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Technology After TEOTWAWKI, by JLG in Texas
"A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength;
for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers." (Proverbs
24:5-6)
Most survivalist planning focuses on physical needs—food, shelter, clothing,
first aid, self defense. While the physical essentials rightly belong at the
top of the list, there's almost always some empty space left in the locker/bunker/trailer/back-of-the-truck
for...something. What to put in there?
Human beings are social animals, and we need each other; God has woven this
into our genetic code. A "Lone Ranger" survivalist might have an
edge in the short-term, but a group of survivors has a distinct long-term advantage—if
they can overcome the challenges. Other than basic supply-scale issues, the
primary challenges facing larger groups center around communication issues—making
sure everyone is fully informed and knows The Plan. Communication helps build
trust, and trust-based relationships are exactly what you need as a survivor—whether
you're dealing with your family, or with the family down the road, in the next
county, or across the globe.
One of the reasons I enjoy being a technology consultant is the fact that technology
brings people together. Postal mail, telephone, fax, mobile phones, email,
text messaging, videoconferencing, two-way radios...you name it, it's basically
about human communication. As I formulate and revise my overall survival plan,
I find myself evaluating various technology gadgets in this light: Would this
gizmo (whatever it is) provide communication benefits to me if I were in survival
mode, and, if so, is it feasible and reasonable to utilize it in that capacity?
Note that what is "feasible" and "reasonable" are almost
completely subjective, depending on the skill set of the particular individual
or group—those who have a "techno-wiz" or two in their midst
can obviously support more complex technology than others. By evaluating your
group's capacity for utilizing technology, and carefully selecting from some
proven technologies, you can improve your survival capabilities in numerous
ways by improving your ability to communicate within your group of survivors,
be it large or small, and increase your access to outside resources. Here are
some ideas:
Get your ears on. The mobile phone infrastructure may or may not be operational,
and even if it is, your survival retreat might not have decent reception—so
don't count on it. If your group consists of more than one person, odds are
that you will need to split up at some point, and radio communications give
you a huge advantage in almost every situation—especially if you run
up against an aggressor. Anything is better than nothing, so at least grab
a set of inexpensive "bubble pack" FRS/GMRS radios.
Better still, see if you can develop a relationship with a like-minded radio
guy in your
area, and draw upon his expertise. Find yourself an expert and get educated.[JWR
Adds: See the ARRL for a directory that will include a ham radio club
in your area.]
Get eyes in the back of your head...or house. A good survival retreat includes
a security system, and this is a great place to leverage technology. D-Link,
TrendNet and others make decent network cameras, both wired and wireless, for
around $100 each. You can string network wires through the trees, direct-bury,
or go wireless. Virtually any inexpensive wireless access point (e.g., Linksys/Netgear/D-Link
cable/DSL routers, Apple AirPorts, etc.) can be used to provide a basic communications
network for wireless cameras. Using multiple cameras with software like Security
Spy for Macs or NCH
Software for Windows, one person
with a laptop computer can cover a lot of ground just sitting in a chair. You
can even configure the software's motion detection features to alert you (by
making a noise, flashing the screen, etc.) when anything moves, so the man
on duty doesn't have to keep his eyes glued to the screen. Much of this equipment
runs on 12 VDC, so it's perfect for photovoltaic-powered systems.
Own the night. Get some night vision equipment. Others have written extensively
and with much more knowledge on the subject than I possess, but if you can
see in the dark, you have a huge advantage over the guy who can't. Find yourself
an expert and get educated. 'Nuff said. [JWR Adds: One night
vision gear vendor that I recommend is JRH
Enterprises.}
Get connected. What happens to the internet after TEOTWAWKI?
A safe assumption is that the Internet will be unreliable at best, and possibly
unusable. This
may be true to varying degrees on a global or regional scale, but understand
that the internet itself is simply a conglomeration of smaller networks. If
you've built a security network like the one mentioned above, you can use point-to-point
wireless links to connect your survival retreat with your closest like-minded
neighbor (you do know your neighbors, right?), so you can communicate more
quickly and easily. Remember, there is strength in numbers—especially
when you can maintain good communications. What's more, if you build a "mesh" of
interconnected networks, if just one location has internet access, those communication
and information resources immediately become available to the entire mesh.
Remember all those survivalblog.com articles you always meant to print out
but never did? If the server is still online, now you can get to them!
The least expensive wireless point-to-point equipment is generally going to
be a pair of weatherproofed 802.11b/g radios hooked to a directional antennas.
The disadvantage to this configuration is that 802.11b/g is a "line-of-sight" technology
that uses microwave frequencies—so, anything that would heat up in a
microwave oven will attenuate the signal. Thus, if your two locations are
separated by foliage or terrain, you'll have to get those antennas up over
the treetops.
Not only is that a hassle, but it's also a very easy way for non-friendlies
to locate your retreat. In that case, you'd be better off utilizing more specialized
equipment from a manufacturer like Motorola or Trango. It's pricier, but it's
non-line-of-sight (NLOS)
and will shoot through trees.
Light 'em up! A good solar power system is a great addition to a survival retreat
in any case, but it becomes a necessity if you want to leverage electrically-powered
technology. A basic solar power plant is comprised of one or more photovoltaic
(PV) solar panels, which generate electric current whenever they're exposed
to light, one or more deep-cycle batteries to store the excess power for later
use, and
electronics to regulate the voltage and manage the battery charging. Power
is usually delivered at 12 VDC, which can be converted to 120 VAC using an
inverter—though it's more efficient to simply use equipment that will
run on 12 VDC. Don't skimp on photovoltaic gear, and I recommend sizing your
solar panels to at least double your usage projections. For one thing, you'll
always
want more juice than you think you'll need. For another thing, many vendors
quote solar panel performance based on best-case conditions, and even if they
regionalize their numbers for the amount of daylight in your area, they typically
use an average length-of-day instead of the shortest length-of-day, and they
either ignore or underestimate the effects of cloudy days, dust coating, bird
feces, etc. on PV panel performance. Solar power is quiet, too, so you won't
be giving away your position with a noisy generator. [JWR Adds: One
alternative energy system vendor that I recommend is Ready
Made Resources Also, don't overlook the references available at SolarDoc, at Backwoods
Home magazine, and at Home
Power magazine.]
Protect your equipment against electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
The general effects of EMP are fairly well documented, but the specific effects
of EMP on various types of electronic
equipment, and the most effective ways of protecting that equipment, are not
so well-documented. EMP is surrounded by misinformation, urban legend, and
simple unknowns. Most "experts" on EMP seem to agree that the most
straightforward way to protect equipment is probably to store it inside a "Faraday
box," which could be made by lining the inside of a metal filing cabinet
with several layers of newspaper, or wrapping a cardboard box with a couple
layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Stored in these containers, your electronic
equipment is reasonably protected against EMP. Note that I said "reasonably." When
we're talking about EMP, we're talking about nuclear attack, and survivability—for
electronics and people alike—is obviously highly dependent on where you
are in relation to ground zero, so all you can do is make reasonable preparations
and pray to God for grace.
Only you can determine whether or not the benefits of these technologies are
worth the money and effort in your particular survival plan. If you decide
to utilize any particular technology, I highly recommend building and testing
the system now, before it's needed. And, of course, you should always have
a "Plan B" for those times when—not if, but when—the
technology fails. EMP, rainwater in the wrong place, a broken wire, and a dead
battery all have the same end result—dead equipment—and you need
to plan for it. Note, too, that the ideas presented here were kept to a basic
level of information due to the limited scope of this article—each topic
would easily merit a fairly lengthy book, if not a complete volume, in order
to be explored to a satisfactory degree—so I strongly encourage you to
seek further knowledge in those systems that are of interest to you.
Again: Find yourself an expert and get educated. If you're an expert in one
or more survival fields, find someone who wants to be educated and teach them.
Being a survivalist doesn't mean you have to be antisocial. Remember that part
of your survival plan should involve building relationships with like-minded
people who have, among them, a diverse enough skill set to be able to handle
the widest possible range of survival tasks. One of the primary uses of communications
technology, aside from its immediate tactical use, is to build and maintain
these kinds of relationships even (or especially) in a survival scenario."Two
are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one
falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has
no-one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend
themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes
4:9-12)
Here is a non-exhaustive list of Internet resources, to help get you started:
Night vision:
Sideroad.com
N)Vision
Optics Planet
Point-to-point and outdoor wireless:
Radio Labs
Trango Broadband
Motorola
PTP
MoonBlink
Wi-Fi
Teletronics
Photovoltaic power:
Solar Power Directory
Solar-Electric
EMP protection:
AusSurvivalist EMP Protection Pages
Faraday Cages
1997
Military EMP Hardening Handbook
Parrhesia.com
EMP Hardening Handbook
