Your Ideal Doomsday Survival Situation/Prepper Thread

[Shady Bill]

Trapping animals is a much more efficient and easy way to get animal protein than active hunting. You set your traps, you go to bed, next day you check traps and eat. That simple. I used to make gloves and hats from beaver skins. Absolutely wonderful work and hobby. Scrapping the skin, stretching the fur pelts over downed trees and salt them and let them dry in the sun.

Nothing insulates like beaver belts. Also traps, if taken care of and oiled will last 50+ years. Good quality traps, not garbage ones.

I think it is interesting how different a "post-apocalyptic" event would unfold depending on where you live. What weapons people are allowed to own, based on their governments etc. A post apocalyptic Europe would be very different from a post apocalyptic America or any other place in the world. Each place having different hardships and circumstances.


I would be thinking more "post-apocalyptic" in the sense that there would be no more power, no internet, no global or local communications outside analog radio, no more satellite services, no more local governance etc.

More so than like a post-nuclear world.

[Eichhörnchen]

^ Yes this thread caught my eye the other day but I haven't got around to back-reading it properly yet. However, Bill makes the very good point - so often missed by US cousins - that it would be so different for us lot in Europe: you guys have this 'frontier history' and all the rich knowledge that comes down to you from it

Me, well all I can think I'd do is hole up in one of the many concrete 'pill boxes' still common around here - often along rivers so I'd be able to get my protein easily from fishing. And in the corner would be my AK-47 (my weapon of choice) but failing that a Lee Enfield .303 No4, with which I was once a marksman

[Shady Bill]

Originally Posted by Eichhörnchen

^
Me, well all I can think I'd do is hole up in one of the many concrete 'pill boxes' still common around here - often along rivers so I'd be able to get my protein easily from fishing. And in the corner would be my AK-47 (my weapon of choice) but failing that a Lee Enfield .303 No4, with which I was once a marksman

Yea I often have thought about that. I don't think I'd survive well in that sort of setting. I was in the Marine Corps in the 90s and was part of Operation Urban Warrior, after the whole mess in Somalia, they felt we needed more extensive training in "city block to city block" warfare. They even built a makeshift town for us to train in. Urban warfare gets messy quick.

The .303 is a wonderful cartridge. Excellent choice for marksmanship. I used to be mostly a fan of the .338 when I resided in moose country, but as I got older I stepped down to the .308 which is more in line with deer.

I also have a .22 for small game and I have my shotguns for rabbit and home defense.

[Shady Bill]

Originally Posted by Eichhörnchen

And in the corner would be my AK-47 (my weapon of choice)

I actually never shot one of those. Always wanted to I will admit.

Craziest thing I shot was the M47 "Dragon", what we called it. Having to drag that pos around the field was hilarious.

[Eichhörnchen]

As Army Cadets we used the .22 'cadet rifle' on indoor ranges only - 303 for outdoors (I absolutely loved our weekends at the Army ranges in Sittingbourne, Shoreham etc)

As for the AK it always seems to me to present an automatic weapon with decent single-shot accuracy. The FN FAL self-loading rifle we used, on the other hand, was not liked by target-shooters who always would choose the Lee Enfield

[ET2SN]

Originally Posted by Shady Bill

I actually never shot one of those. Always wanted to I will admit.

Craziest thing I shot was the M47 "Dragon", what we called it. Having to drag that pos around the field was hilarious.

It almost sounds like you're in Maine.

My old stomping grounds were in Aroostook county.
I had an unofficial "older brother" who was a Game Warden and I used help out when he had to dynamite culverts that the beaver dammed up.

If you're young and dumb, dynamite is a lot of fun.

This was back when the budgets weren't so hot and a lot of those sticks were well-past their "use by" date. You couldn't help but get Nitro on your fingers and we would (carefully) flick it at the ground where it would "fizzle".

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Shady Bill

I would be thinking more "post-apocalyptic" in the sense that there would be no more power, no internet, no global or local communications outside analog radio, no more satellite services, no more local governance etc.

More so than like a post-nuclear world.

I don't know how the rules for a breakdown of society is in USA. Here the Government has made some laws which says that Electricity, Water and electronic must under any circumstances work. This is for the authorities and other important institute. Hospital, care homes, school a.s.o.

When people mention things like a post-apocalyptic where there's no electricity, no water, no electronic a.s.o

Indicate for me that either my area of the planet has been hit by some major solar eruption or nukes has been used.

Markus

[Shady Bill]

Originally Posted by ET2SN

out when he had to dynamite culverts that the beaver dammed up.

I remember doing that in the past. We would have a terrible time with beavers causing flooding when I was young. So I started trapping them.

My friend would get half sticks of dynamite and we would just blast these dams. Yea dynamite hunting is real effective. I think the crazy guy might just have bought a ton of M-80 fireworks from Mexico. He would tie those together in long strings and just blow up stuff in the woods. Crazy kids..

I am a strong proponent of alcohol's medicinal properties, but I learned early on in life that you never drink and drive, and you never set beaver traps with a couple of beers in you. People think beavers slowly die in traps, and that it is inhumane....its instant death, those things can take your leg off instantly.

[August]

Originally Posted by mapuc

I don't know how the rules for a breakdown of society is in USA. Here the Government has made some laws which says that Electricity, Water and electronic must under any circumstances work. This is for the authorities and other important institute. Hospital, care homes, school a.s.o.

I must be missing something in translation Markus because what good are government laws if society has broken down? That's like ordering Flight Attendants to keep a fully stocked beverage cart on a plane that has already crashed into a mountain.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by August

I must be missing something in translation Markus because what good are government laws if society has broken down? That's like ordering Flight Attendants to keep a fully stocked beverage cart on a plane that has already crashed into a mountain.

You are so right Dave.

I toke it from what I heard in an issue some weeks ago. Where the reporter said that the government had made some "in-case-of-laws" and he said that things like electricity, water a.s.o should be working despite collapse/shortage on electricity.

I guess you right and I....must have heard something wrong.

Markus

[August]

Originally Posted by mapuc

You are so right Dave.

I toke it from what I heard in an issue some weeks ago. Where the reporter said that the government had made some "in-case-of-laws" and he said that things like electricity, water a.s.o should be working despite collapse/shortage on electricity.

I guess you right and I....must have heard something wrong.

Markus

Maybe but who can tell these days? Some folks put great faith in laws and regulations.

[Skybird]

Its the darker half of the year again, and that means I have my Baby Specials (yes, plural) more in use again, for I just love the warm cozy and still surprisingly bright light they make.



This is as proven a design as it can get, there must be reasons why the design has not been changed and even the manfucturing method has not been changed since 125 years.

One tank filling is 330ml maximum, I recommend to measure only 300ml separately and then fill it into an emptyd lamp, because the thing leaks if you overfill it, and petroleum is extremely difficult to see in the tank, you canot judge how high the liquid level stands (water you see easier). The flame should stand still, should not flicker, because then it overconsumes , and also consumes the wick, and quite quickly. Cold and warm air stream s in side the lamp are part of their design, and why they burn brighter than candle flames, if the flam eflicker,s the physical system inside this is not balanced, burn sub-optimal: reduced brightness, more gas building and more smell and wick consummation can be the result. Manage the flame height correctly, temps will be optimal then, air will cirulate as wnasted by design, and all is good, and the wick will live for years. One filling should last 20 hours, and longer.

Use good, highly cleaned petroleum, then it does not smell at all. Buy cheap stinky petroleum, and you will regret it if using it inside. You can use petroleum lights inside (like you can use petroleum ovens as well, of course you can...) , our forefathers did that for generations, mind you, just act a bit sensible and reasonable and occasionally make sure that some frehs air can get in. Modern man and modern laws are simply so anxious of just everything that that it borders neurotism. If you want, you can use a CO and a CO2 detector.

Preferred light choice for prepper'S ambitions. One bottle of 1l petroleum gives you light for 60-70 hours - power and solar independent.

If you ever had stinky petroleum in use, not only wash out the lamp tank as best as you can, but also change the wick. The stink never goes away from the wick, you cannot wash it out by using clean petroleum.

Ever again people complain their lamps would leak. The manfucaturer says they have 30-40 leaky lamps in 100,000 produced. The leak is in fact most often from mishandling the lamp. Either too much petroleum was filled in, or after shutting it down, people let the wick show up, or just blow it out. Thats is not what you do. Do not blow it out, it consumes the wick, but turn the little key so that the wick sinks into the sink, until the flame dies. Then leave the wick inside the capsule, so that it does not reach out. If the wick shows, capillar effect will soak petroleum from the tank to the top of the wick , which then gets wet, and then starts to drip - and then you have the "leak".

The flames will stay stable and will not flicker if you adjust wick height to have the flame between 1 and 2 cm. More it should not be, and must not be. You can increase it more, yes, and if you never saw a cold air petroleum lamp burning you might be surprised how bright it can become, but the flame will flicker then and the wick will be consumed fast.

I have one in red, and one in anthrazit/cast iron look. I love these lamps since my childhood. Nothing beats the light from open fire.

[Skybird]

Placed an order for a high quality short wave receiver ("world receiver"). While i have two dynamo/solar-charged radios for emergency, They lack quality to be useful ove rreal long distances and shortwave. Why this might be relevant? Becasue if the government does not want the population to know certain things and certain info not being broadcasted, it might just shut down radio stations or have them sending propaganda, and then it might be useful if you can access radio from several thousand kilometers away: from other countries, maybe even other continents.

I opted for this, I already have their survival radio and am quite impressed with the feature, performance and build quality of it.



He reaches almost 10500 kilometers out (with an external fixed antenna) !

The survival radio I mentioned, I absolutely recommend this model, at least to have one such radio in your household, no matter whcih model). The only difference is the one I have looks like in the video, but has an additional digital FM receiver (DAB).



They are moving more and more to digital radio, so the DAB feature makes sense: but only as long as the local media infrastructure still can maintain digital raido in case of a real emergency. Then it might be useful if you can reach long range and to other countries or continents, even if that needs you to run short wave/non-digital. I am living under the roof, and via cable connection from my balcony can wire the whole roof truss and turn it into an antenna, if need be.



Heck, I hope I do not mix up short and long wave here, I know not much about this stuff.

[Skybird]

You fight like you have trained. You live like you have prepped. Practice beats theory!

https://www-focus-de.translate.goog/..._x_tr_pto=wapp

[Skybird]

Amazing what a difference some meters of copper wire can do. The radio has arrived and I tested it during last night, and this evening again. I used the included 7m wire antenna for SW, also played around with a separate 5m cable I still had left from I don'T know when, attached it to the radio'S telescope antenna (which is 1m or so...). I was surprised what difference that made to the telescope antenna alone. What difference it made to use the wire not inside but outside the appartment, on the balcony, around 7m above ground. An no,no wall of steel concrete betweee my flat and balcony, only wood and glas.

German transmitters on SW and MW are all dead and gone, it seems. MW saw plenty of British stations, speaking English with unmistakable British accents. Many such stations, the band is almost crowded with them. A few French and exotic languages as well. Almost in FM quality came a monster transmitter from Spain, listed in my - improvised - list with 2000MW energy. Wasting energy has a charme of its own.

Mostly silence (white noise) on LW band, but a few things I caught up. Two English stations that did religous programs and spoke with strong American accents (I beleive I also caught one of such programs in MW, but I am not certain, the signal was not good). A Japanese-French program, apparently a radio-language course, so I cannot say whether it came from Japan, or France. One or two Spanish language things, two or three exotic languages, and one other that I clearly identified as native Japanese; then, no surprise, : a Chinese, and another Asian language station, that maybe was Korean, but I can reliably only say it was neither Chinese nor Japanese.


Only very few of these statioosn however wopuld be of use in case of emergency: being strogn enough in signla and being in English so that I could actually understand them. In case of huge desasters however it might be possible that some classic stations get reactivated for emergency duty, if the hardware was not destroyed.


Disconnecting the wire atennas, and most of all this immediately disappears in white noise. And over day it is more difficult to receive.

Well, first lessons for the total radio newbie that I am. And no, it will not become a new hobby, most likely not. Just wanted to say that the machine I bought really makes a HUGE difference to ordinary normal radios.

If you have any tips to improve receiving, and that do not include complicated additional electronics and constructions, but relate to how to improvise best with simple wire antennas, let me know, please.

I read that BBC had reactivated two programs for Ukraine due to the war one in the 19m band at 15735KHz from 16-18H, and the other in the 49m band at 5875KHz, broadcasting from 22-00H, but I find nothign in that frequency ran ge. Are they already switched off again? I would have expected to be able to catch them, with Germany sitting between the UK and the Ukraine.



I also read that MW still seems to be very common in the US, but most of them will not make it over the pond, I assume, are just reigonal small stations with too low power output. And in Britain MW also still seems to be alive, obviously. Man, over here they seem to own the MW band...


In Germany, FM was planned to be dead by now, replaced first with DAB a decade ago, which was a dud, and then DAB+, which works decently, but the technical execution and the demand of radio listeners made them giving new licenses until at least 2032 or 2034, DAB+ still are not selling too well. MW however is dead, so is LW, all german transmitters are switched off, often already are destroyed. In case of emergency, our dependency on internet communication and digital radio (short range) can badly backfire. I will never understand how one can be so stupid to have given up the telephone cable network just for VoIP, and even give up Deutschlandfunk on LW and MW. Redundancy is a foreign word for bureaucrats and bean counters. And not one German radio transmitter capable to cover all Germany...? Only short ranged FM (UKW) regional transmitters and DAB+?

If I am wrong, point me to it, please. As I said, I am a total noob (though with physics classes at school...) regarding radios, absolutely possible that I miss something.