what did you do this week to prepare

[TomChemEngineer]

Finished "One Second After", got freaked out about EMP Attacks so did some fact checking and confirmed my increasing paranoia, started eating better, cut back on drinking beer (as much), sorted through the backpack and relearned how to use my stove and the little cookpots, got a bunch of charcoal briquets for storage and rotating through, practiced making a little hobo stove out of and empty steel can that can use any kind of little kindling for fuel...pretty cool, looked at wood-burning add-on furnaces for the house, continued detailed meal planning for the Food Storage (store what you eat and eat what you store), researched some wheat grinders...the good ones aren't inexpensive... I think I'll substitite pasta and beans/ rice for a lot of the wheat but still get a good whole wheat bread recipe and figure out how many loaves need to be made per week for a number of people. Put some more gasoline in Sta-Bil storage. Also, I continue to make myself invaluable to my employer (ha) since I would like to continue to get a paycheck for as long as I can! Looked at Pressure Canners. Practiced with the .45 and found a bookstore that carries Backwoods Home and Mother Earth News.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

It's too much to write here just go to these threads to see!!
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=8424

I think you'll see what I mean.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...990#post149990

[Rick]

Talked with my Doc today about necessary meds. He prescribed Cipro 500 Mg as a broad spectrum antibiotic and it's good for water born disease as well. He also prescribed Vicodin 5-500 tables for pain should we break a leg or similar. He also prescribed Amoxicillin 500 Mg for my grandkids should they be alone and something happen like Giardia. They can't take the Cipro because of their age. He said the Cipro and Vicodin were all anyone needed to cover them until they we able to reach medical help. He's a hiker and backpacker so he understood where I was coming from.

I also picked up a Galaxy DX 949 CB/SSB to build on my communications plan.

[oldsoldier]

I also picked up a Galaxy DX 949 CB/SSB to build on my communications plan.[/QUOTE]

Great choice of a cb radio pair that up with a wilson 5000 antenna and you'll have an unbeatable combination.

[Rick]

I'm using a Wilson K30. I have the worst engine noise. I ran hot straight from the battery (fused of course) into the radio and grounded to body at the radio. The noise seems to be coming from the antenna. It was on the roof of the cab. I installed a metal plate on the top of the fiberglass capper and ran a ground down to the frame. Noise is still there. I've change the connector at the back of the radio. Still noisy. I have a noise filter ordered and I'm going to ground the exhaust system tomorrow.

[Ken]

I'm using a Wilson K30. I have the worst engine noise. I ran hot straight from the battery (fused of course) into the radio and grounded to body at the radio. The noise seems to be coming from the antenna. It was on the roof of the cab. I installed a metal plate on the top of the fiberglass capper and ran a ground down to the frame. Noise is still there. I've change the connector at the back of the radio. Still noisy. I have a noise filter ordered and I'm going to ground the exhaust system tomorrow.

Try pulling it off of your AM/FM power lead.

[Rick]

I don't think it will matter. It's a truck and I don't think there is any "clean" power on it. That's why I ran straight from the battery. It's not the fuel pump because I don't hear it with the key on but not running. It's either the alternator or plug wires or both. Hopefully, adding the filter and grounding the exhaust will stop the noise.

[oldsoldier]

I'm using a Wilson K30. I have the worst engine noise. I ran hot straight from the battery (fused of course) into the radio and grounded to body at the radio. The noise seems to be coming from the antenna. It was on the roof of the cab. I installed a metal plate on the top of the fiberglass capper and ran a ground down to the frame. Noise is still there. I've change the connector at the back of the radio. Still noisy. I have a noise filter ordered and I'm going to ground the exhaust system tomorrow.

I think once you've installed the inline noise filter your engine noise will drop dramatically. As for antenna noise. If you have the noise with the engine idling try reaching up and grabing the metal part of your antenna. If the noise stops or is greatly reduced then you aren't getting a good ground. BUT if there is no reduction in the noise then it's not a grounding issue, I also recommend once you finish your install that you go to a good radio shop and get your SWR ( standing wave resistance) checked and set it should be under 3 preferably as close to 0-1 as possible. High SWR= lower radio preformance and possible radio damage.

[Rick]

The DX 949 has a built in SWR meter. I'm below 2 on Channels 1, 20 and 40 with 40 being a bit higher. I think Channel 1 was something like 1.5 and 40 was 1.9. I can probably trim the antenna and fix that but I spent most of the day working on noise. Of course Dodge doesn't engineer for a radio so you have install them in weird places. That was fun, too.

Good call on touching the antenna. I'll try that first thing. I may have to solder the connectors and wire brush the frame where I connected.

[oly]

cut back on drinking beer (as much), .

Send it to me to guard it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get beer here? OK I was just joking.

This is the way I look at life. If I live through a natural or man made turbulence, I can survive, If not? then Its a good day to die...

[oldsoldier]

Rick yes the cleaner the connection the better the ground. Trimming the antenna is a good idea when you can with the swr readings you have its not an emergency. However if you know someone who does radio work I'd still have the SWR checked with a better meter as built in meters tend to be inacurate.

[Ponce]

My new engine lathe came in and that should put some food on my table if needed.

Twenty five years ago I was a machinist but never been a farmer so that I getting ready with what I know best.......

[TomChemEngineer]

Dug the backup generator out of the basement and got it running (after cleaning out the carb, taking the fuel line off, cleaning out the gunk, dumping the fuel tank and putting it back on with new StaBilized fuel, etc etc) and am committed to keeping it in the garage, starting it every week and letting it run for a little while to cycle the fuel through it and keep it limber. I still have not bought the transfer switch from Lowes ($270), but I am carefully considering other expedient options for connecting it to the house in case of power-down... very carefully. My son suggested that we build a little secure, metal generator building for it out behind the house so I don't have to roll it out every week...that's my boy! I'd like to have a propane genny, but this one was given to me by my sister, so free gennys beat out all other types... like free beer beats all other labels.
I found a kindred spirit in two folks that I work with, so if President Obama doesn't do anything to eliminate more jobs, that will come in handy. Oops, my political undergarments are showing.
Cycled the M-1 Carbine and reconnected with the nice, short little rifle. I still like it after all these years. Referenced some Military tactical manuals, and I am still amazed how much knowledge my tax dollars have developed.
Committed myself to reducing debt, now to convince my wife. Learned more about hobo stoves made from tin cans (is this subliminally related to reducing debt?). A couple more bags of charcoal went into the garage.
Incrementally increased people-food and pet food for the pantry. Learned about plastic buckets/ sealing mylar bags/ and oxygen absorbers for grain storage and checked out local feed store for bulk wheat and corn. Decided that the grain mill that I want is WAY too expensive for my prepper pocketbook, so am looking for cheaper alternatives.

And right now, I am watching the 1953 version of The War of the Worlds where the populace is becoming a mob, the salesman is pushed off the truck after offering 500 / 1000 dollars for a ride, and "money is no good anymore". Hmmmm. I guess Martian Attack is a good reason to bug out, but man I really like those floating Martian War Machines... but I digress.

[Jayden Tor]

Found a canned food sale and bought double what I'd normally purchase. Started more intensive training with the mutt for hand signals and low whistles.
Reacquainted myself with some of my favorite bulk buying sites.

[hunter63]

Made water filters -per WSF

Made alchy stove- per WSF

Almost burned down shop with same alchy stove, twice, Wait a min these are supposed to be positive steps right?

Found wheat berries at local store, need to fire up new grain mill.

Found source for wheel weights, processed about 40 lbs today, into 2-1/2 lb ingots for bullet casting. Yes, another watch what your doing or you will be sorry thing...

Worked in garden,
Worked with lab pup, hunting season about a month away.
Picked up pound of Pyrodex and couple of boxes of #11 caps for muzzle-loader
and oh yeah had a brewsky or 2

[oldsoldier]

Went to the giant flea market here ( a couple hundred dealers) bought some mil. surplus extreme cold weather gear, found a herbologist that makes and sell stuff like jewelweed cream for poison ivy,bugbites,etc. bought a couple of tins and talked herbal meds and foods for about an hour,left with the recipe to make my own

[Winnie]

Honed my fishing skills I've also been out with a copy of Food for free by Richard Mabey.
Salted down 3lbs beans.

[Mountain Man]

Started getting supplies for winter.

Got some new oil for my generators, got some antifreeze for the radiators in case they need topping off. Lowes is having a sale on some metal sheds $99 normally $275 so I got 2 of those on order, now I can store my gas cans in one, and my engine oil in another. I am debating on a 3rd for my propane tanks (BBQ, and camping size.)

Got ~100' of 3/4" PVC with tons of misc fittings to setup watering system for the garden beds. Got roll-out asphalt roofing for the wood shed as well as paper, need to get nails still and the wood to finish the roof structure.

Got some food too!
Added 30 cans of tuna since I`m eating it almost daily for lunch, and stocked away 6 cans of spam while they were 25 cents off.
Refilled the cansolidator with other misc canned goods.
Add 4 gallons of white vinegar to storage too.

[crashdive123]

Had our final drill today. Mrs. Crash and I completed CERT training.

[Rick]

Well congratulations to you both! Job well done!!!!