Survival Strategy #9: Amateur Radio vs the Zombie Apocalypse

Staying in touch.  Its a phrase we take for granted with today's technology. People exchange more tweets and SMS with each compared to traditional forms of communication.  When was the last time you actually had a conversation with your mother on the telephone?  But when she starts tweeting or opens a Facebook account, you find it weird.  

All that will change WTSHTF.  

The internet and electricity will go down when a major crisis strikes.  When the millions of dead rise up & eat living flesh, the whole world will be thrown into chaos.  Much of high-technology will fail, but the trusty radio won't.  

To the survivalist, amateur or "ham" radio will always be a relevant hobby.  There are at least three million ham radio enthusiasts around the world.  Its not as popular as it used to be.  The main obstacle are the tests you need to get past to earn a license.

You need to know your radio theory, operating rules, and the laws for amateur radio.  And if you want to get into High Frequency, Morse Code is a requirement. It took me much longer than I expected to get it all done.  

This will be a crucial skill for survival when the crisis comes.  And I cannot stress how important the role of amateur radio operators will play in the long-term struggle against the hordes of undead.  

Since we cannot count on our governments to adequately protect us, survivor groups will be relying on radio communication.  Building a radio station is relatively simple.  Once you have an antenna, installed a transceiver & power source, you've got the basic setup & are ready to go. 

If the pen is mightier than the sword, the radio beats any mere gun.

With a transceiver, you can communicate with other survivor groups.  This will come in handy for tracking the movements of undead hordes, update the status of danger or safe zones on your emergency maps, call for help or rescue other survivors.  Hearing other human voices can keep morale up because studies have proven how long-term exposure to the endless moans of the undead can drive anybody crazy.

The key here is to help each other.  This will be the only way to endure the crisis.

The voice of resistance could come from this humble trailer...

And let us take it one step further.  

If people could talk to each other, they can also help each other.  From this the seeds of resistance could be planted.  And once you have a growing number of communities helping instead of preying on each other, mankind will have its first serious chance at defeating the zombie apocalypse.  

So now it would be good to learn how to become a competent radio operator and perhaps construct your first radio station.

You should also touch base with groups like the Philippine Amateur Radio Association.  The authorities and mass media will fail,  but these folks won't.  They will be at the forefront in the coming struggle and its best that we get all this started right away.

Another important lesson for you survivalists is to accept the fact that your private stash of weapons and supplies can only go so far.  The only way to truly survive and overcome the zombie apocalypse is to co-operate with other folks.  

Stay vigilant!

John Browning: Zombie Hunter?

Profile: John M. Browning
Born: January 21 or 23, 1855.
Died: November 26, 1926 at the age of 71
Birthplace: Ogden, Utah
Profession: The most awesome weapons designer the world has ever seen. 

It was his birthday two days ago!  I guess he won't mind our late greetings.

We all know he's the genius behind the basis for much of today's automatic weapons.  The M1911, can we imagine a world without it?

Zombie Hunters worldwide since nineteen eleven have relied on this trusty weapon to defend against the living dead!  This is the pistol that remains practically unchanged and is probably the most popular weapon for competition, defense, and law enforcement today.  

Try looking up on what else he's done.  It will blow you away. 

This is old news to you gun enthusiasts and those serving in the armed forces.  Regardless, we me must educate the uninformed. 

So today, I'd like to ask our friends to spend some time reading up on his life and to go beyond Wiki, CliffsNotes, and whatnot.  I would rather we be not content to rest on his laurels.  Find time to really learn about what made him into the man that would affect & improve our lives.  This man who was born 156 years ago. 

What matters is that we celebrate the memory of him who has contributed immeasurably to the development of these special tools that will help us against the coming Zombie Apocalypse.  I raise a fine cold beverage to the birthday of Mr. John Moses Browning.

Remember your heroes.  

Ingenuity is our greatest weapon against the living dead.

Stay vigilant!

Kudos to Rick Seven.  Salt Lake will never fall.

Survival Strategy #8: Home Defense Analysis II, The Siege

In Part I of our Home Defense Analysis, we examined how we could fortify the interior of our homes in case TSHTF with nifty help from Floorplanner.com.  With that essential first step, we have learned how to identify a few critical areas that could turn our home into a castle.  

In this segment we complete the picture by integrating other survival strategies to be ready for the worst-case scenario: The Siege.

The Situation:

Your group has kept a low profile for a long time since the outbreak.  Your home's defenses have been hardened & have stocked up on renewable sources of sustenance.  Things were going well until hordes of walking dead began moving through your neighborhood. Your family knows how lay low, early preparedness & vigilance have seen to that.  However one of your neighbors have somehow managed to attract the attention of a big group which are now attacking their home.  To your horror, they detect your presence despite everything you've done.   They are at the gates...  

click to zoom

If you've done your homework, entry points would be barricaded, weaknesses have been corrected, defensible areas created, and you've also prepared multiple emergency exits that lead to safety.  Take note of the SUV that's wonderful at blocking gates.  You won't need it in a major outbreak.  The wiser choice would be to travel noiselessly by foot or bicycle to your next safe houses.  

The Problem Grows

Most people assume that a perimeter wall and lots of guns will do.   I've got a tall one made of cement & the front's got sturdy iron bars.  Mrs. Zombie Hunter is pleased because of the quality workmanship.  Unfortunately, this will not be enough.  Once they've detected you, the horde will pull at your gates endlessly and the metal will give way after a few hours.  They don't tire, sleep, or pause for breaks.  Use this time to make final defensive measures.

once they've detected you, they won't go away

Hard Choices

At some point you will need to take action.  You need to assess the situation to decide if your defenses will hold or not.  If they will not, mostly because of ever-increasing numbers, your family must be prepared to escape.   Getting trapped only means delaying the inevitable. If you're trapped, you're dead. Don't ever get trap.  Remember that the fear of change and the unfamiliar can be too much for some of you. Time is life, act before its too late!

• Step 1:  Agree on the conditions that identify when it is no longer possible to defend your home.  This will help break paralysis of some fearful or unwilling group members.

• Step 2: Stay on top of the situation so you know when its time to leave.  Before this happens, your family needs to be ready to go.  Bug-out-bag, emergency maps, back-up plans, etc.

• Step 3:  Slow them down. Create a path. Escape!

For step 3 to work, you need to keep the undead from entering your home long enough to get your family ready.  Yeah yeah, this is when we start shooting those undead bitches. 

Enemy at the Gates
Have your shooters quickly assemble at pre-designated firing positions.  The goal is to slow them down long enough for your family to get their stuff ready.  Hopefully you've been able to train your wife and other family members to use firearms proficiently.  The more shooters per household, the better.  Always have at least ONE person going around your home to make sure that the undead have not found an unforeseen weak spot in your defenses.

For this scenario, rifles would be best suited because of the distance from the windows to your gates.  Accurate shots to the head from beyond 15 meters will be hard to do with any other weapon.

The ideal firing positions would have a good field of view and have a criss-cross pattern so that your two shooting positions form a kill zone.  This is where the maximum amount of damage can be inflicted at an area where the enemy has been funneled into.  See the above figure to see what I mean.

At this point, your family members should be ready to escape to the emergency exits.

this is it. don't get scared now

The Breakthrough
This will be the most distressing part of the siege. Once they've reached the main doors, shotguns and close range weapons will be effective.  Before they break in, your non-combatants should be already near the exits.  The whole idea is to gather the zombies into one area: the front door.  This is to increase the chance that there will be much fewer undead on the other side.

The interior home defense analysis will play a crucial role here.  You should have identified where the defensible areas are inside.  A properly barricaded staircase can be defended by even a single person with just a handgun & an axe because only a maximum of about two zombies could come up the stairs at a time.  The goal of the people upstairs is to escape through the windows and balcony at the second floor to the rear of the home.

In our example, the kitchen is a natural strong point. Tables and other objects can quickly form an effective barrier.  You can stop a lot of them from here. Once everybody upstairs have moved to the back of the house, the defenders in the kitchen can execute the escape plan.

In the picture above, the defenders have drawn the enemy inside and have slowed their movement with well-placed barriers.  Making a stand in these optimal locations can maximize your firepower!

The Escape

You've been able to get your kids and elderly to the emergency exits.  They've also got their bug out bags & provisions.  The defenders have blocked the kitchen door that leads out with a refrigerator and washing machine.  This is it, time to escape!  

Your home is lost but everybody's okay.  If you were paying attention to our previous activities, your family members would be equipped with the special emergency map.  The map also identifies danger-zones to minimize risk during travel.  If properly done, these would be multiple locations that are situated near ideal resource points to keep you well fed & safe for a long time to come.  

Conclusion:

1. If you put all of the previous survival strategies together, you will be able to defend your home and get out alive & stay alive.

2. Don't be lulled into complacency.  Any fortress can be breached.  Always have an escape plan!

3. Vigilance is the first line of defense, preparedness will help you endure.

4. All of this won't mean jack if you don't involve your family.  Teamwork will be the best weapon against the zombie apocalypse!

Stay vigilant! Be prepared!

Anti-Zombie Headshot Training

Its not as easy as it looks, and forget what you see in the movies!  There are many reasons why its necessary to practice this a lot.   

Let me count the ways:

1. Hitting the head is not enough, you need to destroy the BRAIN.  The living dead will not be hindered with shots going to any other location.  And this makes it even harder because only the upper half is a valid target!

We also need a caliber that will get the job done with the least amount of bullets...

2. Now try that against a moving target.  A zombie's lurch will be uneven because of the stiffness of their joints.  They do not walk like regular folks so their heads will move in all sorts of jagged movements.  Trying to get good groupings on a stationary target is tough, but this ain't no ordinary target.  This brings us to point number three.

3. The zombie will be moving towards YOU.  And don't assume that they will be slow.  Even a brisk walker can close a short distance to grab & eat your brains.  Its easy to freeze like a deer facing oncoming traffic.  When the living dead are headed your way, you'll lose more than your wits for sure.

4.  The living dead are frightening.  Looking at a regular corpse will unsettle any of us. (pay attention to those who aren't affected!) What more if its the sort of corpse that is walking... moving... and making a spine tingling moan as it shuffles to devour you.  I mean, corpses aren't suppose to move!  It will drive you insane just seeing it before your eyes!  What more if there's a horde of them doin' the THRILLER in your direction?

still gives me the creeps dammit

All these proves that nobody is prepared to destroy a zombie with traditional training or psychology.  This is a new enemy that we must carefully prepare for. Be prepared to see professionals lose their cool.  Be prepared so you don't!  

The biggest mistake that some fellow survivalists, gun nuts, & internet tough guys will make is to assume that their monstrous armory of fancy guns will save them.  I strongly disagree.  

We must strive to prepare to face an unearthly and deeply unsettling foe.  With constant practice we can attempt to overcome our fearful instincts with drills and muscle memory.  

Thats my tiny stockroom behind the door.  

And I am ABSOLUTELY certain that nobody is behind it. Safety first!

Stay vigilant!