number of mass layoff actions -- defined as job cuts involving at least 50 people from a single employer -- increased by 35 to 1,761. Mass layoffs had trended lower since August. More here.
The futures so bright I gotta wear shades! In my area, the county's largest and oldest employer announced it would be shutting down production in April.
Another 260 employees out of work in a county already suffering from one of the highest unemployment rates in the state at over 19%.
I'm sure once those workers are added into the official count that rate will climb to well over 23-25%.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Water During an Emergency
by Jonathan Hunt
In every survival situation, whether you are stuck in a vehicle or your home after an event such as an earthquake or storm occurs, water is essential to your staying alive.
Carrying at least 3 gallons of water in your vehicle is a preferable amount as anyone with enough experience can tell you and is a necessary requirement, not less than that as one would normally believe.
Depending upon where you live in the country will determine just how much water you may actually want to have on hand.
Should you live in Arizona or Utah where the heat can reach excessive temperatures during the day and plummet to below zero temperatures, you will likely lose several pints of water by the time the sun sets and this is without much exertion and therefore you will need the water to keep your body hydrated and stave off heat stroke (hyperthermia) and/or freezing to death (hypothermia).
In desert regions, the sun bakes and therefore it will cook not only your car during the warmer months it will also cook your brain and should you have to change a tire, dig out of a wash or even have to walk for any distance in even mild temperatures to reach help then you will lose enough water through your breathing and sweating that a mere gallon may not or will probably not be enough to keep you hydrated or even rehydrate you if you are already low on water which happens to be the case for many people in the United States.
In other areas that are cooler or, rather, not desert-like the need may still be the same and you should take such factors into consideration. If the conditions are so extreme as to cause a long-term situation of 6 months to several years, then the need to find water would become even greater and you would have to seek other sources for getting water such as the back of a toilet tank, a water pipe, animal waterers and so forth after proper disinfection has taken place.
To disinfect water, you can add 5 or 10 drops of 2% Iodine tincture, depending upon how dirty the water is is how much you will use, the clearer it is the less you need of the tincture, shake it up and then let it sit for 25 to 30 minutes before drinking.
Just make sure that the water you are going to treat does not have chemicals such as those which are placed in the back of a toilet tank that clean the toilet with every flush which means you will have to distill the water instead to prevent drinking down various sorts of deadly chemicals and killing yourself in the process.
If you find the water has been treated with chemicals then you can distill it by placing a pot of water over a heat source and finding a way to extract the rising steam into another container such as a cup in the center of the pan by using a string attached to the center of an upside lid placed atop your cooking vessel or using molded aluminum foil with a string or using other objects which would allow the steam to drain toward an awaiting container which is clean and safe for drinking from.
Should you be in a location where there is enough sun to heat up a jug full of water then you can attach clear tubing to the jug at or near the top, seal around the tube coming out of the container and allow the steam to vent and drip down into another container which is, again, clean and safe for drinking from.
Although some would say that you can drink your own urine, this is not true as it will cause vomiting and the number of impurities in your urine are not to be taken lightly not to mention that urine is acidic and if you have ever experienced or seen the after-effects of urine on human skin you will know that it burns so you will definitely want to avoid drinking it until you have distilled it.
It may seem disgusting or gross to distill urine but all that will come out of urine during distillation is pure, consumable water and to avoid dying from dehydration it would be far wiser to drink the pure contents of distilled urine than to suffer the consequences of wishing that you had.
Also, doing so will also give you enough time to find other sources from which you can replenish what little water you will have left in your body taking into account that your breath and body are going to be giving off or losing moisture every minute and you will be hydrated only so long before you will have to find or make drinking water from one or another sources.
If you were to vomit from drinking your own urine or from impure water then you will lose water and that and diarrhea which comes from certain bugs found in most water are what you want to avoid if at all possible, so remember to distill your water when in doubt or you know that a source should not be ingested.
In every survival situation, whether you are stuck in a vehicle or your home after an event such as an earthquake or storm occurs, water is essential to your staying alive.
Carrying at least 3 gallons of water in your vehicle is a preferable amount as anyone with enough experience can tell you and is a necessary requirement, not less than that as one would normally believe.
Depending upon where you live in the country will determine just how much water you may actually want to have on hand.
Should you live in Arizona or Utah where the heat can reach excessive temperatures during the day and plummet to below zero temperatures, you will likely lose several pints of water by the time the sun sets and this is without much exertion and therefore you will need the water to keep your body hydrated and stave off heat stroke (hyperthermia) and/or freezing to death (hypothermia).
In desert regions, the sun bakes and therefore it will cook not only your car during the warmer months it will also cook your brain and should you have to change a tire, dig out of a wash or even have to walk for any distance in even mild temperatures to reach help then you will lose enough water through your breathing and sweating that a mere gallon may not or will probably not be enough to keep you hydrated or even rehydrate you if you are already low on water which happens to be the case for many people in the United States.
In other areas that are cooler or, rather, not desert-like the need may still be the same and you should take such factors into consideration. If the conditions are so extreme as to cause a long-term situation of 6 months to several years, then the need to find water would become even greater and you would have to seek other sources for getting water such as the back of a toilet tank, a water pipe, animal waterers and so forth after proper disinfection has taken place.
To disinfect water, you can add 5 or 10 drops of 2% Iodine tincture, depending upon how dirty the water is is how much you will use, the clearer it is the less you need of the tincture, shake it up and then let it sit for 25 to 30 minutes before drinking.
Just make sure that the water you are going to treat does not have chemicals such as those which are placed in the back of a toilet tank that clean the toilet with every flush which means you will have to distill the water instead to prevent drinking down various sorts of deadly chemicals and killing yourself in the process.
If you find the water has been treated with chemicals then you can distill it by placing a pot of water over a heat source and finding a way to extract the rising steam into another container such as a cup in the center of the pan by using a string attached to the center of an upside lid placed atop your cooking vessel or using molded aluminum foil with a string or using other objects which would allow the steam to drain toward an awaiting container which is clean and safe for drinking from.
Should you be in a location where there is enough sun to heat up a jug full of water then you can attach clear tubing to the jug at or near the top, seal around the tube coming out of the container and allow the steam to vent and drip down into another container which is, again, clean and safe for drinking from.
Although some would say that you can drink your own urine, this is not true as it will cause vomiting and the number of impurities in your urine are not to be taken lightly not to mention that urine is acidic and if you have ever experienced or seen the after-effects of urine on human skin you will know that it burns so you will definitely want to avoid drinking it until you have distilled it.
It may seem disgusting or gross to distill urine but all that will come out of urine during distillation is pure, consumable water and to avoid dying from dehydration it would be far wiser to drink the pure contents of distilled urine than to suffer the consequences of wishing that you had.
Also, doing so will also give you enough time to find other sources from which you can replenish what little water you will have left in your body taking into account that your breath and body are going to be giving off or losing moisture every minute and you will be hydrated only so long before you will have to find or make drinking water from one or another sources.
If you were to vomit from drinking your own urine or from impure water then you will lose water and that and diarrhea which comes from certain bugs found in most water are what you want to avoid if at all possible, so remember to distill your water when in doubt or you know that a source should not be ingested.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Protecting the Citizens By Controlling The Internet
by Jonathan Hunt
Under the guise of “protecting Americans” and choosing itself in so-called “national security,” the current Obama administration wants to be able to control the ability of people and organizations to access the Internet.
This concept on its face seems very harmless and in the best interest of the country, however, having the ability to “turn the Internet off or shutting down sites that Obama considers “dangerous” including particular political groups, individuals or organizations who espouse differing views has far reaching political, financial, moral and legal implications.
Such a policy imposed under Executive Order to control what enters Internet sites and what is shared daily would stifle free speech in direct violation of the First Amendment rights of all Americans.
During the elections in Iran, its citizens using Facebook and Twitter got out 95% of the news from Iran. In America would our social sites be shut down if enough people using them “dared” to question the current political regime in power at any given time? Sitting ominously in the Senate is the Rockefeller Bill S. 773 to takeover the Internet in emergencies. As we all know, once taken over, we will never get it back the way it was before. This is what elitists have in mind for us.
America’s brightest minds and taxpayers funds made the Internet happen, and now there are indications that the Obama administration is moving quietly to allow control of the web to move from the US to foreign powers. Such a transfer of power and control would change the future of mankind. This would be affected via our Department of Commerce.
America controls the Internet via the Domain name System (DNS), and the servers that serve the Internet. They are managed by IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which operates via the Department of Commerce, being responsible for global cooperation and coordination of the DNS, IP addressing, and other Internet protocol sources. Without these elements one would not have access to the Internet.
Over the years, the UN and others internationally have been pressing the US to give away control and management to an international body. Those thirsting for this power are the UN and the International Telecommunications Union, which coordinates international telephone communications. Their argument is that the Internet has become a powerful and dependent form of communications, that is dangerous and inequitable for one nation to control and manage.
Under the guise of “protecting Americans” and choosing itself in so-called “national security,” the current Obama administration wants to be able to control the ability of people and organizations to access the Internet.
This concept on its face seems very harmless and in the best interest of the country, however, having the ability to “turn the Internet off or shutting down sites that Obama considers “dangerous” including particular political groups, individuals or organizations who espouse differing views has far reaching political, financial, moral and legal implications.
Such a policy imposed under Executive Order to control what enters Internet sites and what is shared daily would stifle free speech in direct violation of the First Amendment rights of all Americans.
During the elections in Iran, its citizens using Facebook and Twitter got out 95% of the news from Iran. In America would our social sites be shut down if enough people using them “dared” to question the current political regime in power at any given time? Sitting ominously in the Senate is the Rockefeller Bill S. 773 to takeover the Internet in emergencies. As we all know, once taken over, we will never get it back the way it was before. This is what elitists have in mind for us.
America’s brightest minds and taxpayers funds made the Internet happen, and now there are indications that the Obama administration is moving quietly to allow control of the web to move from the US to foreign powers. Such a transfer of power and control would change the future of mankind. This would be affected via our Department of Commerce.
America controls the Internet via the Domain name System (DNS), and the servers that serve the Internet. They are managed by IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which operates via the Department of Commerce, being responsible for global cooperation and coordination of the DNS, IP addressing, and other Internet protocol sources. Without these elements one would not have access to the Internet.
Over the years, the UN and others internationally have been pressing the US to give away control and management to an international body. Those thirsting for this power are the UN and the International Telecommunications Union, which coordinates international telephone communications. Their argument is that the Internet has become a powerful and dependent form of communications, that is dangerous and inequitable for one nation to control and manage.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Two-Way Radio Communications For The Bug-Out Bag
by Jonathan Hunt ATU 757
I know what you're thinking - great another article dedicated to the bug-out bag. And I agree, over last couple of weeks I've been preoccupied with this bugging out business. First we talked about children during a bug-out, then guns for the bug-out bag and here we go again with communications for the bug-out bag.
Trust me, I'm not turning the survivalist blog into another head for the hills bug-out site. I've had these ideas for sometime and originally planned to space the articles over several months, but since everyone seems to be interested in this subject, I've decided to go ahead and post my thoughts.
An area I haven't seen discussed in much detail is communications for the bug-out bag. Let me tell you before we start, that I'm not a radio geek and I'm sure some of you know more about radio communications than I do. That is why I've opened this discussion to give my thoughts and give readers a chance to share theirs.
A means of communication between members of your bug-out group could prove important or even be the difference between life and death. Members of your group could become separated or wounded while away from base camp or you may need a means of communication when coordinating offensive and defensive maneuvers.
The first consideration should be range and type of radio. Keep in mind that advertised ranges of 10 to 30 miles for the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) band radios are under ideal conditions, conditions that seldom exist in the real world. Actual range is often much less.
The average output for the hand-held GMRS band radios is around 1-2 watts. I'm not sure if this can be adjusted or if it is a fixed wattage set by the manufacturer? If anyone knows for sure we would like to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Legally to operate a radio using GMRS channels 1-7 and 15-22, you'll need to get a license issued by the FCC, although you do not need a license before purchasing a GMRS-capable two-way radios.
Family Radio Service (FRS) models are lower power units that operate with a half watt of power. They can transmit on 7 FRS channels and 7 shared FRS/GMRS channels (channels 1-7) for a total of 14 channels. No license is required to operate this type radio - the downside is limited range when compared with GMSR.
Variable power would be a good option. If you are talking a few yards you don't want to waste your batteries by broadcasting at full power 100% of the time.(Note) any radio—even if it has 2 watts of power—automatically switches down to a half-watt when operating on the 7 FRS-specific channels.
A variable power option will allow you to adjust output depending on the situation, saving power and lowering the possibility of your communications being monitored by a third and possible hostile party.
During an extended emergency having charged batteries will become a concern (also an excellent barter item). Most two-way radios run on standard AA or AAA batteries, these are small, light and cheap - perfect for building the cache.
When stocking up on batteries it's best to keep the one-size-fits-all concept in mind if possible. In other words try to standardize your lights, AM/FM/ shortwave, two-way radios and other devices so they use only one battery size - preferably AA.
Rechargeable's and compatible solar chargershould be considered. I would stay away from the Wal-Mart Rayovac green rechargeable's, I've had much better luck and extended usage from the Duracell Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable's they have lasted nearly twice as long.
I've purposely avoided suggesting makes and models of two-way radios for the bug-out bag, because there are so many choices with new models coming out nearly every day, my suggestions would quickly become dated and I only have experience with a limited number of models
I know what you're thinking - great another article dedicated to the bug-out bag. And I agree, over last couple of weeks I've been preoccupied with this bugging out business. First we talked about children during a bug-out, then guns for the bug-out bag and here we go again with communications for the bug-out bag.
Trust me, I'm not turning the survivalist blog into another head for the hills bug-out site. I've had these ideas for sometime and originally planned to space the articles over several months, but since everyone seems to be interested in this subject, I've decided to go ahead and post my thoughts.
An area I haven't seen discussed in much detail is communications for the bug-out bag. Let me tell you before we start, that I'm not a radio geek and I'm sure some of you know more about radio communications than I do. That is why I've opened this discussion to give my thoughts and give readers a chance to share theirs.
A means of communication between members of your bug-out group could prove important or even be the difference between life and death. Members of your group could become separated or wounded while away from base camp or you may need a means of communication when coordinating offensive and defensive maneuvers.
The first consideration should be range and type of radio. Keep in mind that advertised ranges of 10 to 30 miles for the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) band radios are under ideal conditions, conditions that seldom exist in the real world. Actual range is often much less.
The average output for the hand-held GMRS band radios is around 1-2 watts. I'm not sure if this can be adjusted or if it is a fixed wattage set by the manufacturer? If anyone knows for sure we would like to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Legally to operate a radio using GMRS channels 1-7 and 15-22, you'll need to get a license issued by the FCC, although you do not need a license before purchasing a GMRS-capable two-way radios.
Family Radio Service (FRS) models are lower power units that operate with a half watt of power. They can transmit on 7 FRS channels and 7 shared FRS/GMRS channels (channels 1-7) for a total of 14 channels. No license is required to operate this type radio - the downside is limited range when compared with GMSR.
Variable power would be a good option. If you are talking a few yards you don't want to waste your batteries by broadcasting at full power 100% of the time.(Note) any radio—even if it has 2 watts of power—automatically switches down to a half-watt when operating on the 7 FRS-specific channels.
A variable power option will allow you to adjust output depending on the situation, saving power and lowering the possibility of your communications being monitored by a third and possible hostile party.
During an extended emergency having charged batteries will become a concern (also an excellent barter item). Most two-way radios run on standard AA or AAA batteries, these are small, light and cheap - perfect for building the cache.
When stocking up on batteries it's best to keep the one-size-fits-all concept in mind if possible. In other words try to standardize your lights, AM/FM/ shortwave, two-way radios and other devices so they use only one battery size - preferably AA.
Rechargeable's and compatible solar chargershould be considered. I would stay away from the Wal-Mart Rayovac green rechargeable's, I've had much better luck and extended usage from the Duracell Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable's they have lasted nearly twice as long.
I've purposely avoided suggesting makes and models of two-way radios for the bug-out bag, because there are so many choices with new models coming out nearly every day, my suggestions would quickly become dated and I only have experience with a limited number of models
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