What have you done this week to prep? PART II

[Phase2]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Build over time and it is amazing how far you can go on the cheap. You don't need expensive MREs/freeze dried food to get started. Just being an INGOer, you certainly have the zombie-squashing hardware already handled.

I strongly recommend you listen to the following podcasts. They go well beyond what I've described- more in depth and into additional topics like documentation packs, etc. It is easy to get sucked into prepping hysteria, but The Survival Podcast is very practical and even-keeled. Very good newbie info.

Episode-1190- Holy Crap I Just Found Out Everything Isn’t Super – Part 1
Episode-1191- Holy Crap I Just Found Out Everything Isn’t Super – Part 2

 

[10-32]

As soon as I figure out HOW to program them, I have 6 UV-5R’s waiting in the wings.

I'm having an issue getting my PC to talk to the radio itself. I've tried on Windows Vista, 7.1, and 8.1 with no luck

 

[bwframe]

Shopping for N95 style respirators, but have really no idea what is best for short term use.

I dunno either, but I used this as an excuse to go ahead and pick up a couple N95 filtered face covers. I've been looking at gray man sort of face covers for a while to cover identity, in case that ever might be needed.

 

[churchmouse]

Thanks for the tips! I've been trying to keep up on this thread, but there is a lot of advantages ed stuff going. I havent had room for storage. Having just bought a larger house, the basement will be built to suit my needs/wants.

As of now, if feel extremely comfortable for 48-72hrs localized emergency.

Baby stuff, boo boo kits, 25 gal potable water, and several days worth of canned goods. Vehicles have the essentials for emergencies.

Next step is to get to a weeks worth, then start thinking longer term food supplies. Get home bag for each family member. As well as rebuilding my stay at home aka big med kit.

I have to ease into it because of funding, but I should meet my "week" goal in a few months.

72 hours is our emergency bug out kit. If we push it we could go another day on it.

Our pantry and reserves is set up for keeping 4 adults and 3 kids going for 30 days comfortably. If survival rationed it would stretch out past that to possibly 40.
Water is the key. Fuel for the gennys.

 

[Vigilant]

72 hours is our emergency bug out kit. If we push it we could go another day on it.

Our pantry and reserves is set up for keeping 4 adults and 3 kids going for 30 days comfortably. If survival rationed it would stretch out past that to possibly 40.
Water is the key. Fuel for the gennys.

Berkey my friend, you won’t be disappointed.

 

[Phase2]

Berkey my friend, you won’t be disappointed.

^Fantastic prep, even if absolutely nothing goes wrong. Filters all kinds of junk out of the water that most people are entirely ignorant of.

 

[churchmouse]

Berkey my friend, you won’t be disappointed.

We have some individual filters but nothing large enough to support the entre group.
This is on my list.

 

[Usmccookie]

72 hours is our emergency bug out kit. If we push it we could go another day on it.

Our pantry and reserves is set up for keeping 4 adults and 3 kids going for 30 days comfortably. If survival rationed it would stretch out past that to possibly 40.
Water is the key. Fuel for the gennys.

Ultimately, 30 days, and self sufficient power, heat, water is the bug in, disaster goal.
I hope to buy property that will operate off the grid long term.

I hope to accomplish these in the next 2 years.

 

[churchmouse]

Ultimately, 30 days, and self sufficient power, heat, water is the bug in, disaster goal.
I hope to buy property that will operate off the grid long term.

I hope to accomplish these in the next 2 years.

Nice target.

We have wood stoves and other heat sources.
Power is significant but it is only really needed until the food is gone from the refrigerators and freezers. Then cycled for light etc.
Water. The Berky's are what is needed and I have been remis n this. We have a crap ton of water stored but how much is actually enough.

 

[Phase2]

Nice target.

We have wood stoves and other heat sources.
Power is significant but it is only really needed until the food is gone from the refrigerators and freezers. Then cycled for light etc.
Water. The Berky's are what is needed and I have been remis n this. We have a crap ton of water stored but how much is actually enough.

A Berkey provides value long before any SHTF by providing cleaner/healthier water.

A cheap power source prep is an inverter. Although a dedicated generator has a lot of utility, it isn't something I'd recommend as an early prep. If the power is out at your house or locally, most everyone has a powerful generator handy- their car. Idle the engine, hook up an inverter and you can run a power line into your house to charge batteries, keep your frig cool, run fans, etc (depending on wattage). You can get a cheap one under $20 or a more capable one for around $40.

Amazon: Power Inverters

 

[Vigilant]

We have some individual filters but nothing large enough to support the entre group.
This is on my list.

The Big Berkey with all 2 filters installed will PURIFY not filter, PURIFY nearly 4 gallons per hour install two more filters and it jumps to 7 gph. It comes with 2 filters for about $280 Thats good for 6000 gallons of purified water, by purify, I mean it takes out bacteria and viruses. I have two Big Berkeys one for home us and one for camp use but they are both for preps, and I keep a spare set of blacks for each.(that’s the pricey part @ $120 a pair). We use it everyday for coffee, cooking, drinking.

 

[Usmccookie]

A Berkey provide value long before any SHTF by providing cleaner/healthier water.

A cheap power source prep is an inverter. Although a dedicated generator has a lot of utility, it isn't something I'd recommend as an early prep. If the power is out at your house or locally, most everyone has a powerful generator handy- their car. Idle the engine, hook up an inverter and you can run a power line into your house to charge batteries, keep your frig cool, run fans, etc (depending on wattage). You can get a cheap one under $20 or a more capable one for around $40.

Amazon: Power Inverters

That's interesting. I never thought about it powering anything in the house. I am notorious gift always charging things while I'm driving.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I'm having an issue getting my PC to talk to the radio itself. I've tried on Windows Vista, 7.1, and 8.1 with no luck

Maybe we can get a meet and program going. So far you and Vigilant both need assistance and are both near me.

Have you tried this software? And what cable do you have? There is one out there that is known to be trouble. Its the cheap one. As I recall there's a sub $10 cable and a $19 cable. The cheap one is hit or miss.

https://trac.chirp.danplanet.com/chirp_daily/LATEST/

 

[Vigilant]

Maybe we can get a meet and program going. So far you and Vigilant both need assistance and are both near me.

Have you tried this software? And what cable do you have? There is one out there that is known to be trouble. Its the cheap one. As I recall there's a sub $10 cable and a $19 cable. The cheap one is hit or miss.

https://trac.chirp.danplanet.com/chirp_daily/LATEST/

Id gladly buy you a burger in exchange for getting these radios from paper weight to tx/rx. Well mostly rx until I get my ticket.

 

[churchmouse]

A Berkey provides value long before any SHTF by providing cleaner/healthier water.

A cheap power source prep is an inverter. Although a dedicated generator has a lot of utility, it isn't something I'd recommend as an early prep. If the power is out at your house or locally, most everyone has a powerful generator handy- their car. Idle the engine, hook up an inverter and you can run a power line into your house to charge batteries, keep your frig cool, run fans, etc (depending on wattage). You can get a cheap one under $20 or a more capable one for around $40.

Amazon: Power Inverters

Trust that we know about inverters. My Chevy conversion van has a fairly serious one in it.
I have built used and passed along a series of excellent battery banks with dual invertors in them.

Thing is we have far more needs that a simple $20 inverter will cover. Between the 2 houses and the shop on the compound there are 4 big refrigerators and a deep freeze. Plus the possibility of running the furnace blowers if we need to.
2 ample output gennys and a inverter genny for clean power where it is needed.

That we are all sharing this info will assist the new folks coming into becoming prepared. The car/invertor thing will get people some power when they need it.

 

[churchmouse]

The Big Berkey with all 2 filters installed will PURIFY not filter, PURIFY nearly 4 gallons per hour install two more filters and it jumps to 7 gph. It comes with 2 filters for about $280 Thats good for 6000 gallons of purified water, by purify, I mean it takes out bacteria and viruses. I have two Big Berkeys one for home us and one for camp use but they are both for preps, and I keep a spare set of blacks for each.(that’s the pricey part @ $120 a pair). We use it everyday for coffee, cooking, drinking.

Interesting.

 

[woowoo2]

Thing is we have far more needs that a simple $20 inverter will cover. Between the 2 houses and the shop on the compound there are 4 big refrigerators and a deep freeze. Plus the possibility of running the furnace blowers if we need to.
2 ample output gennys and a inverter genny for clean power where it is needed.

And those cheap inverters put out some ugly waveforms.
I will stick with the small inverting gensets.

 

[churchmouse]

And those cheap inverters put out some ugly waveforms.
I will stick with the small inverting gensets.

Exactly.

 

[Vigilant]

I also took out inspected and lubed my ESEE’s, a little bit of rust on the Izula which I rectified immediately, and just a wipe down and relive on the 4, 6, and Junglas. Cameramonkey got me thinking about batteries, and I checked all the non lithium units, and sure enough alkaline batteries have killed my Black Diamond head lamp!Hopfully some contact cleaner and fresh lithium’s will fix it up, it weren’t a cheap one. I’d never really had Duracell’s leak, until I did.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Id gladly buy you a burger in exchange for getting these radios from paper weight to tx/rx. Well mostly rx until I get my ticket.

Maybe we can find a time in the next couple weeks to get together over a burger with 10-32 in Plainfield. We can all bring our laptops and I can walk you guys through how to program them and the ins and outs of programming these things. THis coming week I'm booked solid in the evenings. Next week should be better.

This is the cable I was talking about BTW.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HUB0ONK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1