Dan

The news article says he tried to grab a HG when he asked the NJSP if he can get his jacket, they had to struggle with him to get it out of his possession and charged him with aggravated assault, and he also had a live grenade the detonated on the site. Those are the two serious things that I see here, in addition if he is convicted for the burglary charges they got the warrant for. The rest of the stuff is legal in 98% of the rest of the country. ("assault" rifles, magazines +15rnds). Ammo isn't even an issue as 1 round or 500K rounds , is no difference. With all the NJ magazine and AWB charges, 5 years is pretty light.

A amateur UHF/VHF handheld unit will still have the same limitations of the blister pack FRS radios. The thing that you will get a huge boost in with a amateur handheld is more power, as in typically 5 watts, versus the FRS/GMRS of .5 watts on FRS, and maybe a little more on GMRS mode , like 1watt. A amateur handheld will also typically have a detachable antenna, where you can hook it up to a base station antenna or a mobile antenna mounted on your car for much better performance. A good antenna will work wonders with only 5 watts. Get started working with repeaters in your area. They are very dependable , and many run on backup systems as they frequently piggy back off of municipal emergency response centers. If you really want to work simplex (point to point) with another person , depending on range, you may need an external antenna high up with some decent gain. Info on getting your tech license. All you need to do is read the book and go take the exam. The technicians license is very easy. http://www.arrl.org/...hnician-license Study materials : http://www.arrl.org/...ed-2nd-Edition/ The Wouxun KG-UV3D VHF/UHF is an inexpensive and easy way to get started once you get your callsign. http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-010931 Here is a chart of the bands you can work once you have your tech license. Anything with a T label is covered. This includes all of VHF and UHF (2M and 70cm). http://www.arrl.org/...bands_color.pdf Here is the "band plan" if you want to operate point to point voice, look for "simplex" allocated frequencies within the bands. It is a courtesy thing. http://www.arrl.org/band-plan

Check the chart on the bottom of the page. It is a good guide of hose ID size , length, and power/HP ratings on gens. http://www.uscarb.com/hook-up_hoses.htm

This better not be a prelude to "we're going to take your 401K investments and pool them into a managed government plan". F that, I'd rather withdraw it now and take the 45% penalty then let the govt steal my money and convert it into soon to be worthless promissory notes... just like Social Security is today. Nothing but a promise (worthless when coming from the govt) to pay a certian amount at a certain time in your life.

Yea, I hear you on that Jimmy, I find myself thinking the same thing after blasting through 20 rounds of .223 that took a bunch of time to load. I hover over the order button for .223 plates for my progressive and just call it a day. Pumping out 100 very good loads makes more sense then handloading 50 rounds in the same time period for my AR's. I think I took the first step by getting some CFE as I hear it runs through auto powder measures just fine. Might make sense, as my AR platforms are not "bench-rest precision" enough to warrant the handloading process. I'll save that for the BA .308.

Thanks for the tip on the lockout devices Rob. Something like this looks good http://www.professio...valve-lockouts/ edit, just found the perfect valve, all set to take a lock. http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-75-100-Series-Valve-Lockable/dp/B00634KAB6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1353042231&sr=8-4&keywords=lockable+gas+valve

My .223 55gr V-Max load , which I use for my HD load, I use 24.5gr of Varget with very good results. I hand load these, weighing each load with powder scoop and trickler. It is a slightly compressed load and does crunch a little. I couldn't imagine the crunch with 77gr's! I haven't been happy with what I was getting with Varget and .69 SMK's, so I did pick up some CFE, and am going to start playing with that. Varget is a great powder, but give up on trying to use an straight up auto-powder measure with it. Best you can do is to use one set to drop slightly low onto your scale scoop, place on scale, then trickle it to perfection for each load. IMO should be doing this when going for precision anyways. I just haven't had time to shoot in the past few months, and when I do its usually for USPSA. My rifles are getting bored!

Good job Maks. All this talk of shooting has me itching to go!

Thanks to the couple of forum members that offered their services in ordering various generators! Ultimately I have decided on a Subaru SGX5000. It is on backorder everywhere, so I ordered her up on Amazon, with free Prime shipping. Its no rush as I have my ETQ in the event we have another outage while I wait for it. Phase one will be to connect it up to the panel with an external L14-30 generator socket box, a 30amp 2 pole breaker, and the interlock kit (to keep things up to code). Phase 2 will be to convert the gen to tri-fuel with a US Carb kit , have a valve and quick disconnect piped from my NG gas inlet outside, and attach it with a flexible gas hose. I would only set it up when needed, and will have a lock box over the gas valve for safety.

Was going to have a family member do it. I was going to make the pad site myself, and I have a place on an outside wall where the gen will be literally 6 ft from my main panel/main meter, and only 15ft from the main gas line coming into the house. Once you start increasing distances, materials + labor go up tremendously. 3000-4000 is tremendously high if you ask me, but I suppose it heavily depends on the location of the critical components.

I had put in 3 permits Halloween week. Shiny new HG sitting at my FFL just waiting. I knew I may be SOL in terms of wait-time as the storm could be a cause for delays due to manpower issues. KPD, you have it far worse with your situation. I'm just not sure why it will take "months" before they can start taking permits again. After-all the whole permit process is 1970's style paper based system. I would think they would be setting up temporary quarters (if they haven't done so already) like a mobile trailer office in order to setup some computers, desks, and file cabinets. If they can't I would think that the cheif could make an executive decision and ask the NJSP to take over FID/PPP operations for them until they can get to a position where they are able to process them again. Maybe NJ2AS can work with the NJSP in order to come up with a plan for all areas where their local police services are dramatically impacted?

Good stuff. And yes I agree, I also doubt he is one of the 1800 or so privileged people in NJ with a NJ CCW license. Sad state of affairs when the police/news have to make up a simple explanation for him having the gun legally rather then try to explain our screwed up gun laws in a news article.

That is cool. You can apparently get the crates pretty cheap, though I'm sure S&H is the killer. http://www.keepshooting.com/military-surplus-wooden-crates.html

Phew, he's gonna get slammed for EACH hollow point that he was illegally possessing, on top of the illegal possession of a HG charge. He better at impersonating Sergeant Idiot then a real police officer.

Lots of options here it seems for replica wall-hanger weapons http://www.aurorahistoryboutique.com/Henry-Brass-Repeating-Rifle-Blued-Barrel~C000059.cfm

Signed. Seems there are a bunch of "withdraw from the US" for various States up for petition. Seems like an easy way to compile a list of dissidents for the govt watch-lists.

That was an option that I was considering. Blocker on that is the cost, you have to figure another $1000+ or so for installation on top of that. Talking nearly $7K at that point. Trying to keep the whole solution under $3K, and DIY. Interlock kit : $150 Breakers : $40 Leviton whole home surge suppressor : $200 US Carb NG/LPG kit : $200 20Ft NG gas hose and fittings: $250 240V gen receptical and boxes, assorted wires, cables : $300 New 5KW Gen : $1-2K

I hear you on the argument on "adjustable" versus other definitions. It has been used successfully in court as a defense for a CAR type stock on an AR style rifle in the past if I remember correctly. Bottom line is, it would be up to the jury to determine if it fits the definition of adjustable versus telescoping, with the latter being up to 10yrs in prison. My mental exercise that I play in my head is what would a vigorous anti-2A prosecutor say to convince a jury comprised of anti or mostly apathetic NJ jurors that the stock does indeed "telescope" versus my defense of "no it adjusts" . All the while holding up in court your rifle and saying "see it is an evil assault rifle designed for only one purpose....". To the uninformed jury, what do you think they will think? Each person has to make their own decision here on what they want to do.

I really want an inverter generator, there are a few things holding me back. a) Cost (obviously) b) Lack of 240V output except on the highest end models in the 4K range. I want to be able to power both legs in my home. The option to run the central A/C is very nice, plus I would like to use circuits on both legs throughout the home. I am installing a whole home surge suppressor on my panel (Levition) and already have UPS's on my computer equipment. I also have an APC Line conditioner that can regulate surges and sages whithin a certain % that I can use on other devices in the house. I suppose I will have to take the risk using a non-inverter, but I just dont see an inverter as an option for what I'm trying to accomplish without spending $4K and up.

For the most part you just need to worry about cosmetic stuff that is not covered under warranty, if there are any major problems , it looks like Kimber has a 1 year warranty for new pistols. Kinda lame if you ask me, as many competitors have lifetime warranties. Springfield, S&W, and even Taurus to name a few..

Malsua, I hear you on the power thing regarding spikes and sags on grid power and electronics handling it, but these situations are almost always voltage based. With non-inverter portable generators, they use an alternator which creates AC frequency based on the rotational speed of the rotor. When a portable generator like this runs out of gas or is turned off with the load still attached, the rotor will still supply electricity until it stops, so in the end before she halts, its last throw of power may be 20V at 12Hz AC which can really F things up. With grid power, the power plant will still give out 60Hz no matter how many trees fall on lines or power dips there are on the supply infrastructure. A load will only have to deal with voltage drops, but whatever voltage gets through will still be 60Hz.... On the diesel side, my original plan was to use #2 heating oil which should run fine. And yup you can store it for years with proper care, but I just didn't want to mess around with treating it, pumping it to the generator, etc etc. Plus say after 8 years or so which is stretching it, what do I do with the now sour diesel sitting in my tank? I'd much rather have a few 100gal propane tanks on the side of the house behind some bushes or whatnot and run it through a tri-fuel then deal with oil. The propane will pretty much last my lifetime , with the added bonus of maybe using them to cross fill my BBQ tanks. But yea, if I had to run a gen on a normal basis, and I would rip through the fuel every few years or whatnot, nothing beats a good diesel gen when it comes to longevity and fuel efficiency.

I thought about diesel Nick. I was going to use my home heating oil tank in the crawl space for storage (since its not in use any longer). I then started reading about the shelf life of diesel and whatnot. It turns out you have to really take care of it, use filters, water separating apparatuses , etc. It can start to grow bacteria which turns it to sludge. Plus, you also have to worry about low temps with gelling and cranking of the genny. If I was still using home heating oil, it would work as that gets rotated at least 2 times a year during the winter. I could have tapped off of that supply during power outages. It was enough to turn me off. Back to the base-camp analogy, if i was running an off the grid location and needed constant power. I would definitely look at diesel. A fresh supply delivered every month with the gen running nearly 16hrs a day type of scenario. For emergency power, I want something with a stable shelf life, easy supply, or something that I can rotate supply with. That's why I think propane, NG, and gasoline are the ways to go. I keep 20Gal of gas in 5 gal containers ready to go at all times. I treat them with stable, and once in awhile I rotate them by just filling up a car once in awhile with a jug. Easy to keep the supply fresh. NG is great also as it almost never goes down unless there was a major earthquake or you do live by the shore where they may shut it down with impending flood waters. For totally off the grid with a huge supply, propane has an indefinite shelf life, and you can get 100gal propane tanks pretty cheap, along with many services that will come to your home to fill them when needed.

Let me pose a question to your question, when was the last time the power company uses individual alternator based small 4000-9000watt generators directly connected to a small combustion engine to power your house. Apples and oranges here; hence, the failure modes and impacts may be very different. I'm no expert, but I know enough to realize you can't use the logic that works on one with logic that works on another.

Yes!

This is very disconcerting and has me worrying now. It seems voltage swings aren't the only thing that can cause issues. I see talk of THD frequency swings or instability can also chip away at electronics. Just a question , did at any time you shut off the gen or have it run out of gas before disconnecting your load (appliances, fridge, home theater, etc). This is a big no no and no matter how fancy of a gen you have it can cause damage.