HI Guys,<br><br>Does anybody know of a survival manual, preferabally geared toward civilians, that I can load onto my PalmPilot? My PalmPilot is part of my "never leave home without it" stuff so it would be with me If I ever find myself in a survival situation. While a large paper book might not make it into my gear. <br><br>Thanks<br>David Koelzer

What you want to get is The SAS Survival Guide by Lofty Wiseman. It's an abridged version of his larger book, The SAS Survival Manual. The guide is in Collins Gem format, and it's dimensions are 5" x 3.5" x 1" and it weighs 250g.

This came up about three months ago, or so, and the biggest problem is the Palm it's self. The things just aren't rugged enough to be trusted with that kind of data. <br><br>Now, if they ever get one that can take the abuse or you feel even more comfortable about the screen than Palm does (that's the limit in the limited warrenty), the Army's survival manual is online. Just copy it's contents into a text documnet, might take an hour if you include your download times.

Memoware has the Army Field Manual in iSilo format. Palmgear has a few items as well.<br><br>I've carried a Palm Vx in the metal-plated case for 2 years. It's been through hundreds of airport x-rays, numerous drops and bumps on various surfaces and I haven't had any broken parts (except for the buttons wearing out due to heavy use). The real problem is running out of power. I've actually used the backlight as an emergency light source in the woods, so it can come in handy in weird situations, but I wouldn't consider it a major survival tool by any means.

You're lucky- I see on average a smashed PDA screen ever 10 days, two weeks, working electronics retail.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. However, I did not mean to start an argument about the relative merits of paper books vs. electronic devices. That is like trying to say which is better, a Altoids PSK or a full loaded RV. The better one is the one you have with you! I always have my PalmPilot with me (it is standard equipment for my line of work) and I have the extra memory hold a electronic survival manual so it is a no penalty option for me to load a manual that may be helpful some day. It will also be good reading material for the odd moments when I am stuck waiting for the dentist, a flight or the traffic jam to clear.<br><br>I found the Army's survival manual that Cyberraven suggested in text format at: <br>http://www.netside.com/~lcoble/dir9/fm2176.zip It should be pretty easy to get it into a format that can be used on my PalmPilot. <br><br>Any other electronic manual suggestions?<br><br>Have Fun<br>David Koelzer

The army manual is already in PDF format. Adobe have a program that allows you to convert PDF documents into palm format automatically. Check out their site.

Take a look at the updated FM21-76-1. http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/21-76-1/survival.pdf<br><br>Since it's designed for military training, there are some techniques which won't be appropriate for your typical survival situation. (concealment,evasion,etc.) Nonetheless, there is valuable info in this manual.

I use my Palm in my work - it is a don't leave home without bit of kit - and I carry a copy of that survival manual on it. I also need it whilst out and about so I bought a Palm Glove case, and for that time it slipped out of a velcro'd pocket and into a stream it provide enough protection that when I quickly scooped it out (cursing of course) it had protected the Palm.<br>

I thought about having a PDA on me while hiking, but I concluded it's more trouble than it's worth. Ive got a pretty neat solar charger, so I'd have to take that too. That's two things to carry, when I only wanted one, so I settled for none.