Starlink

Posted on by
Reply

I’m not an Elon Musk fanboy but I don’t dislike him either…. I do respect him for coming up with some cool stuff and then having fun with it. The idea of a notebook-sized satellite dish to get you internet in literally any part of the world is something that was virtually unthinkable a decade or two ago.

For survivalists, one of the great headaches has always been finding a balance between living in the sticks, or even ‘off grid’, but still maintaining some type of communication with other humans…especially your fellow like-minded individuals. Most ‘bugout locations’ are short on things like powerlines and phone lines. The reliable standby has been ham radio, which has its ups and downs…there is no one perfect solution. I remember years ago that there were things like ‘packet radio’ and other radio/internet hybrids. Nowadays you just drop a Starlink on the ground in a clear area and start downloading porn. We’re living in the future.

My needs are quite simple. I’d like to have email and VoIP for voice communication. I’d also like to access Google Earth, get the news, and that sort of thing. Additionally, I’d like to have some internet-connected cameras for real-time viewing. While Starlink appears to be able to do that, the issue of powering the darn thing reliably over time is the new constraint. I need to have a battery system in place that would give me as much time as possible between  charges in case I need a few weeks to get up there. I suppose I could steal an RTG from the arctic somewhere but that seems like a lot of work.

I’ll be exploring solutions but before that I need numbers. So, after unpacking the box from FedEx, I have the Starlink setup in my yard running off a small lithium battery block. This particular power supply is Bluetoothed to my phone so I can track battery life as Starlink is out there doing its thing. Then, once I figure out average usage demands and whatnot I can start scaling a battery system. Yes, of course Im going to integrate some solar panels for charging…but I need some numbers so I can calculate needs and build in extra margins. In a perfect world I’d like to have enough panels up there to charge a battery that is capable of running the thing for a solid month.

And, as I am discovering, the internet is awash with all sorts of third-party items for this little piece of tech. Notably adaptors to let you run on Milwaukee and DeWalt power tool batteries. Thats rather convenient since I’ve got a bunch of them sitting around.

The subscription side of the StarLink equation got squared this week. You can put your subscription into a sleep mode when youre not going to be using it for a length of time and that drops your monthly sub to five or ten bucks. I went with their cheapest monthly plan which is about sixty bucks. I then dumped some money into a new brokerage account, bought a bunch of weekly dividend ETFs, set the brokerage to automatically move the dividends to a new checking account at the end of the month, and then StarLink bills the debit card attached to that account. Basically, a fire and forget arrangement.

My plan was to head up to the Beta Site this weekend and experiment with the StarLink but its raining pretty heavy and I really don’t feel like negotiating heavily rutted muddy roads. And…Im too lazy to go drag the SxS out of storage. So today will be spent on other Beta-Site-related projects. Most notably, I need to put together a secure container kit to put all the StarLink gear in for transit, I need to start calculating power needs, and another one or two projects I’ll post about in a few days.

 

Expensive lunch

Posted on by
12

You know you’re in trouble when the gun shop starts calling you. I had told the guy at the gun shop that I was always interested in any HiPowers that came in. And, today, I got the call.

Its an early MkIII (forged frame) in the box, came with six mags, mag pouch, and a Lula mag loader. Although I carry a Glock, and have had some interesting times with them, the HiPower is my favorite 9mm pistol.

Not content to spend money on just one gun, I made the mistake of asking about another gun that I’d had my eye on. A ‘used’ Angstadt 9mm AR pistol. Used is in quotes because even if a gun is 100% unfired and NIB, if it came from someone selling it and not from the factory/distributor it is considered used. I don’t make the rules.

I already have an Angstadt carbine and think it is an outstanding gun. Unlike many 9mm carbines that take Glock mags, this one locks back on empty. Technically a pistol with an arm brace (eyeroll) this little compact guy is handy. Doesnt do anything my Uzi or MP5s dont do, but it does it with compatability with my Glock mags/drums.

It was supposed to be a simple trip to the gun store while on my lunch break to pick up a HiPower and this is what happens…..

Intruder alert

Posted on by
23

Well, I figured it would happen sooner or later. Trespassers.

Now, before we get too carried away, there are a handful of possibilities going on here.

Im fairly confident these aren’t the surveyors I hired. Not that late in the day. This could be some people who are lost. They could have mistook this parcel for a different one. It could be one of my ‘neighbors’ who is curious to see if the piece of land that has sat empty and unvisited for the last several years has had some activity (which, yes, is still trespassing.) It could even be a concerned neighbor who saw recent tire tracks there and decided to investigate. So, probably nothing nefarious, but a) I need to keep an eye open for this SxS to determine who it belongs to and b) I need to get the very politely worded no trespassing signs up.

No doubt someone is going to ask about closing off the driveway somehow…chain across it, etc. All the roads up there are easements to allow people to be able to access their properties. This is why when I was looking for properties I made sure to avoid ones that had roads cutting them in half. My piece has a tiny bit of a corner of the property that bumps up against a road. Thats it. My ‘driveway’ is a road (and thats a super generous description) that dead ends in the middle of my property…meaning there is no reason for anyone to be on that road since it goes literally nowhere except to a dead end on my property.

I don’t want to do anything flagrantly unfriendly or un-neighborly. I don’t want the people who do reside up there full time to think the ‘newcomer’ has an attitude and adopt an ‘us vs him’ mentality. But, of course, at the same time, I didn’t drop all that money to not have privacy.

So, next trip up there gets a ‘Please do not trespass” sign on a stake hammered into the middle of my driveway so there’s no mistakes about “I didnt see your sign”.

Three day weekend report

Posted on by
28

Well,made it up to the Beta Site.

First thing was to get the platform I built finished up, on its blocks, and leveled. (Why isn’t it spelled ‘levelled’? Seems like it would have the double L…) It worked out pretty fair if I do say so myself:

That thing is 4’x8′ so it should accommodate rather handily one of the individual combat tents I picked up a little while back. Additionally, the prefabrication-in-town, transport-in-the-truck, and assemble-on-site aspect is good practice for when something bigger gets put up. And, gy the way, when that happens, this chunk o’ wood and it’s twin (which is going up there next weekend) will be repurposed as creek-crossing bridges. Speaking of the creek:

Pretty placid, huh? We’ll see what the water flow is like in August.

Also on tap for this trip was a bit of exploring along an edge of the property I havent really spent much time on. It runs along the border of the state land and, wow, it is thick thick thick with blowdown, snags, and deadfall. There is literally a lifetime of firewood laying out there. At some point I’m going to have to clean up some of the more egregious tangles that have pulled down the fence between my place and the state land.

To my surprise, it turns out that if you head off the edge of my property and hop two ridges over on the state land….strong cell signal. Too far from my anticipated habitat to really make a difference, but good to know its there. Speaking of communications, the Starlink setup will, supposedly, be here Friday. This means that, maybe, next weekends posting about the Beta Site might actually be from the Beta Site. We’ll see…gotta iron out a few bugs first.

So…progress being made. Forward movement is being made, just need a lot more of it.

Long weekend

Posted on by
7

Well, today is Saturday of a three-day weekend. My plan was to head to the Beta Site today but a project went into overtime, so it’s gonna have to be tomorrow.

Im working on a deck for up there to give me some space off the ground to put a tent, or just a couple chairs. I’m building two 4’x8′ “decks” that will sit on concrete deck blocks. Just some eight foot 2×6 covered with wooden decking. I’ll bolt them together side-by-side and that should give me an 8’x8′ platform. And, once I no longer need it, the two 4×8 decks will wind up becoming footbridges over the creek.

Assembly took longer than planned so I’ll be leaving tomorrow in the morning.

A buddy of mine came by and we were chatting about the Beta Site and I mentioned that I was going to, at some point, get StarLink for up there. He mentioned that his experience with it was positive. I told him I had no idea he had StarLink. He said he’d bought it a few months back, and then proceeded to pull a Pelican case with the whole setup contained within from  his truck. Well,  nothing accelerates my desire for something like getting to actually handle and examine the tangible goods. I knew I wanted to get StarLink for up there and now that I’ve gotten to see it up close I just need to open a new browser tab and order the thing. I’ve run the math and decided that if I move some money around into a fund specifically for StarLink subscription, I can have my dividends pay off the subscription fee meaning it won’t be an out-of-pocket expense…I’ll just use dividend and interest revenue to cover the $55/month fee.

Among other things tomorrow is hitting the Montana cadastral for approximate locations of  where the corners of the property are, snagging the GPS coords, and going to see if I can find the actual corners. Last trips adventure showed me where three of the four are supposed to be.

And, finally, I’ve a friend with a goodly amount of experience driving logging trucks and pretty much anything else that eats diesel and winds through the woods. He’s off the opinion that we can get a small trackhoe up there without too much difficutly (assuming he’s doing the driving.) If thats the case, then its time to mark out where I want the holes dug for the polytanks I’ve got in the queue.

So, of to the Beta Site tomorrow. Details and pics when I get back.

Costco water heater

Posted on by
17

Once in a while CostCo has something that turns out to be fairly useful for my needs. Today’s case in point:

A portable propane water heater. Nothing says civilization like hot water. (Actually, electricity is the real hallmark of civilization…) This thing runs on a barbecue bomb and a 12v battery. I anticipate getting dirty and sweaty up at the Beta Site this summer and, lets be honest here, whats the point of spending a buncha money on a piece of property if you can’t be naked outdoors on it?

I need to do some research and see if this thing is worth picking up, but it’s definitely the sort of thing I’m going to need up at the Beta Site. Depending on the size of the structure I put up for the short-term, this might be able to be integrated into it to give me some basic water features.

.45-70 bear gun II

Posted on by
4

(Unless youre Ilhan Omar, in which case this post is “.45-70 bear gun eleven”)

After I mentioned that I had upgraded the sights on my .45-70 BruinBuster I got a couple emails from people asking for more details on the sights. Okay. Basically, its a protected rear sight with a high-visibility front sight.

Very nicely machined and finished. The colored front sight (or front sight of color, I suppose) is easy to pick up quickly and accurately. Workmanship is excellent. They also included the necessary allen wrench and a little tube of blue threadlocker.

The natural comparison of these sights is to the Skinner Sights. I have a set of Skinner SIghts on my .30-30. They are both very, very similar. I will say, the XS seems a bit more refined and finished. Really, its a six-of-one-half-dozen-of-the-other situation. I ordered the XS sights and received a quick confirmation and tracking number, an email query to Skinner has, so far, gone unaswered. Ok, guess I’ll spend my money with the people that were responsive.

Still gotta pick a bullet, load up some ammo, and head to the range. But not this weekend…its a three day holiday weekend and I plan on being up in the hills for a chunk of it.

Bargain beef – its whats for dinner

Posted on by
21

I have to remind myself every so often that not everyone cares or is interested in what’s going on with the Beta Site. Sure, there’s a lot of folks here who are kinda living vicariously a bit…and I’m happy to feed that. But there’s also a contingent that are probably tired of hearing about it, so I need to remember to post about stuff other than the Beta Site.

Todays noteworthy event was scoring more ground beef at 50% off.

My job requires me to do bank deposits daily. When I’m out running that errand I usually make a fast pass through ALbertson’s to check for remaindered meat. It’s paid off pretty well over the last several months.

Prices rarely go down on ..well..anything. And ground cow is still one of the most versatile animal proteins I can buy. Meatloaf, hamburgers, spaghetti sauce, tacos, etc, etc. Plus..who doesn’t like beef?

As it turns out, my other favorite animal protein – chicken – can be had by the case at WinCo for something like a buck and a half a pound if I dont mind getting a plastic sack full of 40# of boneless/skinless chicken breast. True it is probably the least flavorful part of the chicken, but I almost always just wind up turning it into stir fry or chicken tenders anyway.

I’ve never regretted having a freezer full of food. In my entire life I have only had one freezer failure and that was about twenty years ago. I’ve been much more careful about those sorts of things.

And, of course, you never know when, for whatever reason, trotting down to the supermarket for some 85/15 may not be in the cards. At that point youre living offa whats in your freezer and fridge and hopefully you’ve loaded up. Since Im a cautious sort, and never know when the next EOTWAWKI (personal or national) is coming, I always stock up when I can find these sorts of bargains.

Here’s a truth that you can absolutely bank on: before the big EOTWAWKI happens you will face many smaller, personal ones. You may be in one right now. What do they look like? Job loss, divorce, medical emergency, foreclosure, busted transmissions, leaky water heaters, tennis-ball-swallowing dogs, vulnerable loved ones, home invasions, unexpected expenses, 2am phone calls, and a thousand other crises that mean nothing to everyone else but are paramount to you because they are happening to you.

And when that personal EOTWAWKI, with its accompanying financial spiral, hits your life, it’ll be nice to not have to worry about things like groceries while your frantically trying to keep whatr you have left as you scramle to get your life back on the rails.