Comment

Comment by David A Jones on November 11, 2009 at 9:14am

No 6 meter antenna here, yet. But I will start keeping my eBay eyes open.

KC0OUF

Comment by Minuteman on November 11, 2009 at 7:53am

Jed, That is what I am accustomed to as far as the cage goes. Didn't know if some wiz was out there exploiting differences in potential to create a useable current. The cage sounds good. I think I remember reading somewhere that you could tie the power poles together (and the transmit poles) so there could be no differences in potential. This for safe storage under no power to eliminate peak inverse voltages from damaging the device. But again, like you, I am not well versed in all this, I should be though as it is important with the new weapons coming available.

The tech tickets complicate things for now. I mentioned this to him. The MUF map shows no love for dx from the states on 10 and up...20 and down is getting all the opportunity lately. !0 meter in Africa is shining at the moment.

Maybe in another year we can do this up on 10/6 where there would be more participation..... I am ready to fire up the Pro III and pump 100W through the 3 element beam on 6 meters whenever you guys are.

KB1TDQ

Comment by JED on November 10, 2009 at 10:47pm

Minuteman, my understanding is that although a Faraday Cage is made of conductive material, the purpose isn't to produce current but to shield sensitive equipment from ultra-fast bursts of static energy. I do need to study this more so I can build one for my backup radios, and also so that I can explain the theory behind it.

As far as a net goes, I am all for it. Just remember that Techs can't operate above 10 meters and only have a very small slice of that. It might be best to use 6 or 10 meter bands for a net so that we get more participation.

Comment by Minuteman on November 10, 2009 at 6:57pm

Jonesey,

Yes I think that with enough sunlight and panels you could operate at some respectable power direct too. It would take quite a field of panels with the harbor freight types. The ones HRO sell are far more efficient size wise but they are through the roof cost wise. I think they will come down in cost in the next several years...I hope. For now I might pick up one of the HF ones because they are local, if I bought 2 sets I could run the coal stoker heater here with a bulb or 2 and a rx radio... We'll see. I do want something because we lost power for a week last year with the ice storms up here. That sucked bad....

The charge controller is a bit small with the kit. I'd like your controller better. But I think I'd be alright with the smaller one (or 2) if I took the plunge. That with 2 deep cycles in paralell and the chargers in paralell. I'm not sure how they would load though, might have to charge the batts independently........ Time for tinkering I guess. I do have a small inverter but that's it right now.

Hey Jed,

I'm not sure what it would take to use a Faraday Cage at these levels to produce enough current. Do you have some links? Tubes are out I agree for fragility reasons alone....

The TW2010 is really rocking all over the G5RV Jr. here at the base. This thing could be built for 150 bux I think.....

I got an Email from a member who wants to form a net...whattaya guys think?

Later

Comment by David A Jones on November 10, 2009 at 7:20am

OOPS

It is a 200 watt inverter and 7 amp controller I have extra, not 400 watt.

jonesey65244

Comment by David A Jones on November 10, 2009 at 7:13am

Hi guys,

The charge controller keeps your bats from overcharging, but is NOT necessary for charging solar. Just have to watch out not to boil your bat out.

That harbor freight kit is similar to the one I got from Amazon, but mine is 60 watts and 4 panels with the controller and an inverter, too. I paid about $290. I bought a larger controller though; a 30 amp. The one with the kit is 7 amp. I have an additional 70 watt pane to add to this. I paid out the nose for it, but it is mine now, and should last forever.

jonesey65244

BTW I will sell the 7 amp controller and the 400 watt inverter, if anyone is interested. They are brand new. I have a 1750 watt inverter, and a little 200 watt if I need a small one, so the ones in the kit are duplicate for me.
j

Comment by JED on November 10, 2009 at 12:11am

Minuteman, I think solar cells would survive EMP but not the controller, but the battery itself might survive. As far as radios go, I'm going to build a Faraday Cage for emergency com radios. In case of emergency, open cage! Of course you could go to tube radios but then you'd need much higher voltage.

Comment by Minuteman on November 9, 2009 at 10:28pm

Yes these are a bit pricey for what you get....the better cells are much pricier but seem to have much smaller form factors. The thin films are the only one's I can find within reason but they are not very packable. A bit premature this solar stuff still is.

I dunno about the survivability of the charge controllers EMP wise. I would suspect they are suceptable to it. I would imagine with enough light and ample cell capacity there would be no need for a charge controller or battery for that matter. No storage of charge would rule out prolonged comms or of course night operation all together. But I do believe the cells would survive EMP???

Good point, I'll have to look into this. I don't think the radios would do well at all either.....

Comment by JED on November 9, 2009 at 12:52pm

Minuteman, the solar power unit is a bit pricey but that alone is not disqualifying. I do wonder about the controller unit, as if it contains components susceptible to EMP I would hope to find another option for SHTF situations.

Comment by Minuteman on November 8, 2009 at 12:21am

Hey all,

while researching solar power options I came across this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90599

Looks like a great deal? No mving parts so I wouldn't expect it to wear out so to speak. It come with the charge controller as well.... I think this is a great deal no? Here's the manual:

http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals/90000-90999/90599.pdf

Looks like it would be a good compliment to a portable or fixed comms setup....

KB1TDQ

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