Survival on Microfiche

Anyone know of any books about survival on microfiche or a company that can put text onto microfiche? I know there are companies that make non-electric handheld microfiche viewers. I'm considering if that would be an effective way of carrying several books without all the bulk and weight.

Thanks
Wayneburg

Hello !

Do you really want micro-fiche, or something like in this product :

http://www.minimap.co.uk/ ?????


Alain

Hi frenchy,

Thanks for the link to the minimap. I remember researching that product a few years ago, however that is not what I had in mind.

I want to be able to have a great deal of information with me that doesn't weigh much, doesn't take up much room, and doesn't require electricity. I'd like to have this info in not only my bug out bag, but I would also like to have it along during hiking trips, or travel. The only method I can think of is microfiche. The books I would like to have with me would obviously be survival related, but for hiking and travel I wouldn't mind having a novel or two. I mean if a book weighs less than an ounce and takes up less space than a map, I could carry a whole library! <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
As for the survival related books. I think of it this way. There is no way I can memorize every piece of information in a survival book. So I figure, if there's a way to take it along, why not?

I know this is not what you were thinking of, but this is what I do. I have a rite in the rain notebook into which I have copied loads of information on many different aspects of survival and other useful things. It is all written very small, with few spaces. This is time consuming but means you can skip out bits that aren't relevent and add to it whenever you want.

ditchfield

I'm with ya on that one ditchfield. That's exactly what I've done, but then I realized I couldn't fit everything I wanted on these little pieces of paper. The information wouldn't only be for me it would have to be readable and understandable to my wife or other loved ones who may have to decipher my abbreviated notes.

As far as what is relevent or not relevent to be included... I can't even guess would be relevent or not. No one can guess what emergency may occur. Don't get me wrong I know what you meant, but remember my wife or other loved ones will have to understand this too. I'd rather have it in full and plain writing, rather than have them guess at what to do. That's why I'm looking into mircofiche.

I always thought you needed large viewers (ie desktop PC size) to read the microfiche, plus a mains power source. In an emergency would these be availabe?
Wouldn't a battery operated palm top with survival info/books on it be a better idea?
Just a thought
Martin

All microfiches I´ve seen so far were readable without additional means when the microfiche is put on a white sheet of paper. A magnifiying glass would make it even easier. If it´s possible to get the microfiche, it would be feasible.

Here is just one example of a hand held microfiche reader that does not require electricity. You can see the microfiche card behind it.


www.microcolour.com

I stand corrected, I've never seen hand held readers before. A couple of problems spring to mind.
1/ If your going to store books on microfiche, your filing and labeling system is going to have to be good...no electronic word searchs available
2/ Wouldn't all the diagrams and pictures be in the "negative" state, making them hard to follow.
On the positive side you'll have a vast source of data in a small physical (as opposed to electronic) state and space.(Ihope this makes sense!) I would also imagine they make excellent fire lighters.
I wonder if it is possible to carry to much info, wasting to much time searching for info when you should be looking after the basics...? This applies to all methods of information storage not just microfiche.
My humble conclusion is that it should be used as one of several means of obtaining info, maybe as a backup to the battery hungry handheld palmtop.
martin

If you had a bunch of notes of your own you wanted to carry with you, you could try printing them out with a laser printer in a very small font on transparency material, or some other water-proof material. A 300dpi printer should be able to print text as small as 2 or 3 points if you get the right font. Laser printer toner consists of little plastic particles that are literally melted onto paper, so I would expect the printing would be as durable as the material you print on (test, naturally).

Back in the day there were printer cartridges for printing dense spreadsheets on single sheets that had fonts that small.

I'd expect the tradeoff is the smaller the text, the more light you're going to want to read it by. Also, you might have trouble reading the text if the sheet gets dirty or wet (droplets). Transparency material would at least wipe off.

Maybe if something like this were improvised for microfiche viewing.


I'm still trying to find information for any companies that make microfiche cards.

Well, I didn't know such viewer existed.

Have you tried to take photos : black and white negatives and then invert them ?
Could be OK for a few photo. Maybe not for whole books.....


Alain

[Edit] after some more thinking ..... why invert the negatives ? If it's only text, white characters on black background should be OK .....
[/Edit]

On transparencies the print will wear off pretty quickly (BTDT). Having to wipe it off is bound to hasten the process. If I was going to make my own, I'd print on paper and laminate it.

Just the first useful link from google scanning services for microfilm / microfiche

Thanks for the link miniMe. Now I know there are companies out there that still make microfiche. Now all I have to do is pick a book, books or portions of books to have copied to microfiche. Any suggestions?

I figure I'll laminate the microfiche card to prevent the text from wearing off. As M_a_x suggested.
or
Maybe I'll see if the microfiche company can copy the text onto the front and back of a card or piece of paper and then I can laminate that. Again as M_a_x suggested.

He ? are you sure ??
I thought Microfiche were read via transparency of the media .......
?????????????????????
<img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />


Alain

One more glitch!
I'm not sure, but I bet most microfiche companies will refuse to copy a book you don't own the copyright to. Or.. at least have permission from the publisher.
Let us know if you run into that problem.

There are two possible solutions. (1) print on waterproof paper (rite in the rain or similar) available from a number of places online. (2) print on transparency material and laminate. I have thought of doing the latter for maptools. Print your own from http://maptools.com/FreeTools/ for UTM grids, scales, etc... Printing straight to transparancy material is prone to wearing off as previously stated.

AFAIK, microfiches are on a transparent media.
If you print something on a non-transparent media, you cannot use it in a standard powered microfiche reader.
(light has to come thru the media)

But you surely can print whatever you want on any other media (except it's no longer a standard microfiche)


Alain

Many years ago, in a lifetime far away, I did commercial photography. I made a series of very high quality 35mm film strips of needed documents (used kodalith film with nikon macro camera) and carried them in a 35mm film can. Used with a good commercial eye loupe maginfier they worked very well. Until they got wet...... The emulsion on film is not water resistant and will quickly scratch or slide off the backing.

As a result, I now carry my data on a palm with 256megs of removable storage. Agreed, not bomb-proof, but works well for me. Easy to update and all that. I have carried a palmtop through mayhem for over 10 years. Have yet to have it fail. Which means of course it will die today. But the media is removable and can be loaded into any PC. I think the media (Compact Flash Card) is much more robust than film. Even the palm is better than film (in my opinion). we have two identical palmtops and solar rechargabe batteries in our kits.

nomad

Not sure about the copyright thing. Libraries copy papers all the time long before the copyrights expire. Copying to microfiche is a way to backup the book as it were. If you own the book (not the copyright just what you can buy at the bookstore) then you should be able to copy it to microfiche. Microfiche is not a threat to the copyright since it is not easily saleable. You won't be hurting their book sales by have a microfiche copy of the book.

Laminating the microfiche is probably a bad idea. Microfiche is not a printed medium with ink that can rub off it is a photographic medium with the image embedded in the material similar to a slide. Also the image is very high resolution and you need good - extremely good optics to reliably retrieve the information. Woudln't want the distortion that might be introduced by the lamination plastic and adhesive. Wouldn't want to subject the microfiche to the heat of lamination either.

You are right. Microfiches are made of transparent material. Making them at home without proper equipment is not going to yield satisfactory results. Laminated paper is the medium that is most likely to give you durable homemade sheets to take with you.

All good points from everyone.

When I wrote that I was considering printing on a card or paper I was thinking in terms of viewing it from the front with a freznel magnifying lens.

I didn't realize that lamination might ruin the visibility of the text. Does anyone know of an alternative to lamination that can waterproof the text without ruining the visibility?

As far as copyrights go, I don't plan on reproducing the text and selling it for profit. So I won't be breaking any laws.

I'm also considering having the text printed by a place like Kinkos or other some print center. Maybe they can print text at an even smaller print than a common consumer printer can.

like kinkos, they won't copy what you didn't create.

This product did exist...

Back in the 80's I remember seeing a product like this advertised in Survive magazine (a short lived magazine by the editors of Soldier of Fortune) and may have been in early issues of ASG as well. I wish i had more details for you, perhaps searching for microfische on ebay will turn one up...

Dave

Check this out. It's called the MedData Card



See that black square on the card. That is a mircofiche copy of all your important medical information. Looks like someone out there has the same idea I've been asking about.
Here's their site Emergency Preparedness International, Inc.

While it sounds like a great idea and may have use in the hospital, I have my doubts as to its value in the pre-hospital setting. There are enough of us here on the forum involved in EMS that can give you varying points of view, allowing you to decide the value of this card. What I mean by the card’s limited value in the field is not that the information would be of limited value, but the ability to locate the card on your person and the ability to read the data, may limit its value. All EMS providers when examining a patient that is either unconscious or having a level of conscious so limited that we are unable to ascertain vital medical information will look for a Medical-Alert bracelet, tag or other alert device. If the patient is critical or has been involved in an accident and is unable to answer questions, generally our first priorities are the ABCD’s that have been discussed before in other posts. If there are enough personal on the scene and if someone has the time they may look for ID and other documents of a medical nature in your wallet, but many times a Law Enforcement Officer has taken possession of the wallet and it is not readily available to us to look for this card. If the individual also had some type Medical-Alert device advising the card was located in the wallet, it might have more value. I would like to hear from other EMS providers on this forum as to their opinion of the card for the pre-hospital setting. Pete

paramedicpete,

Thanks for your EMS point of view. It's good to know there is EMS on the forum to offer it. I understand and agree with your pre-hospital points.

The card itself is a form of microfiche media being stored in a wallet. That is what I was focusing on. I wasn't sure if microfiche could be stored in less than ideal conditions (i.e. other than a filing cabinet). This card proves to me that it can be done.

This idea has been around for at least 10 years, because I tried to get one from a company that had something similar to this – may even have been the same outfit – but they went out of business (after taking my money!). The only down side I can see to this approach, as opposed to a medic-alert type bracelet or necklace, is that God help you if you lose your wallet. All of that information will be a treasure trove for an identity thief. That is one reason I do not keep an extensive list of contact and personal information in my wallet.

An additional caveat – paramedics and first responders are trained to look for, or at least notice and respond to, the various medical alert bracelets. They would probably not have the time to go through your wallet, if indeed they could even find your wallet after a serious accident.

Thanks for your comments. I agree it would be a nightmare if someone stole a microfiche card with all of your personal information on it. But I don't plan to use microfiche for that purpose. I plan to have survival books and maybe a novel or two. If someone steals that then I hope they make good use of the information. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ok. Remember how I was saying maybe something could be improvised to view microfiche? Take a look at this site and tell me if this gives you all any ideas? Pay special attention to the Quick & Easy instructions. How to View an Eclipse

I'm trying to figure out if a flashlight could be rigged up for night or low light viewing.