Tactical Wisdom
News • Politics • Preparedness
A community of preparedness people, with a biblical foundation. We discuss preparedness advice, my books, and current events.
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INTEL BRIEF - TAIWAN

There are currently 15 PLAN vessels, 16 China CG vessels, and 42 aircraft all surrounding Taiwan.

Potentially, a blockade could follow.

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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

We out here rattle-canning stuff. First attempt at painting a rifle. Attempted it on the cheap one first.

INTEL BRIEF - KOREAN PENINSULA

Earlier this week, about 20 DPRK soldiers crossed the Demarcation Line. Sotub Korean forces used loudspeakers, and then fired warning shots, which got the NK soldiers to retreat. DPRK claims it was an accident.

INTEL BRIEF - MALAWI CRASH

The Malawi government has confirmed that the Vice President and 9 others were killed in a plane crash.

Seems like there is an awful lot of that going around these days.

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Kenwood Tk-3140
Digital Radios over Analog Channels

I first learned of the Kenwood TK-3140 radio long ago, while working for the security department of a major US corporation.  One of my projects was upgrading the radios for a surveillance team dedicated to fighting organized retail crime.  At the time, digital radios were brand new.  This "FleetSync" was an entirely new concept, a radio that functioned as an analog radio, but it had a built-in text message capability.  This meant that for a surveillance team, they could communicate without raising a radio to their mouth.

Now, today, that's not all that uncommon, as DMR radios have increased in popularity and come down in cost.  However, it is generally the realm of amateur radio operators, as most types of DMR require a license number (call sign) to access the system.  Not so for the Kenwood FleetSync radios, at least for digital DATA, like text messages.

Recently, rule changes to GMRS have made short text messages legal over GMRS.  The problem with that is that most modern DMR radios require an entire channel to operate as digital to do this.  The FleetSync digital protocol on these TK-3140 radio doesn't require it, and it's secure.  We'll talk about that farther down the article, for supporters only (become a supporter to learn the spicy stuff ya noob).

I recently got contacted by someone who knew I had used these and offered to sell me a complete sytem of 15 TK-3140 radios, two gang chargers, and some spare batteries for $600.  Knowing that when I bought these for a company before they were each over $1500 new, I jumped at the chance.  I mean, this made each unit $40, roughly the equivalent of a Baofeng radio. What a steal!

They are very compact and concealable radios, making them excellent for surveillance or clandestine communications.  They are 5 watts, so just as powerful as most handheld radios.  The units allow 250 channels, organized into zones with no limit on the number of channels per zone (motorola and others limit you to 16 channels per zone).  They are certainly more rugged and more water-resistant than the Baofeng.

In fact, my students used these during my recent Fieldcraft class and they worked solidly.

The main drawback is that you need Kenwood's "Field Programming Unit (FPU)" software to program these, but it's widely available (even for free if you look) and a proprietary cable.  I buy my cables from BlueMaxer 49 on Ebay, as his handmade cables work and are under $50 each.  He also provides copies of the software as long as you buy a cable.  He's also great about helping you through programming issues.  

Another drawback is that you can buy these either as UHF (GMRS-style) or VHF (MURS/Marine Radio) but never both.  The Baofeng is a dual band radio and these are not.  I look at these as specific radios for clandestine work like intelligence gathering and surveillance, and Baofengs as tactical radios.  They are different tools for different jobs.

Now, let's talk about using these for clandestine comms.

 

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Book Review - NOLS Wilderness Navigation
NOLS Leader's Guides

Amazon Link: Wilderness Navigation

The National Outdoor Leadership School is a group that teaches college-aged kids outdoor skills.  If you recall, I reviewed their Wilderness First AId Book.  This is the second book of theirs I've read.

Again, this book is geared toward the hobby hiker or backpacker, and not anyone involved in anything remotely tactical.  This is evidenced by it's insistence on staying on the trail to keep from getting lost, which is the last thing we would do.

 

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INTEL ANALYSIS - Majid Farahani

FBI Miami has reached out to the public for help in locating and arresting Majid Farahani, an Iranian intelligence agent.  They claim he is recruiting folks to kill current and former administration officials for the killing of Suliemani.  They specifically mention Mike Pompeo, but Donald Trump would obviously be a target as well.  

As this public announcement is HIGHLY unusual, let's do some

quick analysis.

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