Hello Operators. Hopefully you all have enjoyed the first episode of How to solar power your portable radio. I have put together a playlist of supporting videos, which will hopefully add more context to the discussion. Some of these videos are old and in need of updates, We will certainly get it done soon. More videos incoming: Solar GoKits, Battery builds, ... So please do stick around. Playlist URL: czcams.com/play/PLKMrdrsNkFA685wIKs32CcO9l7vM0V-SH.html 73 Julian oh8stn
Hi Julian, I've literally just finished building my own setup before I found this new video from you! I built a 12Ah battery pack like yours, following your instructions a year or two ago but didn't go the rest of the way to doing the solar side till now. That changed since the UA/RU situ, but I've been waiting or the charge controller to arrive for over a month, which I paired with a 135W panel from Amazon - which is a compromises I suppose as it's way cheaper and less flexible than a PowerFilm (which I'd love to have but simply cannot afford). Given the situ here in Europe and as Hungary is bordered by Ukraine, now seemed like the time to do this. I'm sure you feel the same way! I am looking at also charging my eBike from this too when at home as I can use two of the 135 panels in parallel and I also have a boost convert that can do the 52v needed for the battery pack, I have to test to see how that goes next. I think you already have a similar setup as far as I know (I heard something on the Canadian Prepper channel where Nate mentioned you doing it). So given we live in "interesting times" I think this will be a great series! My next task is to integrate a much bigger battery and a pure sine wave inverter for use at home (I got two X 135W panels so I can run them in parallel. That way I'll have a bit of redundancy and more juice for use at home but still retain some practicality for portable use (eBike and cargo trailer). Keep up the good work! 73 Stewart de HA5RV
Hi Julian. Have you tried some of the smaller solar generator? I like the small form factor that the newer ones are starting to come in. I use an omnicharge 20+ with my tx500 and a 30w panel. I was using an omnicharge ultimate and a 60w panel, but i found i never put a dent in the battery with this setup and decided to shrink my form factor as i only use my system on a limited basis when im out. Anyway, great video and look forward to seeing your next instalment.
It really ddoesn't matter what panels we chooe, as long as they work for us. I use PF but doesn't mean they are the best option for everyone. Anyway yes, the situation in EU is difficult at best. Getting our systems up and running has a certain urgency to it now. I don't think you need such big panels in parallel for your ebike. Naturally if you want to charge faster, sure. Just remember the maximum charge rating for your battery pack. It is easy to charge at too high a current, reducing the cyclic life of your bike battery. Here is my post on ebike charging. Canadian Preppers video was based on my research and instruction. Nice to hear he gave a shout out. Here is my post on the topic. oh8stn.org/blog/2022/02/08/ebike-solar-charging-how-to/ For home, we have 1-7kwh of solar adn two of the 576wh solar gens. We can do cooking in our fire pit and cook or heat the house with our fireplace. Wood is stored for 6 months of heating/cooking. This means our solar and battery storage are not used for heavy lifting. Just lighting, radio, rechaging our hand torches, ... The certainly has changed. 73 Julian oh8stn
Wow, unexpected! It is a gift when someone appreciated the value of ones contributions. Too often these vides take longer than expected because the funding. You have just financed the next episode of this series. I'll try to stop rambling now. Thanks for watching and for the kindness. It is really unbelievable. 73 Julian oh8stn
A coffee & one of your videos always puts me in the mood for some portable operating, another well informed video that was well worth watching. Thanks.
Outstanding Julian! Great video for QRP off grid radios. I’m still running the FT-817, it last a long time with the 4 amp hour battery. I do need to make the jump to solar, hurricane season is less than a month away. 73 KM4SON
Thanks Don. The 817 current consumption is manageable with an higher density external battery. For years I used the 20 watt panel and 5ah battery with very good results. No reason to change unless the rig fails. Always nice to see your comments. 73 Julian oh8stn
Congrats on your new radio. The 705 is perfect on solar power. One of the upcoming episodes will include one of my high-speed, low drag battery designs, perfect for this radio. Thanks for watching and commenting. Much appreciated. 73 Julian oh8stn
Yes that's true! We just need to adapt to the real world sometimes. FT-891 is an excellent radio otherwise. Thanks for watching, commenting, ... 73 Julian oh8stn
Thanks Julian. I'm just gearing up to start POTA and you touched every point I have been agonizing over. It is a big help. I have a much better idea on my direction now. Thanks!
Very good way to describe a way to work off of solar. I really like you including the tablet into the calculations or anything else that is needed to make this work.
Thanks for the kindness and feedback. The tablet is a critical part of the station, so we need to include its needs as well. Omitting it was a mistake I often made in the past, We live and learn :) Thanks for the kindness and feedback. Much appreciated. 73 Julian oh8stn
Great comprehensive presentation. I'd like to see your opinion/review of the Bioenno line of panels, charge controllers and batteries. They have targeted the Ham community, and I recently built a solar generator with their products that I have used on two POTA activations. It is a more expensive line of products but I am very satisfied so far.
Wow! What a fabulous kickoff video. Solar solutions is the next piece to my portable puzzle and you explained every thing I had questions about in a format that I actually could understand. Now to save the milk money. Thanks, Julian!
Extremely happy you found it useful. It is often difficult to find that right balance between too technical and too basic. Hopefully this is the right balance. Thanks for commenting, watching and for the kindness. Very much appreciated 73 Julian oh8stn
Well done video. I've followed you for some time now and always find your content valuable. As the EC for my county in Ontario Canada my portable systems need to serve several functions. One of these is to provide emergency communications for served agencies. In that role I use a 50 Ah LiFePo battery. This system is to heavy to be man portable. However I recently bought the components for a packable off-grid station which I'll be putting to use in field operations this summer. Your videos have been invaluable in working out the details of all my stations. Thanks for all the effort you put into your content.
I also have a large (60Ah) station battery in my camper. It easily stays charged in the field with a foldable 120w panel deployed specifically for that purpose. I can keep everything else running and charged off that battery when I'm operating from my camper. (The camper itself has a separate system.) It is not difficult to estimate your energy requirements if you measure the current draw of everything you expect to deploy. Be sure to measure the current draw of your radio(s) on receive and when key down. Then it's a matter of computing the weighted average current usage of your radio under the expected fraction of time spent on transmit and the duty-cycle draw of your operating mode. Add a safety factor. I chose 3, thinking worst-case scenario was three days no sun. If you have a backup generator, then you can reduce the safety factor, but I would use at least 1.5. This is fun stuff, at least for an old engineer. :) 73 de AG7TX
I think this is one of your best video's and believe it has helped me to understand some of your thought processes better. Excellent education and logical reasoning! I look forward to the rest! Thank you!
Thanks for watching, commenting and for the kindness. Over the years it started to feel like a dog chasing its own tail. Trying to get something which packs down small enough, doesn't weigh too much but also provides the necessary energy requirements was an uphill battle. Turns out radio efficiency was the problem all along. We learn, we move forward 👍 73 Julian oh8stn
Hi Julian, great video as usual. Thank you for taking the time. I have been off grid for about 10 years one thing that interests me, particularly regarding your situation, is managing batteries in the sub zero temps of the Arctic. 73 VK2ZRK
Thank you. The trick is treating the batteries is setting up shelters and heat. Although we can discharge them below freezing , we need to get them up above freezing before charging. We must also use sensors to monitor the cell temp. It sounds complicated but actually quite simple. Often the batteries are stored in an inner pocket. Larger batteries have a heating pad or hand warmers in addition to foam insulation.
@@OH8STN Thank you for the reply Julian. I was interested as I did a SOTA activation on the weekend and it was about zero degC and I noticed my batteries were not lasting as long. Cheers Andrew VK2ZRK
I appreciate all the various models of equipment you mentioned with performance stats, very helpful in guiding us to building our own setups. Thanks!!!
Actually thank you and happy you think so. It is a big challenge providing enough information to get people comfortable with the "build it yourself" idea, without overwhelming them with technical details or brouhaha. Hopefully we all learn together. 73 Julian oh8stn
Absolutely a fantastic video❗️ I have several members in my Local Ham Club have become interested in solar powering their ham equipment and since I am the only person in the ham club that is using Solar power I get a ton of questions. Research, Research, and More Research is always a great answer and I feel you are doing a great job informing the Ham community with precise information on this subject. Your doing a great job❗️
Thank you Mike. It is hard to be objective about ones own comtribution. Your feedback is fuel for the fire. Thanks for watching and for the awesome feedback. 73 Julian oh8stn
Outstanding Steve. This brings back wonderful memories of road-trips across the states with my Dad. Thank for watching and commenting, Much appreciated. 73 Julian oh8stn
Excellent start to the video series Julian! Looking forward to the rest of them and thank you for doing them! My suggestion to go further would be to move your way up in the food chain... so you're starting with QRP portable, go to QRO and then to powering a home station off-grid. Many of us don't do any field portable operations but just want to power a bigger station (50-100 Watts HF / 25-50 Watts VHF/UHF / Computer) during off-grid operations for several days. Obviously that's getting into the bigger solar generators and possibly the use of an inverter. Also- the biggest decision point I see in trying to put together a solar generator is picking the BMS. It seems there are a multitude of them. Some are great, some are smart, and some are junk. Many are meant for eBikes and scooters and are not really suitable for ham radio use... just a thought. Thank you again and 73!!!! de KA2IRQ
Done! This is an excellent idea. Looking back, most of this has already been done on the channel. The problem is they were done before I understand how to present the content. Your idea is excellent and gives me a channce to "modernize" the context & topic, the way my videos are produced today. Brilliant idea. We shall do so. 73 Julian oh8stn
This is so helpful for beginning the process of putting together an off-grid kit. You've provided the content needed to proceed with a nice headstart. Thank you.
Thanks for watching and commenting. These solar projects have a been a passion since childhood. If someone gets something from them, that is the reward. 73 Julian oh8stn
Thank you Sam. It is a pleasure to work on such topics. The only regret is not getting them out faster. Thanks for your patience and support. 73 Julian oh8stn
thank you for the post. i do have a foldable solar panel but haven't actually done portable radio ops with it yet. it is on my long list of things to do.
Keep in mind it doesn't have to be a big "expedition". Just get outside wherever you can and set up your gear. Sometimes we pull oer ont eh side of the road, other times, in the back yard. Just keep it simple. Each experience no matter how small, will give you valuable experience. 73 Julian oh8stn
Love the builds did a 15amp lifepo4 worked great thank you but I cannot find a cheap lightweight solar panel at 12-15volt 50-100watt in the uk and keep the videos coming I love them and they are really helpful thanks 🏴
Yeah it is unfortunate that the cost of solar panels increases, as their weight decreases. If you don't need to carry it yourself, there are heavier albeit more cost friendly options. The series will continue regulary from for the next months. SOme breaks for the preparedness content, but portable power has always been the passion. 73 Julian oh8stn
Thanks Richard. Quality over Quantity these days. Or would you prefer a talking head Julian :D Always nice to hear from you. Hope this reply finds you well. 73 Julian oh8stn
Julian, I'm a big fan of your videos with all your helpful reviews tips and suggestions. Thank you! You've inspired me! I've divided my portable ops to two different scenarios: #1 Day Hiking go kit: A 1212 Bioenno LiPO4, Qty2x 28w Powerfilm Rollables (for wet wx operating) with your recommended Genasun 5A controller and my choice of either a IC705 or G90 that sit on the shelf. For my portable kit #2 car/camping/QRO station (and for occasional home power outages/preparedness) just picked up a Powerfilm F16-6000 100w from CaliforniaPC and will use it with a 1220 Bioenno LiPO4 and a Buddipole powermini with a FT-891. All works with my MS Surface Pro7 and a MiniProS. Thanks for all your suggestions & videos. 73 de Kevin VE7OVY
Congratulations! Absolutely outstanding and best comment of the day. Sounds like a dream station with the best of both worlds. Kevin, what are using for power distribution? 73 Julian oh8stn
Yup I work in TV land and the process of building and shooting a vid is a lot of work, The editing process is like doing a Non linier back flips jigsaw puzzle and can tie you up in knots . Thanks for your hard work . I love your VO processing , reminds me of Casey Kasem we got here in New Zealand as a kid growing up, Sounds like a lovely old Electro Voice RE20, running through a LA2A old school compressor. Luv my ridiculous over expensive Elecraft KX3 run it off my NP1 batts I use for my location sound kit which is very very hungry , you could go for days on end with the KX3 . Regards & 73's Kris
It seems I always learn something from your experiences in the field and this video was no exception. I appreciate you taking the time to produce these very informative videos and look forward to seeing the next one.
I have a goal zero panel and charge controller..I’ve had it for about 3 years but have never used it so this year am going to try it out using my icom705
Not bad for being put together by a former Jarhead, Julian. (Note that I DID capitalize "Jarhead" in all due respect ;-)) All kidding and inter-service needling aside, Bravo Zulu on your treatment of the subject. There is just way too much misunderstanding "out there" re solar power and batteries in general and the ham radio world certainly has its share.
This is a great Video , as usual Julian you have come up with a succinct way to evaluate what you need to do the task at hand, regardless of the Txer you have , thanks for the comparison of the rigs that you have used on the channel. you have given me things to think about and actually analyse my systems here while out in the back yard doing gear testing before i go out to do Sota/Pota. Thank you very much for your efforts and I'm looking forward to more in the series. regards and 73 from VK1.
I am looking at the qrp radios for longer term operations. My 10 ah Dakota lithium battery is definitely too small for my 891. The boost charge controllers could still be usefull in places in AZ, especially in Northern areas where trees might partially shade the panels.
Huh, you're right! My time in Arizona was always down in the Yuma area. It is easy to forget the flagstaff area is there as well. Yes the 891 is an excellent performer, but suffers from low efficiency. If Yaesu could do something about rx current and tx efficiency in a revision, they would sell tons of them. Thanks for watching commenting, and the feedback. Much appreciated. 73 Julian oh8stn
Another excellent video with great actionable information. As thorough as you are you appearent weeded out Morningstar Solar charge controllers early. How were you able to do that?
Thanks for the question and kindness. I have a couple of the Morningstar charge controllers here. If not for the noise they generate on HF, I would have included them in the series. In principle we want to stay away from PWM charge controllers. The Morningstar charge controllers are excellent turn on radio related uses. 73 Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN Fair enough. My portable ops is based on a vehicle. A few years ago I setup a 1200W PV system using 100W Renogy panels and a Morningstar PS-MPPT-40M to run three 100W HF stations for ARRL Field Day. The battery system was 4ea 80Ah AGM batteries in a 24VDC array. I used a second PS-MPPT-25M charge controller from the 24V battery bank to a 5th 12V battery that ran the radios. Unorthodox be it worked well. It filled my Chrysler 300. Of course I designed my system for after hurricanes for use at my condo. I have 1600W of PV so I could run a 1200W PV system 24V system with 3KW pure signwave inverted for lights, fan, refrigerator or portable HVAC. Additionally the smaller 400W system would power all 12V DC systems. It is portable in case I do shelter radio communications. It has a breaker box and system GFI that can float from earthground or be used with earthground. I haven't experienced RFI from the MPPT controllers and I haven't had to use the supplied ferrite beads. I have consider using Victron.
"Who the heck are you and what have you done with my wife????" ROFLMAO! Like you, I love the idea of the PowerMini, but the implementation lacks. It simply will not integrate with my Bioenno battery packs. I consider it a failed experiment for lithium-based chemistry. However, I can probably use it to charge lead-acid batteries like those I use in my camper. I recently added a second 30w PF foldable panel and a GV-8 to my kit. We don't have a lot of cloudy days here in Nevada, but I expect to live in Missouri this year and it can be gray there for days on end. I decided on a second 30w panel because "two is one and one is none" when critical conditions exist. I expect to add one or two 60w foldable panels later this year. Now I need to get VARA HF/FM operational on my portable computer and integrated with my radio kits. I really want to have email capability in the field when out of cell service (or when cell service fails). Thanks for all your hard work! 73 de AG7TX
Thanks for the kindness. Hopefully the high bar doesn't give me a heart attack. Seriously though, the goal is trying not to waste your time. Provide the information viewers need without any of the fat. Hopefully people appreciate the approach. Thanks for watching, commenting and the kindness. 73 Julian oh8stn
Fantastic video Julian! I'm currently using a custom LifePo4 battery made with 4s1 Headway 38120s and a Overkillsolar BMS w/ bluetooth, GVB-8, and PF R60 panel with my IC-705 and MS Surface Go. Great setup and I appreciate your insight. Could you show your power distribution? I was looking at a Paradan unit but it draws am much power as the TX-500 on receive for the display!
Outstanding setup. I'm waiting for one of those Overkill solar charge BMS boards. Power distribution I simply made a cable with multiple fused outputs. It's totally analog. I wasn't concerned about voltage or load since my solar and Battery are so much overkill. I've always got the display on the radio just in case. I thought about one of those arguing no based distribution projects. Nice but added complexity.
Just catching up on old video. The current consumption rate of the G90 vs the 891 is crazy? Why can they be set up that way and still do the same thing? Yeasu certainly has too much thirst for power compared to the G90. Thank you for this. I have a 891 for my home station but want something like the G90 for POTA or other portable ops.
It is a huge undertaking, but one considered for quite sometime. The fear is taking away from my primary work to work on publishing something else. Perhaps int he future. It is an excellent idea! 73 Julian oh8sth
OK, wow whole semester of electronics in this one. So all your cables,wire management what are those weak points. Spare parts or field repair. Last is how big is the box all that fits in to transport ? out standing video as always.
Thanks Bill. Logistical weak point is a lack of sunlight or ability to get to it. Mechanical weak-points are cable joints at the battery. Although I have never had a failure, I do carry a butane soldering iron just in case. The size of the kit varies per mission spec. A SOTA summit with a QRP radio has a much smaller footprint than a QRO station meant for EMCOMM. We will go through the varios types of kits. 73 Julian oh8stn
Great video 👍🏻 Im looking for a weather proof portable solar panel for ham. What would the community suggest? I have a foldable powerfilm panel but they are not water proof and their rollables are very difficult to find nowdays (and expensive).
This is an excellent question! So it's a multi-prong approach. First, reduce the current consumption as much as possible. Increase the battery capacity. Finally, double up on the solar panels. 73 Julian oh8stn
Great video. I’m in the process of cobbling together a solar setup for qro, maxing out at 20-50 watts. Occasionally just cause I’d be curious to see, pushing it to a full 100 watts. Curious what your definition of qro is?
I ran the 891 at 100 watts SSB on solar power for some time. Typically my QRO is 20-40w running data. So the output power is not the problem, in fact it's easy to achieve. It's how long one can operate which becomes issue. Definitely test and share your results. 73 Julian oh8stn
Hi Julian, all Your videos are extremely well done and helpful! Great job! I got myself an IC-705, Surface Go 2 and PowerFilm LightSaver Max solar panel. These solar panels are sold out in EU, unfortunately, but luckily I got one from VE. Charging the IC-705 works perfect. What I am still struggling with is how to charge the Surface from the PowerFilm solar panel. I see that You obviously charge via the USB-C port of the Surface Go 2. When I try this, I get a notification that I have to attach the Surface to a proper power supply. Any suggestion on this? Keep on the great work! Dom, DL5EBE
I have been a patrion supporter for a while now but i was always curious if you get to retain more of the contribution from CZcams or patrion? I can donate either way but id rather you get more than the distributor of the contribution. At any rate, thanks for the information.
Nice video. I was wandering what you mean by "poor charging profiles..."? I am a newby but have been using these with several LiPo systems. What should I look for?
Lithium iron phosphate, lithium ion and even lipo all use constant current constant voltage cc/cv charge profiles. This is different than the lead acid profiles the buddipole PowerMini and + tries to use. Basically the buddipole gets confused when it's trying to charge a lithium-based battery.
I think it's a brilliant design and a reasonable price. Built-in audio interface, low receive current, reasonable transmit current with transmit up to 10 watts. If I wasn't on a tight budget with my solar power things, I could imagine pulling the trigger on one myself. 73 Julian oh8stn
hello friend, a question since you have a lot of experience in portable expeditions. Which for you is the best portable antenna that supports maximum 100wtss in HF? 73
Thanks for watching and commenting. Actually, It is an impossible question, but let me explain. There are so many variables that our antenna should be choosen for the type of operating we do, the place we will set it up, and the target stations location in the world. I could say a dipole for 20 meters is the best antenna in the world. That is only true if your target station can be reached on 20m during the time of day you operate. We need to put some thought into our goals. 73 Julian oh8stn
Hi Julian, I have 2 120watt power film folding panels that I wish to put in parallel. Do you have a charge controller that would work well with this configuration for both lifepo4 and lead acid? Thanks wa0spg
At the moment no. The current is too high (potentially). I reached out to Genasun asking about their charge controllers for 2x 120w in parallel. They don't have something at the moment but they do have something in R&D. Genasun will release a 20A version, but I can't say when. Until then, I am using two Genasun GVxx, one for each panel. The charge controllers battery output can be connected to a common battery. This is how I'm doing it for my two 120w panels at the moment. I also have a 220 watt powerfilm panel which can't be use until that new 20A charge controller is released. Excellent question, thanks for watching. 73 Julian oh8stn
The only control I have over ads is turning them on or off. Everything else is up to CZcams. You can watch without ads, by spending the 12 bucks in a month on CZcams premium.
Hello Operators.
Hopefully you all have enjoyed the first episode of How to solar power your portable radio. I have put together a playlist of supporting videos, which will hopefully add more context to the discussion. Some of these videos are old and in need of updates, We will certainly get it done soon.
More videos incoming: Solar GoKits, Battery builds, ... So please do stick around.
Playlist URL: czcams.com/play/PLKMrdrsNkFA685wIKs32CcO9l7vM0V-SH.html
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Julian oh8stn
Hi Julian, I've literally just finished building my own setup before I found this new video from you! I built a 12Ah battery pack like yours, following your instructions a year or two ago but didn't go the rest of the way to doing the solar side till now. That changed since the UA/RU situ, but I've been waiting or the charge controller to arrive for over a month, which I paired with a 135W panel from Amazon - which is a compromises I suppose as it's way cheaper and less flexible than a PowerFilm (which I'd love to have but simply cannot afford). Given the situ here in Europe and as Hungary is bordered by Ukraine, now seemed like the time to do this. I'm sure you feel the same way! I am looking at also charging my eBike from this too when at home as I can use two of the 135 panels in parallel and I also have a boost convert that can do the 52v needed for the battery pack, I have to test to see how that goes next. I think you already have a similar setup as far as I know (I heard something on the Canadian Prepper channel where Nate mentioned you doing it). So given we live in "interesting times" I think this will be a great series! My next task is to integrate a much bigger battery and a pure sine wave inverter for use at home (I got two X 135W panels so I can run them in parallel. That way I'll have a bit of redundancy and more juice for use at home but still retain some practicality for portable use (eBike and cargo trailer).
Keep up the good work! 73 Stewart de HA5RV
Hi Julian. Have you tried some of the smaller solar generator? I like the small form factor that the newer ones are starting to come in. I use an omnicharge 20+ with my tx500 and a 30w panel. I was using an omnicharge ultimate and a 60w panel, but i found i never put a dent in the battery with this setup and decided to shrink my form factor as i only use my system on a limited basis when im out. Anyway, great video and look forward to seeing your next instalment.
It really ddoesn't matter what panels we chooe, as long as they work for us. I use PF but doesn't mean they are the best option for everyone. Anyway yes, the situation in EU is difficult at best. Getting our systems up and running has a certain urgency to it now.
I don't think you need such big panels in parallel for your ebike. Naturally if you want to charge faster, sure. Just remember the maximum charge rating for your battery pack. It is easy to charge at too high a current, reducing the cyclic life of your bike battery. Here is my post on ebike charging. Canadian Preppers video was based on my research and instruction. Nice to hear he gave a shout out. Here is my post on the topic. oh8stn.org/blog/2022/02/08/ebike-solar-charging-how-to/
For home, we have 1-7kwh of solar adn two of the 576wh solar gens. We can do cooking in our fire pit and cook or heat the house with our fireplace. Wood is stored for 6 months of heating/cooking. This means our solar and battery storage are not used for heavy lifting. Just lighting, radio, rechaging our hand torches, ...
The certainly has changed.
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Julian oh8stn
Thanks!
Wow, unexpected!
It is a gift when someone appreciated the value of ones contributions. Too often these vides take longer than expected because the funding. You have just financed the next episode of this series. I'll try to stop rambling now.
Thanks for watching and for the kindness. It is really unbelievable.
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Julian oh8stn
Your welcome. Your instructions are invaluable to many.
Aloha LA Hanau
Dennis KH6LH
A coffee & one of your videos always puts me in the mood for some portable operating, another well informed video that was well worth watching. Thanks.
Outstanding. Comments like these keeps the channel motivation flowing. Thanks for commenting, watching and for the kindness.
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Julian oh8stn
Outstanding Julian! Great video for QRP off grid radios. I’m still running the FT-817, it last a long time with the 4 amp hour battery. I do need to make the jump to solar, hurricane season is less than a month away. 73 KM4SON
Thanks Don. The 817 current consumption is manageable with an higher density external battery. For years I used the 20 watt panel and 5ah battery with very good results. No reason to change unless the rig fails.
Always nice to see your comments.
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Julian oh8stn
Just purchased the IC705. and really enjoyed this video, as my next step is to get a solar setup.
Congrats on your new radio. The 705 is perfect on solar power. One of the upcoming episodes will include one of my high-speed, low drag battery designs, perfect for this radio.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Great information, thank you!
Love where this is going keep up the great work
Thanks for watching and commenting. The series is long over-due.
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Julian oh8stn
I highly recommend your battery pack build videos. I've successfully built a couple of them.
Interesting! Extreme trekking is on my bucket list, thanks Julian.
I have 891 and Buddypole power mini I can buy a lot of battery's over a new radio. lol Love the video. I'M 64 And not a long hiker so. KF0HRF.
Yes that's true! We just need to adapt to the real world sometimes. FT-891 is an excellent radio otherwise.
Thanks for watching, commenting, ...
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Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN Thanks for putting it out there for us as everything is informative.
Thanks! A greatly valuable video to keep it handy at all times, I've saved it to my Ham radio outdoors playlist! 73! Linas LY2H.
Thanks for the feedback. It is a pleasure making pragmatic videos. Even better knowing they are appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Hello Julian you created one more very interested video.
Thanks Julian. I'm just gearing up to start POTA and you touched every point I have been agonizing over. It is a big help. I have a much better idea on my direction now. Thanks!
Happy if it helped Hank. Videos showing how someone does something but not why. Hope this approach make the process easier.
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Julian oh8stn
Thanks Julian another great video on portable ops. 😎👍🏻
Thanks Damien.
Now some field deployments need to be planned out. The cabine fever is getting to me :)
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Julian oh8stn
Excellent start! Semper Fi! 73, AA4EZ
Thank you Raymond, Semper Fi.
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Julian oh8stn
Thanks! As an old Marine, I learn something new each day......thanks again, Julian. SF - Sam JS6UAG Okinawa, Japan
Very good way to describe a way to work off of solar. I really like you including the tablet into the calculations or anything else that is needed to make this work.
Thanks for the kindness and feedback.
The tablet is a critical part of the station, so we need to include its needs as well. Omitting it was a mistake I often made in the past, We live and learn :)
Thanks for the kindness and feedback. Much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Great comprehensive presentation. I'd like to see your opinion/review of the Bioenno line of panels, charge controllers and batteries. They have targeted the Ham community, and I recently built a solar generator with their products that I have used on two POTA activations. It is a more expensive line of products but I am very satisfied so far.
Wow! What a fabulous kickoff video. Solar solutions is the next piece to my portable puzzle and you explained every thing I had questions about in a format that I actually could understand. Now to save the milk money. Thanks, Julian!
Extremely happy you found it useful. It is often difficult to find that right balance between too technical and too basic. Hopefully this is the right balance.
Thanks for commenting, watching and for the kindness.
Very much appreciated
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Julian oh8stn
Well done video. I've followed you for some time now and always find your content valuable. As the EC for my county in Ontario Canada my portable systems need to serve several functions. One of these is to provide emergency communications for served agencies. In that role I use a 50 Ah LiFePo battery. This system is to heavy to be man portable. However I recently bought the components for a packable off-grid station which I'll be putting to use in field operations this summer. Your videos have been invaluable in working out the details of all my stations. Thanks for all the effort you put into your content.
I also have a large (60Ah) station battery in my camper. It easily stays charged in the field with a foldable 120w panel deployed specifically for that purpose. I can keep everything else running and charged off that battery when I'm operating from my camper. (The camper itself has a separate system.)
It is not difficult to estimate your energy requirements if you measure the current draw of everything you expect to deploy. Be sure to measure the current draw of your radio(s) on receive and when key down. Then it's a matter of computing the weighted average current usage of your radio under the expected fraction of time spent on transmit and the duty-cycle draw of your operating mode.
Add a safety factor. I chose 3, thinking worst-case scenario was three days no sun. If you have a backup generator, then you can reduce the safety factor, but I would use at least 1.5.
This is fun stuff, at least for an old engineer. :) 73 de AG7TX
I think this is one of your best video's and believe it has helped me to understand some of your thought processes better. Excellent education and logical reasoning! I look forward to the rest! Thank you!
Thanks for watching, commenting and for the kindness. Over the years it started to feel like a dog chasing its own tail. Trying to get something which packs down small enough, doesn't weigh too much but also provides the necessary energy requirements was an uphill battle. Turns out radio efficiency was the problem all along. We learn, we move forward 👍
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Julian oh8stn
Hi Julian, great video as usual. Thank you for taking the time. I have been off grid for about 10 years one thing that interests me, particularly regarding your situation, is managing batteries in the sub zero temps of the Arctic.
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VK2ZRK
Thank you.
The trick is treating the batteries is setting up shelters and heat. Although we can discharge them below freezing , we need to get them up above freezing before charging. We must also use sensors to monitor the cell temp. It sounds complicated but actually quite simple. Often the batteries are stored in an inner pocket. Larger batteries have a heating pad or hand warmers in addition to foam insulation.
@@OH8STN Thank you for the reply Julian. I was interested as I did a SOTA activation on the weekend and it was about zero degC and I noticed my batteries were not lasting as long.
Cheers
Andrew VK2ZRK
Outstanding !
Outstanding - as usual. Attention to detail is top notch.
Thanks Dave. Quality over quantity. It's a lesson I have finally begun to understand.
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Julian oh8stn.
Great Information!
Thanks for saying so. Your comment and kindness are much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
I appreciate all the various models of equipment you mentioned with performance stats, very helpful in guiding us to building our own setups. Thanks!!!
Actually thank you and happy you think so. It is a big challenge providing enough information to get people comfortable with the "build it yourself" idea, without overwhelming them with technical details or brouhaha.
Hopefully we all learn together.
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Julian oh8stn
I like where you are going with this. Thank you and 73.
Thanks, you are very welcome.
Hopefully this first episode was not too abstract.
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Julian oh8stn
Absolutely a fantastic video❗️ I have several members in my Local Ham Club have become interested in solar powering their ham equipment and since I am the only person in the ham club that is using Solar power I get a ton of questions. Research, Research, and More Research is always a great answer and I feel you are doing a great job informing the Ham community with precise information on this subject. Your doing a great job❗️
Thank you Mike.
It is hard to be objective about ones own comtribution. Your feedback is fuel for the fire.
Thanks for watching and for the awesome feedback.
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Julian oh8stn
Adapting your concepts for use with off grid 5th wheel.
Outstanding Steve. This brings back wonderful memories of road-trips across the states with my Dad. Thank for watching and commenting, Much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Thank you very much dear OM 😊
great info Julian - Thanks
Thank you Neil.
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Julian oh8stn
Excellent start to the video series Julian! Looking forward to the rest of them and thank you for doing them! My suggestion to go further would be to move your way up in the food chain... so you're starting with QRP portable, go to QRO and then to powering a home station off-grid. Many of us don't do any field portable operations but just want to power a bigger station (50-100 Watts HF / 25-50 Watts VHF/UHF / Computer) during off-grid operations for several days. Obviously that's getting into the bigger solar generators and possibly the use of an inverter.
Also- the biggest decision point I see in trying to put together a solar generator is picking the BMS. It seems there are a multitude of them. Some are great, some are smart, and some are junk. Many are meant for eBikes and scooters and are not really suitable for ham radio use... just a thought.
Thank you again and 73!!!! de KA2IRQ
Done! This is an excellent idea.
Looking back, most of this has already been done on the channel. The problem is they were done before I understand how to present the content. Your idea is excellent and gives me a channce to "modernize" the context & topic, the way my videos are produced today. Brilliant idea. We shall do so.
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Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN awesome! Glad I could be the inspiration for an idea!
This is so helpful for beginning the process of putting together an off-grid kit. You've provided the content needed to proceed with a nice headstart. Thank you.
Great video! I’ve learned a lot of information that I’ve put to use building my own solar system. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for watching and commenting. These solar projects have a been a passion since childhood. If someone gets something from them, that is the reward.
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Julian oh8stn
Great video. Lots of good information
Thank you Sam. It is a pleasure to work on such topics. The only regret is not getting them out faster.
Thanks for your patience and support.
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Julian oh8stn
First to say First and zero too and last too from San Antonio tx 👍
Great to see another video, Julian. They are always insightful and informative. 73.
Thanks Julian! Great tips coming from real life experience!
A real added value to this subject! Congratulations and many thanks!
Thanks for watching Ernesto. I'll try to keep up the momentum.
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Julian oh8stn
It's always a pleasure to receive your top notch content. thank you
Marine. I thought so. Squared away presentation.
Semper Fi.
As always very informative and timely!! Thanks for continuing to pass along hard earned knowledge!
thank you for the post. i do have a foldable solar panel but haven't actually done portable radio ops with it yet. it is on my long list of things to do.
Keep in mind it doesn't have to be a big "expedition". Just get outside wherever you can and set up your gear. Sometimes we pull oer ont eh side of the road, other times, in the back yard. Just keep it simple. Each experience no matter how small, will give you valuable experience.
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Love the builds did a 15amp lifepo4 worked great thank you but I cannot find a cheap lightweight solar panel at 12-15volt 50-100watt in the uk and keep the videos coming I love them and they are really helpful thanks 🏴
Yeah it is unfortunate that the cost of solar panels increases, as their weight decreases. If you don't need to carry it yourself, there are heavier albeit more cost friendly options.
The series will continue regulary from for the next months. SOme breaks for the preparedness content, but portable power has always been the passion.
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Julian oh8stn
Glad to see ya back on the CZcamss, Julian! 😁
Thanks Richard. Quality over Quantity these days. Or would you prefer a talking head Julian :D
Always nice to hear from you.
Hope this reply finds you well.
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Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN Keep doin' it your way, my friend!
Julian, I'm a big fan of your videos with all your helpful reviews tips and suggestions. Thank you! You've inspired me! I've divided my portable ops to two different scenarios: #1 Day Hiking go kit: A 1212 Bioenno LiPO4, Qty2x 28w Powerfilm Rollables (for wet wx operating) with your recommended Genasun 5A controller and my choice of either a IC705 or G90 that sit on the shelf. For my portable kit #2 car/camping/QRO station (and for occasional home power outages/preparedness) just picked up a Powerfilm F16-6000 100w from CaliforniaPC and will use it with a 1220 Bioenno LiPO4 and a Buddipole powermini with a FT-891. All works with my MS Surface Pro7 and a MiniProS. Thanks for all your suggestions & videos. 73 de Kevin VE7OVY
Congratulations! Absolutely outstanding and best comment of the day. Sounds like a dream station with the best of both worlds.
Kevin, what are using for power distribution?
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Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN Thanks Julian! Pretty "minimalist" on the power distribution; just a bare-bones Rigrunner 4005.
Yup I work in TV land and the process of building and shooting a vid is a lot of work, The editing process is like doing a Non linier back flips jigsaw puzzle and can tie you up in knots . Thanks for your hard work . I love your VO processing , reminds me of Casey Kasem we got here in New Zealand as a kid growing up, Sounds like a lovely old Electro Voice RE20, running through a LA2A old school compressor. Luv my ridiculous over expensive Elecraft KX3 run it off my NP1 batts I use for my location sound kit which is very very hungry , you could go for days on end with the KX3 . Regards & 73's Kris
Great video. Thank you for taking the time do make it. Now time to binge-watch the rest. 73 KD9VUL
It seems I always learn something from your experiences in the field and this video was no exception. I appreciate you taking the time to produce these very informative videos and look forward to seeing the next one.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Glad someone finds value in these episodes.73
Julian oh8stn
Great work Julian, very relevant and comprehensive as usual. Looking forward to the remainder of the series. 73's
I have a goal zero panel and charge controller..I’ve had it for about 3 years but have never used it so this year am going to try it out using my icom705
Not bad for being put together by a former Jarhead, Julian. (Note that I DID capitalize "Jarhead" in all due respect ;-))
All kidding and inter-service needling aside, Bravo Zulu on your treatment of the subject. There is just way too much misunderstanding "out there" re solar power and batteries in general and the ham radio world certainly has its share.
Thank you. Can always count on a ride from the Navy 🙏👍
@@OH8STN And, hopefully v-e-r-y accurate naval gunfire support! We put the bullets where you want 'm ;-))
This is a great Video , as usual Julian you have come up with a succinct way to evaluate what you need to do the task at hand, regardless of the Txer you have , thanks for the comparison of the rigs that you have used on the channel. you have given me things to think about and actually analyse my systems here while out in the back yard doing gear testing before i go out to do Sota/Pota. Thank you very much for your efforts and I'm looking forward to more in the series. regards and 73 from VK1.
How did you end up living in Finland? I wanted to ask for so many months following you.
My wife wanted us to raise our Son in her home country. Simpler life, kids can be kids, health and education are family oriented. 👍
Your videos just make me spend money!
My videos make me spend money too :D
Hopefully it is money well spent.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
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Julian oh8stn
Your videos are awesome. Great practical technical presentation of the important attributes to consider.
Too kind but greatly appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Great Video Julian, I enjoy and seem to get more out of yours than I do out of most other Ham videos. W4BAF
Not really sure how to reply but the kindness is very much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Great vid Julian. Looking forward to the next vids in this series, all this info in one place - so useful for new guys like me.
Always great videos! Thanks Julian.
Thank you Donald. Much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
I wonder if we'll ever be able to get the Lab599 in the US?
Yes, check out www.theqrpstore.com He has the largest inventory of TX500 in North America.
I am looking at the qrp radios for longer term operations. My 10 ah Dakota lithium battery is definitely too small for my 891.
The boost charge controllers could still be usefull in places in AZ, especially in Northern areas where trees might partially shade the panels.
Huh, you're right! My time in Arizona was always down in the Yuma area. It is easy to forget the flagstaff area is there as well. Yes the 891 is an excellent performer, but suffers from low efficiency. If Yaesu could do something about rx current and tx efficiency in a revision, they would sell tons of them.
Thanks for watching commenting, and the feedback.
Much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Very well explained. 👌🏻
Thank you 🙏
Great video Julian, thank you so much for the content that you provide. Have an awesome day.. KN6PWH...73
Thanks for watching and commenting.
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Julian oh8stn
Another excellent video with great actionable information.
As thorough as you are you appearent weeded out Morningstar Solar charge controllers early. How were you able to do that?
Thanks for the question and kindness.
I have a couple of the Morningstar charge controllers here. If not for the noise they generate on HF, I would have included them in the series. In principle we want to stay away from PWM charge controllers. The Morningstar charge controllers are excellent turn on radio related uses.
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Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN Fair enough. My portable ops is based on a vehicle. A few years ago I setup a 1200W PV system using 100W Renogy panels and a Morningstar PS-MPPT-40M to run three 100W HF stations for ARRL Field Day. The battery system was 4ea 80Ah AGM batteries in a 24VDC array. I used a second PS-MPPT-25M charge controller from the 24V battery bank to a 5th 12V battery that ran the radios.
Unorthodox be it worked well.
It filled my Chrysler 300.
Of course I designed my system for after hurricanes for use at my condo. I have 1600W of PV so I could run a 1200W PV system 24V system with 3KW pure signwave inverted for lights, fan, refrigerator or portable HVAC.
Additionally the smaller 400W system would power all 12V DC systems.
It is portable in case I do shelter radio communications. It has a breaker box and system GFI that can float from earthground or be used with earthground.
I haven't experienced RFI from the MPPT controllers and I haven't had to use the supplied ferrite beads.
I have consider using Victron.
"Who the heck are you and what have you done with my wife????" ROFLMAO!
Like you, I love the idea of the PowerMini, but the implementation lacks. It simply will not integrate with my Bioenno battery packs. I consider it a failed experiment for lithium-based chemistry. However, I can probably use it to charge lead-acid batteries like those I use in my camper.
I recently added a second 30w PF foldable panel and a GV-8 to my kit. We don't have a lot of cloudy days here in Nevada, but I expect to live in Missouri this year and it can be gray there for days on end.
I decided on a second 30w panel because "two is one and one is none" when critical conditions exist. I expect to add one or two 60w foldable panels later this year.
Now I need to get VARA HF/FM operational on my portable computer and integrated with my radio kits. I really want to have email capability in the field when out of cell service (or when cell service fails).
Thanks for all your hard work! 73 de AG7TX
These videos from Julian are fantastic. Top Work as always Julian :-)
Thanks for the kindness. Hopefully the high bar doesn't give me a heart attack. Seriously though, the goal is trying not to waste your time. Provide the information viewers need without any of the fat. Hopefully people appreciate the approach.
Thanks for watching, commenting and the kindness.
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Julian oh8stn
LMFAO.... @ 12:20 'who are you and what have you done with my wife' ... YOU ROCK
😂 She really keeps me on my toes.
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Julian oh8stn
Regarding diy battery packs, did you have to balance the batteries or were they equalized/matched from the factory? Thanks Julian!
Hi Jeff. For diy packs, we always match the cells according to internal resistance then balance. Not a problem with new cells.
Fantastic video Julian! I'm currently using a custom LifePo4 battery made with 4s1 Headway 38120s and a Overkillsolar BMS w/ bluetooth, GVB-8, and PF R60 panel with my IC-705 and MS Surface Go. Great setup and I appreciate your insight. Could you show your power distribution? I was looking at a Paradan unit but it draws am much power as the TX-500 on receive for the display!
Outstanding setup. I'm waiting for one of those Overkill solar charge BMS boards.
Power distribution I simply made a cable with multiple fused outputs. It's totally analog. I wasn't concerned about voltage or load since my solar and Battery are so much overkill. I've always got the display on the radio just in case. I thought about one of those arguing no based distribution projects. Nice but added complexity.
Just catching up on old video. The current consumption rate of the G90 vs the 891 is crazy? Why can they be set up that way and still do the same thing? Yeasu certainly has too much thirst for power compared to the G90. Thank you for this. I have a 891 for my home station but want something like the G90 for POTA or other portable ops.
This is really useful information. Thank you!
Thanks and very happy to hear it. More on the way.
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Julian oh8stn
You should write a basic manual. Fire, water, food, sleeping equipment and radio communication. Kind regards from Australia.
It is a huge undertaking, but one considered for quite sometime. The fear is taking away from my primary work to work on publishing something else.
Perhaps int he future. It is an excellent idea!
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Julian oh8sth
OK, wow whole semester of electronics in this one. So all your cables,wire management what are those weak points. Spare parts or field repair. Last is how big is the box all that fits in to transport ? out standing video as always.
Thanks Bill.
Logistical weak point is a lack of sunlight or ability to get to it. Mechanical weak-points are cable joints at the battery. Although I have never had a failure, I do carry a butane soldering iron just in case. The size of the kit varies per mission spec. A SOTA summit with a QRP radio has a much smaller footprint than a QRO station meant for EMCOMM. We will go through the varios types of kits.
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Julian oh8stn
Great video 👍🏻 Im looking for a weather proof portable solar panel for ham. What would the community suggest? I have a foldable powerfilm panel but they are not water proof and their rollables are very difficult to find nowdays (and expensive).
Hi! Living where you do, what do you do in the winters when the days are so short? Do you just throw some additional solar panels in your pack?
This is an excellent question! So it's a multi-prong approach. First, reduce the current consumption as much as possible. Increase the battery capacity. Finally, double up on the solar panels.
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Julian oh8stn
Great video. I’m in the process of cobbling together a solar setup for qro, maxing out at 20-50 watts. Occasionally just cause I’d be curious to see, pushing it to a full 100 watts. Curious what your definition of qro is?
I ran the 891 at 100 watts SSB on solar power for some time. Typically my QRO is 20-40w running data. So the output power is not the problem, in fact it's easy to achieve. It's how long one can operate which becomes issue. Definitely test and share your results.
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Julian oh8stn
Hi Julian,
all Your videos are extremely well done and helpful! Great job! I got myself an IC-705, Surface Go 2 and PowerFilm LightSaver Max solar panel. These solar panels are sold out in EU, unfortunately, but luckily I got one from VE. Charging the IC-705 works perfect. What I am still struggling with is how to charge the Surface from the PowerFilm solar panel. I see that You obviously charge via the USB-C port of the Surface Go 2. When I try this, I get a notification that I have to attach the Surface to a proper power supply. Any suggestion on this? Keep on the great work!
Dom, DL5EBE
oh8stn.org/blog/2021/10/10/microsoft-surface-go-2-faq-ham-radio-laptop/
I have been a patrion supporter for a while now but i was always curious if you get to retain more of the contribution from CZcams or patrion? I can donate either way but id rather you get more than the distributor of the contribution. At any rate, thanks for the information.
Patreon is definitely better, but I'll be setting up my own anonymous support system from the blog pretty soon. Thanks for thinking about this!
Uma palavra:
"LIBERDADE" 🧠🧠😉
Bien dicho hermano
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Julian oh8stn
👍👍
Nice video. I was wandering what you mean by "poor charging profiles..."? I am a newby but have been using these with several LiPo systems. What should I look for?
Lithium iron phosphate, lithium ion and even lipo all use constant current constant voltage cc/cv charge profiles. This is different than the lead acid profiles the buddipole PowerMini and + tries to use. Basically the buddipole gets confused when it's trying to charge a lithium-based battery.
@@OH8STN A bit over my head but thanks for your response. I’ve built a few portable batteries for HAM, I’ll try the other one on the next project.
Hi Julian. Just wondering if you have any comments on the FX4c. Published 2 amps on TX and 220 ma on Rx.
I think it's a brilliant design and a reasonable price. Built-in audio interface, low receive current, reasonable transmit current with transmit up to 10 watts. If I wasn't on a tight budget with my solar power things, I could imagine pulling the trigger on one myself.
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Julian oh8stn
hello friend, a question since you have a lot of experience in portable expeditions. Which for you is the best portable antenna that supports maximum 100wtss in HF? 73
Thanks for watching and commenting. Actually, It is an impossible question, but let me explain. There are so many variables that our antenna should be choosen for the type of operating we do, the place we will set it up, and the target stations location in the world. I could say a dipole for 20 meters is the best antenna in the world. That is only true if your target station can be reached on 20m during the time of day you operate. We need to put some thought into our goals.
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Julian oh8stn
@@OH8STN I like your opinion but if we are talking about monoband antennas I would stay in portable with the double bazzoka....73
Hi Julian, I have 2 120watt power film folding panels that I wish to put in parallel. Do you have a charge controller that would work well with this configuration for both lifepo4 and lead acid? Thanks wa0spg
At the moment no. The current is too high (potentially). I reached out to Genasun asking about their charge controllers for 2x 120w in parallel. They don't have something at the moment but they do have something in R&D. Genasun will release a 20A version, but I can't say when. Until then, I am using two Genasun GVxx, one for each panel. The charge controllers battery output can be connected to a common battery. This is how I'm doing it for my two 120w panels at the moment. I also have a 220 watt powerfilm panel which can't be use until that new 20A charge controller is released.
Excellent question, thanks for watching.
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Julian oh8stn
Unfortunately, looks like the Lab599 rig won't be available due to the war in Ukraine, since it's from a Russian company,
There are still stocks. You may want to keep an eye on theqrpstore.com/ USA or pileupdx.com EU
4 ads within 1st 5 minutes!? That’s out of control
The only control I have over ads is turning them on or off. Everything else is up to CZcams. You can watch without ads, by spending the 12 bucks in a month on CZcams premium.
@@OH8STN thats a lie
Nice informative video.
Thanks
de W5KAL
You're very welcome.
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Julian oh8stn
Thank you for all the research you have done over the years. I always learn from your videos. N0SKT
You're very welcome Erick. Thanks for watching, commenting and for the kindness. Very much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Awesome information and video. Glad I watched it. Stay Safe KD6CWI
Too kind. Thanks for watching. It is much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Thanks Julian
KJ7GEZ
You are very welcome.
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Julian oh8stn
Thanks!
Thanks for the kindness Chris.
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Julian oh8stn
Thanks!
Thank you Rob. It's much appreciated.
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Julian oh8stn
Thanks!
Thank you Malcolm.
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Julian oh8stn