Civil Defense Museum

04/13/2026

Another tidbit posted on YouTube by the SMU Jones Film Archive.
https://youtu.be/oCf3B2kRCAQ?si=Ou5-ZmncvRNmbBLD

04/03/2026

Just came across this on YouTube. Groundbreaking for the Dallas CD EOC dated May 1961.
https://youtu.be/jnznmcZuImo?si=lZjbJrL6mx4FaspF

https://www.civildefensemuseum.com/fallout/dallaseoc.html

WFAA Collection

03/23/2026

Here's a recent video of my old 1003 head put back into service in Georgia. DJ2226 on YouTube is the creator.

This was a pretty special siren test for me. I explain it in the video. This is one I've been waiting to record for a long time, and I finally had a chance t...

12/22/2025

I would like to thank the Military Museum of Fort Worth for allowing me to display my assortment of CD oddities the last few years! I really hope the museum is able to find a new location soon.

11/08/2025

I didn't realize i had a PVK drive unit still unopened. Not sealed though. Here's one of my usual rambling nonsensical videos of opening it up.

Civil Defense Fallout Shelter Packaged Ventilation Kit Drive Unit Unboxing. Forgot i had one that had not been opened. It had a hole in the bag so I'm openin...

09/13/2025

See anything yellow?

08/22/2025

Cool story. The site is over saturated with Ads though.

I was a FEMA Shelter Survey Technician for the summers of 1981 and 1982, as a college engineering major at ages 18 and 19, “surveying commercial and public buildings for their applicability as a fallout [...]

08/13/2025

Looking through some old accumulated pics from over the years.

07/19/2025

Some pics of the 711 MK III. The case bottom has 3 1/4 inch holes drilled through so I guess it must have been mounted to a wall at one time.

I filled with epoxy and mixed some testors yellow enamel with white to match the case to couch up and paint over the filled holes.

There was some pretty heavy surface rust in the case bottom below the schematic. I was able to remove it with evap o rust but couldn't risk messing up the schematic so I left that edge of rust along there alone.

I think the connectors must be nickel plated because I believe they are tarnished. I started cleaning them with a pink pearl eraser which does a good job.

I get less than 1 ohm of resistance when checking the cable with a multimeter so maybe the cable is good.

I'll hook it up after I get the connectors cleaned and see what it does.

07/11/2025

https://youtu.be/7g3WKL0-h0Q?si=_-_qE-GkD9vPknN8

This is pretty much the last item I thought I would ever be able to get for the collection. I have been downsizing the number of things in the CD collection ...

07/08/2025

CG rendering of the Living In The Space Age gallery that will have a Thunderbolt 1000 chopper/rotator unit on display. It looks weird in the rendering but I was relieved to see it there.

Back in early 2019 I was contacted by the National Air and Space Museum because they were looking for a "cold war siren" for an exhibit they were putting together about Living In The Space Age. I asked the Town Of Valley View, TX if they still had the 2 spare 1000s I had rebuilt for them back in 2005 (or whenever it was) and if they would donate one to the museum. They said yes so I crated it and shipped it up there. They finally have an opening date for the exhibit which isn't until next year. From being left in the dirt and weeds, full of mouse p*e and pellets at the Valley View water treatment plant to the Air and Space Museum. That's probably the wackiest trip a Thunderbolt siren head has ever made. It'll be interesting to see if they paint it or whatever before putting in on display.