tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86717948740641136022024-03-14T01:10:27.110-05:00Possum LivingFreedom Through Self SufficiencyTracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.comBlogger619125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-10416938691010317312023-07-15T12:30:00.000-05:002023-07-15T12:30:14.717-05:00Crosman 1322 Multi-Pump Air Pistol<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipc3x-PuH5j3LPZrVNGpsV-3fF6WPYnhgnY3K8VhsNR663O8IHMgRDxbf0bFwSqFH7I-sbuR_sQ0XwvCXTbP-bFtk1Yo85E_T8cvH___s0joiuVZ7OEVt3UEsTMRfue8DMUAcBKM7BsFzgNWZ4SeGRy6rTzSLjPZJF3yVxZdlVXgqgcQpE8J2gTtptkj0/s1920/1322-July2023.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipc3x-PuH5j3LPZrVNGpsV-3fF6WPYnhgnY3K8VhsNR663O8IHMgRDxbf0bFwSqFH7I-sbuR_sQ0XwvCXTbP-bFtk1Yo85E_T8cvH___s0joiuVZ7OEVt3UEsTMRfue8DMUAcBKM7BsFzgNWZ4SeGRy6rTzSLjPZJF3yVxZdlVXgqgcQpE8J2gTtptkj0/s400/1322-July2023.jpg"/></a></div>
I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but .22 caliber airgun pellets seem to have become the cheapest pellets you can buy. Even .177 caliber costs more, unless you are looking at the super premium .22 pellets. For example, looking at 500 count tins of basic Crosman lead pellets, I have seen 14.3 grain .22 pellets for around $6 per tin. 7.9 grain .177 pellets are a dollar more, at $7. For this reason and the fact that the larger caliber provides more energy from a given airgun platform, I have been watching for a price drop on Crosman's 1322, which is a .22 caliber multi-pump pneumatic air pistol.
The 13xx series is one of the most popular airguns ever built because of their combination of low price, decent power, accuracy and moddability. There are more parts available for these air pistols than probably any other airgun ever made. Both factory parts (including for other variations of the basic pistol) and aftermarket parts are easy to find. There are even factory carbine variants, and the buttstock to convert an existing pistol to a carbine is inexpensive and readily available.
I've had a 1377, the .177 caliber version, for several years. So when I recently noticed a price drop of the 1322 on Amazon, I finally pulled the trigger. I'm happy I did. If you want one, <a href="https://amzn.to/44r7dOG">here's a link</a>. While you're there, also be sure to look around at all the accessories, ammo and targets for it.
Amazon affiliate link. If you purchase something through this link, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-75205061286344593972019-08-05T04:05:00.001-05:002019-08-05T04:05:14.287-05:00Trans America Trail MapI've driven some of this in my Jeep, and have plans to take one of my motorcycles on it as well.
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1dCb0Ao26vNZ3_63-qx4Afe5ieUM&hl=en" width="640" height="480"></iframe>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-63735706433414317902018-06-15T03:49:00.001-05:002018-06-15T03:50:52.433-05:00Fundamentals Of Ballistics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/Cy5r0_1529052206" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is an old US Army training film about ballistics; how a bullet or other projectile behaves in flight.
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-86080166359495857282018-06-08T13:07:00.000-05:002018-06-08T13:17:49.517-05:00Snake Shot Test<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/sWEuK_1528397108" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/unT2h_1528397248" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Handgun shotshells are a very handy tool for those of us who live in the country. They are useful for dispatching small vermin such as rats and snakes, especially if you need to do so inside a shed, barn or even your home. The .22 LR shotshells in particular have just enough power to kill a snake or rat, while minimizing or eliminating damage to your walls and floor.<br />
<br />
In the first video I test five different pistol shot loads against steel cans. In the second video I further test the traditional crimped .22 LR shotshell. I grew up with that type of .22 shotshell, which we called "rat shot." </div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B071CD6JKS&asins=B071CD6JKS&linkId=1684024f0c0ada3b7417b5cd06630362&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B004QT70SG&asins=B004QT70SG&linkId=f876c3ac7896248bb2374a7b0413ecca&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-37225263437077504472018-06-01T11:20:00.003-05:002018-06-01T11:20:35.625-05:00Powder Coating Bullets, The Simple Way<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/CfyNW_1527869179" width="640"></iframe>
This is how I powder coat my home-cast bullets. I don't powder coat all of my bullets; I still use traditional lube for most of my cast bullets. But for some applications I do powder coat. These are 125 grain 9mm bullets that I am going to load in both 9mm and .357 Magnum, for use in rifles.<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B008NWT7JW&asins=B008NWT7JW&linkId=00daa393628cd2b8557a4b7bd5c4a79b&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-89846050306786513132018-05-25T12:16:00.002-05:002018-05-25T12:16:17.550-05:00Ruger Redhawk .45 ACP<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/6mb6_1527189541" width="640"></iframe>
I've had several big bore double action revolvers in my life. My favorite category of such revolvers is the packable workhorse, which I define as a revolver that is compact enough and light enough to carry while doing a variety of things other than hunting, while being powerful enough for tasks such as big game hunting and protection against large animals. Preferably the revolver should also be durable enough to handle a steady diet of full power loads. At the same time though, it should work well with standard, non-magnum loads. This Redhawk does all that.<br />
<br />
In my opinion, the overall best big bore revolver cartridge is the .45 Colt in a gun that can handle "Ruger-only" loads. Such loads can equal or surpass the power of a .44 Magnum, and do so at a lower pressure. At the same time, the original load spec of a 255 grain lead bullet at approximately 900 fps is a very useful load. It has more power than standard .44 Special loads and will handle anything short of big bears (which some Ruger only loads can handle, btw) while also being capable of bagging a rabbit or similar sized small game for the pot. And standard pressure .45 Colt loads are not as hard on the ears as something like a .357 Magnum.<br />
<br />
The performance of that original .45 Colt load is what the US Army wanted to approximate in an autoloading pistol when they asked for the round that became the .45 ACP. As it turned out, the Army ended up using that round in Colt and Smith and Wesson double action revolvers as well as the 1911 auto pistol. In a double action revolver, .45 ACP has the advantage of using moon clips to hold the cartridges. This works similarly to a speedloader, except it is even faster because the clip remains with the cartridges through the loading, firing and ejection cycles.<br />
<br />
That's one thing I had never owned, but always wanted. I did have a Blackhawk single action revolver in .45 Colt with a second, .45 ACP cylinder. But moon clips don't work with that one.<br />
<br />
This Redhawk covers all the bases in the packable workhorse category. It's a .45 Colt <b>and</b> a .45 ACP that accepts full moon clips. Because the chambers are .45 Colt, it cannot accept .45 ACP loaded singly: the moon clips are a prerequisite for shooting .45 ACP. If I remember correctly, the original Colt and Smith and Wesson Model 1917 military revolvers were the same way; although the later civilian Smith and Wesson Model 1950 Target, 1955 Target and 25-2 did headspace on the case mouth (like auto pistols do) so they could be loaded either singly or with clips.<br />
<br />
That's ok though. I wouldn't want a Redhawk chambered for .45 ACP only, which is what it would have to be in order to single-load it with ACP. As it is, this is a great revolver. It comes with three moon clips, and additional clips are available from Ruger. Ranch Products also makes clips for it, and I bought some of those as well. In case you didn't know, Ranch Products is well known for making clips for the Smith and Wesson and Colt revolvers.<br />
No, before you even ask, the Smith and Wesson clips don't fit the Ruger.<br />
I would like to see them make some third-moon clips, holding two rounds each. They are available for the Smith and Wesson.<br />
<br />
On the other end of the spectrum, the Redhawk is even stronger than the large frame Ruger single actions. Therefore, it can handle the hottest published .45 Colt loads you will ever find. In fact, some folks have rechambered .45 Colt Redhawks to .454 Casull with no apparent ill effects. I don't recommend that, but the fact that some people have done so and got away with it speaks volumes for the strength of the Redhawk.<br />
<br />
By the way, I have to point out that the newer Vaquero and some Blackhawks (maybe all newer non-Super Blackhawks?) use a smaller frame and are therefore not suitable for "Ruger-only" .45 Colt loads. For .45 Colt accessories and reloading, <a href="https://amzn.to/2scrkPD" target="_blank">click here.</a> And for more information about .45 revolvers, <a href="https://amzn.to/2IR9k4n" target="_blank">click here.</a> Thanks for your support!</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-54824150915350616872018-05-17T14:19:00.000-05:002018-05-17T14:19:24.539-05:00Exotic Shotgun Ammo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/9xEOj_1526584290" width="640"></iframe>
This is a federal law enforcement training film about conventional and specialty shotgun ammo.
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00Q8Y8W0M&asins=B00Q8Y8W0M&linkId=df08b1a77224a7dbe674cb4151a1bdae&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B072PV3HZT&asins=B072PV3HZT&linkId=987fb3f43861d07ab7102abec1dddffa&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-29359148589702789512018-05-10T19:34:00.001-05:002018-05-10T19:35:12.269-05:00Reloading .45 Colt with Homemade Black Powder<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/9FYAM_1525997466" width="640"></iframe>
The .45 Colt cartridge was originally designed for and loaded with black powder. In this video I load and shoot some rounds with homemade black powder that cost me about a dollar per pound to make.
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000Q9UELA&asins=B000Q9UELA&linkId=640b89b86bc2434df379c0171513ba0d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00B38MDOY&asins=B00B38MDOY&linkId=fe6a1ffada9a676256abcb3cc48a99e5&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000QA29EE&asins=B000QA29EE&linkId=f3995ee3efe1e0ebeba9e05313bf02dd&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B078FZB889&asins=B078FZB889&linkId=82dded2a9bec7070fc2f0dd17fc4e6e9&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01JJCPP0Y&asins=B01JJCPP0Y&linkId=cc768fe98faf345d070382a9e07bf726&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00G8IHSNK&asins=B00G8IHSNK&linkId=67ec59c264a5d022a956205782d933cc&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-18580783282030026722018-05-03T14:31:00.000-05:002018-05-03T14:31:21.098-05:00Shooting My Kit-Built .45-.410 Derringer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/a8O1S_1525374493" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another deleted YT video; this one of my homebuilt (from a parts kit and side plates) Cobray/ Leinad .45 Colt/ .410 shotshell derringer. This was very soon after I built it, and I had not yet painted it. The loads I'm firing here are some reloaded 2-1/2" .410s that I loaded using a screwdriver. One of these days I plan to make a video showing how I do that.
<b><a href="https://amzn.to/2jp3MmD">Get your .410 reloading goodies here.</a></b>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-22653178678140879752018-04-28T09:52:00.002-05:002018-04-28T09:53:06.014-05:00.30-30 Small Game Load<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/kdtEt_1524925449" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another video that used to be on my YT channel. Small game loads for .30-30 are nothing new; from its very inception in 1895 the ammo factories have produced light loads for plinking, pest control and small game hunting in the ol' Winchester thutty-thutty. I don't know if any are available now, but for the handloader it's no problem to roll your own.
Here's a copy of Handloader Magazine that has an article in it about cast bullets in the .30-30: <iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon®ion=US&placement=B008BKUSPI&asins=B008BKUSPI&linkId=e6e066daa11a6fa37ea461d89e0fa01d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-11146231811193383192018-04-07T16:46:00.000-05:002018-04-07T16:46:05.695-05:00Bugout Bag Camping Test<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2jq92C0_Lu0/WskfmRnNmCI/AAAAAAAACLk/zb2esvdxSBEn6-EeNfN8wWn4pmwKtcw-ACLcBGAs/s1600/3984061273_64ee3eede7_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="426" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2jq92C0_Lu0/WskfmRnNmCI/AAAAAAAACLk/zb2esvdxSBEn6-EeNfN8wWn4pmwKtcw-ACLcBGAs/s320/3984061273_64ee3eede7_z.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CC-BY-2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/frankdouwes/3984061273</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Back in the very early 1990s, I was working on a contract basis for a company that made telecommunications equipment. My schedule was pretty flexible. In fact I was able to set my own schedule, and I took full advantage of that fact. Payday was every two weeks, and I usually started a new pay period by working twelve and fourteen hour days to get my 80 hours in the first week so I could take the second week off. Sometimes I would even work 160 hours in two weeks so I could take the following two weeks off. This gave me lots of time off for camping, caving and budget road trips. It is worth mentioning that I was also single during that time, so I didn't have to worry about relationship difficulties arising out of my frequent absences.<br />
<br />
On one of these instances where I had just finished my work and had a week or more off, there wasn't much going on. It was probably January or February; the holidays were over and the Spring activities hadn't started yet. It was raining, had been for a couple of days and showed no signs of abating. The temperature was barely high enough to prevent the rain turning into snow. All in all, miserable weather. I was already getting cabin fever.<br />
<br />
For lack of anything better to do, I inventoried the contents of my survival kit. I don't think the term "bugout bag" was popular yet, but that's basically what it was: a medium sized fanny pack with a few survival items in it. Stainless steel cup, aluminum foil, Ramen noodles and a couple other food items, fire starting materials, space blanket, stuff like that. As I perused the contents of my bag, a plan started to formulate. It seemed like the kind of weather I would find myself in during a wilderness survival situation. How would I sleep, without a sleeping bag? How would I get and stay dry, so as to not succumb to the elements?<br />
<br />
I had to do it; test my survival bag contents and my own ability to spend a night in the soggy woods, in winter, without my normal backpacking equipment. So I put on my boots, coat and hat, grabbed my survival kit and headed out the back door.<br />
<br />
I was living in an apartment on the edge of town. There was a small patch of woods behind my apartment, and a railroad track ran through those woods. It was near the end of that line; the tracks stopped less than 5 miles away at the Tennessee River. I got on the tracks and walked in the direction of the river. When I was almost to the river and there were no more roads, I got off the tracks and headed further into the woods.<br />
<br />
By the time it started getting dark I was thoroughly soaked. I couldn't have been any wetter if I had jumped in the river. It was time to stop for the night. I had found a small, battered piece of roofing sheet metal a ways back and brought it along. I put it down at the base of a small tree and looked around for some rocks and whatever else I could find, and ended up building a simple wickiup against the tree. It looked similar to the photo above, with the addition of a rudimentary fireplace that I built by digging a small hole and piling rocks around it. I used the sheet metal as part of the wall and to reflect the heat of the fire.<br />
<br />
I used to buy these fire starter logs that are 3 or 4 inches in diameter and maybe 10 inches long, made of wax and sawdust. I would cut about a 2 inch slice of that, put it in a ziplock bag and stuff it in my pack. Whenever I needed to start a fire I would just pinch off a small chunk of it and use it as tinder. It works well; it's pretty water resistant and even a small lump burns for several minutes. I had a slice of that in my survival kit, and used some of it to start a fire. By the time it was full dark, my fire was going well and I was enjoying a hot cup of ramen noodles and watching the steam rise off my clothing. After awhile I was fully dry and warm.<br />
<br />
A funny thing happened during the night, though: a skunk discovered my little haven and wanted to share it with me! Now, I've been around skunks enough to not fear them. In fact, they are amazingly funny and amiable creatures. But I didn't want to share my little shelter with one. If I happened to roll over on it in the middle of the night, it might not end well. So I spent an hour or two driving it away with my fire poker, every time it tried to worm its way in.<br />
<br />
Other than that little incident, I had a reasonably good night. It stopped raining sometime during the night, so the trip back home was not bad at all. </div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-61998481107368345842018-04-07T13:43:00.000-05:002018-04-07T13:43:36.290-05:00Converting A Three Phase Motor to a Generator<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o_2n4_NxZtM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o_2n4_NxZtM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
OK, obviously this is two different days. Here I have a 208/220V; 440V, 5
horsepower 3-phase motor that I am experimenting with converting to an
inductive generator, powered by my Changfa S195 Chinese 12 hp diesel
engine. I'm learning here; I have never done this before. In both clips,
the motor is wired for low (208/220) voltage. That means it is wired
Wye-Wye (two sets of windings paralleled), whereas it would need to be
wired Wye (both sets in series) for 440V. Does this mean I could produce
440 volts with this setup? Undoubtedly. Rectify that to DC and power
the plate circuit of a tube linear amplifier without the big transformer
normally required. Add a small transformer for the low voltage stuff,
and this would make a good power supply for a legal-limit ham radio
station.
So anyway, in the first clip I am using only one capacitor, and it is
the only capacitor I could find in the microFarad range that was rated
for high voltage AC. It has nowhere near enough capacitance; I think it
was 0.75 uF or something like that. As you can see, it didn't work.
Digging around in cyberspace, I found reference to C-2C wiring for this
specific purpose. Unfortunately the guy who was describing it didn't
have a firm grasp of what he was describing, having simply followed
someone else's directions. Thus, although it would seem that "2C" would
imply double the capacitance of "C", the narrative did not leave me with
a feeling of confidence that that was what he meant. Not disrespecting
the guy or anything, just telling it like it is.
So I searched further and ascertained that, indeed, 2C means 2C and not
merely C2. I found other stuff about it too, which gave me the
confidence to actually spend a bit of money.
Basically, it works like this: imagine a delta-wound, 3-phase motor.
There are of course 3 legs to which the power connects; L1, L2 and L3.
L1 and L2 will be the output. C, the first capacitor, connects in
parallel across L1-L2. 2C connects in parallel across L2-L3. Nothing
connects across L3-L1.
2C can be either a single capacitor of double the value of C or, as you
see here, two caps of the same value as C, connected in parallel.
So I went to everybody's least favorite online auction site and bought
three identical, new, 55 uF 440V motor run capacitors. As you can see,
this works; at least as far as producing voltage. Stay tuned, because
next I plan to load it with some heating elements to see what it can do.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://amzn.to/2JsEb8n" target="_blank">Click here for books about induction generators</a><br />
<br />
Article continues here: <a href="http://www.possumliving.com/2011/06/induction-generator-load-test.html" target="_blank">http://www.possumliving.com/2011/06/induction-generator-load-test.html</a><br />
<br />
And another article here: <a href="http://www.possumliving.com/2012/03/induction-generators.html">http://www.possumliving.com/2012/03/induction-generators.html</a></div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-48789399682268420992018-04-02T23:08:00.000-05:002018-04-02T23:08:44.766-05:00AR-15 Operation and Functioning Cycle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://emb.d.tube/#!/possumliving/28n5zb0j" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
This is an old (ca. 1966) US Army training film describing how to operate the M16/AR15, and a functional description of same.
AR-15 books and accessories, <a href="https://amzn.to/2H9yQlC">click here</a>.Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-69402084445572519902018-03-30T21:32:00.000-05:002018-03-30T21:50:20.524-05:00Homestead Gear: Bread Machine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yo70fHQhtV4/Rui5XbyKukI/AAAAAAAAAHk/6swWrvEJV6s/s1600-h/S2010255.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109537589498133058" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yo70fHQhtV4/Rui5XbyKukI/AAAAAAAAAHk/6swWrvEJV6s/s320/S2010255.JPG" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yo70fHQhtV4/Rui5X7yKulI/AAAAAAAAAHs/JM_rfHZOtJw/s1600-h/S2010257.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109537598088067666" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yo70fHQhtV4/Rui5X7yKulI/AAAAAAAAAHs/JM_rfHZOtJw/s320/S2010257.JPG" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yo70fHQhtV4/Rui5YbyKumI/AAAAAAAAAH0/u2uuqf1r88Q/s1600-h/S2010256.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109537606678002274" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yo70fHQhtV4/Rui5YbyKumI/AAAAAAAAAH0/u2uuqf1r88Q/s320/S2010256.JPG" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />
Updated; originally published September 12, 2007<br />
<br />
I don't know how I ever got along without a bread machine. I just figured, bread is pretty cheap, and making bread really just sounds like an awful lot of work. I can still buy grains, and if I ever go through a(nother) time of extreme low-budgetness to the point that I can't afford to go to the store more than once a month, and only buy staples even then, I can just make porridge and/or sprout the grains. Of course, I have been making cornbread for decades; I guess I could have also added some other grains to the cornbread to further enrich it.<br />
Well, I can still do those things, but now I can make bread, too! I just found a perfectly good bread machine, complete with owner's manual, for the princely sum of 2 bucks at my favorite thrift store. This allows me to make my own bread, without the necessity of spreading out a large area I don't have in my kitchen, beating, rolling and pounding on dough for hours, getting flour all over everything, scientifically regulating the temperature and humidity, and keeping all sorts of special ingredients that deteriorate at roughly the same speed as a loaf of bread.<br />
That's not how it really is, of course, but it's how it seemed to me. I had actually thought about buying a used bread machine before, but the ones I saw at the thrift didn't come with a manual and besides, I kinda expected those machines needed even more specialized ingredients that would cost more than just buying bread, while turning out something barely edible. It was pretty much a case of, it was worth $2 just for the experience.<br />
<br />
Boy, was I surprised! What I found out is that you can just throw in a handful of ground grain, some lukewarm water and a teaspoon of plain old yeast that any grocery store carries, and you will get bread. Probably heavy, dry, bland-tasting bread, but quite edible. I actually tried this, after my first loaf. For the first loaf I looked in the manual at the recipe for "basic bread" which called for water, instant milk powder, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, a couple teaspoons of sugar, butter, flour, and yeast. The recipe said to measure carefully and follow instructions exactly for best results. So I started with about a cup of whole milk, poured a small mound of salt in my cupped palm, about twice that of sugar,a splash of canola oil, a couple good handsful of flour, and a little mound of yeast. Pressed two buttons, and went off and did something else for about 3 1/2 hours. When I returned, I had a loaf of the best bread I have ever tasted!<br />
Man, that was easy! Thus bolstered, I studied a little further and conducted an experiment. While boning up on this stuff I read that milk (powdered or otherwise) only enriches the bread with some extra vitamins without really adding much taste, oil or butter makes it moister but the taste is subtle, thus butter doesn't significantly improve the taste compared to plain veg oil (you can also use bacon fat or whatever), salt enhances the flavor slightly but primarily regulates the yeast action, and sugar, honey, molasses or whatever also doesn't really sweeten the bread. I mean, you can add enough to sweeten it but generally you only add a little, as a snack for the yeast. The yeast can get everything it needs from the grain, but it is just generally happier if you give it a little dessert. And happy yeast makes a better-tasting product.<br />
<br />
OK, the bottom line of all that is that, as noted before, you really only have to have three ingredients to make edible bread. So I sallied forth to make the absolute poorest bread I could muster. This is a survival exercise, now. You're boondocking in Mexico, have been for 2 1/2 months, and you're down to a few pounds each of wheat, dried beans and rice, plus a yeast culture you keep in a little flour, and perhaps a handful of jerky from a rabbit you caught in a trap a few days ago. You have two weeks yet before your dividend check is due to arrive at your P.O. box just across the border, so ya just gotta subsist on this meager fare until then.<br />
OK: humble bread. First I went to my favorite feedstore, and got a 50 lb sack of wheat. Grain prices are 'way up this year, and it cost me $13.50 so that makes a 1 lb loaf of bread 27 cents if I'm growing my own yeast; about double that otherwise. I ground a pound of this wheat in my cast iron hand-cranked mill, running it through twice which took less than 5 minutes, then dumped it into the bread machine along with a cup of water and a little yeast, and 3.5 hours later I had a loaf of heavy, dark, bland bread. Not bad, just not tasty. It was much better with some butter smeared on, and it was fine for eating with soup, which is what I did with most of it. It would do wonders for a meal of bean-and-rabbit soup.<br />
My next loaf of bread consisted of 1/2 lb of this same hand-ground whole wheat flour, 1/2 lb store bought cheap white flour, some bacon grease, water, a spoonful of honey, salt, and yeast. I also threw in a few spices, including crushed cayenne chile. Now THAT was some good bread!<br />
Then I tried the dough cycle, wherein the machine makes the dough which you take out and do your thing with it. This is good for making biscuits, pretzels, etc. I used it to make pizza crust, the end result of which you can see in the picture.<br />
Oh, the BBQ chicken pic? I just threw that in to prove that I do eat other stuff besides peasant food.<br />
Here's a link to a grain mill like mine, if you want one:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000U5NZ4I&asins=B000U5NZ4I&linkId=521b1f53fa6e2048400949844a0334a8&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00067REBU&asins=B00067REBU&linkId=2021e5ba7eaa07c36ed19c3f414325ab&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-17619145424826944612018-03-30T19:50:00.001-05:002018-03-30T19:51:15.220-05:00Single Shot Shotguns<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kOujucHB1Uk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kOujucHB1Uk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
Discussing and shooting a few break-barrel shotguns. Further research on
the Topper M48 indicates that they were made from 1943-1957; this one
appears to have been made in 1953. Here is the collector's reference of
H&R firearms: <a class="yt-simple-endpoint style-scope yt-formatted-string" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?v=kOujucHB1Uk&event=video_description&redir_token=Pbcz2ze5xbwVp7Eyf5tszOMheul8MTUyMjU0MzU2NUAxNTIyNDU3MTY1&q=https%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F2GbVyYY">https://amzn.to/2GbVyYY</a></div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-20840718847028472812018-03-28T15:58:00.003-05:002018-03-28T16:00:05.558-05:00The Sound Of Freedom!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://emb.d.tube/#!/possumliving/l7ijgwko" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
No bumpfire stocks on this firing line! Footage from the firing line at the Knob Creek machine gun shoot. This shoot is coming up in just a couple of weeks. I had planned to go and get some new footage this year, but unfortunately I just can't afford the trip.
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-2472914349622945002018-03-28T09:52:00.001-05:002018-03-28T09:58:54.472-05:00Reloading Powder Shipment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://emb.d.tube/#!/possumliving/ickhgcn6" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Just received some new reloading supplies! Smokeless powder, Swiss 4Fg black powder, and percussion caps. I've been wanting to try the Swiss 4f in my NAA Companion for awhile.
<a href="https://amzn.to/2E1MCUe">Shop reloading supplies <b>here</b> (click).</a>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-5080339016620644272018-03-27T11:29:00.003-05:002018-03-27T11:29:55.753-05:00NAA .22 LR Mini Revolver Velocity Test<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://emb.d.tube/#!/possumliving/dxfk54w8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Some of you have seen this video before. This post is primarily a test for embedding from DTube. Looks like it's gonna work!
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-67518492728854568092018-03-26T08:58:00.000-05:002018-03-26T08:58:22.769-05:00Lee Dippers: Simple, Reliable Powder Measurement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In my reloading shop I have several powder measures, but all or most of them require some setup before I can begin reloading. That's why I also have some of these powder dippers from Lee. They are graduated in cubic centimeters from 0.3cc to 4.3cc, and come with a slide rule to convert to grains of various powders. This allows me to just grab the dipper corresponding to my desired charge, and begin reloading. Works great, especially if I am just loading a few rounds.<br />
<br />
Get yours here:<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000N8OIE8&asins=B000N8OIE8&linkId=ea77609fd82f88df40175876d9e089a1&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-79349329874975991232018-03-24T09:49:00.000-05:002018-04-28T09:21:17.987-05:00Simple Slam Fire .357 Carbine <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.liveleak.com/e/b42dce374e83" width="640"></iframe>
This is one of my videos that Youtube had a problem with. The slam fire is just about the simplest firearm possible, and this one is safe because it uses a real .357 Magnum rifle barrel and a breech bolt that is strong enough to contain the pressures. There is a bit of black iron pipe and a cast iron fitting, but those are only support pieces and are not subjected to firing pressures.<br />
<br />
<br />For more info on improvised guns, check out these <a href="https://amzn.to/2pDao3H" target="_blank">books by Ragnar Benson</a>.</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-68602330381782563502017-09-02T10:36:00.000-05:002017-09-02T10:36:49.591-05:00The Role Of HF Amateur Radio in Disaster Communications<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Does HF still have a legitimate role in disaster communications?<br />
High frequency, also known as shortwave, is the portion of radio frequency spectrum from 3 MHz to 30 MHz; or to describe it another way, between medium wave (including the AM broadcast band) and VHF (which includes the FM broadcast band).<br />
<br />
HF is characterized by ionospheric skip propagation (1), where signals bounce off ionized particles in the upper atmosphere. It is this characteristic that makes HF important, and is the reason that we can tune in shortwave broadcasts from around the world. Without getting too heavily into the science behind ionospheric skip propagation, radiation from the sun ionizes particles in the F layer of the ionosphere, between approximately 100 miles and 300 miles above the earth's surface. The ionization is greatest during daylight hours at any given point. The season is also a factor, as is the 11-year sunspot cycle (2),(3).<br />
<br />
In practice, an HF operator or frequency coordinator can choose an operating frequency based upon distance to the receiving station. The lower bands within the HF spectrum work best within a radius of zero to 200-300 miles, while the upper HF bands are better for worldwide communications. If the operator chooses the correct frequency, very little power is required to make contact. Amateur radio operators who are into QRP (low power, often simple equipment) regularly communicate thousands of miles using less than 5 watts and often even less than 1 watt of output power. The author has communicated over 1000 miles using 1 watt or less, and once carried on a two-way contact over approximately 15 miles using 50 microwatts. That's one, twenty-thousandth of a watt!<br />
<br />
Back to the subject at hand: the majority of public service and other utility communications has moved away from HF frequencies and into trunked systems and microwave backbone links that connect local radio communication systems with others across the state and even across the country. These new systems have much greater bandwidth and can carry more information, for a greater number of users, at a faster rate than the older technology. To the end user, the new systems are easier to operate and more user-friendly, all the while providing more secure communications.<br />
<br />
To be sure, the new systems provide greatly enhanced communications capabilities in day-to-day use. But what about during a disaster? These networks are infrastructure-intensive and cost billions of dollars to install. They're not immune to breakdowns, either. Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters can bring down these systems just as readily as they can bring down an HF radio antenna. And while the trunked systems can bypass damaged nodes and continue operating at a reduced capacity, such events create greatly increased communication needs. Even if the network does not suffer damage, disasters often overload the capacity of the system to maintain the flow of communications. Have you ever noticed how your Internet service slows down during times of peak usage? The same phenomenon is at work with trunked radio systems.<br />
<br />
Consider for example, Hurricane Katrina. Here is what the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association had to say after Katrina: " On September 14, 2005, the 9/11 Public Discourse Project issued a report
asserting that the response to Hurricane Katrina was a classic failure
in command and control. It found no unity of command—or more
specifically, no one in charge and no unified incident reporting system
to coordinate efforts of local, state and federal agencies. Fixed
communications systems failed with no ready means for their restoration.
This was not surprising, given that there exists no incentive for the
intensely competitive information systems industry to finance
ruggedness, redundancy or rapid restoration." (4)<br />
<br />
Here is where amateur radio comes in, with HF as well as VHF and UHF communications. From fcc.gov, again using Katrina as an example: "<br />
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 624.796px; top: 396.572px; transform: scaleX(0.851385);">
During Hurricane Katrina, amateur radio provided volunteer operators to support </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 442.575px; transform: scaleX(0.854798);">
many served agencies such as Emergency Management, </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 641.393px; top: 442.575px; transform: scaleX(0.859469);">
National Weather Service, </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 619.393px; top: 534.573px; transform: scaleX(0.879662);">
Hurricane Watch and the American Red Cross. This is business as usual for many radio operators in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, or ARES, nationwide. </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 628.193px; top: 626.572px; transform: scaleX(0.857433);">
After Katrina, amateur radio provided many more volunteer operators to support </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 612.194px; top: 672.575px; transform: scaleX(0.951289);">
an even larger host of served agencies that requested our services. The ARRL </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 718.578px; transform: scaleX(0.894222);">
coordinated hundreds of amateur radio operators who</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 633.794px; top: 718.578px; transform: scaleX(0.849661);">
traveled to the devastated </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 615.596px; top: 764.574px; transform: scaleX(0.905328);">
area and provided critical communications capabilities. This work continued for </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 810.576px; transform: scaleX(0.836661);">
many weeks. </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 810.576px; transform: scaleX(0.836661);">
... <br />
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 120.575px; transform: scaleX(0.877266);">
The sufficiency and effectiveness of amateur radio </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 599.793px; top: 120.575px; transform: scaleX(0.844389);">
to re-establish communications </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 166.572px; transform: scaleX(0.861554);">
systems with equipment they brought in, much of it </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 604.399px; top: 166.572px; transform: scaleX(0.829961);">
owned by these volunteers and </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 212.574px; transform: scaleX(0.874431);">
quickly building complete systems from scratch, was</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 612.6px; top: 212.574px; transform: scaleX(0.878496);">
tremendous. Amateur radio </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 304.573px; transform: scaleX(0.904321);">
operators themselves were part of the solution, providing experienced communications operators to replace and supplement </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 683.794px; top: 304.573px; transform: scaleX(0.886779);">
local public service </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 442.575px; transform: scaleX(0.880982);">
communications personnel in the devastated area. These systems of equipment and operators were very effective, not only for amateur purposes but in support of Emergency Management, Red Cross, Southern Baptist, </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 488.577px; transform: scaleX(0.850238);">
Salvation Army and many other organizations. <br />
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 621.799px; top: 626.572px; transform: scaleX(0.849982);">
In each town we set up a High Frequency (HF) amateur radio station to communicate out of the area to Montgomery and the outside world. We also set up </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 672.575px; transform: scaleX(0.864562);">
a communications network connecting every Red Cross</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 628.993px; top: 672.575px; transform: scaleX(0.860763);">
facility in a town on a local </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 718.578px; transform: scaleX(0.868689);">
short range radio frequency. Our network included </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 640.794px; top: 718.578px; transform: scaleX(0.830462);">
fixed and mobile disaster </div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 764.574px; transform: scaleX(0.825403);">
vehicle stations."(5)</div>
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; left: 149.993px; top: 764.574px; transform: scaleX(0.825403);">
</div>
</div>
</div>
Of course ham radio antennas can fail during disaster events too, and amateurs suffer power outages as well. But hams who participate in disaster relief efforts have the skills, know-how and equipment to put their stations on the air under all kinds of conditions, including portable field operations. In fact probably the most well-known amateur radio event is Field Day, in which thousands of amateurs all over the USA take to the field with their portable stations for a 24 hour emergency communications exercise. <br />
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionosphere<br />
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cycle<br />
(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_usable_frequency<br />
(4) https://www.afcea.org/content/?q=hurricane-katrina-represents-failure-communicate<br />
(5) https://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/docs/advisory/hkip/GSpeakers060306/ACT1045.pdf</div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00OZ12X14&asins=B00OZ12X14&linkId=7d0b4287063725377a720f5ae58f8144&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00HX03AMA&asins=B00HX03AMA&linkId=33934d3fb2d27e7fb8c7ab046a2eb75c&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01IF13GZG&asins=B01IF13GZG&linkId=d5f83aa38303f16eaa56713fcaf9b161&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000MT6D8C&asins=B000MT6D8C&linkId=131adee7800142928be996a625e3956f&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-4568432259782609972017-09-02T10:30:00.001-05:002017-09-02T10:30:27.819-05:00Hurricane Harvey Amateur Radio Net<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TuV5RBs9Lus/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TuV5RBs9Lus?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
This is a bit of footage from the amateur radio HF (High Frequency) Hurricane Harvey watch net. One viewer made the comment that, "All I hear is callsigns and not much else. Do they ever actually talk about anything?" Here was my reply:<br />
<br />
"You mostly hear the net control station. Net control is usually outside the affected area and runs an amplifier and a very good antenna setup. Stations reporting might be running low power, temporary antenna, and maybe even battery power. So you may or may not hear them. But what's important is that net control hears them, or another station is able to hear and relay to net control. This is not broadcast radio, and should not be expected to sound like it.<br />
Also, a lot of the action is on other frequencies so as not to tie up this, the main contact frequency. Stations make contact via the net control, then move off frequency to communicate. For example, in the video you can hear net control take a checkin from a station 25 miles south of Dallas. Then you hear the National Hurricane Center (which I think is in Miami, FL) ask the net control if the station checking in has VHF or UHF contact into the affected area. VHF and UHF are used for local communications, and the Hurricane Center is well outside VHF/UHF range. The Dallas station replies that he has VHF contact only (It's a bit too far for UHF). Hurricane Center wants to talk to him further, so Net Control gives them time to make contact after which they move to a different frequency to continue their communications. While they are making contact, you can't hear the Dallas station but you can hear Net Control and you can also hear the Hurricane Center, but not as strongly."<br />
<br />
It really is fascinating to listen to this going on, but you have to understand what is actually happening because as the viewer pointed out, you cannot hear everything. Also the video only captures a small snapshot of the big picture. In fact while I was listening, the net control announced that the hurricane was currently making landfall. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera rolling at that moment, so I started filming again and commented on that fact. This was approximately ten minutes before 9 PM Central DST.<br />
<br />
It's worth pointing out that listeners in different areas might hear different parts of the net. A listener in South Carolina for example might hear the Hurricane Center very strongly, but hear the Net Control only weakly or not at all. The same listener might also hear the station in Dallas quite well. A listener in Houston with only a 2 Meter VHF mobile or handheld radio might hear or even be in contact with the station in Dallas and other local hams, but obviously will not hear any of the HF action.<br />
The great thing is that any licensed ham who is interested can get involved in this sort of public service activity.<br />
<br /></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00OZ12X14&asins=B00OZ12X14&linkId=7d0b4287063725377a720f5ae58f8144&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00HX03AMA&asins=B00HX03AMA&linkId=33934d3fb2d27e7fb8c7ab046a2eb75c&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01IF13GZG&asins=B01IF13GZG&linkId=d5f83aa38303f16eaa56713fcaf9b161&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=posslivi-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000MT6D8C&asins=B000MT6D8C&linkId=131adee7800142928be996a625e3956f&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-133670341170055102017-08-16T12:40:00.000-05:002017-08-17T12:29:19.978-05:00What is ANTIFA?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We hear a lot in the news lately about a group called Antifa, or anti-fascist. But who are they? The assumption is that they are some new group of people who oppose the Trump presidency and support the new wave of feminism, homosexuality and left-wing ideology. That is true, but doesn't tell the whole story. I was interested in knowing more about this group. One thing I learned is that it is not new at all.<br />
<br />
I'm posting some snippets from Wikipedia. Yes I know, statists and supporters of the old media hate Wikipedia because "anyone can edit it." Instead they espouse blind trust in authoritative sources such as the government, establishment media and large publishing houses. New media (such as yours truly) provide the information along with any available sources and ask you to follow through with your own research and thought.<br />
We've learned a lot in recent years from people who are in the know about current events, but are not officially allowed to tell us. Wikipedia is one outlet for such information. With that in mind, I decided to capture a snapshot of the current information about Antifa before it changes or disappears.<br />
Again, check the references and do your own research.<br />
<br />
"Antifaschistische Aktion, Antifascistische Aktie, Antifascist Action or Antifascistisk Aktion — abbreviated as Antifa (German/Dutch/English) or AFA (Scandinavian) — is a <b>far-left, extra-parliamentary, anti-fascist network in Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Australia, Canada, the UK and the United States of America</b> whose stated goal is to "smash fascism in all its forms".[1] Some of its members are influenced by the theory of triple oppression, and all of its members claim to oppose sexism, racism, and classism. The point of the organization is to exchange information and to coordinate activities between local groups.<br />
<br />
<b>The group's activities have included handing out flyers, organizing demonstrations, direct action, and property destruction. They believe that physical aggression and violence are necessary to achieve their goals</b>, due to the violence and aggression minority groups face at the hands of fascists and the far-right[citation needed]. In line with their ideology, and as a consequence of being constantly monitored by the police, the group has no central authority. This means it has a flat organization consisting of many independent groupings, without a board or leader. AFA works with other anti-racist groups all over Europe.[2][3] It is also described as a heterogeneous group which in the late 1930s and early 1940s was mostly made up of social democrats, communists, and progressive Christians following the collapse of Nazi government and civil society after World War Two.<br />
<br />
The first German movement to call itself Antifaschistische Aktion was proclaimed by the German Communist Party (KPD) in their newspaper Rote Fahne in 1932 and held its first rally in Berlin on 10 July 1932, then capital of the Weimar Republic. During the early 1930s amidst rising tensions between Nazis and the communists, Berlin in particular has been the site of regular and often very violent clashes between the two groups. In May 1932, the communist paramilitary organisation Rotfrontkämpferbund had been banned and, following a skirmish between Nazi and communist members in the parliament, the <b>Antifaschistische Aktion was founded to ensure that the communists had still a militant wing</b> to rival the paramilitary organisations of the Nazis. After the forced dissolution in the wake of the Machtergreifung in 1933, the movement was revived during the 1980s.[citation needed]<br />
<br />
One of the biggest antifascist campaigns in Germany in recent years was the, ultimately successful, effort to block the annual Nazi-rallies in the east German city of Dresden in Saxony, which had grown into "Europe's biggest gathering of Nazis".[5]<br />
<br />
In October 2016, the Antifa in Dresden campaigned on the occasion of the anniversary of the reunification of Germany on 3 October for "turning Unity celebrations into a disaster" („Einheitsfeierlichkeiten zum Desaster machen“), to protest this display of new German nationalism, whilst explicitly not ruling out the use of violence.<br />
<br />
On day of the President Donald Trump's inauguration, protesters used black bloc tactics. Protesters deliberately causing damage were described as members of Antifa, however were generally lone individuals grouped together by loose radical left-wing ideology.[23] In April 2017, local members of Antifa protested against multiple Republican and alt-right speakers in Berkeley, California. Some protesters were also members of the militant left-wing group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN)."<br />
<br />
So there you have it. In its essence, Antifa is a violent, militant wing of Communism. <br />
<br />
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifaschistische_Aktion<br />
<br />
And here are the references included in the Wiki, in case the page changes or disappears:<br />
<ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-24" value="24"><h2>
<span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span></h2>
<ol class="references">
<li id="cite_note-1"><br /></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li id="cite_note-1"> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web"><a class="external text" href="http://www.antifa.se/index.php?sida=3" rel="nofollow">"antifa.se - Antifascistisk Aktion Sverige"</a>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.btitle=antifa.se+-+Antifascistisk+Aktion+Sverige&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.antifa.se%2Findex.php%3Fsida%3D3&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-lokalgrupper-2"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-lokalgrupper-2"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.antifa.se/index.php?sida=8" rel="nofollow">AFA Lokalgrupper</a></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-3"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-3"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.antifa.se/index.php?sida=3#platform" rel="nofollow">AFA Presentation, Plattform</a></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-4"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-4"> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation book">Pritchard, Gareth (2012). <a class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NQVk-cYUOYYC&pg=PA7&dq=liberal+Christian+ANTIFA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pivWUOWTBPG10AGfnYDQCQ&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=liberal%20Christian%20ANTIFA&f=false" rel="nofollow"><i>Niemandsland: A History of Unoccupied Germany, 1944-1945</i></a>. Cambridge University Press. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number">ISBN</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/110701350X" title="Special:BookSources/110701350X">110701350X</a>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.aufirst=Gareth&rft.aulast=Pritchard&rft.btitle=Niemandsland%3A+A+History+of+Unoccupied+Germany%2C+1944-1945&rft.date=2012&rft.genre=book&rft.isbn=110701350X&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DNQVk-cYUOYYC%26pg%3DPA7%26dq%3Dliberal%2BChristian%2BANTIFA%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26ei%3DpivWUOWTBPG10AGfnYDQCQ%26ved%3D0CDQQ6AEwAA%23v%3Donepage%26q%3Dliberal%2520Christian%2520ANTIFA%26f%3Dfalse&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-5"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-5"> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web">Focus-Online. <a class="external text" href="http://www.focus.de/regional/dresden/einschraenkungen-in-der-innenstadt-demo-samstag-in-dresden-nazi-aufmaersche-und-linke-treffen-aufeinander_id_6631107.html" rel="nofollow">"Demo-Samstag in Dresden: Nazi-Aufmärsche und Linke treffen aufeinander"</a>. Focus-Online.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.au=Focus-Online&rft.btitle=Demo-Samstag+in+Dresden%3A+Nazi-Aufm%C3%A4rsche+und+Linke+treffen+aufeinander&rft.genre=unknown&rft.pub=Focus-Online&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.focus.de%2Fregional%2Fdresden%2Feinschraenkungen-in-der-innenstadt-demo-samstag-in-dresden-nazi-aufmaersche-und-linke-treffen-aufeinander_id_6631107.html&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-6"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-6"> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web">DNN-Online. <a class="external text" href="http://www.dnn.de/Dresden/Polizeiticker/Polizeiticker-Dresden/Initiativen-wollen-Dresdner-Einheitsfeierlichkeiten-zum-Desaster-machen" rel="nofollow">"Protest
gegen Einheitsfeier – Initiativen wollen Dresdner
„Einheitsfeierlichkeiten zum Desaster machen“ – DNN - Dresdner Neueste
Nachrichten"</a>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.au=DNN-Online&rft.btitle=Protest+gegen+Einheitsfeier+%E2%80%93+Initiativen+wollen+Dresdner+%E2%80%9EEinheitsfeierlichkeiten+zum+Desaster+machen%E2%80%9C+%E2%80%93+DNN+-+Dresdner+Neueste+Nachrichten&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dnn.de%2FDresden%2FPolizeiticker%2FPolizeiticker-Dresden%2FInitiativen-wollen-Dresdner-Einheitsfeierlichkeiten-zum-Desaster-machen&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-7"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-7"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.antifa.se/files/aktivitetsguide.pdf" rel="nofollow">AFA - Aktivitetsguide för antifascister</a> <a class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070211032651/http://www.antifa.se/files/aktivitetsguide.pdf" rel="nofollow">Archived</a> 11 February 2007 at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>., Antifa.se, 2004, pp. 9-11</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-8"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-8"> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web"><a class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151203193738/http://www.svt.se/nyheter/afa-riktar-ilska-mot-migrationsverket" rel="nofollow">"Afa riktar ilska mot Migrationsverket"</a> (in Swedish). 1 January 2006. Archived from <a class="external text" href="http://www.svt.se/nyheter/afa-riktar-ilska-mot-migrationsverket" rel="nofollow">the original</a> on 3 December 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">3 December</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.btitle=Afa+riktar+ilska+mot+Migrationsverket&rft.date=2006-01-01&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.svt.se%2Fnyheter%2Fafa-riktar-ilska-mot-migrationsverket&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-9"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-9"> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web"><a class="external text" href="http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/afa-tar-pa-sig-mordbrand-pa-nazistgard/" rel="nofollow">"Afa tar på sig mordbrand på nazistgård"</a> (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. 2005-12-28<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">26 November</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.btitle=Afa+tar+p%C3%A5+sig+mordbrand+p%C3%A5+nazistg%C3%A5rd&rft.date=2005-12-28&rft.genre=unknown&rft.pub=Dagens+Nyheter&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dn.se%2Fnyheter%2Fsverige%2Fafa-tar-pa-sig-mordbrand-pa-nazistgard%2F&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-10"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-10"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=53277&a=516807&lid=senasteNytt_611539&lpos=rubrik_516807" rel="nofollow">Afa riktar ilska mot Migrationsverket</a> <a class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110612062117/http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=53277&a=516807&lid=senasteNytt_611539&lpos=rubrik_516807" rel="nofollow">Archived</a> 12 June 2011 at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>. SVT 10 januari 2006.</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-11"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-11"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article5784027.ab" rel="nofollow">Slåss med knogjärn</a> Aftonbladet 13.9.2009.</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-12"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-12"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=147&a=585621&previousRenderType=6" rel="nofollow">Aktivister försökte stoppa möte med Sverigedemokrat</a> <a class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110611115008/http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=147&a=585621&previousRenderType=6" rel="nofollow">Archived</a> 11 June 2011 at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>. DN 2 november 2006.</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-13"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-13"> <span class="reference-text"><a class="external free" href="http://samtalskompassen.samordnarenmotextremism.se/valdsbejakande-extremism/valdsbejakande-vansterextremism/ideologi/" rel="nofollow">http://samtalskompassen.samordnarenmotextremism.se/valdsbejakande-extremism/valdsbejakande-vansterextremism/ideologi/</a></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-14"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-14"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.thelocal.se/8043" rel="nofollow">Migration judge threatened by extremists</a></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-15"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-15"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="https://archive.is/20120524155311/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/domare-som-utvisat-irakier-attackerades-1.770951" rel="nofollow">Domare som utvisat irakier attackerades</a> <i>Dagens Nyheter</i> 31 juli 2007.</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-16"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-16"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.sapo.se/publicerat/nyhetsarkiv/nyheter2007/hotmotfortroendevaldanyrapport.5.59a6ce1f116807f34088000356.html" rel="nofollow">Hot mot förtroendevalda ny rapport</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot"><span title=" Dead link since October 2016">permanent dead link</span></a></i>]</span></sup> Säpo 7 November 2008.</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-17"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-17"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <cite class="citation web"><a class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110612102920/http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=22620&a=1221280&lid=puff_1221455&lpos=rubrik" rel="nofollow">"Archived copy"</a>. Archived from <a class="external text" href="http://www.svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d%3D22620%26a%3D1221280%26lid%3Dpuff_1221455%26lpos%3Drubrik" rel="nofollow">the original</a> on 12 June 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2010-01-17</span></span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.btitle=Archived+copy&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.svt.se%2Fsvt%2Fjsp%2FCrosslink.jsp%3Fd%253D22620%2526a%253D1221280%2526lid%253Dpuff_1221455%2526lpos%253Drubrik&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span> Ruotsin TV</span></li>
<li id="cite_note-18"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-18"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://stockholm.expressen.se/nyheter/1.1461755/afa-tar-pa-sig-vald-mot-nd-politiker" rel="nofollow">Expressen: Afa tar på sig våld mot ND-politiker</a></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-SVTpol-19"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-SVTpol-19"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <cite class="citation web"><a class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121006015158/http://www.svt.se/2.33538/1.1750213/polisen_afa_bakom_upplopp_i_fittja%26from%3Drss" rel="nofollow">"Archived copy"</a>. Archived from <a class="external text" href="http://svt.se/2.33538/1.1750213/polisen_afa_bakom_upplopp_i_fittja&from=rss" rel="nofollow">the original</a> on 6 October 2012<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2014-04-07</span></span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.btitle=Archived+copy&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fsvt.se%2F2.33538%2F1.1750213%2Fpolisen_afa_bakom_upplopp_i_fittja%26from%3Drss&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-20"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-20"> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web"><a class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111001073801/http://mobil.svt.se/2.33538/1.1752021/10_afa-anhangare_begardes_haktade" rel="nofollow">"Archived copy"</a>. Archived from <a class="external text" href="http://mobil.svt.se/2.33538/1.1752021/10_afa-anhangare_begardes_haktade" rel="nofollow">the original</a> on 1 October 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2014-04-07</span></span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.btitle=Archived+copy&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fmobil.svt.se%2F2.33538%2F1.1752021%2F10_afa-anhangare_begardes_haktade&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-21"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-21"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article5784027.ab" rel="nofollow">Aftonbladet: Såss med knogjärn</a></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-StoppaAFA-22"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-StoppaAFA-22"> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Swedish)</span> <a class="external text" href="http://www.expressen.se/ledare/1.1466908/090215-stoppa-afa" rel="nofollow">Expressen:090215: Stoppa AFA</a></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-23"><br /></li>
<li id="cite_note-23"> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web">Strickland, Patrick (21 February 2017). <a class="external text" href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/02/anti-fascists-racists-afraid-170221100950730.html" rel="nofollow">"US anti-fascists: 'We can make racists afraid again<span style="padding-right: 0.2em;">'</span>"</a>. <i>Al Jazeera</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 May</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AAntifaschistische+Aktion&rft.atitle=US+anti-fascists%3A+%27We+can+make+racists+afraid+again%27&rft.aufirst=Patrick&rft.aulast=Strickland&rft.date=2017-02-21&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Al+Jazeera&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Findepth%2Ffeatures%2F2017%2F02%2Fanti-fascists-racists-afraid-170221100950730.html&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal"></span></span></li>
<li id="cite_note-24"><br /></li>
<span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web">Wang, Frances (27 Jun 2016). <a class="external text" href="https://twitter.com/ABC10Frances/status/747173380336418816/video/1" rel="nofollow">"A protest leader talks about "militant tactics" & "self-defense" to shut down "Nazi recruitment rally<span style="padding-right: 0.2em;">"</span>"</a>. <i>Twitter</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 May</span> 2017</span>.</cite></span></ol>
</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-6472141845017637942017-07-20T11:28:00.000-05:002017-07-20T11:28:05.004-05:00Plain Old Fishing Poles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/AgZ82lKua0nEsiMuv6HaXWrmyITyOQaBSrLnSCrsMRW9OpJpwpAXpwpZO7A0ZcgZ6mb-xQ=s400" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="400" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/AgZ82lKua0nEsiMuv6HaXWrmyITyOQaBSrLnSCrsMRW9OpJpwpAXpwpZO7A0ZcgZ6mb-xQ=s400" width="320" /></a></div>
"Plain old fishing poles." That was the title of a forum thread I saw recently. That caught my attention because I am drawn to the simple ways of doing things, and fishing is no exception. I have nothing against the more popular, modern methods of fishing. But plain old-fashioned cane pole fishing still has a place, in my opinion. Some of the most enjoyable fishing I have ever done has been sitting on the bank of a river or pond with a simple fishing pole and some type of bait, pulling in bream or catfish one after another. The forum thread was disappointing in that regard; apparently the term "plain old fishing pole," to the thread participants, was just another name for the same typical modern rod and reel just about everybody uses. So this is my attempt to keep real pole fishing alive, in whatever small way I can.<br />
<br />
I'm happy to find that real fishing poles are still available. Whenever I am in a sporting goods store or visit the sporting goods section of a big box store, I tend to notice the simple fishing equipment. In fact I recently picked up a cane pole at Academy Sports on a whim while I was in there to buy .22 Magnum ammo. I also like the telescoping fiberglass poles that have a built-in spool for line storage, like this one: <a href="http://amzn.to/2gNwDCH" target="_blank"><img alt="http://amzn.to/2gNwDCH" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=posslivi-20&l=li2&o=1&a=B000B5A6VM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />http://amzn.to/2gNwDCH</a><br />
<br />
There are other techniques for fishing with a plain fishing pole besides bank or dock fishing. Poke poling, for example. I think it was an article in <a href="http://amzn.to/2ucMJsF" target="_blank">Backwoodsman Magazine</a> that introduced me to this technique. Basically you climb or wade along a rocky seashore with a fishing pole that is rigged with a short leader so you can poke it into every water-filled hole you find, to present the bait to any fish that may be hiding in the hole. This technique is most common in salt water, but I have used it successfully in rocky creeks too.<br />
How about you? When's the last time you fished with such simple gear? <br />
<br />
</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8671794874064113602.post-53402455678435972832017-01-26T22:15:00.000-06:002017-01-26T22:15:27.808-06:00How To Make Your Own Springs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jAawhg6JtyY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jAawhg6JtyY?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
I found this really interesting because I often have need of a spring to fit one application or another. I buy spring assortments (like this one for example: <a href="http://amzn.to/2jahRa0">http://amzn.to/2jahRa0</a>) and have also made a few simple springs from <a href="http://amzn.to/2k9Dy9H" target="_blank">music wire</a>, but there are times when the ability to make a more complicated custom spring would be useful.</div>
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17473363347150080651noreply@blogger.com0