mTOC Skill Drills: File Sharing across Operating Systems

Introduction File sharing between devices shouldn’t be a chore, especially in high-pressure environments. With Syncthing, a platform-agnostic file-sharing tool, you can seamlessly transfer files and images between your mTOC terminal, mobile devices, and other systems. Whether you’re reconciling field reports, preparing a briefing, or simply transferring critical documents, Syncthing has you covered. This skill drill…

mTOC Skill Drills: Software Defined Radio

Introduction Welcome to today’s SDR (Software-Defined Radio) challenge! In this exercise, we’ll walk you through using an RTL-SDR (or similar) and CubicSDR to explore local radio signals, capture NOAA weather frequencies, and even track aircraft flight data using dump1090-fa. These drills are designed for beginners, so don’t worry if you’re new to this – we’ll…

The mTOC User’s Guide

Introduction A few months back, we posted the introduction to the ISG micro Operations Center, with the intent of showcasing the “what” of the project. So while we hope it was an interesting look at what the project is, a little less defined is the “why?”, and more importantly, the “how?” of the device. After…

The ISG micro Operations Center

Prologue Late in 2019, we (the world) found ourselves in the grip of a Type III emergency. A strange illness was making its way around the globe, toilet paper became currency, and information changed forever. I was, like so many others, utterly dependent on the grid, woefully unable to describe what the internet even is,…

No Man’s Land: The “Last War” Paradigm

  Introduction “War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” ― Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West It’s tough to convey a point, at times. Porteus wrote “a murder makes a villain, a million [deaths make] a hero…” I think…

Overlanding is not Preparedness

So, in the annals of internet redundancy, is the ISG emphasis on mobility. It’s to the point that it’s frustrating in a way that calls to mind Shel Silverstein’s “Hector the Collector”, and leaves the impression on me that I’m presenting my junk as if it were treasure. The other day, Jake was cruel enough…

Self Esteem and Exploding Dirigibles

In early 1990, I was utterly uninterested in any sport except boxing. All others, it seemed, were some convoluted route to what boxing was at it’s very core: two men in a fight. In boxing, men didn’t set out to chase a ball or perform a feat against gravity, they sought to physically beat another…