Table of contents Intro: 00:00 Describing the problem 01:55 Power Strategy 02:33 Power System Overview 04:45 Charging sources 08:48 Practical power 12:56 Powering our radios 16:31 Practical Power for QRP 17:23 Practical Power for QRO 18:57 Emergency power strategy recap 22:41 Final thoughts 26:47
Hello this is NE7TS I run mu station 100% solar and battery. I enjoy this channel very much . Thanks!! I look forward to your 1KW powerplant ...73 Terry
Another home run Julian. You are the rock star of Grid-Down communications! I’ve been using a KX2 QRP when backpacking to stay in touch with family back home, incorporating a solar / battery setup similar to yours, (no cell towers even remotely close). Other critical considerations are using efficient data modes (and I agree with you that JS8 is a god-send), and antenna location. Using the pioneering work of Les Moxon, G6XN I can get tremendous performance from my EFHW antenna strung from a tree, by transmitting from a site just below any mountain peak, sloping in the direction that I need to transmit. Moxon calculates terrain reflection gain of 6dB or more depending on slope and my results agree with that. I can get reliable voice contact at 1000+ miles on 20m at 5 watts most days, and switch to JS8 at night (camping in a valley). For the same reasons that primitive Bow Hunting improves one’s outdoorsman skills, operating QRP / Solar makes me a much better Ham Radio operator. Thanks again for your contributions Julian. You’re an inspiration to a lot of us!!!
I'm using the KX3 pretty much the same way, and haven't got into JS8CALL yet, but I totally agree that QRP makes you a better Ham. Doing more with less is the reason why I became a Ham in the first place, all thanks to Julian's videos. I would like to know more about the EFHW antenna that you're talking about, I'm currently using the Chameleon MPAS and want to try something different just so I have more than one option. I'm here in the middle of Kansas so no mountains and valleys to speak of.
Amish Special Forces, I have the Chameleon MPAS also and love it. However it’s too heavy for backpacking on long trips where every ounce counts. The antenna I use for backpacking is a PAR End Fed 10/20/40 Trail Friendly. It’s made by LNR precision, (and they just got bought out this month by Vibroplex, but it’s still available). It’s a great little antenna, fits in the palm of my hand and weighs only a few ounces. Hope this helps.
bax737, I've found great success using the MPAS and carrying it with a Swiss salt and pepper rucksack that's made for carrying the K31 rifle. The MPAS antenna fits right down in the tube for the rifle perfectly. This fall when I hopefully get time I'll make a video on my setup and post it to TH-cam.
Great video! 4:20 - My base station at home is solar powered, with a LiFePO4 battery and isn't limited by size or weight because I'm not carrying it. For a go bag or man portable emcom kit, I'm leaning more toward something between QRP and QRO as probably the sweet spot for solar powered portable use. Use the least transmit power to make the connection, as always, and that may be 5W, but I like the ability to run 50W for VHF/UHF or 100W for HF if needed, but plan on running 20W most of the time. Slow digital modes can be very power saving. 5:20 - I like DIY and building stuff, but lately I'm finding it very convenient to buy a LiFePO4 battery of the voltage, instantaneous power and energy storage capacity I need, with built in battery management system. It's a simple energy storage module. In theory, the BMS will have charge voltage termination so an appropriately sized solar panel could be directly connected. In practice, I use an inexpensive DC-DC converter as a charge controller. This is usually a 12.8V battery and the DC-DC converter wired between the solar panel and the battery, with the DC-DC converter output adjusted to 13.2 V. It fully charges the battery but the DC-DC converter cuts off before the battery's overcharge protection starts cycling. In theory, the cheap Chinese DC-DC converters are electrically noisy and not as efficient as a nice Genasun charge controller at 5-10X the price, but the noise hasn't been a problem on VHF or UHF. HF is where I'll notice if I need to spend the money on a Genasun, which I probably should do for the sake of reliability. Ceramic capacitors instead of electrolytic capacitors is a design that's built to last. 8:00 - For the solar input to my battery box (with internal charge controller and power distribution), I use a pigtail with three Power Pole connectors. The outer terminals are red and black and the middle is gray. It's unwired and is only used to key the connector to differentiate it from regulated DC power. This prevents me from accidentally plugging the solar panel into the 12.8V DC power out. The short pig tail is a bit ugly but functional. I really need to find a connector in a flush module I can mount into the battery box that isn't a Power Pole connector that doesn't result in a pig tail. 8:55 - A gasoline or diesel generator is not the first power source I'd consider. For the reasons you described, it's the last thing I'd consider. There may be situations where it could recharge a battery while I'm not running a radio, but the size, weight, noise, exhaust, and high fuel consumption make generators very impractical for me. 11:30 - My two 100W solar panels are arriving in two days. They'll be used to charge my e-bike, which I plan to use as a commuter bike. They'll also charge a small battery that powers the lighting in the little e-bike garage. I have a separate 30W panel and battery for the home ham shack so these are each dedicated purpose-built systems, but in a pinch, I could rewire them as needed if one or the other malfunctioned. 11:50 - I wish there was a good option to PowerFilm panels. I have a folding 60W PowerFilm panel that I bought lightly used on eBay and it's great. I got a very good deal, but it's still much more expensive per watt than rigid heavy panels. There are lower cost flexible panels but most typically aren't as flexible and are currently US$1.40 a watt as opposed to US$.85 per watt for rigid glass panels or US$11 per watt for PowerFilm portable panels, which are from my perspective the only panels worth carrying into the field. I know it's a much smaller market than residential solar, but it looks like a competitor would make a good portable solar panel for US$5 per watt. 13:55 - A super lightweight voltage buck converter (decreasing voltage) can be made with a string of diodes of the correct current capacity. If you have 12.8V and need 10V to charge a Baofeng radio, you could install a series string of 5-6 diodes in a home built charging cable, and heat shrink (or epoxy heat shrink to waterproof the connection) and each forward biased diode junction will drop approximately .5V. This isn't a very efficient buck converter as, like a linear power supply (LM7805, etc.) the excess voltage is wasted as heat, so a 12V to 10V converter will be 74% efficient. Wider voltage drop percentages will be less efficient. However, this is a very small and lightweight buck converter. At these low current levels, a ten pack of Chinese DC-DC converters can be purchased on Amazon for US$1.50 each, and you can dial the voltage exactly where you want it, and the output voltage doesn't drift as much with current, and these little boards are tiny. They can be electrically noisy, though. A linear DC-DC converter is quiet, although inefficient. 22:00 - Nice looking Pelican case on your 20AH battery box. My base station box is 10AH and I went with a lighter weight and much more cost efficient MTM plastic ammo box. A metal ammo can would do a better job of containing any radiated noise from a cheaper DC-DC converter that's used as a constant voltage charge controller, but it's heavy so not as good for portable operations. It's also conductive so more electrical insulation is needed inside. 23:20 - I completely agree with the standalone power requirement. All of my radios are 100% solar powered with decent battery backup. Why invest in a DC power supply for use on AC mains when I need off grid communications? I'd sooner build a second completely redundant solar and battery system and put it in safe storage in case the primary is damaged. I really need to upgrade my base station to a 200W solar array with a 100 AH LiFePO4 battery to power a QRO radio and Raspberry Pi 4 for digital modes. My radios are configured to display the input voltage on the LCD so I can keep constant watch on the battery voltage. This "free" battery voltage monitoring is more useful because my battery box is on the floor and I seldom look down there. Having the voltage display on the radio's user interface keeps the focus of my entire communications system on off grid emergency communications. I went on a strenuous 5 mile hike yesterday. Looking at other amateur radio operators, physical conditioning is often under stressed. If you want to stay home and talk on the radio as a geeky social hobby, that's fine, but it's not as helpful for emergency communications. When the SHTF, the physical ability to move and operate in adverse conditions will be helpful. As I age, maintaining physical conditioning is more of a challenge. On yesterday's hike, I made note of nice locations to camp in a month or so when I take some radios into the field and operate man portable. I'll probably make a video showing what I'm doing and why, but it won't be of nearly the quality of the SurvivalTech Nord videos.
You are one of my heroes. I just assembled my first solar kit -- a Bioenno 28w panel, 15Ah battery, and a Genasun GV-5. I am still testing the system but it will inform my next build. You gave me the confidence to pursue this approach. Most of my ops are portable ops because of RFI here at the house.
Thanks for the kindness David. The next time you visit Bioenno, ask them to stop hating on my battery builds 😀 I do understand you with taking that leap of confidence. There are still so many operators who say lithium batteries are too dangerous or too complicated and they prefer to use lead acid batteries. As portable operators, we know how easy it is for someone in the armchair to tell us to use something that weighs four times as much and produces half the power. You're on the right path and I wish you good luck with your system. Hey one thing about the gv5. If you're operating qro, don't use the load port to power your radio. Connect to your charge controller battery port in parallel with your power distribution. You can then use a relay connected to the load Port of your charge controller to switch on and off power to your radio if you need to. Congratulations on stepping up your game.
My friend and I have established SSB/CB radio base stations at our homes, six miles apart. We found 2 unwanted, 30 foot tall metal television towers. His CB antenna is 60 feet in the air and my CB antenna is 54 feet in the air. We both use 12 volt, deep cycle batteries, charged with battery tenders, via wall outlets. In the case of a grid down, we can use jumper cables on our vehicles to keep the deep cycle batteries charged. Thanks to the height of our CB antennas, we're able to get seven pounds of signal strength between our two stations, with excellent modulation, using 4 watts of power. We used our CB base stations to communicate yesterday, when our landline phone service was disrupted for half a day after a storm.
For that distance, cb radio is totally fine. Have you considered adding a charge controller and small solar panel as the battery tender for you're deep cycle battery? Then your deep cycle batteries wouldn't be dependent on the car or the grid. Thanks for telling us about your setup. 👍
KG5IPM we use the "AA" battery pack on our UV5R"s and place rechargeable batteries in them. They hold a charge longer than the standard battery packs and allow us to use "AA" battery charger OFF a roll up solar panel to keep batteries charged and the radios running.
Thanks Andy. I just wish I could have put more into the video. But doing so would have just annoyed people. Your feedback is awesome though, and very much appreciated.
Well done. I’m situated in a somewhat remote area about 50 miles from Yellowstone Park. Worst scenario.. the volcano blows and none of this will matter anyway. Short of that, we have no intention of abandoning our home. Our emergency preparations include: 1. Hitzer coal stove to heat the radio shack/pantry/reloading building. 2. 2,000 pounds of Tractor Supply anthracite nut coal. 3. Honda 6500 inverter generator. 4. 300 gallons of premium, non ethanol gasoline. 5. Transfer switch to power vital circuits with the generator. 6. Coleman, Feuerhand and Aladdin lanterns with fuel and spare parts. 7. Backup stove/oven plumbed to 500 gallon propane reserve tank. 8. Night vision equipment. 9. Spare ham radios, antennas and power supplies. I plan on picking up a Honda 2000 inverter generator as budget allows.
I live in the coastal northeast (USA). Like in your video, I cut the wall wart leads and install Anderson Power Poles. I have a self made backup power system using RigRunner products. I also power my cable modem and router on this UPS. If cable lines aren't torn down in a storm they are likely to remain active depending on the ISP provider's power situation. For the less skilled you can purchase an off the shelf UPS to accomplish the same. I have a generator I only use during the day and fixed solar on the rear of my home with a 400 Ah battery bank for power outages. I also have portable solar I use for camping and off grid ham activities. Everyone in my neighborhood have one or more new vehicles and they rely on them for recharging their portable electronics. What's sad, I think for many the only emergency light they have is on their smart phone. 73 all.
@soctnights The cable lines are not the problem but the equipment behind the ports feeding those cable lines... Backup power will be cut down for crucial communication.
Stumbled on your Communications for Preparedness playlist a couple of days ago and just started watching it now. There was ample opportunity in this topic for sensationalization -- thanks for not doing that. In particular, I appreciated the evenly-toned delivery of both theory and practice as you've presented it. Especially impressed you could do that without talking down to all of us like an elitist would to "idiots." Subbed, and I'm finishing this playlist now. Thanks!
Thanks for leaving this comment Ted. This series is specifically meant to include and empower everyone. There's already enough drama and sensationalism on the topic, so I just provide the information, the best way I can. You'll definitely find some very technical ham radio and power videos on the channel. Even so, I believe we all start someplace. In some of the older videos, you'll notice I hadn't quite grasped that yet. I hope I'm doing a better job now. I hope you find something useful here. Julian oh8stn
Very informative! I have not made anything up yet but have a 3500kva 240v generator I used to used on remote jobs with no power. I have some basic plans but I'm only a new ham operator and only have a few HT FM sets so far but keenly learning. I like how you also assist with planning checklists.🍻👍🤓
Watched the video. Lots of good advice on grid independent systems. Read most of the comments and your replies. Good stuff there too. No matter which system of getting power you chose, there are limitations and problems. A combination of solar, wind, grid, gen set are mostly complete and depend on your location. One you didn't mention was water. There will be those who are in the right location to include water with solar, wind, grid and gen set. The right water source can provide an almost constant and reliable source of power generation. Of course not everyone will find that stream or river to set up water, but it is there for the taking if available. Think Niagara Falls. Not meaning to sound critical, just thinking about all sources of energy to capture. Keep the videos coming and stay warm as winter approaches. 73 W0YVY
Another great video from you. A friend and I are building our first portable system in a small sling bag to suit our specific needs and on a tight budget. I will share it with you one it's done. Thank you again for sharing the results of your efforts!
Thanks and you know we're only scratching the surface. If you have any questions or insight, please leave a comment. I'll discuss those things in the follow-up video.
Totally brilliant video and a new sub......... Efficient off grid power supply for emcomms goes hand in hand with antenna efficiency, everyone knows this and as a fairly recent noob in this area I am thirsty for more knowledge. As a Foundation licence holder here in the UK (I think its your Tech level) over the past couple of years I have been looking at QRP field communication and more so the means by which I can power my system. The system I need has to be inexpensive, portable and produce and store sufficient energy to keep my station up and running should the need arise. I have a small assortment of radios, some of which are better suited for different things but my two main field radios are the FT817ND and my Clansman PRC320 portable military manpack (HF only). All, or most of my antennas are home brew and designed to be resonant on the bands I want to use, they are by far dipole type antennas and are so easy to build and deploy I use these 99% of the time. I am confident that power loss through the antenna is at a minimal so power storage/usage is my next step. As finances need to be a realistic consideration I needed to shop around for a balance between weight v expense v capacity and find that RC Lipo batteries are better for me, although this is not likely the case for many. When using the FT817 I carry 4 x 5500mah 11.1v batteries, a foldable solar panel (40w 3.5ah) which has a built in solar controller and a small multi charger that allows me to operate for long periods of time without power loss. Maintaining the Lipos can be a pain in the proverbial, but if managed properly they serve me well. I had never heard of BUCK Converters until watching your video, so thank you for showing me how I can now charge my handies that are cradle mounted from my battery bank, I have just ordered 4 of them and look forward to integrating them into my system. I run a very simple solar system at home with 4 x 110ah leisure GEL batteries being fed by 150w (7amh peak) solar panel, this may not be the biggest or most efficient system in the world, but it serves my needs. I have also built a small solar power pack for portability with my radios when out camping. Sorry to ramble on, but trying to get others to understand that efficient power supply is so very important in a grid down (SHTF) scenario is a nightmare. It does not matter how much your lovely very expensive radio cost, if you cant charge or power it, it's a worthless piece of metal and plastic. 73 (M6KVK)
Thank You For This Magnificent comment and I assure you, you weren't rambling. How we achieve our goals in the field is exactly the question I asked in the video. So your comment is incredibly valuable.. Thanks for taking the time to write it all out for us. 73 Julian oh8stn
Great video Julian ! It is amazing how little that battery sustainability is considered in communications. The youtube "experts" so often quote regurgitated opinions and obviously have no experience let alone concept of just how important this is. Thanks for sharing !
Thanks Brett. You know, sometimes I feel like we are beating a dead horse. For example your latest Motorola video, swapping out the nicads, for lithium ion cells. A fraction of the weight and increase in capacity are incomprehensible to the "experts". Anyway it's always awesome to get to comment from you. It's also very much appreciated 👍
@@OH8STN You are welcome ! Battery is a finite resource and not all batteries are created equal. I pulled out that 18650 pack I built way back when to PM and charge it. It was still 16.3V before the UBEC. Good Li-ION batteries are going to quickly match exotic chemistry batteries for shelf life.
This was simple enough for me. Thank you so very much. Now for a little shopping. I am still amazed at how much you have learned and that you continued kindness to share what you have learned. N4KBM
This is exactly what I been talking about as I know at one time or another that the grid will fail for some time that could last a week or could last several months . So this is why I decided to go out and by a bioenno battery and a solar system to charge it as well as power my radio during those times . I have for field work an efhw 8010 antenna as well as a ocfd 4010 antenna that I can either throw up as a sloper or with the right tree I can set up an inverted v to be on the air for emergency comm .
Great video Julian. I'm using some 20 AH bioenno batteries but I haven't sorted out the solar charging yet. I enjoy your videos! Keep up the good work. - J. Harvey.
Thanks Jim. I'm using the Genasun charge controllers. They are extremely quiet and come in a very small form factor. I think 20 amp hours will run your gear for quite a long time. Congratulations on getting set up.
Great video. Sorry I missed the live stream. I was in the Sierras for three days practicing my remote operation skills. Had a wonderful time but it was too hot for my liking. Love to throw up a wire, plug the radio into a small battery, and be on the air. Used the KX3 so only 15 watts but still made plenty of contacts. Nice to see you on the air. Take care. JJK N6NRO
No worries John. Sounds like you were having a much better time than sitting in a room editing videos :-) Thanks for the comment, and kindness. It's very much appreciated.
A splendid video as always. Emergency power is one of the things I'm experimenting with at the moment. Solar, crank and wind power is the focus. Any tips are welcome, although I've gotten a lot of tips through your videos. Thanks, 73's, Xander NL134
Well this wind turbine is something I'm extremely interested in adding to my shack. I think as soon as I can build one or buy one, we'll see a lot of that sort of thing on the channel for a while. As always thanks for the comment and the kindness. It's very much appreciated.
I read an article about them in Popular Mechanics (or Science). The driver is cost and the logistical train. The DOD calculated that, between equipment damage caused by IEDs and the cost of injuries to personnel, it cost them $800 to get a gallon of diesel to a FOB.
The Tactical Quiet Generator was starting to be issued in 2006/7 when I was in AFG. More info: www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/Portals/105/PfM/LCES/ES/Power%20Team/Mobile%20Power/Info%20Sheets/30KW60HZTACTICALQUIETGENERATOR.pdf?ver=2018-11-13-150412-550
made me dig out my bug out cigarettes... I think I am good to go with Portable Emergency Power and would like to bump it up from 15AH to 30AH when I am able .. My Shack aka-Church has 400 watts of solar and 440 AH of Batteries.... I am still needing to get my PIs squared away but thats getting closer.. great Vid as always...
@@Stevenfclark at the moment I'm all over the place with the cells Steven. I've got a place that ships to North America and Europe but I'm not ready to mention them yet. I do a short video on this topic in the coming weeks.
I'm an apartment dweller with limited space. I have a DIY solar generator 12 volt battery with a trickle charger on standby and a 30 watt panel. It's just for battery charging , flashlights small stuff. Also battery packs rechargeable batteries and chargers. I also have a southern view sun beams in for about ten hours. Want to get a roll up panel with my limited space can't go on the roof, something is better then nothing. I'll never walk a mile and a half for six double A batteries. Black Out a few years back , north eastern blackout.
My follow up request would be for lists and sources for components and a how to for the 20 amp/hr power box, knowing that it could be scaled up and down. Good work as always. Forwarded to friends and other interested parties.
I really like the vid. It give me alot to think about. I really got stuck on the distribution cable you made. Great idea. But I get stuck on the manufacturing especially between the USB and the power poles. Is there a video or a location that has more information on making a cable like that? Thanks again.
I run a goal zero nomad 28+ chained to a goal zero nomad 20, to a Omnicharge ultimate power bank. I figure between the nomad 28 and 20, I can expect ~40 watts on a good day. If I need more power, I have a second nomad 28+ that I figured would boost my nominal output to ~65w. The Omnicharge ultimate battery is 38,000mah or 140wh, and has barrel plugs for in and out, pass through charging, three USB outlets, and a 120w AC outlet. Max charge for the battery is 90w. The barrel plug outlet is variable in 0.01 volt increments. So I can set the output voltage to 10.4 volts and run a 5.5mm to 5.5mm barrel plug straight to the charging base of a baufang radio. I can also run a 5.5mm barrel to Anderson adapter(5.5x2.1 pig tails from Amazon) and power anything with 12v up to 8amps: ~90w. I also keep a spare battery around so I can hot swap the internal battery once it's full. This gives me universal 76,000mah or 280wh of power, in a ~6 pound package. AC, DC, and USB. The whole setup probably wouldn't run QRO for very long, but it keeps a bank of handy talkies going forever, and really doesn't take up much room in the pack. In addition, I use a nitecore D4 universal battery charger and a few olight USB universal cylinder battery chargers in case the nitecore fails or I need to charge more then 4 batteries at a time. This is how I keep all my other electronics like flashlights going. The who system is scalable and can be chained together. I keep everything in a 40L dry bag. If I need more power, I also have a Dakota 20ah lipo battery and genasun boost(only needs 8 volts to charge the 14v battery) charge controller hooked up with Anderson power poles to add inline or separate. This is a very heavy option, but I have no doubt it would run QRO on a limited bases. I'm sure there is a better set up, I just haven't seen one as compact and clean as what I'm running at the moment. I would like to get one of power films 60watt rolled panels, but I was able to get all the panels I have for less then half of the power film. But it's on the list anyway. Next item though is probably going to be a G90 SDR hf radio. 20watt all hf band radio with a built in tuner, weighing only one kilogram. A lot of capabilities for the weight.
Julian, I see that you have been doing a lot with the LIFEPO4 cells. are the LI-Ion cells just too hard to get the right voltages for your comms? I ask as I am working to get my gear self reliant, but have a ton of the 18650 cells and the headways seem very expensive when I already have the others. Anyway, great video, as always.... and Keep up the good work! 73!
Actually there's two points at play. Firstly the safety concerns. Lithium ion 18650s are extremely energy-dense. When we combine that with DIY projects, and some operators using recycled cells, it can be a recipe for disaster. The other thing is the voltage. A 3s pack will power a qrp radio but a 4s pack has too much voltage. With lithium-ion we just miss that sweet spot to power a radio. If we're going to power an inverter or something like that, of course we can use lithium ion, since an inverter has a much wider voltage input. Regarding lithium iron phosphate, it's almost a drop-in replacement for a lead acid battery. It's not as energy dense as lithium-ion, but it's almost impossible to get it to ignite. Also the cycle life is much higher than lithium ion, making it cheaper in the long run. Awesome question
For the person who has no off grid power where do you Start? Portable QRP power, fully supplied QRO shack off grid? It seems daunting when starting from scratch.
Brian it absolutely is daunting. Thankfully we start with the first video in this series which talked about the different types of communications we intend on using. Once you understand what your goals are from a Communications perspective, you can design the emergency power, to run it all.
OH8STN Julian, I am greedy. I want it ALL working when the grid goes down. LOL. Seriously, I approach these situations with what I am most likely to face. Living 6400 ft above sea level in Colorado, A snow storm that takes out the grid for a couple of days. I don’t operate portable in Blizzard, so run my FT-991 and the antenna tuner (HF) in the shack QRO, 45 W at VHF/UHF & 90 W HF.
Hi Julian, Quick question - Although you did not mention it in your video, I noticed that you added a switch to the side of the battery box. I’m assuming it is a main disconnect for the battery. My question is how did you wire it? Previously I have used a simple rocker switch for this purpose. Although it is capable of handling the amperage, I am always worried that it could be accidentally switched off. The switch you used appears to be more flush mounted requiring more effort to turn it off. I looked on Amazon and found what I think is the switch but it doesn’t appear to be able to handle the amperage. Could you please elaborate on this? Thanks, Chris N0PRO
To be honest with you I wasn't sure about it when I received it. But actually I can charge up my solar generators with it directly to the solar panel and put out the trash controllers. It's a lot of work but it's definitely worth it if there's no other option
Just bought the yeasu 817 can I run it on external power without the battery installed that comes with it ? I have a bioenno 12v 24ah battery and charge controller and 28w folding solar panels.
If you have an external power source, there's no reason to have the internal battery installed. It makes the radio lighter if you remove that internal back anyway.
Sorry to bother you but have a question that I can't seem to find an answer for. Just bought the mfj-1899t to run with my 818 can I run it through my LDG-Z 817 without using a counterpoise?
Definitely not! It would be the same as running 1/2 of a dipole. Get yourself 3 or 4 counterpoise wires a quarter or half wavelength of the frequency/band you're working.
Not all laptops are powered with 19 volts. Some of them these days are powered by USB C. This is the preferred type of laptop. For example my Lenovo Yoga laptop can be charged with the USB C adapter. For older laptops many people choose to use an inverter, but I don't for two reasons. The noise in our radios becomes a big problem when we use inverters. Secondly it's inefficient. Instead I would get a DC DC power supply 12 volts to 19 volts for older style laptops.
There's three different panels featured. The big one - PowerFilm FM16-7200 120w. The Small Rollable panels. - PowerFilm Solar R28.28w The black folding panel - PowerFilm Solar FM16-1200 20w. th-cam.com/video/hiA9C9H9GQk/w-d-xo.html
another informative video, Julian, thanks! I regularly use my QRP (also an FT-817nd) setup from a backpack, Bioenno LiFePO4 battery, solar panel & charger. I am nearly always able to return with a full charge. Question - what DC meter do you recommend to determine current draw while operating? Although they're cheap, I'm seeing very mixed reviews
Thanks Steve. I have a built-in shunt between my battery and radio, so I really don't use inline meters in the field anymore. I do still have two of the inline meters for testing. One from Powerwerx, the other from Turnigy. Neither are absolutely accurate, but they do give a general indication of the amount of current passing through. The Powerwerx meter was gifted to me, the Turnigy was purchased from hobby king, then added the power poles to it myself. Thanks for the comment and the kindness, It's very much appreciated.
Hello sir. I built a Gmrs go bag using a Wouxun KG1000 50 watt radio. For power, I purchased a 12v 12ah lifePO4 battery, when I attempt to transmit, the radio goes out, when I disconnect the power, and reconnect it, the radio comes back on, could it be the bms is overloaded when I attempt to transmit?What ah of battery would you recommend? Thanks in advance...Clint
That's an interesting project but I don't have the resources to do something like that at the moment. I asked Mark about publishing his setup on TH-cam. He agreed. I'll do a blog post on that and share it on my community tab when it's ready.
i was thinking with all the portable gear you have.. its time to make those portable batteries into kits that you can sell online...if thats something you can do..or do workshops on how to make these. on the other note i was looking at military Surplus truck 4wd (4x4 or 6x6) with closed body, can this be used as a Mobile Ham shack?
With all the information I have provided in my battery builds and the documentation on my website, anyone can build these kits already. That's the most cost-effective way to do it. If I were to start selling battery kits oh, I hope you have to add overhead to everything, and start competing with big manufacturers. I'll stick with the videos and blog posts thanks. For the military trucks absolutely awesome. A buddy of mine has a surplus deuce and a half. He made that into a mobile Communications Shack. He can sleep there, cook there, operate his radios there, ... I think it's a brilliant idea.
Thank you for the discussion. I have several questions. 1: you use Powerfilm solar panels, These are considerably more expensive than traditional panels. I can think of several reasons to use them like weight, durability and portability. Are there other reasons to chose them over traditional panels. 2: you also mentioned wind turbines, there are two main types of turbines, the traditional blade and the Savonius wind turbine or vertical axis blade. can one be deployed closer to the ground and work in lower wind speeds? Also what is the noise difference between the two different blades. Thanks
When it comes to wind, let me tell you in the simplest terms possible...FORGET IT FOREVER. Back in the mid 90's I installed a 3,000 watt Whisper on an 84 foot tower on top of a hill where you could see it for miles and miles in every direction. I had a 60kwh battery bank that weighed about 3,000 pounds, a Trace SW5548 inverter, and a T240 I think it was called, to step up the voltage from 120vac to 240vac for my well pump. Long story short, it averaged about $50 a month worth of power or around 550kwh, all for the low low price of around $23,000, and I did all the work myself so no labor, well my pastor from church ran the tractor to raise the tower, but that's all the help I had. This did cost not include my diesel gen set and fuel. So imagine how much less power you'll get from a smaller wind generator, and closer to the ground with more obstructions around you. There really was NO up side to this system at all as far as the wind producing goes. The inverter and everything else was great, but back then all we really had was lead acid batteries, so that was weak link as well. All in all, it was very nice to have when the power was out, because it switched over instantly and powered the whole home, outside of electric heat, stove, water heater, and dryer. For those items I had a 33kw diesel gen set and 3,000 gallons of treated fuel. The inverter would start the gen set when the batteries were at 60% and charge the batteries and we'd use the 240vac items at that time. This wasn't designed to take me completely off grid, it was just a long term emergency back up system, and also to help reduce power needs from the grid. For the money spent, I could have cleared out a few more trees, and gone solar and easily doubled and even tripled my power production in the summer. Long story short, go solar and do it right, like I'm doing now at my new place. Keep up the great.
Hi Julian, great video!! I have one quick question - For the solar inputs you used a yellow and black Powerpole panel mount. Did you purchase it or somehow change the red for yellow? I have been unable to locate a yellow and black panel mount and am unfamiliar with swapping out the connectors. Thanks Chris N0PRO
Hello, great video as always. My question is would it be better to run one large panel or a couple smaller panels in series using an mmpt charge controller. I live in northern Michigan in an area of dense hardwood bordering Boreal forest and it can be hard to find a spot of full sun. It's also not uncommon to be cloudy for days at a time. My thought is that the series wired panels will achieve the minimum charge current more easily in less that optimum conditions. What do you feel is best? Also having more panels means redundancy in your system should one fail.
Thanks for the kindness on the question. You know I have the same problem up here in the North. I think you meant parallel rather than series. Series increases the voltage while placing panels in parallel increases the current. I just found a new charge controller which you can see on my Instagram. It's called a boost controller from Genasun. Other companies have them as well like victron and so on. I like the idea of multiple panels. What I do is say run those panels in series parallel strings. So I may put two panels in series and then put a second set of two panels in parallel with the first set. Bissell increase your voltage, but also increase your current. I think you're onto something and it will be nice to see how it turns out.
Great video Julian! One question, can you do a video on antenna analyzers? I've in the market for a number of reasons and I am torn. I know RigExpert is the cream of the crop, but I wonder if I can get away cheaper but have something as reliable and accurate. I know you reviewed the mini60 a few years back, but what do you think of the mini600? I'm concerned about build quality and support if it bricks. I've also considered MFJ, but the reviews are always bad with complaints of build quality issues, a huge number of batteries required, or slow turn around time for repairs. Any thoughts?
Well just to put it upl on the table, The mini 600 is on my "get list". I love the rig expert antenna analyzers, but they're out of my budget. I have two of the mini 60 analyzers which are working really well. Build quality is often an issue with Chinese gear. That's the risk we take for the lower price. If the mini 60 is any indication of quality, the mini 600 should be just fine. I have owned mfj analyzers and yes they work fine. But if we compare them to the rig expert, or some of the Chinese offerings, the mfj are critically overrated. They're heavy, require an enormous amount of batteries, offer no good repair Network, and are extremely expensive to send back if they go wrong. When my mfj analyzer broke, I wanted to send it back for repairs. The response from company was reason enough for me, to never buy another mfj product again. For what it would have cost me to send back, I could simply have purchased another one. Now I'm no fan of the Chinese products oh, and I would certainly buy the ring expert if I wasn't using all my money to make TH-cam videos. From this perspective, the Chinese have saved the day with their better selection of analyzers. They have some really cheap ones as well, but I'm not willing to buy those for the conditions I'm working in.
OK, yeah, that helps me a lot. I was already a little closer to pulling the trigger, I think I'll go ahead and order now. I decided to order from AliExpress instead of eBay since they offer at least some kind of return policy and they have more shipping options, unlike the USPS only (crap service) eBay shipping from China that will take a a month. Btw, make sure to order the 2019 or later version depending on when you buy one, they've made some hardware and firmware improvements in recent months. If I can get my HF antenna working better with lower SWR and possibly putting a common mode choke on it, maybe I can make a contact with you soon. Thanks as usual Julian!
Yes and I'll continue educating people about them 😀 Seriously though, the reality is, people will use them regardless of my opinion. So It would be short-sighted of me not to include a segment on these types of radios, in an objective video like this.
@@TheSmokinApe hostile, I think the word you're looking for is hostile. Perhaps if it was a "this versus that" video, my disappointment some Chinese radios would be more apparent. Anyway, same message just less hostility.
OH8STN hostile might be a better word, but I’m not sure all comments were directed to “this vs that” videos. Either way, the more open approach is refreshing. 👍
Just stop using grid power with your communication gear altogether. You will have some growing pains switching over. I started wit 100 watts solar. That wasn't enough. I upgraded to 200 watt. Close but no cigar. Now I've got 400 watts. We will se how that goes. Mppt charge controllers are great BUT they can be noisy (RFI).
Yeah the growing pains are tough, I'll give you that one. Especially if one is used to operating full power at the flip of a switch. I've never heard of a noisy stand-alone mppt charge controller. The ones with built in inverter are notoriously noisy though. PWM charge controllers are almost all universally noise makers. Can you tell us about your batteries?
@@OH8STN My controller is the Renogy Advanced Rover Li 40 Amp 12V/24V DC Input MPPT Solar Charge Controller with Bluetooth. I'm currently a 12v Deep cycle batterie that I plan to upgrade soon. I'll probably stick with deep cycle since this is not a mobile setup. I have lot's of smaller batteries that are mostly Li-ion and nimh. I'm only around 100ah right now with my primary storage. The nimh are for all the little devices that need aa/aaa. I keep dry cell adapters for my HTs as backup. There are battery packs for the Baofeng that have charge cicutry built in. Those Baofeng are good backup/handout radios.
If the grid down is because of a major solar flare, depending on the class of flare it may or may not matter. The real fear by people that make fun of preppers, is that they might have to do physical labor, that's the real fear of modern society, they have it easy...lol
Table of contents
Intro: 00:00
Describing the problem 01:55
Power Strategy 02:33
Power System Overview 04:45
Charging sources 08:48
Practical power 12:56
Powering our radios 16:31
Practical Power for QRP 17:23
Practical Power for QRO 18:57
Emergency power strategy recap 22:41
Final thoughts 26:47
Excellent content as expected. Should be required reading / watching material for all Emcom operators,
Hello this is NE7TS I run mu station 100% solar and battery. I enjoy this channel very much . Thanks!! I look forward to your 1KW powerplant ...73 Terry
I have two 12ah batteries with a 100w solar panel. I plane on running G90 and a ht. Great video 73
Another home run Julian. You are the rock star of Grid-Down communications! I’ve been using a KX2 QRP when backpacking to stay in touch with family back home, incorporating a solar / battery setup similar to yours, (no cell towers even remotely close). Other critical considerations are using efficient data modes (and I agree with you that JS8 is a god-send), and antenna location. Using the pioneering work of Les Moxon, G6XN I can get tremendous performance from my EFHW antenna strung from a tree, by transmitting from a site just below any mountain peak, sloping in the direction that I need to transmit. Moxon calculates terrain reflection gain of 6dB or more depending on slope and my results agree with that. I can get reliable voice contact at 1000+ miles on 20m at 5 watts most days, and switch to JS8 at night (camping in a valley). For the same reasons that primitive Bow Hunting improves one’s outdoorsman skills, operating QRP / Solar makes me a much better Ham Radio operator. Thanks again for your contributions Julian. You’re an inspiration to a lot of us!!!
I'm using the KX3 pretty much the same way, and haven't got into JS8CALL yet, but I totally agree that QRP makes you a better Ham. Doing more with less is the reason why I became a Ham in the first place, all thanks to Julian's videos. I would like to know more about the EFHW antenna that you're talking about, I'm currently using the Chameleon MPAS and want to try something different just so I have more than one option. I'm here in the middle of Kansas so no mountains and valleys to speak of.
Amish Special Forces, I have the Chameleon MPAS also and love it. However it’s too heavy for backpacking on long trips where every ounce counts. The antenna I use for backpacking is a PAR End Fed 10/20/40 Trail Friendly. It’s made by LNR precision, (and they just got bought out this month by Vibroplex, but it’s still available). It’s a great little antenna, fits in the palm of my hand and weighs only a few ounces. Hope this helps.
bax737, I've found great success using the MPAS and carrying it with a Swiss salt and pepper rucksack that's made for carrying the K31 rifle. The MPAS antenna fits right down in the tube for the rifle perfectly. This fall when I hopefully get time I'll make a video on my setup and post it to TH-cam.
Great video!
4:20 - My base station at home is solar powered, with a LiFePO4 battery and isn't limited by size or weight because I'm not carrying it. For a go bag or man portable emcom kit, I'm leaning more toward something between QRP and QRO as probably the sweet spot for solar powered portable use. Use the least transmit power to make the connection, as always, and that may be 5W, but I like the ability to run 50W for VHF/UHF or 100W for HF if needed, but plan on running 20W most of the time. Slow digital modes can be very power saving.
5:20 - I like DIY and building stuff, but lately I'm finding it very convenient to buy a LiFePO4 battery of the voltage, instantaneous power and energy storage capacity I need, with built in battery management system. It's a simple energy storage module. In theory, the BMS will have charge voltage termination so an appropriately sized solar panel could be directly connected. In practice, I use an inexpensive DC-DC converter as a charge controller. This is usually a 12.8V battery and the DC-DC converter wired between the solar panel and the battery, with the DC-DC converter output adjusted to 13.2 V. It fully charges the battery but the DC-DC converter cuts off before the battery's overcharge protection starts cycling. In theory, the cheap Chinese DC-DC converters are electrically noisy and not as efficient as a nice Genasun charge controller at 5-10X the price, but the noise hasn't been a problem on VHF or UHF. HF is where I'll notice if I need to spend the money on a Genasun, which I probably should do for the sake of reliability. Ceramic capacitors instead of electrolytic capacitors is a design that's built to last.
8:00 - For the solar input to my battery box (with internal charge controller and power distribution), I use a pigtail with three Power Pole connectors. The outer terminals are red and black and the middle is gray. It's unwired and is only used to key the connector to differentiate it from regulated DC power. This prevents me from accidentally plugging the solar panel into the 12.8V DC power out. The short pig tail is a bit ugly but functional. I really need to find a connector in a flush module I can mount into the battery box that isn't a Power Pole connector that doesn't result in a pig tail.
8:55 - A gasoline or diesel generator is not the first power source I'd consider. For the reasons you described, it's the last thing I'd consider. There may be situations where it could recharge a battery while I'm not running a radio, but the size, weight, noise, exhaust, and high fuel consumption make generators very impractical for me.
11:30 - My two 100W solar panels are arriving in two days. They'll be used to charge my e-bike, which I plan to use as a commuter bike. They'll also charge a small battery that powers the lighting in the little e-bike garage. I have a separate 30W panel and battery for the home ham shack so these are each dedicated purpose-built systems, but in a pinch, I could rewire them as needed if one or the other malfunctioned.
11:50 - I wish there was a good option to PowerFilm panels. I have a folding 60W PowerFilm panel that I bought lightly used on eBay and it's great. I got a very good deal, but it's still much more expensive per watt than rigid heavy panels. There are lower cost flexible panels but most typically aren't as flexible and are currently US$1.40 a watt as opposed to US$.85 per watt for rigid glass panels or US$11 per watt for PowerFilm portable panels, which are from my perspective the only panels worth carrying into the field. I know it's a much smaller market than residential solar, but it looks like a competitor would make a good portable solar panel for US$5 per watt.
13:55 - A super lightweight voltage buck converter (decreasing voltage) can be made with a string of diodes of the correct current capacity. If you have 12.8V and need 10V to charge a Baofeng radio, you could install a series string of 5-6 diodes in a home built charging cable, and heat shrink (or epoxy heat shrink to waterproof the connection) and each forward biased diode junction will drop approximately .5V. This isn't a very efficient buck converter as, like a linear power supply (LM7805, etc.) the excess voltage is wasted as heat, so a 12V to 10V converter will be 74% efficient. Wider voltage drop percentages will be less efficient. However, this is a very small and lightweight buck converter. At these low current levels, a ten pack of Chinese DC-DC converters can be purchased on Amazon for US$1.50 each, and you can dial the voltage exactly where you want it, and the output voltage doesn't drift as much with current, and these little boards are tiny. They can be electrically noisy, though. A linear DC-DC converter is quiet, although inefficient.
22:00 - Nice looking Pelican case on your 20AH battery box. My base station box is 10AH and I went with a lighter weight and much more cost efficient MTM plastic ammo box. A metal ammo can would do a better job of containing any radiated noise from a cheaper DC-DC converter that's used as a constant voltage charge controller, but it's heavy so not as good for portable operations. It's also conductive so more electrical insulation is needed inside.
23:20 - I completely agree with the standalone power requirement. All of my radios are 100% solar powered with decent battery backup. Why invest in a DC power supply for use on AC mains when I need off grid communications? I'd sooner build a second completely redundant solar and battery system and put it in safe storage in case the primary is damaged. I really need to upgrade my base station to a 200W solar array with a 100 AH LiFePO4 battery to power a QRO radio and Raspberry Pi 4 for digital modes. My radios are configured to display the input voltage on the LCD so I can keep constant watch on the battery voltage. This "free" battery voltage monitoring is more useful because my battery box is on the floor and I seldom look down there. Having the voltage display on the radio's user interface keeps the focus of my entire communications system on off grid emergency communications.
I went on a strenuous 5 mile hike yesterday. Looking at other amateur radio operators, physical conditioning is often under stressed. If you want to stay home and talk on the radio as a geeky social hobby, that's fine, but it's not as helpful for emergency communications. When the SHTF, the physical ability to move and operate in adverse conditions will be helpful. As I age, maintaining physical conditioning is more of a challenge. On yesterday's hike, I made note of nice locations to camp in a month or so when I take some radios into the field and operate man portable. I'll probably make a video showing what I'm doing and why, but it won't be of nearly the quality of the SurvivalTech Nord videos.
You are one of my heroes. I just assembled my first solar kit -- a Bioenno 28w panel, 15Ah battery, and a Genasun GV-5. I am still testing the system but it will inform my next build. You gave me the confidence to pursue this approach. Most of my ops are portable ops because of RFI here at the house.
Thanks for the kindness David. The next time you visit Bioenno, ask them to stop hating on my battery builds 😀
I do understand you with taking that leap of confidence. There are still so many operators who say lithium batteries are too dangerous or too complicated and they prefer to use lead acid batteries. As portable operators, we know how easy it is for someone in the armchair to tell us to use something that weighs four times as much and produces half the power. You're on the right path and I wish you good luck with your system. Hey one thing about the gv5. If you're operating qro, don't use the load port to power your radio. Connect to your charge controller battery port in parallel with your power distribution. You can then use a relay connected to the load Port of your charge controller to switch on and off power to your radio if you need to. Congratulations on stepping up your game.
My friend and I have established SSB/CB radio base stations at our homes, six miles apart. We found 2 unwanted, 30 foot tall metal television towers. His CB antenna is 60 feet in the air and my CB antenna is 54 feet in the air. We both use 12 volt, deep cycle batteries, charged with battery tenders, via wall outlets. In the case of a grid down, we can use jumper cables on our vehicles to keep the deep cycle batteries charged. Thanks to the height of our CB antennas, we're able to get seven pounds of signal strength between our two stations, with excellent modulation, using 4 watts of power. We used our CB base stations to communicate yesterday, when our landline phone service was disrupted for half a day after a storm.
For that distance, cb radio is totally fine. Have you considered adding a charge controller and small solar panel as the battery tender for you're deep cycle battery? Then your deep cycle batteries wouldn't be dependent on the car or the grid.
Thanks for telling us about your setup. 👍
Very professional for an amateur.
Exellent production thanks for raising our awareness. 73
Thanks for the kindness. I'm hoping I can keep them coming.
73
Julian oh8stn
KG5IPM we use the "AA" battery pack on our UV5R"s and place rechargeable batteries in them. They hold a charge longer than the standard battery packs and allow us to use "AA" battery charger OFF a roll up solar panel to keep batteries charged and the radios running.
I think you've out-done yourself this time Julian. Liked and shared.
Thanks Andy. I just wish I could have put more into the video. But doing so would have just annoyed people. Your feedback is awesome though, and very much appreciated.
Well done. I’m situated in a somewhat remote area about 50 miles from Yellowstone Park. Worst scenario.. the volcano blows and none of this will matter anyway. Short of that, we have no intention of abandoning our home. Our emergency preparations include:
1. Hitzer coal stove to heat the radio shack/pantry/reloading building.
2. 2,000 pounds of Tractor Supply anthracite nut coal.
3. Honda 6500 inverter generator.
4. 300 gallons of premium, non ethanol gasoline.
5. Transfer switch to power vital circuits with the generator.
6. Coleman, Feuerhand and Aladdin lanterns with fuel and spare parts.
7. Backup stove/oven plumbed to 500 gallon propane reserve tank.
8. Night vision equipment.
9. Spare ham radios, antennas and power supplies.
I plan on picking up a Honda 2000 inverter generator as budget allows.
Wow. Nice thought process in preparing and planning.
I live in the coastal northeast (USA). Like in your video, I cut the wall wart leads and install Anderson Power Poles. I have a self made backup power system using RigRunner products. I also power my cable modem and router on this UPS. If cable lines aren't torn down in a storm they are likely to remain active depending on the ISP provider's power situation. For the less skilled you can purchase an off the shelf UPS to accomplish the same. I have a generator I only use during the day and fixed solar on the rear of my home with a 400 Ah battery bank for power outages. I also have portable solar I use for camping and off grid ham activities. Everyone in my neighborhood have one or more new vehicles and they rely on them for recharging their portable electronics. What's sad, I think for many the only emergency light they have is on their smart phone. 73 all.
Outstanding common. Thanks for sharing your situation and set up with us.
73
Julian oh8stn
@soctnights The cable lines are not the problem but the equipment behind the ports feeding those cable lines... Backup power will be cut down for crucial communication.
Stumbled on your Communications for Preparedness playlist a couple of days ago and just started watching it now. There was ample opportunity in this topic for sensationalization -- thanks for not doing that. In particular, I appreciated the evenly-toned delivery of both theory and practice as you've presented it. Especially impressed you could do that without talking down to all of us like an elitist would to "idiots." Subbed, and I'm finishing this playlist now. Thanks!
Thanks for leaving this comment Ted. This series is specifically meant to include and empower everyone. There's already enough drama and sensationalism on the topic, so I just provide the information, the best way I can.
You'll definitely find some very technical ham radio and power videos on the channel. Even so, I believe we all start someplace. In some of the older videos, you'll notice I hadn't quite grasped that yet. I hope I'm doing a better job now.
I hope you find something useful here.
Julian oh8stn
Very informative! I have not made anything up yet but have a 3500kva 240v generator I used to used on remote jobs with no power. I have some basic plans but I'm only a new ham operator and only have a few HT FM sets so far but keenly learning. I like how you also assist with planning checklists.🍻👍🤓
Watched the video. Lots of good advice on grid independent systems. Read most of the comments and your replies. Good stuff there too. No matter which system of getting power you chose, there are limitations and problems. A combination of solar, wind, grid, gen set are mostly complete and depend on your location. One you didn't mention was water. There will be those who are in the right location to include water with solar, wind, grid and gen set. The right water source can provide an almost constant and reliable source of power generation. Of course not everyone will find that stream or river to set up water, but it is there for the taking if available. Think Niagara Falls. Not meaning to sound critical, just thinking about all sources of energy to capture. Keep the videos coming and stay warm as winter approaches. 73 W0YVY
Another great video from you. A friend and I are building our first portable system in a small sling bag to suit our specific needs and on a tight budget. I will share it with you one it's done. Thank you again for sharing the results of your efforts!
Awesome comment. It's absolutely magnificent hearing about other operators taking portable power into their own hands. Absolutely awesome 👍👍👍
Very insightful. A lot to process, but insightful and a lot of knowledge.
Thanks and you know we're only scratching the surface. If you have any questions or insight, please leave a comment. I'll discuss those things in the follow-up video.
@@OH8STN I'll have more questions at this point. I'm sharing your videos with the team and taking notes.
Your presentation manner and content is brilliant, thankyou so much, liked, subscribed, shared :-)
Totally brilliant video and a new sub......... Efficient off grid power supply for emcomms goes hand in hand with antenna efficiency, everyone knows this and as a fairly recent noob in this area I am thirsty for more knowledge.
As a Foundation licence holder here in the UK (I think its your Tech level) over the past couple of years I have been looking at QRP field communication and more so the means by which I can power my system. The system I need has to be inexpensive, portable and produce and store sufficient energy to keep my station up and running should the need arise. I have a small assortment of radios, some of which are better suited for different things but my two main field radios are the FT817ND and my Clansman PRC320 portable military manpack (HF only). All, or most of my antennas are home brew and designed to be resonant on the bands I want to use, they are by far dipole type antennas and are so easy to build and deploy I use these 99% of the time. I am confident that power loss through the antenna is at a minimal so power storage/usage is my next step.
As finances need to be a realistic consideration I needed to shop around for a balance between weight v expense v capacity and find that RC Lipo batteries are better for me, although this is not likely the case for many. When using the FT817 I carry 4 x 5500mah 11.1v batteries, a foldable solar panel (40w 3.5ah) which has a built in solar controller and a small multi charger that allows me to operate for long periods of time without power loss. Maintaining the Lipos can be a pain in the proverbial, but if managed properly they serve me well.
I had never heard of BUCK Converters until watching your video, so thank you for showing me how I can now charge my handies that are cradle mounted from my battery bank, I have just ordered 4 of them and look forward to integrating them into my system.
I run a very simple solar system at home with 4 x 110ah leisure GEL batteries being fed by 150w (7amh peak) solar panel, this may not be the biggest or most efficient system in the world, but it serves my needs. I have also built a small solar power pack for portability with my radios when out camping.
Sorry to ramble on, but trying to get others to understand that efficient power supply is so very important in a grid down (SHTF) scenario is a nightmare. It does not matter how much your lovely very expensive radio cost, if you cant charge or power it, it's a worthless piece of metal and plastic. 73 (M6KVK)
Thank You For This Magnificent comment and I assure you, you weren't rambling. How we achieve our goals in the field is exactly the question I asked in the video. So your comment is incredibly valuable..
Thanks for taking the time to write it all out for us.
73
Julian oh8stn
Great video Julian ! It is amazing how little that battery sustainability is considered in communications. The youtube "experts" so often quote regurgitated opinions and obviously have no experience let alone concept of just how important this is. Thanks for sharing !
Thanks Brett. You know, sometimes I feel like we are beating a dead horse. For example your latest Motorola video, swapping out the nicads, for lithium ion cells. A fraction of the weight and increase in capacity are incomprehensible to the "experts". Anyway it's always awesome to get to comment from you. It's also very much appreciated 👍
@@OH8STN You are welcome ! Battery is a finite resource and not all batteries are created equal. I pulled out that 18650 pack I built way back when to PM and charge it. It was still 16.3V before the UBEC. Good Li-ION batteries are going to quickly match exotic chemistry batteries for shelf life.
This was simple enough for me. Thank you so very much. Now for a little shopping. I am still amazed at how much you have learned and that you continued kindness to share what you have learned. N4KBM
This is exactly what I been talking about as I know at one time or another that the grid will fail for some time that could last a week or could last several months . So this is why I decided to go out and by a bioenno battery and a solar system to charge it as well as power my radio during those times . I have for field work an efhw 8010 antenna as well as a ocfd 4010 antenna that I can either throw up as a sloper or with the right tree I can set up an inverted v to be on the air for emergency comm .
Think I have the boxes checked for back up at my QTH, need work on the off grid field set up. Thanks for keeping me motivated to get it done Julian !
No problem Don, that's great to hear. We all need to keep moving forward. The cool thing is, Little Steps a perfectly okay.
Thanks for putting this together!
No problem Rodney, it's my pleasure.
Great work Julian. Thank you.
Thanks for the comment and the kindness. Fuel for the fire👍
Great video Julian. I'm using some 20 AH bioenno batteries but I haven't sorted out the solar charging yet. I enjoy your videos! Keep up the good work. - J. Harvey.
Thanks Jim. I'm using the Genasun charge controllers. They are extremely quiet and come in a very small form factor. I think 20 amp hours will run your gear for quite a long time. Congratulations on getting set up.
Great video. Sorry I missed the live stream. I was in the Sierras for three days practicing my remote operation skills. Had a wonderful time but it was too hot for my liking. Love to throw up a wire, plug the radio into a small battery, and be on the air. Used the KX3 so only 15 watts but still made plenty of contacts. Nice to see you on the air. Take care. JJK N6NRO
No worries John. Sounds like you were having a much better time than sitting in a room editing videos :-)
Thanks for the comment, and kindness. It's very much appreciated.
A splendid video as always. Emergency power is one of the things I'm experimenting with at the moment. Solar, crank and wind power is the focus. Any tips are welcome, although I've gotten a lot of tips through your videos.
Thanks, 73's, Xander NL134
Well this wind turbine is something I'm extremely interested in adding to my shack. I think as soon as I can build one or buy one, we'll see a lot of that sort of thing on the channel for a while. As always thanks for the comment and the kindness. It's very much appreciated.
Excellent informative video... thanks
Thanks for the comment. It's very much appreciated 👍
This is still a great video!
Diesel generators in the USMC during 2000 were very loud. Surprised that there were not more subtle options.
I recently saw a documentary about solar power stations for FOBs. they are getting the idea, but it takes time
I read an article about them in Popular Mechanics (or Science). The driver is cost and the logistical train. The DOD calculated that, between equipment damage caused by IEDs and the cost of injuries to personnel, it cost them $800 to get a gallon of diesel to a FOB.
@@bernarrcoletta7419 yes that's the one. I think what I've read or seen was based on exactly that article.
The Tactical Quiet Generator was starting to be issued in 2006/7 when I was in AFG. More info: www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/Portals/105/PfM/LCES/ES/Power%20Team/Mobile%20Power/Info%20Sheets/30KW60HZTACTICALQUIETGENERATOR.pdf?ver=2018-11-13-150412-550
Fantastic video
made me dig out my bug out cigarettes... I think I am good to go with Portable Emergency Power and would like to bump it up from 15AH to 30AH when I am able .. My Shack aka-Church has 400 watts of solar and 440 AH of Batteries.... I am still needing to get my PIs squared away but thats getting closer.. great Vid as always...
I would like to see how you calculate battery size or communications gear power requirements.
Excellent suggestion. I'll add it to the next video. 👍
The Anytone 878UVPlus uses 12 volts for its charging dock. It also has GPS and other things like DMR, and APRS. VHF-UHF.
Thanks for sharing this video tutorial. 73 :)
And thank you for taking the time to watch. Hopefully we can get more people educated and involved 👍
73
Julian oh8stn
Amazing! Thanks Julian.
Thanks for the kindness. 👍👍👍
Great video Julian 73 de N1AD
Thank you Steven. Much appreciated and 👍
OH8STN where do you source your battery cells?
@@Stevenfclark at the moment I'm all over the place with the cells Steven. I've got a place that ships to North America and Europe but I'm not ready to mention them yet. I do a short video on this topic in the coming weeks.
Thanks for the info. Good video.
Fantastic video!
This was awesome. You gave me more to think about and also helped me better plan. Great content covering a lot..KN6PWH...73..
I build a go box and am planing on a solar charger and an extra battery box but im saving a bit of money for this rgne
I'm an apartment dweller with limited space. I have a DIY solar generator 12 volt battery with a trickle charger on standby and a 30 watt panel. It's just for battery charging , flashlights small stuff. Also battery packs rechargeable batteries and chargers. I also have a southern view sun beams in for about ten hours. Want to get a roll up panel with my limited space can't go on the roof, something is better then nothing. I'll never walk a mile and a half for six double A batteries. Black Out a few years back , north eastern blackout.
Excellent 👍
I use a 28 Watt rollable that drops out of my upstairs window. It's there just in case.
My follow up request would be for lists and sources for components and a how to for the 20 amp/hr power box, knowing that it could be scaled up and down.
Good work as always. Forwarded to friends and other interested parties.
I really like the vid. It give me alot to think about. I really got stuck on the distribution cable you made. Great idea. But I get stuck on the manufacturing especially between the USB and the power poles. Is there a video or a location that has more information on making a cable like that? Thanks again.
I Doug. Do you mean how I powered it with a buck converter and external battery?
@@OH8STN I mean the distribution cable that had power pole on one end and 2 power poles and a USB on the other with a fuse in the cable. Thanks
excellent
I run a goal zero nomad 28+ chained to a goal zero nomad 20, to a Omnicharge ultimate power bank.
I figure between the nomad 28 and 20, I can expect ~40 watts on a good day. If I need more power, I have a second nomad 28+ that I figured would boost my nominal output to ~65w.
The Omnicharge ultimate battery is 38,000mah or 140wh, and has barrel plugs for in and out, pass through charging, three USB outlets, and a 120w AC outlet. Max charge for the battery is 90w. The barrel plug outlet is variable in 0.01 volt increments. So I can set the output voltage to 10.4 volts and run a 5.5mm to 5.5mm barrel plug straight to the charging base of a baufang radio. I can also run a 5.5mm barrel to Anderson adapter(5.5x2.1 pig tails from Amazon) and power anything with 12v up to 8amps: ~90w. I also keep a spare battery around so I can hot swap the internal battery once it's full. This gives me universal 76,000mah or 280wh of power, in a ~6 pound package. AC, DC, and USB.
The whole setup probably wouldn't run QRO for very long, but it keeps a bank of handy talkies going forever, and really doesn't take up much room in the pack.
In addition, I use a nitecore D4 universal battery charger and a few olight USB universal cylinder battery chargers in case the nitecore fails or I need to charge more then 4 batteries at a time. This is how I keep all my other electronics like flashlights going.
The who system is scalable and can be chained together. I keep everything in a 40L dry bag.
If I need more power, I also have a Dakota 20ah lipo battery and genasun boost(only needs 8 volts to charge the 14v battery) charge controller hooked up with Anderson power poles to add inline or separate. This is a very heavy option, but I have no doubt it would run QRO on a limited bases.
I'm sure there is a better set up, I just haven't seen one as compact and clean as what I'm running at the moment. I would like to get one of power films 60watt rolled panels, but I was able to get all the panels I have for less then half of the power film. But it's on the list anyway. Next item though is probably going to be a G90 SDR hf radio. 20watt all hf band radio with a built in tuner, weighing only one kilogram. A lot of capabilities for the weight.
Thank you.
Julian, I see that you have been doing a lot with the LIFEPO4 cells. are the LI-Ion cells just too hard to get the right voltages for your comms? I ask as I am working to get my gear self reliant, but have a ton of the 18650 cells and the headways seem very expensive when I already have the others. Anyway, great video, as always.... and Keep up the good work! 73!
Actually there's two points at play. Firstly the safety concerns. Lithium ion 18650s are extremely energy-dense. When we combine that with DIY projects, and some operators using recycled cells, it can be a recipe for disaster. The other thing is the voltage. A 3s pack will power a qrp radio but a 4s pack has too much voltage. With lithium-ion we just miss that sweet spot to power a radio. If we're going to power an inverter or something like that, of course we can use lithium ion, since an inverter has a much wider voltage input.
Regarding lithium iron phosphate, it's almost a drop-in replacement for a lead acid battery. It's not as energy dense as lithium-ion, but it's almost impossible to get it to ignite. Also the cycle life is much higher than lithium ion, making it cheaper in the long run.
Awesome question
For the person who has no off grid power where do you Start? Portable QRP power, fully supplied QRO shack off grid? It seems daunting when starting from scratch.
Brian it absolutely is daunting. Thankfully we start with the first video in this series which talked about the different types of communications we intend on using. Once you understand what your goals are from a Communications perspective, you can design the emergency power, to run it all.
OH8STN Julian, I am greedy. I want it ALL working when the grid goes down. LOL. Seriously, I approach these situations with what I am most likely to face. Living 6400 ft above sea level in Colorado, A snow storm that takes out the grid for a couple of days. I don’t operate portable in Blizzard, so run my FT-991 and the antenna tuner (HF) in the shack QRO, 45 W at VHF/UHF & 90 W HF.
Hi Julian, Quick question - Although you did not mention it in your video, I noticed that you added a switch to the side of the battery box. I’m assuming it is a main disconnect for the battery. My question is how did you wire it? Previously I have used a simple rocker switch for this purpose. Although it is capable of handling the amperage, I am always worried that it could be accidentally switched off. The switch you used appears to be more flush mounted requiring more effort to turn it off. I looked on Amazon and found what I think is the switch but it doesn’t appear to be able to handle the amperage. Could you please elaborate on this? Thanks, Chris N0PRO
Where did you get the pedal generator!!!
Very slick!
Hi Troy. It's right in the description.
To be honest with you I wasn't sure about it when I received it. But actually I can charge up my solar generators with it directly to the solar panel and put out the trash controllers. It's a lot of work but it's definitely worth it if there's no other option
Listening to this vid, I noticed you sound like another channel that deals with carpentry and things. Good vid
Just bought the yeasu 817 can I run it on external power without the battery installed that comes with it ? I have a bioenno 12v 24ah battery and charge controller and 28w folding solar panels.
If you have an external power source, there's no reason to have the internal battery installed. It makes the radio lighter if you remove that internal back anyway.
@@OH8STN Thank you I'm new to the whole portable ham station as well as the yeasu 818 obviously.
No worries, you'll have a lot of fun with it.👍
Sorry to bother you but have a question that I can't seem to find an answer for. Just bought the mfj-1899t to run with my 818 can I run it through my LDG-Z 817 without using a counterpoise?
Definitely not! It would be the same as running 1/2 of a dipole. Get yourself 3 or 4 counterpoise wires a quarter or half wavelength of the frequency/band you're working.
Radios are powered with 12 volts. Laptops are powered with 19.5 volts. How do you power these two with the same 12 volt battery? Thanks for any info.
Not all laptops are powered with 19 volts. Some of them these days are powered by USB C. This is the preferred type of laptop. For example my Lenovo Yoga laptop can be charged with the USB C adapter. For older laptops many people choose to use an inverter, but I don't for two reasons. The noise in our radios becomes a big problem when we use inverters. Secondly it's inefficient. Instead I would get a DC DC power supply 12 volts to 19 volts for older style laptops.
@@OH8STN thank you. I will do that. The next laptop will be a USB C, for sure.
Whats the make and model of those portable solar panels?
There's three different panels featured.
The big one
- PowerFilm FM16-7200 120w.
The Small Rollable panels.
- PowerFilm Solar R28.28w
The black folding panel
- PowerFilm Solar FM16-1200 20w.
th-cam.com/video/hiA9C9H9GQk/w-d-xo.html
another informative video, Julian, thanks! I regularly use my QRP (also an FT-817nd) setup from a backpack, Bioenno LiFePO4 battery, solar panel & charger. I am nearly always able to return with a full charge. Question - what DC meter do you recommend to determine current draw while operating? Although they're cheap, I'm seeing very mixed reviews
Thanks Steve.
I have a built-in shunt between my battery and radio, so I really don't use inline meters in the field anymore. I do still have two of the inline meters for testing. One from Powerwerx, the other from Turnigy. Neither are absolutely accurate, but they do give a general indication of the amount of current passing through. The Powerwerx meter was gifted to me, the Turnigy was purchased from hobby king, then added the power poles to it myself.
Thanks for the comment and the kindness, It's very much appreciated.
where did you get the pedal generator? or did you build it?
It comes from a company called k-tor. amzn.to/2O2HO9y
Hello sir. I built a Gmrs go bag using a Wouxun KG1000 50 watt radio. For power, I purchased a 12v 12ah lifePO4 battery, when I attempt to transmit, the radio goes out, when I disconnect the power, and reconnect it, the radio comes back on, could it be the bms is overloaded when I attempt to transmit?What ah of battery would you recommend? Thanks in advance...Clint
I dont do Instagram. Can you make a video in that power box please? Thanks
That's an interesting project but I don't have the resources to do something like that at the moment. I asked Mark about publishing his setup on TH-cam. He agreed. I'll do a blog post on that and share it on my community tab when it's ready.
i was thinking with all the portable gear you have.. its time to make those portable batteries into kits that you can sell online...if thats something you can do..or do workshops on how to make these.
on the other note i was looking at military Surplus truck 4wd (4x4 or 6x6) with closed body, can this be used as a Mobile Ham shack?
With all the information I have provided in my battery builds and the documentation on my website, anyone can build these kits already. That's the most cost-effective way to do it. If I were to start selling battery kits oh, I hope you have to add overhead to everything, and start competing with big manufacturers. I'll stick with the videos and blog posts thanks.
For the military trucks absolutely awesome. A buddy of mine has a surplus deuce and a half. He made that into a mobile Communications Shack. He can sleep there, cook there, operate his radios there, ... I think it's a brilliant idea.
Thank you for the discussion. I have several questions.
1: you use Powerfilm solar panels, These are considerably more expensive than traditional panels. I can think of several reasons to use them like weight, durability and portability. Are there other reasons to chose them over traditional panels.
2: you also mentioned wind turbines, there are two main types of turbines, the traditional blade and the Savonius wind turbine or vertical axis blade. can one be deployed closer to the ground and work in lower wind speeds? Also what is the noise difference between the two different blades.
Thanks
Se TH-cam videos from Missouri wind and solar as another source on small wind generators.
When it comes to wind, let me tell you in the simplest terms possible...FORGET IT FOREVER.
Back in the mid 90's I installed a 3,000 watt Whisper on an 84 foot tower on top of a hill where you could see it for miles and miles in every direction. I had a 60kwh battery bank that weighed about 3,000 pounds, a Trace SW5548 inverter, and a T240 I think it was called, to step up the voltage from 120vac to 240vac for my well pump.
Long story short, it averaged about $50 a month worth of power or around 550kwh, all for the low low price of around $23,000, and I did all the work myself so no labor, well my pastor from church ran the tractor to raise the tower, but that's all the help I had. This did cost not include my diesel gen set and fuel.
So imagine how much less power you'll get from a smaller wind generator, and closer to the ground with more obstructions around you.
There really was NO up side to this system at all as far as the wind producing goes. The inverter and everything else was great, but back then all we really had was lead acid batteries, so that was weak link as well. All in all, it was very nice to have when the power was out, because it switched over instantly and powered the whole home, outside of electric heat, stove, water heater, and dryer. For those items I had a 33kw diesel gen set and 3,000 gallons of treated fuel. The inverter would start the gen set when the batteries were at 60% and charge the batteries and we'd use the 240vac items at that time.
This wasn't designed to take me completely off grid, it was just a long term emergency back up system, and also to help reduce power needs from the grid. For the money spent, I could have cleared out a few more trees, and gone solar and easily doubled and even tripled my power production in the summer.
Long story short, go solar and do it right, like I'm doing now at my new place.
Keep up the great.
What make/model is your bug out bike shown?
Hello Dennis. It's a local Finnish brand. GZR Eaw 19, with bafang maxdrive, mid-drive motor.
Julian. At 26:13 there are some Pyramid structures in the background. Any info you could tell me about those? Thanks for the great video!
Beautiful structures aren't they? This is the bio center from the University of Oulu. These are greenhouses.
Hi Julian, great video!! I have one quick question - For the solar inputs you used a yellow and black Powerpole panel mount. Did you purchase it or somehow change the red for yellow? I have been unable to locate a yellow and black panel mount and am unfamiliar with swapping out the connectors. Thanks Chris N0PRO
Chris please check your other comments on my other video.
73
Julian oh8stn
Hello, great video as always. My question is would it be better to run one large panel or a couple smaller panels in series using an mmpt charge controller. I live in northern Michigan in an area of dense hardwood bordering Boreal forest and it can be hard to find a spot of full sun. It's also not uncommon to be cloudy for days at a time. My thought is that the series wired panels will achieve the minimum charge current more easily in less that optimum conditions. What do you feel is best? Also having more panels means redundancy in your system should one fail.
Thanks for the kindness on the question. You know I have the same problem up here in the North. I think you meant parallel rather than series. Series increases the voltage while placing panels in parallel increases the current. I just found a new charge controller which you can see on my Instagram. It's called a boost controller from Genasun. Other companies have them as well like victron and so on. I like the idea of multiple panels. What I do is say run those panels in series parallel strings. So I may put two panels in series and then put a second set of two panels in parallel with the first set. Bissell increase your voltage, but also increase your current. I think you're onto something and it will be nice to see how it turns out.
Great video Julian! One question, can you do a video on antenna analyzers? I've in the market for a number of reasons and I am torn. I know RigExpert is the cream of the crop, but I wonder if I can get away cheaper but have something as reliable and accurate. I know you reviewed the mini60 a few years back, but what do you think of the mini600? I'm concerned about build quality and support if it bricks. I've also considered MFJ, but the reviews are always bad with complaints of build quality issues, a huge number of batteries required, or slow turn around time for repairs. Any thoughts?
Well just to put it upl on the table, The mini 600 is on my "get list". I love the rig expert antenna analyzers, but they're out of my budget. I have two of the mini 60 analyzers which are working really well. Build quality is often an issue with Chinese gear. That's the risk we take for the lower price. If the mini 60 is any indication of quality, the mini 600 should be just fine.
I have owned mfj analyzers and yes they work fine. But if we compare them to the rig expert, or some of the Chinese offerings, the mfj are critically overrated. They're heavy, require an enormous amount of batteries, offer no good repair Network, and are extremely expensive to send back if they go wrong. When my mfj analyzer broke, I wanted to send it back for repairs. The response from company was reason enough for me, to never buy another mfj product again. For what it would have cost me to send back, I could simply have purchased another one. Now I'm no fan of the Chinese products oh, and I would certainly buy the ring expert if I wasn't using all my money to make TH-cam videos. From this perspective, the Chinese have saved the day with their better selection of analyzers. They have some really cheap ones as well, but I'm not willing to buy those for the conditions I'm working in.
OK, yeah, that helps me a lot. I was already a little closer to pulling the trigger, I think I'll go ahead and order now. I decided to order from AliExpress instead of eBay since they offer at least some kind of return policy and they have more shipping options, unlike the USPS only (crap service) eBay shipping from China that will take a a month. Btw, make sure to order the 2019 or later version depending on when you buy one, they've made some hardware and firmware improvements in recent months. If I can get my HF antenna working better with lower SWR and possibly putting a common mode choke on it, maybe I can make a contact with you soon. Thanks as usual Julian!
KJ6LPE currently in Italy. 73
Welcome to the continent :-)
73
Grazie!
All the grief you have given people about cheap Chinese radios it’s surprising to see Baofengs in this video.
Yes and I'll continue educating people about them 😀 Seriously though, the reality is, people will use them regardless of my opinion. So It would be short-sighted of me not to include a segment on these types of radios, in an objective video like this.
OH8STN well, I’m glad to see you be more open minded. I recall you being pretty opinionated in the past.
@@TheSmokinApe hostile, I think the word you're looking for is hostile. Perhaps if it was a "this versus that" video, my disappointment some Chinese radios would be more apparent. Anyway, same message just less hostility.
OH8STN hostile might be a better word, but I’m not sure all comments were directed to “this vs that” videos. Either way, the more open approach is refreshing. 👍
Just stop using grid power with your communication gear altogether. You will have some growing pains switching over. I started wit 100 watts solar. That wasn't enough. I upgraded to 200 watt. Close but no cigar. Now I've got 400 watts. We will se how that goes. Mppt charge controllers are great BUT they can be noisy (RFI).
Yeah the growing pains are tough, I'll give you that one. Especially if one is used to operating full power at the flip of a switch.
I've never heard of a noisy stand-alone mppt charge controller. The ones with built in inverter are notoriously noisy though. PWM charge controllers are almost all universally noise makers.
Can you tell us about your batteries?
@@OH8STN My controller is the Renogy Advanced Rover Li 40 Amp 12V/24V DC Input MPPT Solar Charge Controller with Bluetooth. I'm currently a 12v Deep cycle batterie that I plan to upgrade soon. I'll probably stick with deep cycle since this is not a mobile setup. I have lot's of smaller batteries that are mostly Li-ion and nimh. I'm only around 100ah right now with my primary storage. The nimh are for all the little devices that need aa/aaa. I keep dry cell adapters for my HTs as backup. There are battery packs for the Baofeng that have charge cicutry built in. Those Baofeng are good backup/handout radios.
If the grid down is because of a major solar flare, depending on the class of flare it may or may not matter. The real fear by people that make fun of preppers, is that they might have to do physical labor, that's the real fear of modern society, they have it easy...lol
I have a guy you should check out would be help with your channel
Stop think so hard and get a Jackery or something like that and a compatible solar panel and there you go
To much to do in s grid down event.
We don't wait for the event to happen before getting started. We prepare for it before it comes.