John Chamberlain - Member

Reply to: Anyone else wondering if recent substation attacks are “white hat” efforts to accelerate/prioritize grid hardening? Posted January 1, 2023

what is white hat

Reply to: News for week of 2022-12-19 (all current event convos go here) Posted December 23, 2022

in Feb this year the Channon a village in northern new south wales Australia was hit by record breaking floods . During and After the floods all lines of communication where down , no one could for help or supplies etc . Since then Cb radios have become very much the tool to have with 70 households now using radios for reliable way to communicate when all else fails.Just a great way for people to come together to help each other when modern technology just can not cut it. Keep on prepping

Reply to: Wake up call – Have cash on hand in case your bank card gets suspended Posted August 17, 2022

no problem Gideon John

Reply to: News roundup for Fri, Jul 29, 2022 Posted July 31, 2022

Hi Carlotta Although your post is very much a USA perspective [I live in OZ] you really do a great job, I just wish we had someone doing the same in OZ. keep up the good work Kind regards John

Reply to: News roundup for Tue, May 17, 2022 Posted May 18, 2022

Hi Carlotta, I have been living off the grid for over 25 years in south east Queensland Australia [sub tropical ], we have been living in our present house for six years with a good solar electricity and hot water system so far in 25 years of living with solar we have very rarely used our back up generator maybe 20 hours per year, that all changed thanks to climate change, in the last 6 weeks I use the generator every day costing Aus$20 per day [Us14] , I have nether seen so much cloudy weather and rain , I still think solar power is the way to go but how reliable it is with the way the climate is changing remains to be seen, I am now looking at a small windmill to help charge the batteries , no system is perfect on the grid or off, but for me the last 6 weeks has been a real eye opener that I never saw coming Regards John

Reply to: You can never stock too much _________ Posted April 9, 2022

Hope Regards John

Reply to: Quantifying safety Posted March 2, 2022

Hi everyone just a few things to say about city versus homestead . we live on 5 acres and try to produce what we can to eat and buy the rest no way would we try to be self sufficient . I really enjoy living away from the city but not to far it is about 30 mins drive. having said that I have been reading a book by the co originator of permaculture David Holmgren called retro suburbia , in his book he talks about how most of the population live in the suburbs and how anyone can become more self reliant if they put there time and effort into it regardless are where they live. His 3 main reasons for this the collapse of the finance and property bubble climate change energy decent [ oil gas etc ] The book is 592 pages of his and others years of experience and covers everything from growing fruit and veg , animals , firewood ,rainwater, money ,property ,community , solar power, and much more in a suburbia , it gives people the information of what to do where people live and have a more self reliant life stile , what ever happens in the future most people will still be living in town/city and will not be moving for one reason or another but can do a lot to help themselves , although the book is based around Victoria Australia it is easy to transfer onto where you live , I do not agree with everything he says but on the whole it is a mine of information well worth the read All the best John

Reply to: What are your 2022 prepping goals and plans? Posted January 14, 2022

Hi Carlotta Bonnie in the middle bull calf on left honey [ heifer] on the right

Reply to: What are your 2022 prepping goals and plans? Posted January 14, 2022

Hi Greg, with the paw paws I grow you must have a male & female or a by sexual otherwise they wont fruit maybe that is the problem Regards John

Reply to: What are your 2022 prepping goals and plans? Posted January 13, 2022

Hi Carlotta, regarding you asking me about my fruit trees and cows, fruit trees figs, banana, grapes ,passion fruit, paw paw , dragon fruit, tropical plum, lemons, lime, pomegranate , guava ,olives ,mandarins, coffee, mango, custard apple, chocolate pudding, lychee, mulberry , and blueberry, cows ,I was going to milk my jersey [ name Bonny] but got a shoulder injury so I bought a 2 week old bull calf and put him on Bonny with her heifer and they have both done really well, they are both nearly one year old so the bull will go in the freezer in the next few months and the heifer will make a really nice house cow. Bonny is pregnant again so I am hoping for better luck when she calves again. I have kept cattle before but I have to say there something about a Jersey cow that is very endearing . All the best John

Reply to: What are your 2022 prepping goals and plans? Posted January 12, 2022

First of all I would like to thank everyone at prepared for this really good chance to share with so many like minded folk please keep up the good work. What I am doing this new year is trying to produce more of our own food , my wife and I live on 5acre property and we are both retired so we have some time to grow vegetables we also have about 40 fruit trees which have all been planted in last 4 years which some are starting to produce , we also have a jersey cow and 2 calves and we keep bees all this takes some time and effort and commitment, but I do know that if you can be even a little self reliant it not only feels good it can be a real help in a SHTF situation . Here in Queensland Australia we have gone from 56 cases of Covid on December 13 to 130947 yesterday so our plan is to stay at home more and only go out if it is really important so the more we can produce the better . We are fortunate that we are off grid with solar electricity and solar hot water our on water supply [ rain water tanks 10000 gallons] fire wood [only 3 months per year] and a good pantry . We have a freezer full of our own meat and a well equipped work shop plus our own septic tank all this has taken a lot of time money and effort but is worth it I would encourage anybody to try and grow something even if you live in a apartment once you realise you can it could change the way you live that is what happened to me my wife would grow a little vegetables and she was away with work years ago and one day I just picked a beetroot and eat it straight from the ground and had never had a beetroot like it I was sold and life has never been the same. We all understand that supply chains can not always deliver and the cost of living only goes one way and no one knows what is around the corner so my advice is try and grow something this new year, I bet your grandparents etc where good at it kind regards John

Reply to: Help if possible please, home made bread preservation Posted January 11, 2022

I think the it is the flower you use , I use organic wholemeal and it last for days John

Reply to: Have you ever heard a quote that stops you and makes you think about how you live? Posted January 3, 2022

yes Bill to your question about a quote ,I just read a quote from a mother in Afghanistan I do not want to sell my son, I was reading the BBC news and it said some families where selling one of there children so the rest could eat it just stopped me . Sometimes I do not understand how tough it is for some people Regards John

Reply to: How to desensitize myself to be able to kill and process an animal Posted September 11, 2021

Hi Tim I don,t know if this will help but a few years ago I watched a TV program that showed a woman who is a vegetarian but her husband and children where not, she wanted them to eat good quality meat so she did all her own raising slaughter cutting cleaning and cooking of her own animals sometimes on her own sometimes with friends . she said it was a big step for her but she loves her family . hope this helps John

Reply to: Does anybody have a game plan for rare/refrigerated medication? Posted August 27, 2021

hi Ride I don,t know if anyone has talked about a propane fridge we used one for a few years before we went solar, if the grid is down and the sun don,t shine they would see you through all the best John

Reply to: How would an EMP affect a solar electricity set-up? Posted June 9, 2021

thanks for your help

Reply to: How would an EMP affect a solar electricity set-up? Posted June 9, 2021

all of the above

Reply to: Survival, prepping and ageing (and we are all ageing) Posted June 5, 2021

the way i adapt at 73 years old is I look at what my wife and I are doing and the good results we are having on our 5 acres, and not letting what there is to do overwhelm us it will all get done in order of preference one job at a time, sitting on our veranda at the end of the day having a beer and admiring what we have not letting imagination run wild of we could have . appreciation is sometimes not really valued but it can make for a happy soul and when we are happy with what we are doing it takes half the effort .

Reply to: What is some bad prepping advice? Posted May 20, 2021

I do wonder when I read of anyone in a SHTF situation running off to the woods thinking they are going just plant some seeds and here comes a crop you need good soil to grow any thing and if you have to stay there you will need to feed the soil has you just cant keep taking you have feed the soil with some good compost , and the local wild life will look at your vegetables like a ice cream store so you will need really good fences and if you have to build a shelter at the same time well all I can say is good luck John from oz

Reply to: The need to be self sufficient and not rely on others. How to take your home off-grid Posted May 15, 2021

good day every one from sunny Australia my wife and I live on 5 acres 30mins from a city in Queensland and our journey to be more self reliant has happened over many years and I would not change it for any other life style . We have 10,000 gal water tanks which collect rainwater from our house and workshop roofs and we have never run out of water and we have a lake about the size 5 Olympic swimming pools [and we are not connected to town water] we grow a lot of own vegetables and can grow all year round we also have planted 38 fruit trees . the growing of any thing takes time and lessons learnt so if you are thinking of one day growing your own start now where ever you are has books will only take you so far.We also raise our own beef and pork which like anything you produce taste so much better and cheaper than any store. At the moment we have a Jersey cow who has a young cow and bull enjoying her milk the cow we will sell on and the bull will go in the freezer , we keep Bees and the honey is really good but has I said before all this at least for us had to be learnt. we are not connected to the grid so we 100% solar with electricity and hot water which was cheaper than the connection fee to the grid and our solar has been really good we cook with propane and I always make sure a minimum of 6 months supply, we have a full pantry of dry goods etc ,also we have a really good work shop where we keep our 2 freezers our home brewed beer spare gasoline and much more, how we got to where we are took a lot of hard work and try and error in our younger years has we are both retired and now enjoying taking things a lot easier , we are careful with money and most of what we buy is what we need not want, I built our own home which saved a lot of money and we don,t have any debt which is really important we rarely eat out has we eat really well at home and again is much cheaper, gun laws are tight in Australia but you can have shotguns and rifles though it takes months to get through the license laws etc I have a shotgun and will soon get a rifle , all in all I would say if you are willing to put in the effort and is something you enjoy doing go for it why you can when the lock down happened here it was not really a problem for us no panic buying just kept on doing what we where already doing All the best John

Wake up call – Have cash on hand in case your bank card gets suspended

Reality check Lismore floods Australia

Analyzing past SHTF history to prepare for the future

Wake up call – Have cash on hand in case your bank card gets suspended

Reality check Lismore floods Australia

Analyzing past SHTF history to prepare for the future

How would an EMP affect a solar electricity set-up?