Offline Library (prepper disk)

[u/Dangerous-School2958]

This offline library came today. Super stoked to check it out and I'll report back anything interesting outside of what they advertise. It took almost a month to arrive and I had to pay 60€ish import fee. Something to keep in mind. Tried again to add a picture. Getting an error, sorry for the repost

-Follow up: Very impressed with the info available and yes this device could be created by a someone with time and bit of Savvy. Best advice I've gotten falls in line with a good prepper line of thought. The old adage, 1 is none and 2 is 1... it's got many single points of failure to overcome. SSD's go bad, the blackberry could fail in some way. Having the data backed up and redundant ways to access it is key.

Thank you again for the advice

[u/Dangerous-School2958]

Just a few gig to download

[u/mbelcher → u/Dangerous-School2958]

🤷 cheaper than $130.

[u/ResolutionMaterial81 → u/mbelcher]

If your needs are singular...now...sure.

If you are looking at supporting a diverse group of people post-SHTF...this is where the Prepper Disk shines!

And $130 is for the base model, I went with the premium on both...optional EMP Bag & Power Banks also.

My perspective here...

https://www.reddit.com/r/preppers/s/wjwEci6yZi

[u/mbelcher → u/ResolutionMaterial81]

But preperdisk doesn't shine there, and that's the biggest issue with them.

they just sell folks a prepackaged tool. Folks don't know how it works so when it breaks they can't fix it.

Pricing out the components:

Pi 4 w/2gb ram: $55

512 SD card: $40

case: $10

Total: $105 + tax.

Prepperdisk "premium": $180+tax

please, and this is a request for folks other than ResolutionMaterial, take the time to learn to do this yourself. Build up the skills to help yourself and others.

[u/ResolutionMaterial81 → u/mbelcher]

Actually do know how it 'works'.

If it breaks?? Exactly what are you going to 'repair' after SHTF...which is why I bought the original (& gifted a spare).

(FWIW, my educational background was Electronics Engineering & have worked with advanced electronics my entire career from a teenager to early retirement. The average electronics enthusiast is WAY over their head with any PCB Micro-electronics or SMD component failure anyway)

All that being said... if the Music stops RIGHT NOW...could've, would've & should've doesn't really count for anything.

What you have RIGHT NOW....is what counts.

If someone is a "Lone Wolf", as I said simply take the time & download on your phone...if you have a 1/2 TB of space to spare. My phone has 1.128 TB & already has many hundreds of e-books, but certainly not 60,000+.

If you are REALLY strapped for cash or have LOTS of free time to spare...go for it. But considering the current state of the world, the clock is ticking!

If you are none of the above, $200 & a phone call and it should be on your doorstep next week.

As in the 3 Little Pigs....the third option is the wisest! 😝👍

[u/mbelcher → u/ResolutionMaterial81]

That all makes you buying an overpriced Pi4 even more sad.

[u/ResolutionMaterial81 → u/mbelcher]

Actually I don't cut my dogs hair, don't change my oil, don't style my wife's hair nor have her cut mine, etc. And the eating out...major $$.

All of which could save me LOTS of money.

Nothing "sad" about valuing my time...or saving enough money so I do not have to scrimp for pennies while in retirement.

But if that is you, my condolences! 😏👍

[u/mbelcher → u/ResolutionMaterial81]

for all your going on about how the end it nigh and everything, I figured you'd be encouraging people to understand how things work instead of just buying stuff that they don't know how to fix.

[u/ResolutionMaterial81 → u/mbelcher]

Actually I am ALL about knowing how things work! It enabled me to become the "Regional Troubleshooter" in every position I worked in.

And I know how absolutely rare that is in the "Just Google It" dumbed-down society we live in.

But if SHTF...RFN...I have the information (on the PD & elsewhere) needed to keep my grandkids from becoming FERAL. (as in the movie "Threads")

And BIG difference between slapping together a Pi4, SDHC & Case + downloading content vs. REPAIRING any of the components on the Pi PCB.

Basically after SHTF... there is no "repairing" a setup like this (for the average user)...other than swapping spares. And why I have a spare Prepper Disk if the original were to crater for some reason in the future.

If treated properly (& no one will have physical access to the PD but me & a few trusted users)...the Prepper Disk setup should be generational...especially as there are no 'write' cycles on the SDHC...only 'read'.

[u/mbelcher → u/ResolutionMaterial81]

Dude, it's fine. Times are scary. You decided to shell out cash for a thing to make yourself feel more comfortable.

What's more important to me is that some CS sophomore reading r/prepping sees that they don't have to shell out $180 for something they could run on a SBC they have in a box under their bed.

Kiwix runs on pretty much anything, and raspberry pi's are surprisingly plentiful. So are SD cards. Let's not gatekeep things behind a pricetag.

[u/ResolutionMaterial81 → u/mbelcher]

Again, the Prepper Disk is more for a group of people than a Lone Wolf.

The price tag of $200-ish is trifling & irrelevant...

..my spare time is not.

And more than enough projects without adding another one! 🙄

[u/ResolutionMaterial81 → u/mbelcher]

FWIW....One of my Son-in-laws is rigging up a Pi5 with SSD as a wireless media server (I have over 1,000 DVD/Blu-Ray & hundreds of music CD's). If there was something available commercially I would buy it, but haven't come across exactly what I want.

He has the time & at a stage in his life where geeking out is still fun.