Friday, March 01, 2013

Plot Device

I am told this scenario would be technically feasible to develop. [Read]

Thoughts?
Posted by David Codrea at 3/01/2013 04:22:00 PM

15 comments:

steve.long.3 said...

I can tell you the devices mentioned are not out of the realm of possibility, even for a hobbyist.

I can also tell you that Science and Technology labs produce items that go far beyond even most enlightened persons' reality.

Figure on some advanced s&t being put in play in these type of actions. The homebrew sort of toys described in the story would likely be rendered ineffective not too far into the game.

Interesting.

3/01/2013 5:04 PM
MamaLiberty said...

That's an interesting start... But he is in a terribly weak position, and all alone evidently.

Could be done, of course. I'd think the story would have to use this as an illustration of something that might sound good, but wouldn't accomplish much beyond momentary personal satisfaction.

Unfortunately, a police drone would probably take him and his whole house out shortly. Or they'd just send in a tank... So, the little drones with the .22s would only serve to escalate the conflict.

Individual martyrs are inevitable and valuable in some ways, but a head to head confrontation is probably not going to accomplish much in the long run.

If/when the house to house confiscation starts, those who want to resist should not be there. They need to make their move NOW to a position of strength.

3/01/2013 5:08 PM
Anonymous said...

You got the money? It's possible.

3/01/2013 5:30 PM
Mark Matis said...

That's a nice thought, MamaLiberty. But how many "Law Enforcement" officers are there in this country? It would not take many actions such as this to deplete their numbers in a given location. And when they call for backup from OTHER areas, if the departments who provide the backup are ALSO considered enemy and dealt with anytime, anywhere, anyhow, well...

Furthermore, as I have repeatedly said, "Law Enforcement" gives not one damn how many innocent people they murder while doing their job. Their standard response is "If they weren't associating with criminals, they would not have been harmed." How many "Law Enforcement" will continue to do their Masters' bidding if that Rule of Engagement, along with the 2 AM raid, is turned back on them and theirs?

Or do you propose to fight the coming war the same way the US did in Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, and Afghanistan? Instead of using the Rules of Engagement from Germany and Japan?

3/01/2013 6:08 PM
Virtue said...

Imagine if it were 50 RC drones instead of 25.....Imagine if there were 10 people like this with 50 RC drones each.

3/01/2013 6:30 PM
Longbow said...

Interesting and do-able

3/01/2013 7:46 PM
Anonymous said...

Perfectly feasible, but a jammer could probably screw that up in short order. There are models certain sheriffs departments are obtaining that can fire beanbag, taser, or shotgun shells.

It'd work once or twice. Then they'd call up the food chain for the more fun toys. Still they can't be ready for everything every time. And they're going to get tired if too many people resist.

3/01/2013 7:54 PM
Mark Matis said...

By the way, the laws of physics would still apply to these devices. Specifically, for each action there is a reaction. Firing the weapon would "kick" the drone in the opposite direction, and with the weights involved (mass is greatly limited if you want these things to be able to get airborne), one shot might upset the vehicle so badly that it would crash. Not to mention that the bullet would have less energy when it hit the target, since the gun barrel would be moving the other way as the bullet was accelerated out the bore, and "muzzle velocity" is in reference to the gun from which the bullet is fired. If "muzzle velocity" is 1530 fps, but the "gun" is moving the other direction at 500 fps as the bullet leaves the barrel...

3/01/2013 8:36 PM
Anonymous said...

Imagine Boeing's CHAMP. Except it is real. EMP devices and other countermeasures are already fielded.

Resistance isn't futile, but it needs non-emotional, well reasoned activity to bring about change.

In my opinion, a war of ideas is still a more viable alternative to physical conflict.


A battle was lost at the ballot box because the enemy was able to motivate 50 million epsilons to vote for them, while good people did nothing.

Consider how to best hurt the twisted, self-serving egomaniacs in control. It isn't violence, it is a one way ticket out of office.

3/01/2013 9:11 PM
Steve S. said...

He sighed, and shook his head.

All the cops had to do, was refuse to obey orders that so blatantly violated the Constitution.

He went to his garage, and grabbed the box of prepared booby traps, carrying it back to the front.

He carefully set a fragmentation charge, under each of the bodies, using pressure switches, that would fire the tuna can housed mines when the weight was removed. Each mine had over 100 Viet Nam era flechets. 1 inch long, hardened steel darts, powered by two shotgun shell-fulls of home made black powder. He gingerly removed the plastic strips, that had isolated the battery in each can, from the circuit.

Those tasks completed, he went back into his house.

Moving quickly, because he knew there wasn't much time, he grabbed his bug-out bag, and set it by the back door.

Everything else of value, had either been sold, or already moved to his bug out location.

He took a last look around, then set his last trap.

He opened a valve, to the large propane tank in his back yard, The gas was piped into his cellar.

Pausing at the back door, he armed the home security system, then quickly went out, closing the door, behind.

When the cops broke in, and he knew they would, the security system, instead of calling a service, would start a ten minute timer. When the timer expired, would close a circuit, that would fire a blasting cap, which would, in turn, ignite the propane air mix that was even now building in the cellar.

He thought to himself, "I'm sure gonna miss this old house," as he backed his van out of the driveway.



Okay, someone else pick it up!

3/01/2013 9:24 PM
Mark Matis said...

While he was now too "hot" to remain around, many other gun owners were not. Five of his friends got in a car and drove to the Eisenhower Parkway substation and got out of the car. Each fired one FMJ round from their M1As into the bottom of a transformer, picked up the spent brass (fingerprints, you know, since every one of them had been fingerprinted when they swore the oath they were now honoring), got back in the car, and drove away. This was repeated at substations around the metropolitan area, and the city soon went dark.

It would be quite some time before "Law Enforcement" was available to resume gun confiscation. They now had more important things to do...

3/02/2013 8:16 AM
Mark Matis said...

It was now two weeks later, and power had started to come back on. The Federal government had commandeered every suitable transformer in the country, rushed them to the damaged substations, expedited their installation, and had installed guard shacks. After all, The City was a major power base for the Administration, and the blackout had made them look very bad. The guards were in full body armor, and had a mounted 50 caliber machine gun to deal with any new attacks. Hey, they were “Law Enforcement”, so collateral damage was not a concern.

The same five guys pulled into the lot just south of the substation on the west side of Eisenhower Parkway and drove around behind the building so they would be out of site of anyone driving the parkway. They didn't worry about being caught, because it was early Sunday morning and the business was closed. They each set up and aimed a mortar. Google Earth had told them the range was 266 yards to the guard shack, and the bearing was 046°26′42″. They each dropped a shell into their tube at almost the same time. Yeah, five was probably overkill, but they wanted to make sure since the shells were homebrew. With the guards obliterated and no warning sounded, they retargeted their mortar tubes at the new transformers. One more round apiece. They loaded back into their car and drove away. This would be the last time they would be able to strike a substation, but the city would be dark FAR longer now since there were no replacement transformers left in the country.

3/02/2013 9:54 AM
Backwoods Engineer said...

They really ought to get an electronics engineer / RF engineer go over this stuff before publishing it.

I am both.

Home in on police radios? When they aren't transmitting? Nope.

HOWEVER - the software could easily identify SWAT personnel, because they a) always wear helmets, and b) always wear vests with the word "SWAT" or "POLICE" or "ATF" or "FBI" in white letters on black. There is open-source software available that can read letters on pictures or scans, and turn them into digital letters, understandable by a computer program.

3/02/2013 2:04 PM
Mark Matis said...

I believe if you note THIS sentence:

" In a quarter of a second the drones transmitted a police frequency signal, a specific tone, as a ping locater to pick out all the hand held radios." you'll understand the drones transmitted a "ping" on the police frequency and used their microphones to sense where police radios were by listening for the audible "ping" from those receivers. That would seem to be within existing commercial capabilities at the ranges implied.

3/02/2013 5:04 PM
bob r said...

Mark Matis:"Not to mention that the bullet would have less energy when it hit the target, since the gun barrel would be moving the other way as the bullet was accelerated out the bore, and "muzzle velocity" is in reference to the gun from which the bullet is fired. If "muzzle velocity" is 1530 fps, but the "gun" is moving the other direction at 500 fps as the bullet leaves the barrel..."

Your figures are off a little: assume aircraft weight of 2 lbs, 40 grain bullet at 1560 ft/sec. Momentum is constant (hence equal and opposite reaction) so bullet momentum is 8.9 lb ft/sec. Divide by aircraft weight gives 4.5 ft/sec for the aircraft after firing, hardly a significant amount to overcome if the setup directs the axis of the barrel through the center of gravity.
As to the energy: velocity reduction of 4.5 ft/sec changes energy from 216.1 to 214.8 ft lb, again not a significant problem.

3/10/2013 10:30 PM

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