Posted on 03/23/2013 6:34:00 PM PDT by Kartographer
In a SHTF scenario anyone snooping around after dark is probably up to no good. If visible light is used the lights would be shot out rather quickly. And that’s expensive -if replacements are even available. Conversely, NVGs set to passive will pick up both intruders and their IR illuminators -should they have them. A remote IR illuminator lamp would light an intruder up like noon. If you go active IR the same lamp will have a vastly greater coverage than a conventional light. In either case advantage is to the defender and whatever option they should choose.
There’s nothing like passive defense where no indication is visible of the defender’s presence. The intruder can never know of a defender’s presence until the defender makes themself known at their choosing.
Don’t kid yourself, foragers will come with overwatch so you must obscure your location and detection methods.
LOL, get overly dramatic much? Sure, in your fantasy it all becomes a wasteland of commando raiders versus commando response teams, and reality gets tossed for the comic book version of life.
Not every thing that takes place after a failure of the electric grid would be full fledged combat operations.
Night vision goggles are wonderful and we all want them and would like to be able to use them when appropriate, we liked them in the military when we used them, but they are not the only tool for use at rural or large properties.
“Overly dramatic? Roaming gangs using overwatch swept thru New Orleans suburbs quite successfully following Katrina.
Do the math:
Option 1, A Gang: $5000 for a rifle, NV scope, IR spotlight, FRS radio and body armor. Transportation and all necessities are commandeered. Grouping is easy and mobility is inherent.
vs.
Option 2, Shelter in Place: $50,000 (minimum) for a 6-month survivalist stockpile. Grouping is difficult and limited to no mobility. Based upon geography help could be hours away or non-existent.
Almost anyone can exercise option 1. Few can exercise option 2. Who will the gangs prey upon?
You should try reading up on Selco’s experience in Bosnia.
He says don’t even try shelter-in-place without a large group of supporters and a very defensible position. And he had access to military-grade weapons at the outset.
As far as being out in a rural area good luck with that. Per Ferfal (Argentina, 2000) it was the rural Argentine farms where many of the worst atrocities occurred.
Yes, overly dramatic, and I’m not aware of any great successes by commando roving gangs after Katrina in conquering rural and large properties because they were so commando that only being taken out by snipers using using night vision and offering no warnings or deterrents could drive them off.
See post 133 for an example of why security does not need to be limited to a single tool.
You'd be surprised. I spent 20+ years in the Army, and there was always the person wandering around with a white lens flashlight, shining people in the face or giving away the position. Even doing land nav in the SFQC, troops would use white light and wonder how they were seen.
Light discipline can be hard to teach.
Just funnin’ with ya’ ;)
I don't plan to limit myself to only remote controlled use of a flashlight during my life while checking out noises and my yard.
“Just funnin’ with ya’ ;)”
I knew you were, I do appreciate men who can lift heavy objects.
I store water in older soda 2 liter bottles, but in the freezer. This way, the water stays ‘fresh’, and if there’s a power disruption, my freezer will stay cold longer.
No, I don’t know anything much about inverters.
You want to buy larger than just the watt number that you need, because of the start up drain from an appliance, for instance a refrigerator that draws 200 watts when cooling, may start itself with a 500 or 600 watt draw for a few seconds.
I think that it might be best to buy a pure sine wave inverter and it is what I am holding out for because it seems to be suitable for all electronics, whereas some inverters are not, and if you are going to buy one, it might as well be very versatile, besides, quality battery chargers for flashlights, might be sensitive to that.
With a good car battery, an inverter, and a $25.00 solar trickle charger for the car, a car battery can suffice for years worth of very light use, although the car is barely or never used, of course if there was no gas, then the battery and trickle charger would be brought in to the dwelling.
“when water freezes it put’s out heat”
That’s a good point. I had forgotten that fact!
“I store water in older soda 2 liter bottles, but in the freezer. This way, the water stays ‘fresh’, and if there’s a power disruption, my freezer will stay cold longer”
Good thinking!
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