Bugging Out / Survival

[Xandor]

Anyone see that old Gregory Peck movie, On the Beach?

No but I'll look it up tonigt in fact.

Could you imagine if you lived in a big city like New York and an EMP went off? No water, or power. So many people would die so fast. Heck even in small towns spred out over miles many lazy people would die fast.

Other than having a Ham Radio, 4X4, and a 22LR i'm not prepared at all. I feel I could get by with just that for quite some time. I would just keep making my way to more wooded area's were there more hunting.

Other than an AMP the most realistic thing we WILL have to deal with is the next pandemic like Spanish Flu. We are due. Something thats so deadly you just want to bunker down away from people till its gone.

 

[ryan]

There's about 2,000 things more likely than an EMP, you guys crack me up. new york would be better than most places without water because high rises have gravity tanks on the roof. suburbs would be the worst off in that situation. new york had a mass black out in '03, and no one died...

FWIW i do emergency response and crisis preparedness for a living, and i live in the blast radius

 

[Centma]

EMP is not out of the question...Iran has been specifically testing their missile technology for this type of mission (according to Aviation Week, as I recall). At least they are far away from the capability now. Single high altitude over the US and all the electrical distribution system is fried ... Recent technology article (trade press, not newspaper) says about 3 years to bring back, some quiet efforts underway to harden a portion of the network. Virtually everything with a wire in it and some silicon would tend to fry, whether on or off at the time. Those non-computer diesels start to look more attractive...

But yes, not a concern right now but very possible (although always slight) in the 10-15 year and beyond timeframe.

And of course the availability of nukes with the right EMP potential has to be there too; but the risk discussions in homeland security press suggest an errant Russian nuke could do it.

 

[RustedRanger]

Centma..."funny" you should mention the info on the likelihood of an EMP....yesterday on the show The 700 Club they had a story on this subject. A former Revolutionary Guard (Iranian) member said that Iran already has a plan in place to use an EMP. They plan to use an unmarked freighter off the east coast in international waters,launch the missile then sink the freighter to hide the evidence. Iran has had lots of help from Russia,China and N. Korea,they have apparently bought missiles from N. Korea capable of carrying a nuke. Also the segment said that we have a bill to harden our power grid against an EMP that would cost around $1 Billion but it hasn't been voted on. Someone told me that it would highly unlikely a missile carrying a nuke would work because of our anti ballistic missile defense would shoot it down....but I wonder how effective it is against something that is going up. Most times they hit missiles that are coming down or aircraft that move much slower. If the US already has a bill in the works to protect the US from an EMP then the threat must be credible. A nuke does create an EMP but several countries do have weapons that only put out the EMP,not the blast and radiation of a regular nuke which makes the target to much easier to occupy after an attack. China and Russia hate us (U.S.)....the only reason China has anything to do with the U.S. is so we will pump money into their country by buying their crap...that is until their population grows to the point where they can sustain their own economy without relying on exports. They already copied our F-22 fighter and continue to steal all the info they can get through cyber warfare....some "ally".

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

A nuke does create an EMP but several countries do have weapons that only put out the EMP,not the blast and radiation of a regular nuke which makes the target to much easier to occupy after an attack.

Easier to occupy as in after one of the most heavily armed countries is severely ticked off will be easy to occupy?

And they thought the guerrilla warfare was bad in the middle east... we actually have some pretty neat guns floating around here in private hands and people trained by police and the military to use them... and that is if they wiped out our military too.

 

[Ozwynn]

Air starter on your diesel solves the battery problems.... Would not be that hard to build a gear reducted air starter for a 6.9 or a 7.3 idi. ....... They already exist. I used to drive school bus and my bus had an air started 6.9l. Bypass filtration and cotton filter media solve the oil change problem.

An EMP is a very far remote chance of happening. The terrorists could not get a nuke here or high enough to take out the entire powergrid or com network...... Any emp thing would be localized.

 

[Will]

Solar storms have already done the EMP thing on us and taken out power grids before I believe. I also think it's localized. There used to be a rumor that the Soviets used vacuum tubes in their planes instead of solid state because of EMP.

 

[AllanD]

One of my fears would be an EMP (Electro-Magentic Pulse) strike. It could come from either a nuclear bomb going off, or an EMP bomb. I would be more concerned of a terrorist attack involving an EMP bomb.

If you are worried about EMP keep tested "known good" spares of all electronic modules for your vehicle and store them in a metal ammo can. Better yet keep several sets of spares. BURY one of those sets.

It's not only the PCM, but the ignition module and the voltage regulator for your alternator.
Spare blocking diodes for your wiring harness, etc...

weapons and ammo.
let me point out that the paperbox "Bricks" of 22LR ammo
eight of them will fit intact (in two layers) in the bottom of a 50cal ammo can
and you can put an additional 2 bricks in the top of the can if you break down the bricks
into their individual boxes of 50, for a total of 5000round in a single 50cal can.

Stored in an airtight 50cal ammo container 22LR will work fairly reliably even after 30+ years.
Last time I actually counted I have FOUR 50cal ammo cans.

aside from the obvious bricks of 22LR ammo, shotshell ammo I have several 20gallon
container filled with 12ga 1-1/8oz birdshot. not "survivalism" I used to shoot clays
competetively and would routinely burn up 1000round per week (yep, two cases every
week, often more) in practice.
I was told when I first started shooting that if I wanted to get good that I should
"practice, practice then practice some more... and BTW that $10,000 worth of ammo
was probably not a bad idea", I took that advice to-heart.


As for the more immediatly useful I carry a pick/mattock, a shovel and an axe in my truck
along with bolt cutters. on "Road trips" I'll often carry a small chainsaw.

I HAVE "escaped" from a winter weather traffic jam by cutting down a section of highway
fence and "offroading" myself across the right-of-way and off the hopelessly jammed highway.

I only pulled it off because my truck was wearing real "Chains" but once I'd blazed the path
other people followed the trail I'd made.

Someone tried to tell me what I was doing was illegal, I told them
"call a cop and I'll tell him I don't give a shit right before I drive over his fat ass,
IF in the extemely unlikely event that one can get here" (spoken in my best
"are you really that stupid?" tone of voice)

I was doing a "self-rescue" anyone actually trying to prevent me from saving
my own ass from a life threatening situation... (and denial of mobility is an overt
act on their part)

I bring this up to say that to "survive" in a survival situation you must be
prepared to do watever it takes to survive., and there will always be an
officious legalistic dweeb that stands in the way of common sense and
at that point your DUTY is to run over or through them.

a "Disaster" is NOT defined as the event, but the breakdown of services/society
(in favor of a far simpler model) that occour because of it and it's often made
worse by people who fail to recognize that certain rules are "suspended for the duration"

in extreme cases there is only survival & failure.

If someone causes one I will deny to them the other. and yes, you can
read that from either direction and there are multiple connotations ALL
of which I mean in strick, simplistic and brutally final meaning.

In short you must consider mental preparation as much if not more than
material conditions that favor survival of you your family or larger group
by giving you more options.

AD

 

[clvanhorn]

we have an old 86? ford 1 ton with the 6.9 diesel rattler. she's a stick, and i'm not really familiar with how diesels work. since its a stick, do you need a battery to start it? as in roll it down a hill and pop the clutch?

 

[cody93]

hmm, you should try to find out since diesel doesn't require ignition, older pre 65 gas vehicles with dynamos would probly work, but ones with alternators may not with a flat dead battery, altho a 12v drill battery should be sufficient in providing the alt with enough juice to "come alive" and thus a push start is possible, ive built a small 12v battery pack that plugs into the cig lighter out of emergency light batteries, have yet to need it as i have a new battery in my truck.

 

[CHKNFKR]

I've hill started my 7.3 psd witgout any issues

 

[adsm08]

we have an old 86? ford 1 ton with the 6.9 diesel rattler. she's a stick, and i'm not really familiar with how diesels work. since its a stick, do you need a battery to start it? as in roll it down a hill and pop the clutch?

Only if it's cold enough that the fuel won't ignite without the glow plugs pre-heating the chambers.

 

[clvanhorn]

Only if it's cold enough that the fuel won't ignite without the glow plugs pre-heating the chambers.

sorry my medication is wearing off and i'm confused lol. are you saying that i ONLY need the battery if it is too cold out? i think thats what you mean lol

 

[RustedRanger]

Some good info on EMP's at www.futurescience.com/emp.html The range of damage depends on the altitude the weapon is set off and it's size and construction. The energy will also travel along wires,even those underground. The site also has pages about the personal effects and effects on vehicles by EMP.

 

[Will]

Only if it's cold enough that the fuel won't ignite without the glow plugs pre-heating the chambers.

That, and your injection pump has an electric shut-off valve. You need to convert it to a manual valve, and I know that is available for the DB2. You might have an electric lift pump as well.

I really think a gasoline engine is a better bet. They are less sensitive to bad fuel and any idiot can work on them. I would pick one and convert it to use the simplest parts. A cheap, simple carb and ignition system. Use the same engine for your generator. A natural gas conversion might be good. Even after the collapse of society I'm willing to bet there will be billions of tons of gas caught in the pipeline system throughout the country for years. You need a squad of trained people to make stealth missions into the cities to tap into it and compress it into mobile tanks.