Minicast Episode 11: Supreme Court Rules on NSA Spy program

March 6, 2013 by 2 Comments

fort_gordon


Tuesday February 26th the Supreme Court issued a ruling that insulated the government from illegally spying on Americans and others.

How so, well the court dismissed the lawsuit by saying that the defendants couldn’t prove they had been spied upon illegally, and that is because the government refuses to conduct an investigation into what information has been obtained and from whom.  Now Senators Wyden and Udall asked the Inspector General for the Intelligence Services to conduct an investigation, they were told by the IG they would not, why? Because they didn’t have the resources to check as well as if they did investigate, merely finding illegally obtained info would violate that persons privacy…crazy right?

 

Notes:


Minicast Episode 11: Supreme Court Rules on NSA Spy program [ 38:30 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1846)
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Minicast Episode 3: Apartment Prepping

November 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Today we talk about things you can do to prep inside of an apartment if you have no other choice other than to bug in at that location.

  • Security for the Front Door
  • Prepping inside a small space, space efficiency
  • Urban hunting
  • Apartment gardens and water collectiion
  • Insulating and heat efficiency

 

NOTES:

I talked about hiding things in a hollow core interior door, one way is to cut a hole, drop what you need in, fill it up and then patch that hole.  You will want to make sure that these are items you dont need to get every month or this will quickly become a wasted effort.  You can probably figure out how to cut a hole, here is a youtube Vid on how to patch that hole.

 

Here are also a few cool ways to hide smaller objects in a door, without cutting it out.

Flash Drive/Cash Door Hiding spot

Cigar Tube Door Hiding Spot

Also take a look at my post a few days ago on Hiding Places in your home and Property for a few more ideas.

 

 

Products for Door Bracing

MASTERLOCK Door Brace

 

ONGUARD Metal plate door brace is a bit more pricey but is said to be able to withstadn 1775 lbs of force.

Window Insulation

3m Is my favorite and what I use for the winter months, but there are others

 

DEFENSE/HUNTING

Listen to my show on Firearms, and listen to the Shotgun section on home defense

 

As for the small game pellet/bbguns

I would get a Cheap Crossman 760 Pellet/BB pump Air gun, you can use both pellets and bb’s in this weapon. I would also look at something like the Daisy Powerline Pistol, so that you can carry that with you if you are foraging for animals in the city but away from your area so a “rifle’ doesnt draw attention walking around.  I still have my old Diana Pneumatic Pellet Gun from when i was a kid, it was built in “West Germany” to tell you how old it is and its still shooting true.

I know Diana makes rifles still and i have heard good things about the Diana 34 Meisterschutze its more spendy but its shoots at over 1000 fps (feet per second).

 

*Links in this post are amazon affiliate links which will give this site a small commission upon purchase, this goes to defray the costs of maintaining the site, podcast and forum*


Minicast: Episode 3: Apartment Prepping [ 24:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1677)
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Product Review: MURS Radio/MAT Sensor

November 2, 2012 by 2 Comments

 

Rob over at Murs-Radio.com sent me The M538HT Radio and the MAT (MURS Alert Transmitter) Sensor to review and give away in this months Prepper Contest!

I have had a decent amount of experience with radios over the years while i was in the Marine Corps and Contracting, from PRC 119′s to Motorola XT 5000′s.  Back home I have a few different radios, mainly just the GMRS/FRS Motorola handhelds they sell as Sporting good shops.

The main thing that separates the MURS handhelds here and the Motorola’s I have at the house, and you probably do also, is the frequency that they run on a different Frequencies.

Most radios you buy run on the GMRS/FRS hybrid system.

Channels 1-7 are strictly GMRS but you dont need a license IF you are transmitting over 1/2 watt of power, 8-14 are strictly license free FRS (Family Radio Service)

With MURS radios, you get an altogether different frequency, So you have an added layer of security with your communications.

That is, if you have a Talkabout on Channel 1 and a MURS radio on Channel 1, You CANT hear each other, because its like trying to put your toyota key in the ford’s ignition, It just DUNT work!

MURS radios allow the use of external antennas for farther reach, and the antennas on the radios come off and you can plug a larger antenna into it.

MURS operates on VHF, which works better for outdoors and hilly terrain, while standard GMRS/FRS radios run on UHF which works better at penetrating building so you can talk inside to outside.

 

HERES MY VIDEO REVIEW, SHOWING YOU A FEW THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH THEM. FOR FULL SCREEN CLICK HERE

 

The MAT sensor is an AWESOME piece of gear for a homestead or property to have to keep 24/7 eyes on different places/avenues of approach on your property.

When the sensor is tripped it will send out a signal to your radios with a warning for 4 different sectors, you can program each sensor to send what Zone # you want.

The sensor’s can detect roughly up to 80 feet and with the standard antenna depending on vegetation and conditions get the alert from about 600 feet away. After the sensor is tripped, it resets after 30 seconds, so the same “thing” that tripped it the first time will only continue to if it stays in the area, which is nice, so your radio doesn’t continuously go off!

Basically you set up the transmitters in areas you want to have covered, and this can vary depending of course on your circumstances.

 


 

SCENARIO….

You have a transmitter to cover your driveway (ZONE 1), the path across the creek (ZONE 2), three covering the field behind the barn (ZONE 3) and another on the rear of the house (ZONE 4).

 

So if you have a group of hoodlums that drive up your driveway your MAT will send an alert to your radio “ALERT ZONE 1, ALERT ZONE 1″

So you shoot a warning shot, they dump out the truck and scatter.  A couple of them wind through the woods and come in through the field, now on those three sensors start going off “ALERT ZONE 3, ALERT ZONE 3″

You get the idea.

You can also just set them up in your garage, cabin, wherever.

As far as in a homesteading “wanting to know” environment, set them up in areas where most people would enter your property from, well worn trails, roads, etc.

In a SHTF things have gotten slightly mad max and desperate, you will want to CREATE avenues of approach to your property and employ this system and others to get the full use out of them.  By that i mean, you arent’ going to go all medieval and wall yourself off in an impregnable fortress. SO the best thing to do is to create obstacles and “Pain in the asses” so that people that are going to approach your homestead, home, property will naturally be funneled into certain areas, these areas can be monitored with the MAT sensor, and wallah, you know if something is on a well used trail southside of your property at 1 am, and not when its busting down your door!

 

MURS systems have decent range, but these ARE NOT going to be used in some Patriots the coming collapse Long range Reconnaissance Patrol (which is highly unlikely anyways). These radios can be upgraded with larger antennas and such, and the base station can be hooked to very large and powerful antennas for longer range, but for the base models, and small budget preppers out there, this is a GREAT radio for the homestead or retreat property.

 

Like i mentioned at the beginning, the MURS radio cannot be heard by anyone who is walking around with the Cabelas Motorola Talkabouts, so you have that added layer of security.  Dont get me wrong the Talkabouts are great radios i still kept mine, and they would be useful if anyone you know or wanted to contact had those as well. More is better folks, and redundant forms of comms are a must.

For the homesteader i already laid out a scenario for you, but for the suburban prepper, who is reading this going, great you can detect a deer or person crossing the creek near your house, i have a 1/2 acre fenced yard and a garage, what good is this for me?

Well you can set this puppy up in the the garden beds at the front and rear of your home as well as in the garage, so you can know if any a-holes are trying to break in, or if ANYTHING is in the area, being a fenced property, nothing GOOD should be in there at 2am right?  Its a nice system because you can just set it up, turn it on at night and have a base station next to your bed.  For the money a ADT system will cost you you can set this up and this MURS/MAT system can be used to communicate with each other and moved to a retreat property or bug out location whenever you need it to be, can your ADT do that?

 

I also think it would make a great “security” item if you have been having issues with pests or rabbits in your gardens out back as well!

I have a YOUTUBE REVIEW of the system, which shows some of the uses and how it can be employed.

MURS-RADIO.COM has a multitude of gear, its good and a good company to boot.

Head over there and help support those who support us!

 

 


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Episode 11: Firearms Primer

October 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

Today we finish the “Gun podcast” that I started on in Episode 10, We Talk about everything from revolvers to Assault  Rifles.  This isnt a comprehensive talk on EVERY weapon out there, This is focusing on my areas of expertise and the common rifles, pistols, etc. out there that you should look at for your home and preps.

This episode I talk about:

  • Pistol, Revolvers and Semi-Autos, what are the big differences?
  • Shotguns, Why they are the BEST home defense weapon available
  • Assault Rifles, why I pick the AR and other options for you out there.
  • Why “Tac’ing” out your weapon can be useful or just a waste of your money (see above photo!)
  • What not to waste your money on ‘cool’ toys, focus on whats really needed
Episode 11: Firearms Primer [ 1:36:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2082)

NOTES:

  • I mentioned shooting a Moose with a 5.56….I have never done it personally, but there are stories of folks who have, successfully, but often had to shoot multiple times and spend hours tracking it down after lung shots.  Yes its possible, Yes in a survival situation you COULD do this, but its NOT ideal, not a 2nd or 3rd Choice in my book.  I meant to convey it in these terms, but after listening to the podcast, it didnt come out as i wanted and I dont want my fellow hunters getting on my butt about it!
  • Great Book on Tactical Shooting called GREEN EYES BLACK RIFLES by Kyle Lamb, This is a TACTICAL shooting guide, but very helpful in honing your skills
  • I cut out about 45 minutes of the podcast because it was already TOOO LONG, so the sections i cut out were on AR- Modifications, and Precision Rifles (i.e. what people call ‘sniper’ rifles) so it wasnt THAT pertinent to the podcast, but i figured over 90 minutes was long enough!

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Improvised Early Warning Systems

June 15, 2012 by 1 Comment

One of main lines of defense for any retreat or home in a collapse scenario will be your early warning systems.  That being something that lets you know someone or something is in the immediate area and you need to be on the alert.

THE DOG- A standard warning device would be the dog, mans best friend and a great asset to your home defense, you will need a well disciplined dog that you spend alot of time with training to get him/her where you need them to be.  A bark in the middle of the night may only be an answer to another dog, or it may be intruders in your yard, so you need to train them to only react to non-family member humans who are in “your space”.

THE CAN- The old tin can with rocks has been around since cans became common, and has been used constantly because it is very useful.  This being said you will need to make sure the cans are made less conspicuous and not shiny or it may be worthless.  Take stakes/pegs/sticks and drive them into the ground around the area you want to be covered, and string the cans through a trip wire, which you can use MIL tripwire or fishing line, anything you want or have available.  The line however must be taught, so that any movement makes the ‘rattle’ you need to hear.  The height of the line should be around ankle height, as you want it to be not to low as to be walked over and not to high so that it is  easily visible.

THE BELL- Instead of using cans you can use Bells such as those around at Christmas time, you can set up the trip wire just the same, and just attach the bells with at least one for every section.  These actually work better than the cans as they are more easily disturbed.

THE METAL PLATE- This is a play on the tin can, but using a can or any holding device that barely holds rocks/bolts/etc. in it and when disturbed will dump the contents onto a metal plate/object below it making a large clanging and unmistakeable sound.

THE GRAVEL YARD- This is a simple and yet very effective way to mitigate any intruders/looters from approaching your home without being heard.  A simple 10 foot wide circle around your immediate home/defensive area will make sure no one can easily cross it.  Even tip-toeing across gravel produces and audible “crunch” sound and it its covered in grass clippings it will be nearly undetectable at night until it is stepped upon.

THE PIN ALARM- Originally designed for personal protection, this simple device will emit 130db alarm when the strap is pulled from the alarm set by a pin. This could be set in a purse or handbag and if it was being lifted would go off.  However these cheap items can be used as simple trip wire device.  These can be set on doors, windows, gates, trip wires, etc. anything that can be opened or tripped on that would pull the pin from the device.

THE BIRTHDAY CARD ALARM- The advent of the musical/recordable birthday card offers a easy way to offer simple yet effective security in the home.  Whenever you get these cards hold onto them, and try and get ones from birthdays, anniversary’s, etc. from your friends and family.  As seen in the photo above on the left is the speaker and the right is the circuit, in the center of the circuit you can see the battery and below that is a metal clip with a white piece of paper underneath.  When the card is opened the white strip of paper is pulled out and the clip makes contact with the circuit and the music plays.  There are ways of reprogramming the circuit so you can play something else like an alarm but that is a bit technical so just google “reprogramming greeting card music”.  With this you can simple tape it to a door or window and have the paper on the opposite side, when it is opened….ding a ling a ling……I wrote a post about this as well

THE MOTION DETECTOR- Most of us are aware of the motion detector lights that most people put up over driveways or the detectors for use indoors wired into ADT like home alarm systems.  There are cheap 9v battery operated motion detectors that emit a alarm, however you should be wary and do your homework as some are known to go off for no reason, but it is still an option.

THE TINY TREE-  This can be used in conjunction the tin can tripwire, you can tie the can with the rocks to the twig and tie the tripwire to the sapling which moves freely, so when the line is jiggled the can moves violently as well.  You can also attach the line without a can to the line and the watchman in a camp environment can watch the line and the tree if he sees the tree move, there is something hitting the line.  Should go without saying, given the title, but a large tree isnt going to move!

 

GREAT NORTHERN PREPPER OUT


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