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Sad Ham Fuddery

I wanted to share some radio antics from yesterday because there is some learning value in it.

While I was rucking 2.5 miles, I carried my new Motorola XPR 6550 to see how it performed in a wooded area. I was listening to the local GMRS repeaters, which have been taken over completely by sad hams. After a rousing round-robin discussion of where to eat dinner and critiques of various restaurant French fries, they began a discussion of some radio ne'er do wells (more like vagabonds) that needed to be tracked down.

The ringleader complained that some "truckers" (turns out they are maintenance guys) had been using their frequency and activating the repeater (GASP). Mind you, this is an Open repeater that anyone can use. Well, our hero said he hadn't' had the time to track them down yet, but he was going to get to it, because someone needed to find them and tell them that they are using the repeater illegally.

Let me clarify, that's completely FALSE. As it is an open repeater, with a published PL Tone, it is open for anyone to use. Now, he might try and say you can't use the radio for business use, but that's a HAM radio thing, not a GMRS thing. It is perfectly legal to use GMRS for business communications.

Now, I get it, they probably don't have a GMRS license, but that doesn't make this illegal. Every FRS (license free) radio has the exact same 22 channels as GMRS on it. Many, like Cobra radios, are sold as 2-watt business radios, but they have the same channels. As a side note, 3 of the GMRS channels used to be "Itinerant Business" channels, meaning that if a business has had their radios for a long time, these channels are likely on them.

What I think the deal is that these guys are using some cheap FRS radios, but they are really close to the repeater. They put a CTCSS code on the channel to stop having to hear every kid in the neighborhood playing on their walkie talkies, and by pure coincidence got the code to their repeater (they are all from the same tone list).

If these guys track them down, what gives them the authority to act as self-appointed Junior Federal Agents and go knock on this business's door? The problem is that a lot of amateur radio guys think that their license conveys some sort of authority, it doesn't. So, let's say they track these guys down, confront them, and these cats tell the Ham Junior Police to pound sand, what is their recourse? The hams could call the cops, who would politely tell them that they have no idea what they are talking about, but that they had better not trespass and accost people anymore, lest someone blacken their eye.

They could try to go to the FCC, but the FCC would point out that in order for them to take action, the activity has to be malicious and intentional. Listening to these guys on the radio, they have NO IDEA whatsoever that they are interfering with this repeater. Therefore, there is no violation. The right solution is simply to change the tone to your repeater.

As far as businesses using GMRS without a license, or using FRS radios above 2 watts, there are literally THOUSANDS of them doing it every day. The FCC will never act on it, since business use is permissible and not a violation. Sure, they are using more power than legally allowed, but since we're talking 4 watts instead of 2, the FCC could care less.

One of the comments the ham guy said proved that they don't ever operate radios for business. He said that the other guys didn't know that you should never use a PL tone (privacy code) on simplex (talking without a repeater). That's pure BS. I've used GMRS radios all over the country (and in other ones) on simplex for running security details or surveillance, and if you don't use a PL tone, you will hear every little business or kid using the radio as a toy. Yes, using a PL tone on simplex is a good idea if you and your team want to just talk to each other.

Yes, I know everyone else can hear our conversation, but I'm not hearing kids shouting "poo poo pee pee" over the channel or Suzie asking Diane for price check.

Anyway, use PL tones on simplex to reduce interference and also understand that even with a GMRS license, you aren't given exclusive access to any of the 22 channels. You just have to deal with the fact that other humans exist and might exercise their right to use the same channel you are exercising your rights on.

Y'all would be proud of me, it took every ounce of willpower in my body, but I did not engage with these guys.

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Timeline Cleanse

Time for a timeline Cleanse before WW3 kicks off.

00:00:10
INTEL UPDATE - GUYANA

This appears to be video from the fighting on the Venezuela-Guyana border.

00:00:36
Quick Thoughts on GPS Units

Here are a few quick thoughts on GPS units.

1. Get older ones - they may have less features, but they also don't track you for "your safety".

2. You don't need a camera on it. Ever.

3. There are guys on Ebay who specialize in flashing old units with new software. I just bought a "new old stock" one that a guy upgraded.

4. They will also sell you all the newest GPS Topo maps at reduced prices. I have like 5 different map areas on one SD card.

5. Get one that takes an SD card and force the unit to save all your tracks and points to the SD. That way in the event of potential compromise, you can pull the SD Card and either bury it or toss it, and they can't exploit your GPS to find your camp, home, base, etc.

00:04:55
INTEL BRIEF- BALTIC

The CLion1 communications cable has been cut for the third time. The cable connects Gotland to Sweden.

It was also cut in November and December.

February 17, 2025

Another regional jet, the same type as in D.C, crashes. This time in Toronto. Snowy conditions on the runway and strong gusty crosswinds. The aircraft flipped, tore off the wings & tail, and briefly caught fire.

All aboard survived with nineteen injuries, two of which are critical. One of the critical was a lap child (i.e. a parent holding a baby). As one who has twenty five years flying for the airlines, if you are holding a baby instead of buying an extra seat & using a child seat, you are a dumbass. Held children in an aircraft accident become projectiles. DON'T do it.

Insider scuttlebutt has it that the First Officer was a new hire with little flight time and possibly was still undergoing her initial checkout training. Probably not the best judgement to have a newbie conduct the landing in such conditions.

Beware, due to the pilot shortage there are many low time pilots at all of the carriers, in both seats.

Below is a link to a video shot by a dumbass passenger shot WHILE ...

INTEL BRIEF - Beirut Fighting

A UNIFIL Convoy was struck by Hezbollah and IRGC forces near Beirut International.

The Deputy Commander has been wounded along with several others. At least one vehicle was set on fire.

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Partisan Logistics

This article is an add-on to the most recent article at tactical-wisdom.com.  In addition to having your own 14 days of portbale supplies, you need some sort of clandestine resupply network if you intend to fight as a partisan, resisting some type of oppresive force (Dear feds: The CHINESE).

Eric Robert Rudoplh, the Olympic Park Bomber, hid from authorities in the wild for months, despite them having a clear starting point for his evasion.  Now, we're not idolizing Rudoplh, he was a terrorist, but his tactics made him a folk hero in his area.  Rudolph was able to evade by living off the supplies he carried, his gear, and the land.  The ONLY reason he got caught was because he ran out of food and without a support network, he resorted to dumpster diving, and thus was captured on video, giving the authorities a fresh and recent start point.

You can avoid this by setting up some of the techniques we're about to discuss.  However, this is the point where I tell you that this training isn't free.  You must be a paid supporter to read the rest.

 

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Book Review: The Prepper's Guide to Post-Disaster Communications
Aden Tate

Amazon Purchase Link: Prepper's Guide

Aden is a friend of mine, but he didn't ask me to review this and doesn't even know I'm doing it.  I'm sneaky like that.

I started this book long ago, but my travel schedule and move put reading on the back burner.  However, the communications issues we faced in the aftermath of back to back hurricanes had me thinking I'd better break this out and get to work.

The cool thing is that Aden, also known as the King of the South (just ask him), has a really fun writing style and is easy to read.  Once I got into the meat of the book, I couldn't stop reading it. His hand-drawn cartoons are better than mine (shocking, I know) and actually make the book more fun.

Aden discusses practical, real-world use of radio in all it's forms in a post-disaster or Without Rule of Law environment.  He breaks down the physics of radio and explains in simple terms all of the various types of radios.  For example, he discusses software-defined radio (SDR), digital vs analog, HF radio, VHF/UHF radio and all of their uses. He discusses how to incorporate directional antennas, spectrum analyzers, and scanners into your intelligence collection plan.

Aden uses several real-world examples to illustrate his point.  One of the best chapters is on how to use radios to provide early warning for an underground church meeting. He delves into recon and intelligence skills to supplement your radios.

He includes a series of training exercises and thought questions designed to help you think about your radio and communications plans.  The appendix contains a list of frequencies to monitor during emergencies.

The true indicator of how smart a man is is how much agrees with you.  In this book, Aden recommends taking NC Scout's RTO course several itmes, as well as recommending his book.  Since I feel the same way, Aden is clearly a genius.

I highly recommend this book.

 

 

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GroundRod 1 Course Review

Earlier this month, I hosted K from Combat Studies Group.  He held a GroundRod Level 1 course here at Camp Ponderosa.  A good number of guys came and we learned a ton about digital privacy and how to defeat the surveillance state.  The guys loved the location here as well as K's outstanding content.

A few weeks ago, NC Scout said during a podcast that if you can only afford to take one class this year, you should start with GroundRod.  He is 100% correct.  Tightening up your digital tradecraft and reducing your online footprint is worth far more than K charges.

Normally, this is where I'd say you need to be a paid subscriber to learn more, but I feel like this is so vital and I'd like to convince others to sign up as monthly supporters.  Consider this a free preveiw of the types of studies, analysis, and reviews that we do over here.  It's worth the $5 a month.  We do video training, intelligence reporting and analysis, and reviews of books, gear, and classes.

I'm not going to give away any of K's content, but we are going to go over some of the topics.

The course series (4 classes) covers information security, communications security, personal security, escape & evasion, and tradecraft.  GroundRod 1 is concerns with the first two, as well as digital tradecraft.  K drew an interesting Venn diagram highlighting that the class covers the intersection of privacy, security, and anonymity.

We talked about the threat environment involving not just government activity, but also corporations and criminals.  An interesting note is that the Five Eyes countries use each other's intelligence agencies to get around restrictions against spying on citizens, ala Chris Steele and Donald Trump.

K covered common attack surfaces, including lesser-known ones like "juice jacking" where when you plug in your phone to a public charging cable at a coffee shop or airport, criminals withdraw the data on your phone.  K gave specific countermeasures for that.

K offered up ways to secure your home router, ways to stay safe on public internet, and how to reduce the amount of "pattern of life" data you emit, enabling survielllance of yourself.  That backs up what NC Scout teaches when he talks about building a pattern of life on SIGINT targets.

The class covered more secure operating systems that you can boot from a USB drive to better protect your data and your browsing, to hide that pattern of life data.  It also covered basic and advanced methods of cryptology as well as some advanced steganography.  

Everyone in the class built their own Operating System flash drive and encrypted vault memory systems.  

The course covered a lot of great digital fieldcraft like how to hide or research metadata in files, how to trace emails, and how specifically internet traffic is routed, so that you can game that system.  Once you know how traffic is routed, how DNS servers work, and how MAC addresses work, you can then develop a strategy to work around the tracking protocols that are built into the system.

K gave his advice on good VPN services as well as which ones to avoid.

Some of the more in-the-weeds stuff was how to set up your browsers internal settings to maximize privacy and reduce tracking.  It's a lot of tech nerd stuff but absolutely vital as things progress here in the Western nations.

We went over various search engines and chat services, discussing merits of them.  For example, we learned that despite their public statements, Duck Duck Go isn't really private at all.  And, as I keep saying, K pointed out that Signal has no place in partisan activity.

K finally was able to break through my reluctance to using crypto.  He went over the blockchain entirely and expalined that most of it isn't as completely anonymous as they claim, but it is anonymous enough to make tracking hard.  He went over which coins were more secure and which were not safe.

There was much more in the class, including the tracking of your vehicle by the manufacturers and how to defeat license plate readers.

I highly recommend taking this class if it is offered anywhere near you.

GroundRod 2, which we have scheduled here at Camp Ponderosa for January 18-19, is a continuation of these topics.  You can register at CSG Calendar.

GroundRod 3 and 4 deal with the physical security skills of escape and evasion, kidnap resistance, and tradecraft.

Get trained and learn how to reduce your attack surfaces.

 

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