Author Archives: Commander Zero

Windup roundup

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

I have some of the early generation BayGen flashlights in storage. I bought them back around…mmm..must have been around 2000 or 2001 when CostCo cleared ‘em out when the Y2k stampede was done. These are the ones made in South Africa and use incandescent bulbs. They’ve sat , patiently, awaiting the time they’d be needed. I think they were about $20 ea. when I got them. (I also have one of the older SW/AM/FM radios as well.) Of course, now it’s ten years later and everyone seems to be making a handcrank light or radio. As is usual in technology, the prices dropped and the technology improved. The incandescent bulbs are replaced with far superior LED bulbs, and the bulky mechanisms have been made smaller. More interestingly, the ‘clockwork’ technology has been used in other devices as well.

Two of the most interesting devices, which I have no experience with, by the way, are the Freeplay Weza generator and their 12v device charger. The Weza is basically, as I understand it, a cross between one of those 12v battery packs you buy for jumping vehicles and a Stairmaster. You step on the pedal to turn a flywheel generator that charges the internal battery. I’m guessing it’s gonna take alot of pseudo-stairstepping to charge a 12v battery but if you have nothing else to do and its the only thing standing between you and no lights/communications………….

As I’m discovering the increasing utility of devices like IPhones and iPads I am becoming convinced that even without phone service these devices have tremendous utility. Depending on what you stuff into them they do spreadsheets, note taking, photography, take and view video, provide translations, hold reference books, calculations (inc. ballistics), etc, etc, and they do it all in a package smaller than 20-round rifle mag. This handcrank device charger (Freeplay FreeCharge 12V Black- AK060) looks like just the ticket for keeping the iPhone or iPod charge…although the amount of cranking might be onerous…which is why I have one of these tucked away. (That little Goal0 panel really does work…you have to keep it in direct sun, but I’ve used it a bunch of times and it will indeed charge up an iPhone although some people report mixed results.) However, the ability to produce enough power to charge up a USB device when the sun isn’t cooperating is something that I can see being mighty handy.

For small AM/FM/weather radios, I wound up with one of these Etón radios and have been quite pleased with it. I keep it in my everyday bag so that if things get weird in a hurry I can at least glean some inforamation off of the AM/FM bands. The flashlight function is also quite good for indoor navigation.

Interestingly, someone brought this to my attention. It’s a windup headlamp. I had no idea such things existed. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised….I’m rather pleased this is a technology that has started to go mainstream after being almost exclusively limited to Third World relief products.

One of the common complaints about these things is that the handcrank invariably breaks. Well, that makes sense since it’s a fairly high-stress part. The trick is to wind the devices purposefully and carefully. If you just grab the crank and start rotating it as fast as you can like your landing a fish then when the spring hits the end of the spool youre either going to rip the handle off the thing or similarly damage it. Wind it in a manner so that if the handle comes to a sudden stop your grip either naturally slips or you have enough time to stop your movement. I’ve yet to break a windup device this way.

There are tons of cheapo windup lights and stuff out there. Even the cheap 3-in-a-package ones from CostCo do a decent job of throwing light around a darkened house. But, be smart….check the reviews and don’t be hesitant to spend a few more bucks. Ive a Freeplay 360 that I use in my kitchen when I’m cooking or cleaning and have never had a problem. On a sunny day, with the volume kept fairly reasonable, I can just sit it in the sun and not even have to crank the thing. I’ve got plenty of flashlights and a goodly amount of batteries to run them but these newer windup lights and radios really do provide a secondary level of redundancy that is very appealing. If you havent checked out getting such devices I think you may find them worth your time.

No, seriously….he did what????

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

One of the perks is learning of perps. That is to say, one of the interesting things about the missus is that I get to, sometimes, hear about interesting crimes that have happened here in town that I might otherwise not be aware of. She regaled me with one today that was just so WTF that I had to share it.

Fella is at a convenience store and has a pistol that is in plain view on his hip. So far so good…open carry and all. Fella behind him in line, believing it wasnt legal for the guy in front of him to be armed in the convenience store then tries to snatch the gun from the gentleman’s holster. Gunowner and clerk subdue the fella and the cops are called in.

I. Am. Amazed.

First of all, this sounds like an amazing way to wind up with either an extra navel right above your first one, or at least a major structural re-arrangement of the bones in your face. Secondly, this is Montana..gun racks are standard equipment at most car dealerships…we’re rather gun-friendly. And thirdly..well, no thirdly…its just a major WTF all around.

I’m hoping this makes it into the paper in the next few days so I can get some more details. Apparently the holster was of a retention type, so there was a bit of a struggle. I am very much looking forward to more details.

If this is pretty much how it played out, there was some remarkable restraint shown on the part of the folks who subdued this guy. Someone tries to snatch a gun from me I can only assume it’s because he want’s to kill me with it and…well…as Captain Reynolds says about that, “someone tries to kill you..you try to kill ‘em back!”.

Books – Pt. IV

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

With GPS built into just about everything, most folks don’t put much effort into land nav anymore. I’m not saying you have to get uber-geek about it, but you should be able to read a map and figure out simple things like azimuths, bearings, etc, etc. Someday you might need to leave someone a message (ideally it would be encoded) saying something like “12 U 300015.6 539714.70″ or the more cumbersome “48 41 43.07377 N 113 43 3.95584 W”. (Who is gonna be first to leave a comment telling me whats at that location?) Without at least a background in basic land nav (and perhaps a small map overlay), you’d have a hell of a time finding that on a map. More importantly, when you hide something somewhere out in the boonies…a cache, a body, a bunker…you wanna be able to tell people how to get there and nothing conveys precise locations like grid coordinates.

Be Expert with Map and Compass – This is the classic book on the subject and, really, it’s very good. It is also probably a bit overkill and intimidating for many people. No mistake, it’s an awesome book and one that should be right there in your library. I like the thoroughness of it, but it can be kind of daunting…it’s the War and Peace of land nav. However, you should have it because you can always learn just what you need at the moment and then come back later and learn more.

Map Reading and Land Navigation: FM 3-25.26 – I don’t come across many military maps but it’s still good information to have. Much of the information is fairly dated, which means if you’re just planning on navigating with a simple magnetic compass and maybe a protractor, then this is a great book to have. I don’t know if there’s a more modern version that covers GPS systems, but still, this book is a good one to have as well.

Compass & Map Navigator – This is actually my favorite book, which is kinda odd since this book is sort of a ‘Fisher-Price’ version of the previous two. However, it is terrifically illustrated, concise, and explains things quite well.

Although these aren’t books, they sorta segue in there. There are plastic overlays for use with regular topo maps and UTM coordinates. This is the one I use: Improved Military UTM/MGRS Reader & Protractor “Super GTA”. These things are awesome. When using the UTM system it lets you locate positions on a map down to the meter, although I usually just go down to a 10m^2 level of detail. If you havent used the UTM system, it’s wonderfully simple and since it uses regular numbers instead of degrees, minutes, and seconds, it allows easier calculations. My favorite example is finding the distance between two points on a map – point A and point B. With UTM you find the difference between the two axes, slap on a little pythagorean theorem and – presto- theres your distance. Good luck doing that with longitude and lattitude.

Independence Day spirit

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

I know not all of us are on the same political page, but, sweet Crom, this may be the coolest picture I’ve ever seen on the interwebs:

Ronald Reagan, riding a flag-waving velociraptor, firing a machinegun one-handed, carrying a grenade launcher, and wearing a suit and tie. Let’s see Putin top that.

 

ETA: Full size! Check out the fine details! The MP-7 says “GIPPER”!

 

Semantics

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

Remember guys…we’re celebrating Independence Day, not the 4th of July.

(Although given recent .gov shenanigans the pendulum seems to be swinging from independence to dependence, but that’s another post.)

Get out there and shoot something today!

Review – Streamlight Sidewinder 14032

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

I was fairly taken with the compact version of the Sidewinder but after playing with it a bit, I found it good but lacking. My biggest complaint was that when clipped to a piece of gear it would be unstable and sway around, unbalanced by it’s size and weight. I liked the features, I just wasn’t a fan of the physical envelope that contained these features. So…I bit the bullet and ordered the larger, but still fairly compact, full sized version. Big difference in my satisfaction.

The larger version (Streamlight 14032 Sidewinder) arrived just before I left for Glacier last week.

My biggest complaint about the Compact was that when you clipped it to a bit of webbing or what have you, it would sway about wildly. Let me try to describe it. Imagine you take a paperback novel and affix it to your shoulder strap so that the spine of the book is against you. The rest of the book juts out there and sways unsteadily as you move. Same thing.

This larger version of the Sidewinder, because of its large battery compartment, is  far more stable. A few other features separate it from the Compact:

  • It runs on AA batts, as opposed to the CR123 used in the Compact, so my logistics are streamlined a bit.
  • Has a lanyard attachment point.
  • The metal clip that you use to clip the light to your gear is removable. This is important because it you think the clip isn’t providing enough force to keep it from sliding off whatever you clip it to, you can remove the clip, bend it as necessary, and then put it back the way was. Couldn’t really do that with the compact.
  • Battery compartment lid is captive. No losing it in the dark or when your sitting somewhere changing batteries when the cover falls between your legs and into the tall grass. Nice touch.

I’m going to go ahead and give the non-Compact version of the Sidewinder a better rating than the compact version. Price isn’t too terribly different, and although it is a bit bigger I believe you will get better use out of it than the Compact.

Note that the SIdewinder series are available in different color-combinations…you can get, for example, one that has white, green, red and blue emitters. I went with white, red, blue and IR. I don’t have anything that let’s me take advantage of the IR (at the moment) but that doesn’t mean that someday I won’t.

As I said, only real drawback is price. There’s plenty of LED lights out there for less, but the features on this thing (clip, lanyard, flash mode, adjustable brightness, swivel head, subdued color, hands-free operation, waterproof, etc, etc.) pretty much fill all the requirments I wanted in a light that could be affixed to a vest or webbing strap (also darn near perfect for clipping to a vehicle visor for use within the vehicle cab). So, yes it’s expensive but to me it seems worth the money.

Some camo links

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

The missus sent me an email informing me of this resource ( Camopedia ) …interesting. The source I has been using prior to that for information about camouflage patterns was kamouflage.net. As always, more then one source of reference/information is appreciated.

Peripherally tied into the subject of camo, is this nice ‘how to’ from arfcom: How to Multicam your rifle…on the cheap!

When I buy gear I almost always go with basic OD since it goes with everything. Someone pointed out to me once that it didn’t matter if the gear was OD, desert or black…the right can of spraypaint will make anything camo. OD is pretty common but given my druthers, I really like multicam. (Yes, I drank that KoolAid.) Only problem is that it’s mighty expensive. Another possibility is the new A-Tacs patterns, esp. the green one, that is becoming more and more available.The other pattern I find that I like for my region are the classic German flecktar, which seems to be a pre-digital-age version of digital camo with its ‘dithering’ effect. (Whcih, if you ignore the political implications, appears to be a direct descendent of the old Nazi pea pattern camo.)

For winter wear I have the usual German ‘pine’ camo but I’m very taken with the Finnish and Danish winter patterns. G’luck finding ‘em in the US. (Real ones, not airsoft knockoffs made in China.) Although you’d think that a set of simple solid white clothing would work, it turns out that snow really isn’t solid white…there’s enough shading and whatnot that solid white will stand out a bit. The Marines have a new winter camo out that looks pretty good but I don’t expect to see it on the surplus market anytime soon.

Zeltbahns…sorta

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

Looks like a zelt to me.

I think I’ve mentioned it a couple times in the past, but one thing I’ve always wanted to get my hands on and examine is a German zeltbahn. Unfortunately, originals (and even repros) are hard to find at reasonable prices. Fortunately, other countries adopted the basic design and, surprisingly, Sportsmans Guide has some Swedish ones. At least, they look like zeltbahns. Check this out. It isn’t that I necessarily think this design is any better than the current ones (although it is much more imaginitive), but I’d like to have one to examine and experiment with and, if I like it, use as a template for a version using modern materials and camo patterns. I have a copy of the original German (translated) manual for the use, care, and specifications of the Zeltbahn and while it’s an old design I think it has one or two advantages of the modern rectangular one. Regardless, I’m gonna have to order up a couple of these just to goof around with. If nothing else they’ll make nice covers for my bicycle when it’s locked up outside.

Derecho?

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

You learn something new everyday. The new thing I learned was the meteorological term “derecho“, which is Spanish for “you should have bought that generator before you needed it”.

Apparently parts east of here, especially the Washington DC/Virginia area were slammed by the meteorological effect known as a ‘derecho’. Succinctly, its a tornoado that blows in a straight line, not swirly.

The media is kicking out the usual post-disaster photos and soundbites. People discovering that, surprise surprise, when the electricity is out the gas stations can’t pump gas. When trees fall, electricity goes down. When roads are blocked, traffic stalls. You know….Basic Preparedness 101 boilerplate……….

We had ourselves a little gust-fest the other day here in western Montana. Nothing as grand and powerful as what happened back east, but enough to remind folks that sometimes the wheels fly offa things pretty suddenly and when they do you have to be ready to step up and deal with it on your own.

You would think that after the countless billions of dollars sunk into ‘readiness’ programs, especially in the DC/NoVa area, they’d be able to get the roads cleared and the lights on much faster.

The moral of the story, naturally, is that when crap like this happens little things like stored fuel, a generator and some simple pre-planning can mean the difference between living life normally and sweltering in an uncooled apartment as you call your boss and tell him you’re missing work because your car is outta gas.