subversivecivilian

[subversivecivilian]

I recently taught a class to a group of executive protection personal.

As I suspected, wearing suits on a business attire gig will make you not want to touch a dirty diaper. Or as our second group demonstrated, even a drink cup. I was careful to create the illusion that it was rolled over and parked with the tire sitting on top. Gotcha.

Caltrops are not just for area denial -rdx.

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“A rock can get you a knife, a knife can get you a car or gun, a gun can get you a truck full of guns… Think outside the box and remember you are never unarmed.” Ed

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Got my new knife and sheath from pcordnsuch and it is awesome. It originally it came with a paracord lanyard but I’ve always got to be making things more complicated so I put a soft loop on it.

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The new wndsn patches are in stock, get em while they're still there.

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Remember PACE: primary, alternate, contingency and emergency. Always have a PACE for everything.

(via ufridman)

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“Just wanted to not be alone in the fun with this mental case. This guy is a peace of work. Claiming to be a veteran and never even making fleet. His assault charges aside and his constant problematic nature has been just poisonous to all involved with him.

Don’t make the same mistake I did by associating your self with this individual. I have never said an bad thing about the man till now. He wants to speak of bogus claims. Well here we go.”

Ed

[subversivecivilian]

The New 12 Rules

A simplification of the current rules.

Rule 1: Always have an escape plan

Rule 2: Never get caught.

Rule 3: Be aware of your surroundings.

Rule 4: Always have a backup plan.

Rule 5: Assumption is the mother of all fuckups.

Rule 6: Trust your gut.

Rule 7: Simple and light equals freedom, agility and mobility.

Rule 8: KISS: Keep it simple, stupid.

Rule 9: The solution is in the problem.

Rule 10: Don’t become predictable.

Rule 11: Never take the elevator.

Rule 12: Always invest in good quality stuff.

[subversivecivilian]

I found one item that could potentially give you problems friction cutting using the technora escape necklace. A leather belt, the friction tends to smooth the leather which slows the cutting process. All other items were cut in under a minute and a half, the indent you see on the belt was from about 5 minutes of continuous sawing using the cutting knots. It could be done but only if you were left alone for a longer period of time not taking into account the position and range of motion of your hands. I would recommend in this case attacking the stitching at the buckle or whatever else is securing the length of leather as it will probably give much quicker than the leather itself. Still no damage to the necklace, almost thought I did when I saw pieces of fiber sticking out but then realized it was just embedded pieces of materials I cut.

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Household cables are also no match the first is a USB charging cable and the second is your common electrical cord. Both were very easily cut by the technora escape necklace.

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The first two were a gimme, I had no doubt that the technora would go right through the zip ties or the poly rope. No apparent damage to the necklace so on to the heavier stuff!

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Going to work with some items that may be used in a home invasion situation today. Leather belt, power cord, charging cable, polypropylene rope, and some industrial zip ties. Continuing to put the OscarDelta technora escape necklace to the test.

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Since receiving my technora escape necklace I have developed a sort of love-hate relationship with it. I love it as it is an amazing piece of kit, yet I feel the need to try and destroy it or somehow find it’s limitations. I used it today to cut through 2500 lb. mule tape. For those not familiar mule tape is used to pull cables through conduit during installation and is specifically designed to resist heat and abrasion. I used a simple overhand knot to attach the mule tape to the table leg then began sawing using the cutting knots already tied into the necklace. It took about a minute and a half to saw through the mule tape. I was honestly pretty surprised it was that quick and once again there was no visible damage to the necklace.

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My testing of the OSCARDELTA Technora escape necklace. I happened to have a wing window from a 1990 Ford Bronco sitting in the back of the garage and decided to do some testing of my new escape tool. I prefer to test all of my gear before carrying it to make sure it works as advertised. It took three strikes from the bead using only half the length of the necklace and a shorter ark to replicate someone swinging it from within the vehicle. The window easily shattered and then was able to be pushed out by hand. The bead appears no worse for wear after the fact. I highly recommend this necklace to anyone, not just E&E practitioners but also the everyday person as you never know when it could come in handy. It is also advertised to be able to cut seatbelts which I will be testing next.

[subversivecivilian]

How To Be Safe in Crowds by Kevin Reeve

I have been asked several times since the Boston Marathon Bombing about how to manage risk in a large crowd environment.  One answer is simple:  Unless you are absolutely required to be in attendance, AVOID large crowded environments.  Of course when there are times when you have limited choice and must venture into that environment, then use good habits of “situational awareness” and adopt a “bias towards action."  Large groups of people will always attract a certain amount of risk.  Never underestimate the volatility of people in large groups.  Any significant event, even a "perceived” event, can result in a stampede.  People are injured and die every year during Black Friday Sales events when they become victims of a frenzied mob.  A fire, an explosion, an active shooter can all create a mob mentality that takes on a life of its own. The KEY to surviving any event in a crowded venue will depend almost entirely on your ability to control personal panic, to assess the situation, and to take immediate action.  If you panic, you drastically increase your odds of injury or death. Here are a few strategies that will decrease your risk. Concentration is initially involved, but after practice, these habits can become natural and seemingly effortless. 1. Maintain your awareness.  Keep your eyes up, off the smart phone, and scan your environment.  This is can be challenging due to the large volume of people.  But try actively scanning.  Look for “out of baseline” behaviors.  People moving upstream, against the flow, for example, are out of baseline.  People moving faster or slower than the baseline, or whose gestures or furtiveness do not match the event. I have a friend who works in a department store in theft prevention.  In a glance, he can spot someone about to shoplift.  Their behaviors are out of baseline.  A shoplifter will always stand right next to the shelf before he pockets the item, whereas a normal shopper stands back to be able to see the contents of the shelves.  Out of baseline. 2. Identify specific threats or threatening behavior.   Look for menacing behavior or people who by their looks cause you to feel uncomfortable. Trust your gut.  There may be a valid reason why they make you feel uncomfortable.  If you are in proximity, move away.  As always, look for “orphans:"  bags or packages without owners.  Alert security if you see them, but do not stand next to them waiting for security to arrive. 3. Identify exits.  Whenever I enter a room, or area, one of the first things I do is scan for exits.  Are there emergency exits?  Are they alarmed?  Are they locked?  What about windows?  Can they be opened?  Is there a heavy object like a chair I can throw through the window? 4. Look for exits on the opposite side of the room from the entrance or at right angles to the entrance.  Most people will bypass emergency exits in close proximity to them to go back to the entrance they came in through.  This behavior has led to many deaths in ballroom and concert fires.  People who are panicking seek the familiar. 5. Identify cover.  Cover refers to safety from fire.  A brick wall may stop bullets, but sheetrock walls will not.  Solid furniture may seem solid, but even a two inch thick oak table will not stop a 9mm round.  You must find something substantial if shooting starts.  The engine block and front axle of a car for example may provide enough cover for one person.  The car door, not so much.   Inside a building, there is generally not much cover.  Better to head for the exit. 5.  When an event occurs, grab your family members and head for the exit.  Pick up and carry children.  Have your family members, (spouse, others with you) grab a hold of your belt.  Move assertively towards the PRE-SELECTED exit.   Move with the crowd "downstream” but also in a diagonal direction, until can reach a wall inside, or if outside, the edge of the crowd, where you can better control your movement.  Do not be afraid to damage or destroy the fixtures or the building itself to get out, such as breaking open windows or kicking open doors, or breaking locks   Timidity will not be helpful.  Your primary concern must be your family.  Once they are safe, you can decide whether or not to render aid to others. 6. Carry essential gear.  Essential gear for an outside event:  Water bottle.  First aid kit that includes a tourniquet.  Knife. Multi-tool. Sun glasses that also provide eye protection.  Indoor essential gear, add a small pocket flashlight which will penetrate smoke and haze, ( a cell phone light will not penetrate smoke and haze.) It is impossible to anticipate every event.  However, most events will precipitate the need to MOVE.  MOVEMENT to SAFETY will generally always be your highest priority.  If the event is localized to your immediate vicinity, then safety generally lies elsewhere. The most important trait here is a BIAS TOWARDS ACTION.   Take action to improve your crowd situation. Kevin Reeve is the founder of onPoint Tactical, an Urban & Wilderness Survival School, teaching awareness and a full range of advanced survival skills.

Visit at:

www.onpointtactical.com

[subversivecivilian]

LOCKDOWN: What to do after locking the doors

“Get inside and lock your doors!” There is a new word creeping into our vernacular: LOCKDOWN.  Some call it “shelter in place,” a more benign term, which seems more applicable during epidemics or natural disasters.   Lockdown implies a more immediate threat to physical safety - a more fitting term for what happened in Watertown, MA, and the surrounding Boston area.

Terrorist in the backyard

My wife happened to be up late, when a friend alerted her to activity on the Boston Police Scanner.  She listened live to the car chase with the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing, the gunfight, the bomb explosion, the fugitive escape through the police barricade, calls for EMT’s for the wounded police officers, and information flowing in about the carjacking.  And then finally the announcement:  A mass murdering “armed and dangerous” terrorist was on the loose in Watertown, an American suburban neighborhood, and law enforcement ordered a lockdown.   She felt grateful to be thousands of miles away from the mayhem…but she knew it wasn’t over for those residents.

The next morning she had questions:  If she had been home alone with the kids and an armed fugitive was escaping and evading in the neighborhood, did she need to do more than “Stay inside and lock the doors?"  Here are her questions, and my responses:

First, the bad news

I prefaced my answers with the bad news:  Nothing in the house would stop a bullet.  If she was in close enough proximity to hear a gunfight (which can sound like firecrackers - FYI) then she should keep herself and the children away from the window and doors, and as low as possible. If there is a basement, go to the basement. Otherwise, sleep on the floor.  When the crack NCIS team finds bullets lodged in walls indoors, it’s because the bullets have been through a person or a few walls.  A bullet from a .22 LR can travel 1 -1.5 miles.  Bullets from an AR can travel 2-3 miles if unimpeded.  So a gunfight in a neighborhood is a very dangerous situation, whether the bullets are coming from law enforcement or criminals. (A photo, in a series of photos, circulating taken from the second story window by a witness of the gunfight between police and the 2 terror suspects, shows a bullet hole through the second story bedroom wall, calendar and computer chair.)

Q:  Do I keep the lights on or lights off?

A:  I go back and forth on whether to turn all the lights off at night or to have all the lights on during a lockdown.  I favor having them off because I have a Night Vision device, and that would be advantageous.  For most people keeping all the lights on might  a) deter the fugitive from choosing your house, and  b) allowing you to see so you can more effectively protect yourself if there is an intruder. Pull down all the shades and close the drapes so a predator won’t be able to determine who or how many people are in the home.

Monitor the motion detectors on all four sides of your home.  Make sure you have motion lights over doors as a minimum.  It is not difficult to add a beeper inside your house that alerts you when a light turns on.  These motion detectors are great night time deterrents.

Q:  Keep the dog in or put the dog out?

A: Big dog outside, small dog inside.  Dogs can be excellent at both protection and deterrence.  A large dog in the yard will likely make the potential invader go down the road to the next house.  Dogs are usually better than security systems for deterrence.  Security companies will not like me saying this, but the problem with most systems is that people do not turn them on because of the inconvenience.  Dogs bark at someone entering the property. Almost always.

Given a house with a large dog outside barking, and an empty yard, most  fugitives would avoid the property with the dog.  Smaller dogs, ankle biters, are better indoors as they can provide an internal warning of a visitor outside. Burglars describe dogs as one of the biggest deterrents.

Q:  Can I go to sleep, or should I stay awake?

A:  The manhunt lasted about 20 hours.  In the case of a lockdown, you want to make sure that someone can stay awake and alert to monitor the situation via a police scanner (smartphone app), news and even social media.  I would not suggest taking an Ambien and putting in the earbuds for the night. Turn down the volume of TV’s and video games so you can be alert to sounds outside and inside the house.  Keep your shoes on.  When law enforcement evacuated residents at gunpoint from some of the homes, people were caught barefoot and forced to evacuate.  One Watertown resident said that he asked police if he could put his shoes on before leaving, and was told, ‘No.'  Also, the adult should be the only one to answer door, and be prepared to leave immediately with go-bags.

Q:  Should we go hang out with the neighbors?

A:  There is safety in numbers.  More people equals more eyes.  A person living alone should probably congregate with other neighbors.  Same with a single parents and small children.  Leave a small note on the front door for law enforcement that says, 'Door is open. House is empty.’ with a contact number.   

onPointTactical has two mottos:  "Training Trumps Gear,” and “Community Trumps Training."  It is better to be trained than equipped.  The more you know, the less you need.

The second part, Community Trumps Training means that you, as an individual, are less safe alone in challenging situations, than when you are in league with others.  You can’t watch all directions by yourself, you can’t cook, tend the children, protect the house, watch the neighborhood alone.  So to protect your family, extend yourself and form a neighborhood community.  Have each others phone numbers, and communicate suspicious activity.

Creating Layers of Defense

Speaking of neighbors, it’s helpful to think of  home security in what we call layers or concentric rings of security.  We start as far out as possible from our home.  To do this effectively you need more eyes and ears than you have.  A neighborhood watch helps keep the neighborhood safer by providing current information and reporting on suspicious activity.  The next layer of security begins at the property line.  If you live on a large or even average sized lot, you may want to install perimeter alerts at key entry points.  A wireless driveway sensor lets you know when someone comes onto the property by way of the driveway.  You can do the same for footpaths and gates in fences.  A simple beep alerts you that someone has entered the property.

There is a universal principle that the trade off for security is convenience.  One of the advantage of passive monitors like these is that they do not require constant vigilance.  In essence they are force multipliers.  They simply require you to look when you hear the beep.  Improve the quality of outside locks and doors.  The majority of houses in the US have very inexpensive locks that were put on when the house was built.  These locks can be picked in a matter of seconds.  Start with locks.  Talk to a locksmith.  Find a GOOD brand. Next, improve the strength of the door jams by installing door jam reinforcement.  Most home improvement stores sell a U-shaped steel channel, that combined with a good lock will make the doors very hard to kick in. Secure sliding glass doors with a dowel laid into the channel on the non-opening side that blocks the door.  If the windows will be opened, drill and peg the window frames so that they cannot be opened without breaking the glass (unless you remove the peg of course). The next layer of protection will be the most controversial.  It is my suggestion that you have a means of protection in the form of a weapon if all these preventions have failed. From a non-lethal perspective, consider keeping a can of wasp spray next to your bed.  It will shoot about twenty feet and render the attacker in serious distress.  I do not like pepper spray indoors because it affects both the perp and the person spraying it.  It is very hard for you to spray it in your house and not end up disabled on the floor.

The familiar recommendations of knives and firearms require training to be genuinely safe and effective for home defense purposes.  That is a post for another time.

The further out you can become aware of the threat, the better your chances of keeping predators away from your family and maintain the ability to respond to the threat appropriately.  Remember, when seconds count, the police are minutes away.  We call this responsibility. 

Response Ability.

Kevin Reeve is the founder of onPoint Tactical, a school training professionals and select civilians in urban escape & evasion, urban survival, wilderness survival, tracking, and scout skills. Visit the website at www.onPointTactical.com  

info@onpointtactical.com

[subversivecivilian]

Gray Man Strategies 101

Moving through the city during a “loss of civility” (government-speak for breakdown) can be extremely dangerous, even life-threatening.  Sadly, there will be many predators who wait for just such occasions to prey upon those whom they perceive as weak.   We call them “opportunivores."  Opportunivores only obey laws because they fear punishment.  When law enforcement is removed from the equation, opportunivores become a law unto themselves. Avoiding these predators may require different strategies.  One is to move in a large enough force, and to be threatening enough, that the predators move on to easier targets.  Another is to move when the predators are not vigilant.  A third, and more flexible method is to learn to blend into a crowd, and not do anything to draw attention to oneself.

Blending into a crowd is called becoming a gray man. There are people moving around us every day whose physical presence is so non-stimulating that we ignore them.  They are for all intents and purposes, invisible to us.  The gray man is the one we want to emulate in a disaster.  The  problem is, people have never seen a true gray man, unless you’ve been taught to see them.  Because if you casually noticed him, his gray man-ness is in dispute. So who is the gray man, and how do we find and emulate him?  It will require some time observing crowds of people.  The process is based on an understanding of how your mind remembers what it sees. The principle is simple.  The mind remembers whatever significantly stimulates it.  If there is no stimulus, there is no noticing.  Breaking this idea down further, the brain contains a filter for all sensory input called the Reticular Activating System.  It is a part of the brain that filters sensory data.  For example, your eyes send a complete stream of data down the optic nerve.  The RAS scans that feed and determines what parts of the process to filter and what parts to pay attention to.  This allows the brain to conserve energy by not having to process all the visual data. 

What does the RAS filter and what does it send through? 

The brain is looking for first, threats. The RAS will send data related to fast movement, threatening movement, movement on vectors that will intercept your own.  It also looks for bright colors, human shapes, reflections, bright light, implied movement, and other similar things that STIMULATE the brain.  The RAS ignores areas of continuous color, shadow, dull, natural colors, slow movement, off vector movement. The RAS is a very effective movement for sound input as well.  It filters sounds that are unnecessary for us to notice, such as the sound of the refrigerator running, but alerts us to sounds that may represent a threat, such as the sound of someone trying to jimmy a window at night. I have a friend that lives in New York city.  I was on the phone with him one day, and just outside, an ambulance went by on his end.  The sound of the siren via the phone, was incredibly loud in my ears.  I interrupted him and told him to wait till the ambulance went by.  He said,���What ambulance?” The sound of the ambulance was so common that he filtered it out completely. So what does the RAS have to do with being the gray man?  Simply this. To make yourself invisible to predators, don’t trip their triggers.  If you do not create a stimulus that the predator keys in on, you are invisible to him.  Just like my friend who could not hear the ambulance, a gray man moves around our awareness without triggering any alarms. How is this accomplished?  It seems simple enough.  Just blend in.  But there is actually quite an art form to this.

The Art of Blending Size: Height is an element of being a gray man that we have little control over.  The best gray man is ordinary in every respect.  He’s of average height and weight.  He has no obvious physical features that draw attention, ie,  big nose, bald head, facial hair, etc.  For example, I have a very hard time being a gray man because I am a big man.  I am 6’2” and "husky,” as they say.  People remember me as “that big dude.” Dress: Dress is an element within our control.  For the most part, natural and neutral colors work best; Browns and grays.  Nothing to create a memory like a T-shirt with a saying or photos.  Style, of clothing tends to be very conservative.  Nothing showing skin, nothing too fashionable, nothing to out of fashion.  Ordinary is the key word here.

The standard “uniform” for military’s civilian wear consist of 5.11 Tactical pants, (referred to by some of my friends as “shoot me first pants),” a khaki cotton button-down shirt with epaulettes, Oakley shades, desert combat boots, and a shaved head. Add to that a nice MOLLE backpack, and you have target written all over you.  No one doubts that you have some very cool gear in that pack.  And they will want it.  But as cool as that looks, it will draw the attention of both LE and predators. Mannerisms: Since the gray man attracts no attention, his mannerisms must be small and discreet.  No sweeping gestures.  Energetically, the gray man is withdrawn.  He does not project confidence.  He does not look around much, he avoids eye contact. I stood with a friend on the top level of the Galleria mall observing a class exercise involving foot surveillance.  He nudged me and pointed to a guy on the escalator,  “Fed!”  I asked how he knew the guy was a federal agent.  He told me to watch where he looked, what he looked at.  Very discreetly, the man in question turned his body to the left and did an almost imperceptible head sweep that allowed him to see behind him.  Then he did an adjustment that allowed him to sweep the area on his right.  Without having it pointed out to me, I probably would not have noticed.  However, the man displayed a now obvious level of awareness.  This is one of the reasons I do not do gray well.  I am always too curious.  When I walk into a room, my head is on a swivel.  It is a hard habit for me to break.  Consequently, I have a hard time doing gray. Movement: One of the key elements of camouflage is learning to match your movement to the baseline.  If you spend any time in a city, you will notice that every neighborhood has a unique flavor.  We call that the baseline.  It refers to the sound, motion, activity level of the neighborhood in a normal situation.  The speed at which people move, the way they gesture, the volume and speed with which they speak.  All these elements and many more make up the baseline.  You can learn the baseline for a given neighborhood by sitting somewhere and watching. The element of matching the baseline is probably the single most important element of personal camouflage.  Learning to walk like the natives walk will hide you better than just about anything else. Route: A key element in avoiding trouble is not to go where trouble tends to be. This means you must know the terrain like a native.  You must know what neighborhoods are safe (relatively) and which ones to avoid.  You must know roads and routes, locations of police stations, gas stations, convenience stores and emergency clinics.  You should know what areas have street lights at night, and which are dark.  Know where the choke points are, and where LE is likely to set up blockades.  Being a gray man means avoiding trouble by not going where trouble is, unless necessary. Learning to see the gray man: The following exercise was one I developed for the Urban Escape & Evasion class I teach.  To learn to see the previously invisible gray man, go to a public area with lots of foot traffic.  Sit back and watch the crowd.  As a person walks by, notice the stimulus that drew your eye.  In your mind (not out loud), create an insult about that person’s stimulus.  The more outlandish the better.  Before you all get offended here, the purpose is to pound into your consciousness the stimulus – what you notice about each person.  “That guy has a huge nose.”  “That guy has completely bizarre taste in shoes”  “Do they sell men’s clothes where he bought those pants?”  “Wow.  That almost looks like he got dressed in the dark.”  Remember your purpose is to identify the stimulus. Then after a few minutes, someone will walk by and you will not find anything.  Nothing to make fun of, nothing to ridicule.  Pay attention to that person.  Observe them carefully.  See how they move, what kind of energy they project.  See how they interact with others, what they pay attention to (or not).  If possible follow them for a bit.  Observe them move.  I am sure from having done this myself, and observing as classes do this that the key to becoming a gray man lies in your ability to observe and mimic. Summary: The gray man is the person who moves around the periphery of our awareness without creating any stimulus.  This makes that person invisible for all practical purposes.  Being invisible will greatly reduce the risk of falling prey to the two legged predators who will make life so “interesting” when this thin veneer of society peels away and reveals the pure ugly evil that lies underneath. 

*No portion of this may be copied or duplicated without the express permission of Kevin Reeve.

Kevin Reeve is the founder of onPoint Tactical, training professionals and select civilians in Urban Survival, Urban Escape & Evasion, Wilderness Survival and Tracking.  For more information and training schedule visit

www.onPointTactical.com

info@onPointTactical.com

[subversivecivilian]

The Art Of Communication: Part 4

Part One Part Two Part Three

In this final installment we are looking at the radio that made the grade for the team. This is not a high end Icom or Yaesu model this is something that combined all of our needs into one product and added a few extras we didn’t know we would need as part of the package. After a lot of testing, talking to other people, which is important, we settled on a radio from a company called Wouxun. The named pronunciation seems to be varied, ranging from ‘Ocean’ to ‘Woo-Shun’. The only thing that matters to me is the model and that is the KG-UV8D, 70cm/2M cross band repeater. I’ll try not to make this sound complicated when I explain one of the key features, that of the cross band repeater. In short some of the teams we deal with have their own radios on lower frequencies and they won’t come up to where we usually operate. The cross band repeater, built into this radio allows the UHF band to talk with the VHF band at the same time. This is instantaneous allowing those for example on 144.500mhz to talk actively with those on 446.500 MHz so everyone in the team can talk to everyone else. This is very crudely explained, but those on 70cm cannot talk to those on 2m, the cross band repeater allows that to happen by using the second ‘radio built into the radio’ to take over and communicate in real time. No delays, no waiting, press the PTT on the mic and everyone hears on the tuned frequency.

This radio comes in different versions depending on where you buy the unit. That means some of the frequencies are locked to limits. These can, as we have tested, be unlocked to offer you a full 134mhz-175mhz and 400-519mhz. The whole process took a few seconds and uses the dealership software that some companies offer to perform for you for around $25-35. You can download that for free from the internet and do it yourself, just read the above limits carefully and don’t try to make it do anymore than that. If you exceed the limitations the radio is designed for, you need to accept you may ‘brick’ the radio.

We have teamed the radios up with new antennas. The stock ones  work perfectly for what they are, we just wanted a more discreet one for under the shirt with a covert headset, and one with more gain and length for in the field. The two models we opted for have been tested extensively with excellent results. They are the Diamond SRHF10 ‘flexiduck’ style antenna, and the Diamond SRH 771 which is around 16” long but incredibly flexible with a gain of around 6dB. Even if you bend the top over to tame it on a strap of a pack, it still works perfectly. They take a mind blowing amount of abuse flexing in the truck or moving around as much as we do. (SMA Male Antennas only)

Add to the additions a line up of 999 programmable channels, 5w peak output, DTMF encoding/decoding, CTCSS options and a host of other features packed into such a tiny package it was the most reliable, dependable choice we could have made. Once the initial profile was created it was exported and simply imported into the additional radios. The whole process required a rename of each radio and nothing more. These units are rated to IPX55 so they will take rain but you don’t want to try swimming or submersion with the unit.

Furthermore the battery is rated at 2600ma/h and they are L-ion. We charge the radios every other day on average so certainly no complaints about the durability of them. It should be noted that some forums have complained that the radio was left switched on in the charger and damage had occurred, I can’t vouch for that, we turn everything off while it’s charging by default. The manual states clearly to turn the unit off while charging.

The screen is clear and visible in all but the brightest of sunlight and the layout is logical with everything clearly displayed. There are no complicated icons that can confuse and setting up for local repeaters took a moment or two and a quick look at the manual. The manual is a bit simple, but an improved version is available from the manufacturer’s website if you need it.

When it comes to accessories the microphone/speaker jack needs to be 11mm apart, so a wide range of branded items is available from Wouxun stockists or other mainstream manufacturers. Throat mics, covert mics with compact PTTs or even the military style units are available, most just need a cable swap for the twin plug.

The radio has been field tested for a few weeks and so far no failures, no undocumented problems. It’s proved reliable, rugged and easy to use and those who have never used radios before can get to grips with all of the options, even enabling or disabling the dual band monitoring.

As far as radios go, this is an impressive, feature rich package that offers a host of extras. It’s also around one third of the price of the other mainstream units! My only comment that is negative, if forced to give one would be the lack of control over scan behavior. Some people prefer the scan to continue on its own after the carrier wave has dropped, some people wanted it to stop on the active channel to continue to monitor that channel. You don’t get a choice, you have to manually hit scan again to continue. The new KG-UV9D has this option control built into it and this is where the final personal touches can be gained from a radio. While I prefer the scan to not continue until I decide, I understand that making the ability to tweak so many things on a radio can lead to it becoming overly complicated. The results from this for a novice are negative due to the fact that everything has an options list, and it can be a very steep learning curve. Sound quality is important, this radio has this better than mainstream vendors offerings and its right from the very start.

For a workhorse radio, or something to throw in a pack on your weekend off to roam the mountains and one that can be changed on the profile in a few seconds, this is a perfect solution to a communication problem. I really cannot recommend it enough.

Law Industries Store