The news wasn’t shocking. One would have to be living deep in a cave not to have heard the news. Just before the new year, seemingly out of nowhere, Yaesu announced that it was discontinuing the venerated FT-817 & FT-818 radio. Although the news came as a surprise, anyone with… Read more »
Revisiting an old topic. I don’t do a lot of antenna articles because there is already so much information in circulation I can’t see much ground left to cover, at least that’s what I thought until new Off Grid Ham reader Rick sent a nice email that inspired this article…. Read more »
Mother Nature flips the switch. Where I live in the upper Midwest USA, we were unusually lucky to have an extended warm Fall season. In early November we were still seeing highs over 70F (21C). I was raking leaves wearing shorts and a t-shirt! But ahhh yes, everyone knew the… Read more »
A moment of serendipity. Let’s face it, the internet can be a sewer. Yes, there’s quite a bit of useful information out there, but sometimes trying to find it is like sticking your hand in a toilet full of crap to fish out a hundred dollar bill. DATABASE Well, in… Read more »
After further review…. I’ve trash-talked “solar generators” before. Besides having a dumb marketing department name, solar generators are underpowered for what they cost. Furthermore, the claims made by some sellers of these devices are fantasy if not outright fraudulent. At least that’s how it used to be. Lately, after further… Read more »
A necessary spare tire. Off grid amateurs have a love-hate relationship with gas engine generators. Due to generators requiring constant refueling and ongoing maintenance, they are not a realistic long-term power solution. Most of them are noisy, many are poorly made, and all of them are dirty. Yet, they are… Read more »
Moving electrons around. Wire and electrical conductors are so fundamental that we use them without giving much thought to their importance. Conductors, or wire, are to electricity what pipes are to water. Without them, absolutely nothing happens. This time around we’re going to examine wire & conductors, their behavior, and… Read more »
Law school, continued. A while back we took a dive into Kirchoff’s Current Law. It’s just one of dozens of scientific principles that explain how and why electronic circuits work. Though one does not need to have deep knowledge of these principles to enjoy amateur radio, having a basic understanding makes… Read more »
There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear… Back in 2014, well before Off Grid Ham was even an Idea, I wrote the following article for another website. I’m digging it out again because after Field Day 2022, I believe the ham community could use a pep talk…. Read more »
It’s not magic, it’s science. Few hams who use solar panels know how their panels work, or how they are made. Of course, it’s not necessary to know any of this in order to use them. Still, having a basic knowledge of solar panels makes one a more well rounded,… Read more »
We’re not special. Off grid amateurs spend a lot of time focusing on the power source for their equipment. While that’s understandable, we musn’t be distracted from the rest of the amateur radio chain. This time we’re going to look at the other end of the system: portable antennas. To… Read more »
More than just bling. Charging, discharging, watts in, watts out, current, voltage, and other values can tell you what your off grid system is doing. Having data helps you plan your power usage and forecast problems before being caught short. A DC power monitor addresses all these issues and is… Read more »