A question from MT-01 over at Lower Valley Assembly: I have a neighbor who was a special forces engineer sergeant in Vietnam. I helped him get his amateur license. Sometimes we talk about radio comms in Vietnam. He tells one story where the comm sergeant put the end of his antenna into a stream in …
Category: communications
Another Student AAR For The RTO Course
Every class and every opportunity to work with great people is a gigantic blessing as well as a reminder of why I do this. For me, as noted at the end of this AAR, is the quality of student I get in class- to a person I've been humbled by the commitment and enthusiasm exhibited. …
Why the RTO Course Exists and A Course Review From The Volunteer State
"I'm not interested in a hobby- I just want my stuff to work." This is, far and away, the most common comment I get when people reach out to me for help or come to class. They've read all the stuff, bought books, read the forums, and maybe punched that ham ticket a time or …
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Additions to the Library
Putting up a couple of new references to the Library page- if you haven't checked it out, feel free to do so. It's full of .pdf manuals I've found useful both in the Army and beyond, along with a few kind submissions from like minded folks. Big hat tip to Sig. New additions: SF Radio …
The Prepper’s Signal Kit: Line of Sight Equipment Suggestions Based on Requests
I get a lot of questions regarding equipment- its a common theme, as a lot of the preppersphere focuses on what to buy. As anyone who's taken the RTO Course knows, the actual equipment itself doesn't matter that much with some solid foundational training. One VHF analog radio, functionality-wise, does the same thing as any …
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Guerrilla Radio: Getting Your Local Station Running
Originally posted over at American Partisan. Come check us out- lots of good liberty-oriented material getting posted daily. Many of the questions I get on a day-to-day basis revolve around what equipment is needed to get a radio station up and running with minimal cost. That’s a tough question and one that’s even tougher when …
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Guest Post: The Pirate Radio, by Henry Bowman
Note- this article came out of a conversation a few of us had regarding off the shelf community building tools and the value of low power FM radio. It so happens they could make good psyop tools if you think along the left hand path. If you're wondering what that means, read The Devil's Guard. …
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The Brevity Matrix
In the RTO Course we spend the bulk of our time on basic skill building- operator technique, antenna types and construction, planning and report formats for sending information rapidly and accurately. It's a starting point, covering the basics in two days. With that said, one of the common questions I get is regarding the length …
Ground SIGINT: Low Noise Receiving Loop Antenna
Part of the joy I get as an instructor and consultant is the diverse and quality interactions I have with students. Everything from their thoughts on what makes a good homestead or their successes as preppers to their favorite shortwave stations, its a blessed perspective that I get from everyone and something I like to …
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Updates on CommRadio’s CTX-10
The CommRadio CTX-10 has got myself and many other QRP enthusiasts excited- and for good reason- it's built from the ground up for field use meaning it's not only rugged but it packs everything you need in one box for HF. As you can see in the photo above, it's tiny, pushes out 10w, and …