The Hacker's Encyclopedia 1998

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Cybertek Electric: Issue #2 1/2/96 óss es flestra ferdha för; en skálpr es sverdha / |\ /| /|\ |\ |\ /| |-\ \ / / | \ / | / | \ | \ | \ / | | \ \ / / | \ / | / | \ | \ | \ / | | > / \ / / | \/ | / | \ | / | \/ | | / / / / \ | | | | < | | | \ / / \ \ | | | | \ | | | > \ / \ \ | | | | \ | | | / \ \ \ | | | | \ | | |-/ \ \ I know a fifteenth, which Thiodhroerir the dwarf sang before Delling's door. He sang might to the Aesir, power to the elves, and understanding to Odin. Cybertek Electric: Issue Two January 2nd., 1996 edited by Thomas Icom/IIRG <ticom@l0pht.com> <thomas.icom@iirg.com> Complements of OCL/Magnitude's Project Blackthorn, and The International Information Retrieval Guild (IIRG) Table of Contents ================= - The Presidential Election Looms: What are YOU going to do? - Backyard Pyrotechnics I, by Pyronomy - Decoding Touch Tones - Urban Survival Part II, by Douglas P. Bell - Rede For a Departed Brother The Presidential Election Looms: What are YOU going to do? The new year brings many thoughts to mind, but the one thing that keeps presenting itself in my head right now is the fact that 1996 is a Presidential election year in this country. I've been talking to a lot of people who have a dangerous attitude towards voting. They have no love for either the Republicrats or the Demopublicians, and feel that a third political party has no chance. As a result they either don't vote or vote for "the lesser of two evils". I guess they don't realize that both of these actions will never help us out of the mess we are currently in. There is a nationwide third political party which in my opinion offers more hope towards solving the problems in this country than either the Demopublicians or Republicrats: The Libertarians. They are for individual self-responsibility and reliance, and decreased government interference in the lives of its citizens. I don't know how many eligible voters in this country are actually registered, but I do know that in the 1992 Presidential election only 55% (a record high actually) of the nation's registered voters actually voted, and that of that number roughly 40% voted for Clinton. The current President of the United States was voted in with less than 25% of the popular vote. If everybody who either didn't vote in the last presidential election or voted for "the lesser of two evils" votes Libertarian, they stand an excellent chance. So make the extra effort. Do your research. Find out just where the parties stand on issues that matter; not the bullshit non-issues that the media popularizes, and this November to get off your ass and get to the polls. -Thomas Icom/IIRG May Odin guide your way! ---/////--- Backyard Pyrotechnics I by Pyronomy The following series of articles will give details on how pyrotechnic devices might be constructed. It is my intent that the descriptions given are for informational purposes only. WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL DEALS WITH PYROTECHNIC DEVICES THAT CAN BE HAZARDOUS. SO PLEASE USE CAUTION: I think that it would be prudent to explain the difference between pyrotechnics and explosives. Explosives are broken down into several categories. Low order explosives are things like gunpowder, flash powder, black powder, etc. They tend to burn rapidly or deflagrate. There power as explosives usually comes from the bursting of the container that they are in. High order explosives are things such as dynamite, plastic explosives, nitroglycerin, etc. They work under a different principle called detonation. Detonation in the most basic terms is the rapid, self-propagating decomposition of an explosive accompanied by a high pressure-temperature shockwave that moves at 1000-9000 meters per second. This is not generally considered in the chemistry world as burning. Primary or initiating explosives are the last class. Some of these are mercury fulminate, lead azide, etc. These can be sensitive to either shock or burning or both. They generally are more powerful than low explosives and produce a shock wave that is used to detonate high explosives. The only class that we will be dealing with in this series are the low order explosives. Pyrotechnics are an art form that has a history thousands of years old. They are constructed for the purpose of providing exciting displays for groups of people large and small. They existed even before anyone conceived the idea of using black powder to hurt their enemies. Explosives on the other hand generally are used to do some type of work. Be it in war or in peace they generally have a tendency to destroy. If this is your purpose then this article isn't for you. Most pyrotechnic devices are explosive in some way and are therefore listed as explosives. Usually this is necessary for the devices to achieve the desired effect. I will cover devices that are intended to make pleasing displays be it on the ground or in the air. If you want to play with the big boys go join the army. At this time I would like to say a little something about this outrage in Oklahoma. McVeigh, or whoever is guilty, I hope they give you to the families of the ones you murdered YOU PIECE OF DUNG. While I am on the subject what is this bullshit the press is doing to the Militias. I've never seen such a load in my life. Several slimes do something horrible and the press goes and stereotypes a whole class of people without any investigation to see what kind of people they really are. Well if you are reading this you obviously don't believe anything that those jerks say anyway. What was the purpose of this bombing anyway? Are we supposed to be impressed with this chicken shit attack? You didn't even have the balls to be there. What are you pissed about Waco. Hell I didn't like it either but I wouldn't kill someone because of it. Lets just pull the plug on you and be done with it because you obviously don't have a clue. Anyway it's a shame that this happened because it has side effects that some people are not aware of. For one thing those people that find the main theme of this article interesting and might want to try working with fireworks will soon find it harder to get some of the things that they might need. The laws will probably get a lot tougher on anyone that might construct anything that someone else who is either nosy, stupid, or misinformed might think is a danger to society. They might even see the required reading material disappear. I don't know about you but it bothers me a hell of a lot. I don't want anyone to have the false impression that I am all knowledgeable on this subject. For me it is a hobby that I happen to cherish with a very large passion. There will be some suggestions later on some reading material that will help. WARNING: THESE DEVICES CAN BE DANGEROUS POSSIBLY FATAL SO BE CAREFUL. Safety is the key to successful and pleasing pyrotechnic displays. Therefore we are going to discuss safety now and throughout this series of articles. Some of the DO's and DON'Ts NO SMOKING: This means while handling chemicals or when constructing, firing, and transporting devices. Be gentle when handling your devices as some can be sensitive to rough handling. You can't be too careful when involved with a hobby like this one. The first thing you should do before constructing any devices is to check the laws wherever you are to find out if it is legal. There are several different classes of explosives that have been designated by the Dept. of Transportation. Pyrotechnic devices like the common firecracker, bottle rockets, those little pieces of junk that just burn on the ground with merely a whimper and party poppers are in Class C. The smaller sized paper tube launched aerial shells that go up a couple of hundred feet then burst are also Class C. Some states sub-divide this class into sparklers and ground devices that shoot sparks. Some are even so lame as to have everything banned. There is also Class B. This is where most of the big professional displays reside. These are probably familiar to everyone who has lived through one Fourth of July. They consist mainly of a round that is launched from a metal tube and burst high in the air. I'm not exactly sure what the boundary is between Class B and C. The largest aerial shells that I have seen on sale in fireworks stands was 2 1/4" in diameter and was marked Class C. Most of the aerial devices that we will be discussing will be higher than normal altitude Class C. OK back to safety. Do not fire any devices on public property as it is dangerous and probably not legal. The author assumes no liability for damage or injuries caused by the use of this information. Okay enough so here is the list of minimum safety equipment needed. SAFETY EQUIPMENT NEEDED WHERE TO GET IT Face Shield Hardware Store Breathing Mask " " Thick Latex Gloves " " Welding Gloves Welding Supply Welding Arm Shields " " Leather Shoes The equipment listed should be used anytime you are mixing your chemicals or when constructing devices. I know they are cumbersome but it is better to be safe than sorry. Especially the shoes. (Blackmatch will burn through house slippers. I know this from personal experience.) Credits It would be wrong for me to continue without giving credit to the individuals from whom I acquired the basic information that I am about to impart to you. The first is the fantastic series of books by Kurt Saxon entitled The Poor Mans James Bond. There are four books in the series covering every possible area of self reliance. All contain numerous how-to manuals from A to Z. You want to know, it's in there. Another one is Granddad's Wonderful Book of Chemistry. It contains everything that you would want to know about laboratories and chemical processes. Another series written by Mr. Saxon is The Survivor. This series is jam packed with how-to articles that are on every subject that you could possibly want. I would highly suggest all of these books as they are very valuable. The best ones as far as pyrotechnics are concerned are Granddad's, PMJB I and PMJB II. In PMJB I you will find Fireworks & Explosives Like Granddad Used To Make which is a group of articles including Scientific American 1903, Dick's Encyclopedia of Formulas & Processes 1872, The Techno-Chemical Receipt Book 1896, and Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas 1907. It also contains Pyrotechny by George Weingart (1947). It is considered by most to be the authority on pyrotechnics. The last one is American Pyrotechnist by VanderHorck. It contains articles by numerous authors about constructing mechanical devices used in the manufacture of pyrotechnic devices. In PMJB II you will find a reprint of Tenney Davis's book The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives published in 1943. It is modern and has done away with most of the older terms used for some of the chemicals used. However it is a very good idea to have Granddad's around as it does explain the older terms. I would like to express my gratitude to Kurt for the vast effort he has put into this series. It is well rounded and will provide a great many hours of pleasurable reading. THANKS KURT. would also like to suggest getting a chemical dictionary or maybe borrow one and check certain aspects of the chemicals that are used in pyrotechnics. You should especially check the sections on hazards, properties, and usage. I would like also to thank Stormbringer in D.C. (BBURPP) for turning me on to PMJB and for the inspiration. Asrael (OOPS Sorry bout them tax records Dad) Asphyxia also for the inspiration. Hey AZ be careful with that Perchlorate. And last but not least Thomas Icom for the opportunity to pen this series. Materials The hardest part of it all is acquiring the materials unless you have an unlimited budget which I think most folks don't. So I am going to give you some hints on how to construct some of the things that will be needed. Scales are a must if you want your compositions to be consistent. All of the compositions used are given by weight proportions. A cheap set of proportion scales are to be described. You will need the following: Wood appox. 18"x 4"x 1/2" Plastic/Vinyl strip 12" long and as thin as you can get it (I used a piece of 1" vinyl window blind) Wire appox. 4" long and fairly stiff 10-14 ga. (I used brass brazing wire) Bend the wire in a U shape 3/4" in from each end. Make two holes in the wood slightly smaller than the wire. The holes should be placed so that the wire is in the middle length-wise and perpendicular to the length and 1/4" deep. The wire should be inserted so it is no more than 1/2" off the board. Put a slot in the plastic so that it will balance on the wire. Add a small container shaped like a scoop at one end of the strip by using a 2" piece of plastic drinking straw and duct tape. On the opposite side of the strip using a small piece of tape attach a dime about half way between the wire and the end. This will allow you to weigh out fairly small equal amounts of the chemicals. The scales are used in the following manner. Place something under the scoop to catch any chemicals that might not make it into the scoop. Place your chemical in the scoop until it is just heavy enough to tip the scoop down all the way. This is one proportion that weighs somewhere around half a dime. It doesn't really matter how much as all the formulas are given as parts by weight proportion. Any way you go about it is okay as long as you make sure that the weights are consistent. Chemicals CAUTION: ALL OF THE CHEMICALS BEING USED ARE EITHER POISONOUS OR DANGEROUS IN SOME WAY. PLEASE USE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WHEN HANDLING THEM: The formulas that are used will only be tested possibly modified versions of ones found in the various sources that have already been mentioned. No formulas will be given that have not been personally tested to ensure some measure of safety and consistency. There are several categories of chemicals that are used. Oxidizers and reducers are the most important as far as the actual burning of compositions. Binders tend to hold the compositions together physically and also have the tendency to moderate the burn rates. Some also have the tendency toward being combustible. Oxidizers do just what their name implies by providing oxygen to sustain the burning. We will get into more detail on the actual terms at a later time when we start to get into the section on constructing stars and such as that. Some are listed here: Potassium Nitrate is the oxidizer that is used in Black Powder. It is used in numerous compositions that contain a carbon based reducer. It should be obtained from the chemical supply house. Potassium Perchlorate is a lot more powerful oxidizer than the nitrate as it contains more oxygen. Like the other chemical compounds made from chloric or perchloric acids it can be rather sensitive in certain circumstances. Such as when mixed with finely divided metals such as aluminum or copper. It also gives up chlorine which helps to deepen the color of your fire. It can be obtained from the supply house. Note that it also is more sensitive to shock when mixed with sulfur and may be set off w hen struck real hard with a hammer. It is a strong irritant. If you have an excess of bravery one of the most powerful oxidizers is Potassium Chlorate. If you decide to use it get all the PMJB books and read them from cover to cover many times to make damn sure you know exactly what you are doing. It has a tendency to spontaneously explode when mixed dry with certain things such as sulfur and red phosphorus and should be wetted thoroughly including an antiacid before handling. Thanks for that note Kurt. Another rather powerful but hazardous oxidizer is readily available as of this writing is Potassium Permanganate. It is generally a purple colored granular substance that grinds up into a reddish purple powder. Be aware that it is very caustic and will burn skin on contact. It is very sensitive when mixed with reducing agents and when mixed with powdered aluminum it is as powerful and maybe even a little stronger than the flash powder described further on in this article. Barium Nitrate (used for green fire) is a good oxidizer and also helps color the flame green. It also comes from the supply house. Most Barium compounds are poisonous so caution is important. Make sure that you wear your mask and gloves when using this in a well ventilated area. Strontium Nitrate (used for red fire) colors the flame red and also provides oxygen. If you have access to a 100-200 mesh screen it may be obtained from common road flares. But be aware that most contain binders such as kerosene which could possibly cause problems. It is best to buy it from the supply house. Most Strontium compounds also tend to be hazardous in some way or other. They are usually poisonous and should be treated with caution. They are shock sensitive when mixed with reducing agents. Ammonium Perchlorate is also a powerful oxidizer that is available and is mainly used in rocket engines. I have not used it yet but have acquired some for testing purposes and will let you know what I find out. Reducers on the other hand are in the simplest terms what gets burned. I know that some will find that too simple a description but its easy to understand. Some are listed below. Charcoal can be found at the hardware store but contains a lot of trash in it so it is recommended that you spend the bucks and buy soft charcoal sticks at the art store. These can be ground up real easily and are my first choice. Powdered Aluminum can be obtained through a chemical supply house or if you're into chemistry made at home, but I bought it. NOTE: Filed aluminum doesn't work well unless it is very fine. Do not use sandpaper to make it small as it will contain many particles from the paper and could taint the quality. Be aware that most finely powdered metals can be explosive when mixed with oxygen. Some also can be toxic in this form. Zinc Dust is another metal that can be used in the arts. It may be obtained from the supply house in a couple of forms. In bits and pieces, in a powdered form, and in a powdered form called mossy. This means that it was powdered by pouring molten zinc into water. The form I have acquired is the regular powder. Sulfur has the main job of evenly spreading fire to all parts of the composition in which it is incorporated. It also acts as a reducer by being combustible. It is best obtained from the supply house. Binders can have multiple purposes when included in some compositions. They hold things together and sometimes act as reducers. These will be described individually. Shellac is a good binder when wetted with ethyl alcohol. It also is combustible so tends to act as a reducer. Stearine is a binder and a reducer at the same time. It is sold at the hobby store for use in candles. It is sometimes used in making blue fire. Another binder is powdered water soluble things such as dextrin but I have as yet been unable to find a source. IF you find one please pass it along. I am in the process of trying a couple of ideas along this line and will let you know what I find. You will also need a couple of wetting agents to suspend your binding agents so they will be evenly distributed within the compositions. Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is used in certain cases that will be mentioned later. Ethyl alcohol to be used when shellac is being used in a composition. Denatured Alcohol can also be used if it is the kind that has been denatured by methanol only. It should not contain any other denaturants. Water is used when dealing with some of the Nitrate and Perchlorate composition and will be noted at that time. Never mix any Chlorate compositions dry as they tend to go BOOM. Cannon Fuse can be found at gun shops and gun shows. It may also be found at your better hobby shops that carry model rocketry supplies. Make sure to test the fuses burn rate. Other chemicals are also needed for special purposes such as Ammonium Chloride which is used as a source of chlorine in the burning to help in deepening the color. It is also used in making a pretty good white smoke. Be aware that it has the tendency to draw moisture from the air. Mercurous Chloride (Calomel) is also a good chlorine source but be advised that it produces poisonous fumes especially when burning and should be used only where there is extremely good ventilation. It is used primarily in the making of blue and green fire. It does not seem to take up moisture from the air like Ammonium Chloride and is preferred over it. Generally when chlorates or perchlorates are used for an oxidizer there is no need to add any extra chlorine source. This compound in any form is very poisonous. Black Powder is available at most gun shops that cater to muzzle loading enthusiasts. It comes mainly segregated by grain size. 2F is the size that I have found to be the most useful. It can be carefully ground in small amounts with a porcelain mortar and pestle if the need arises. I have touched only the tip of the iceberg here so please refer to PMJB for a complete list of what will be needed. Black Match Black match is a type of fuse used in certain ground and aerial devices. It is also very cheap and easy to make. You will need cotton twine and some finely ground Black Powder(BP). You will also need some kind of frame to stretch the fuse over to allow it to dry. Take 3 strands of the string and twist together then tie to one side of the frame. Twist the strands then tie tightly to the other side of the frame. Take a shallow container and put some BP in it. Add water 1 drop at a time mixing constantly with a wooden stick. Continue adding water until the BP is a thick paste. While wearing rubber gloves completely saturate the string with this paste. Wipe off any excess and allow to dry completely. This fuse burns at about 1" per second. It can be made to burn very fast by inserting it into a paper tube about 1/4" in diameter. This is called Quick Match and burns faster than you could possibly get away from so be careful when using it. The Black Match is also a lot cheaper than Cannon Fuse and is sufficient for use when testing compositions. Flash Powder Flash powder is a mixture of Potassium Perchlorate and the finest powdered Aluminum that can be acquired. 400 mesh works real well. You would be wise to wear a particle mask, face shield and rubber gloves for measuring your chemicals and also welding gloves when mixing them, just in case. Also it would be wise to do so when making devices. Measure 2 parts Perchlorate and 1 part Aluminum. Combine them on a piece of aluminum foil and gently mix together thoroughly with a plastic measuring spoon. Store in a plastic bottle. ** DO NOT STORE IN PLASTIC BAGS ** This composition is not real sensitive to static like Black Powder is but has been set off by static under test conditions so use caution when choosing your containers. This composition if placed in a test cup made from aluminum foil that is 1" in diameter and 3/4" deep to a depth of 1/4" and fired with enough cannon fuse to allow time for departure flashes, makes an audible poof and makes lots of white smoke. If loaded to a depth of about 5/8" you get one helluva boom, a big flash, and enough smoke to be seen from a long way off. The first time that I did this it scared the bejeezes out of me. I was not aware that any of the low order explosives would do this in that small an amount and under those conditions. Obviously I had failed to take into account the speed in which this stuff burns. When tightly contained it can build up pressure fast. I urge extreme caution when using this composition. First Device Now lets start the construction of a small firecracker that is approximately M-80 grade maybe even a little better. Be advised that this device can remove a hand. It is best to place it on the ground standing straight up so that the end plugs won't bean someone on the head or something like that. Take a thick walled paper tube (fax paper roll or home made) about 5/8" in diameter and 2" long. The walls of the tube should be a least 1/8" thick. Make a wadding with toilet paper (TP) by inserting one wadded up sheet in the tube and packing tightly against a hard surface with a cylinder that will just fit the tube. Eject it from the tube then make another. Insert one of these into the tube leaving 1/4" space between it and the end of the tube. Fill this space with a quick drying two part epoxy cement and let it cure completely. Take a sharp pointed round object and make a hole in the middle of the side of the tube that will fit the fuse very tightly. Insert at the minimum 6 seconds worth of fuse into the hole until it turns toward either end. If you made the hole correctly the fuse should be rather hard to remove. If not use some Elmer's glue around the base of the fuse to hold it in firmly. Once again let it dry completely. Now stand the tube on end and add flash powder until 1/3 of the containers interior is covered. (Another alternative is to fill it completely and pack lightly using the end plug. I am still experimenting to find the right amount so be careful when trying this.) Insert a piece of wadded up TP in the tube and lightly pack just enough to hold the powder together leaving room for the other wadding that you made. Now insert the wadding and epoxy as before once again allowing to dry completely. You now have a device that I hope you enjoy. I put one of these under a 55 gallon plastic trash can that was inverted on concrete and it went 10' into the air. This device throws a very hard wadding so watch out. Sources Poor Mans James Bond, Granddad's, & The Survivor available from: Atlan Formularies P.O.Box 95 Alpena, AR 72611 (501) 437-2999 ///// Decoding Touch Tones by Thomas Icom/IIRG Doing this is relatively simple for everyone except all those individuals on Usenet who keep asking about it. This ought to set everyone straight. Decoding DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency: what everybody outside of Ma Bell calls Touch Tones, as "Touch Tone" is a trademark of Western Electric, one of Ma Bell's children.) is simply a matter of having access to a DTMF decoder. These can be purchased in various levels of sophistication, built, or "borrowed". Starting with the simple first, I'll talk about "borrowing" a DTMF decoder. If you have a pager, you can borrow one of the pager company's. Record the Touch Tones you wish to decode, call your pager, and play the tape into the phone. When you get paged, the numbers on your pager will be the DTMF sequence. You can do the same with certain VMBs. When you call a VMB, enter in a bogus DTMF sequence and see if it'll tell you "NNNN is not a valid mailbox.". If it responds with the sequence you'd entered, you can use that to decode unknown DTMF sequences. Those of you with a Soundblaster/AbLib card in their PC can try one of the programs that turns your sound card into a DTMF decoder. There are a few such programs floating around on BBSes and FTP sites. I experimented with a few pieces of software and wasn't impressed; as all of the one's I tested were prone to falsing and lacking somewhat in sensitivity. A PC also lacks portability for real-time decoding in the field. Since they are available for free however, you might want to try what you can find and see if it works for what you need it for. One point which you should be aware of is that some of the programs available require a "real" Soundblaster. If you have a clone they won't work. For those of you who can solder, DTMF decoder ICs are sold for less than $10. They can be interfaced to a PC and work well. Full DTMF decoder kits are also available for less than the finished product. There have been hundreds of DTMF decoder schematics published and released into electronic domain (some are on the 'Stone) over the years. If you're going the do-it-yourself route, avoid plans that are more than a few years old. New ICs are constantly being developed which cost less, and are more reliable. Schematics which you should avoid at any cost are ones which implement the 567 Tone Decoder IC. While it was a nice chip in it's time; by today's standards it takes too long to get a good lock and is too prone to falsing. A DTMF decoder implementation using this chip is also 10 times the size of more modern designs, as a total of eight 567 chips are used to do the job that one chip can do today. One that is readily available appears on page 169 of Paul Bergsman's excellent and highly recommended book Controlling the World With Your PC. I acquired my copy at my local Barnes & Noble, or you can get it from HighText, P.O. Box 1489, Solana Beach, CA 92075. Paul's book is the bible for real-world interfacing for the PC. Another set of recently published DTMF decoder plans can be found in the September 1995 Issue of Nuts & Volts magazine. These plans use a California Micro Devices CM8880 IC and a BASIC Stamp. A kit based on this project is available for $22 (not including the BASIC Stamp and LCD Serial Backpack used for the display) from: Scott Edwards Electronics 964 Cactus Lane Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 520-459-4802 FAX 520-459-0623 72037,2612@compuserve.com Finally, one can go and buy a completed DTMF decoder. The assembled units start at less than $60, and used equipment can be had for even less at Hamfests. Starting at the bargain basement we have: Motron Electronics 310 Garfield St., Suite 4 P.O. Box 2748 Eugene, OR 97402 800-338-9058, 503-687-2118 motron.info@emerald.com Their TDD-8X DTMF decoder is $59. It features an 8 digit display, 104 character memory, and serial port for connection to a PC. For DNR work in those backwoods areas that have yet to receive DTMF service, Motron has the TM-16A which will also decode rotary dialing for $179. With the RS-232 port option the price of that unit goes up to $249. For those of you who have remote control applications in mind, for $99 Motron sells their AK-16 DTMF Controller Board. It features 16 relay driver outputs, up to 12 digit security code capability, ASCII serial output of incoming DTMF tones, and DTMF user- programmability. For those looking for a nice looking "Rolls Royce" type unit in order to impress their next TSCM client, you have two choices: Optoelectronics 5821 NE 14th Avenue Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334 800,327-5912, 305-771-2050 Universal Radio 6830 Americana Pkwy. Reynoldsburg, OH 43068 800,431-3939, 614-866-4267 Universal sells (for $399.95 + $6 s/h) their M-400 decoder. This unit decodes DTMF; as well as POCSAG, GOLAY (pager modes), CTCSS (PL), DCS (DPL) (tone codes which are used to access radio repeaters and prevent interference), and whole bunch of other digital communications modes used on the shortwave and ham bands. Optoelectronics also sells a similar unit, their DC400. This unit is only $259, and only decodes DTMF, CTCSS, and DCS. It has a 127 character memory and interface to a PC when mated with a CI-V to RS-232 converter. If you don't need all the extras the Universal unit has and want something that'll interface with a PC, go with the Opto' unit. ///// Urban Survival, Part II by Douglas P. Bell Now that we have housing, guns, hygiene, and other good stuff out of the way, what next? Well how about food production/procuring! OK so we talked about a garden that didn't look like a garden, and wasn't in "normal" garden plants, but just what plants are these? What would be a good book on the subject? One of the best books for this is "The Edible Ornamental Garden" by John E. Bryan and Coralie Castle (101 Productions, 1974, 192 pages, 8 1/2" x 8 1/4"). The nice thing about this book is it covers the usual garden plants as well as the less usual ones. The chapters in the book include general culture of plants, cooking with flowers, leaves and herbs, plants, their culture, history and recipes, and mail order nurseries. This book is a must have for the urban home owner who has a small plot of land and wants a garden that most people wouldn't bother because they wouldn't even know it was there. The book will also provide you with food ideas that you may have been missing out on right under your own nose, right in your own yard or flower garden. Well, so much for your outdoor garden, what about an indoor garden? That's right, set up a small "flower box" garden in a window sill or even a terrarium garden. For the terrarium, you might try to find "Gardening With Terrariums", although this booklet has almost nothing on food growing indoors as it is actually a book about ornamental plants. if a window box of terrarium garden isn't big enough for you, there are other ways of doing this, such as setting up a greenhouse. Books on greenhouses run from how to build your own "window box" greenhouse to commercial production set-ups. Go down to your library or used book store and look over the books they have. There should be something that will be of interest if you are serious about plant production and propagation. Well, if gardening isn't your cup of tea, and you can't put in a greenhouse or "indoor garden", but still want plant food in your diet, what is left? Sprouting! Sprouting is very easy to learn and requires almost no room or equipment to do, and so is perfect for the urban survivor. Sprouting not only increases the amount of food over just eating the grains or seeds you might have stored (such as mung, pinto, or wheat), but provides much more nutrition as well. A booklet on the subject you might like to find is "Seeds and Sprouts For Life" by B. Jensen. Now that you have all that garden produce, what are you going to do with it all? Yet another booklet for the continually short of space urban survivor is "Rodale's Gardening Harvest Book" which covers freezing, canning, jams, jellies and drying. well so much for plants, what else is there? What about meat? Well how about traps! In one "survival" magazine there are ads for leg hold traps, "you may not want the fur, but you will want to eat" or something like that is how the ad runs. Well OK, leg hold traps are a good way to get food and furs, but I don't recommend them for the urban survivor. The reason is simple, if my best rat catcher or favorite hunting hound comes back with a messed-up leg or worse yet, doesn't come home at all, I'll know there is someone else out there and start looking for them and their traps! Another reason I don't like leg hold traps for the urban survivor, especially now with the current anti-gun/anti-trapping scum about, is if you don't check your traps every day (any decent trapper checks his traps AT LEAST once a day!), someone else might find your traps with an animal caught in it and turn you in to the local power structure which will be more than happy to harass an honest survivalist rather than fight crimes such as murder, rape, etc.! After all they might get hurt doing that! Now I'm not against trapping mind you, it's just that you have to be a little tricky about it. If you live in an area with a lot of raccoons (and who doesn't?), you might try the "egg-trap", so called because the commercial version is egg shaped. This is a very safe and very good trap. It doesn't grab the leg like the leg hold traps and it is safe around dogs, cats and children. The way this works is, you take off the back of the egg trap, put the bait in, and close it up. The trap is then put in an area where raccoons are likely to see it. The raccoon can see and smell the food, but can't get at it. So the raccoon reaches in, grabs the bait and pulls. Now the trap is so designed that the leg is held as long as the bait is pulled. Let go of the bait and the leg is released. In almost all cases the raccoon will hold on to the bait and you have him trapped! Another good way to trap animals without hurting them (and getting the neighbors pissed at you) is to use a box trap. A box trap is just what it sounds like, a trap in the form of a box. Normally the animal walks into the trap to get some sort of bait and trips a level closing the trap door; trapping the animal with no harm. These traps are available commercially and can be easily built out of wire mesh and scrap lumber to fit just about any size or area you want to put one. These traps can be built to trap birds, squirrels, and most any animal to about a small to medium sized dog or good sized coon. After that, the size and strength needed limit the practical usefulness of the trap as far as most urban survivalists are concerned, as it would be hard to explain away a German Shepherd sized trap in the back yard; while a "raccoon" or "groundhog" trap will not raise too many questions. I know one person who built one of these traps for squirrels and normally catches about ten to twelve a week! About the only problem they have encountered is the trap needs rebuilding/repairing every week or so, as the squirrels really tear the hell out of trap! The next set of traps are the so-called "kill traps", as they kill their prey by breaking the animal's neck or back when the trap is tripped. Needless to say, you don't want to use this trap where children or pets can get at it, as most people would get a little upset by this! As these traps are normally in the mink/martin size, they are not good "meat" traps, although for protecting your food supply from rats and mice they would work fairly well. For more information about traps and trapping, you should get "Survival Poaching" by Ragnar Benson (Paladin Press), "Animal Traps and Trapping" by Bateman (Stackpole Books), and go to your local magazine rack and and get a subscription to "Fur/Fish/Game - A Harding Magazine" (Fur-Fish-Game, 2878 E. Main St., Columbis, OH 43209), $12/year, $21/two years), as well as buying all the Harding Press books. ///// Rede For a Departed Brother; Paul D. "Bleach" Keniry, 1979-1995 One who is born upon this dim Middle Earth Has only a few years to live. To know the love of family, The warm embrace of a lover, And the comradeship of good friends. To some the years may be long and rich, To some the years may be all too short. Yet through it all each does his or her best, As did Paul do his for us. So that when finally each does stand before the Gods It is with pride in self and backed with the loving prayers Of those known in life. In time, the others of us are all fated to follow, There to be reunited with those who have gone before. To meet again in joy and laughter In the shining land of the Gods. Yet know full well that the ancient sagas say That those who are truly worthy shall be born again. Returning in time to family, to friends, And his own folk. And we here know full well That our friend is the worthiest of the worthy. We will meet again, both in the golden lands beyond, And, in time, here once again. May his spirit help and guide those who remain, May his soul find peace and joy And the best of company. In the emerald gardens and golden halls Of high Valhalla. As the tree is green forever, May Paul's soul live to eternity. ---/////--- Unless otherwise noted Cybertek Electric is Copyright (C)1995 by OCL/Magnitude, P.O. Box 64, Brewster, NY 10509. All Rights Reserved. Noncommercial reproduction is encouraged provided this electronic publication is redistributed in its entirety with credits intact. Cybertek Electric is published for educational purposes only; under The First Amendment of The United States Constitution. No illegal use is implied or suggested. If you have a problem with this, too fucking bad. Please send any feedback and/or submissions to either of the email addresses in the signature below. |\ /| /\ / |\ | Thomas Icom/IIRG | >< | < > / | \ |\ <ticom@l0pht.com> |/ \| \/ < | | > <thomas.icom@iirg.com> | | /\ \ \ | |/ International Information Retrieval Guild | | / \ \ \| | "May Odin guide your way!" Madhr er manna gaman, ok moldar auki, ok skipa skreytir. <End of Text>