In search of the “perfect” antenna. A lot of off grid amateur radio involves compromises. We don’t have the same resources as grid-connected hams. Many off grid hams operate portable stations, which presents even more givebacks. One of the most common compromises is the antenna. When trying to go portable,… Read more »
Revisiting a classic. It’s been three years since I presented an article about the DIY portable DC power pack. It’s still one of the most popular articles here on Off Grid Ham. Almost every radio amateur has some version of this gizmo. Over the winter I had the itch to… Read more »
Where am I going with this? This article will be outside the mission of Off Grid Ham but I hope you’ll stay with me. I’m going to drift away from my usual schtick and use my substantial internet platform to bring attention to this neglected issue. My point can be… Read more »
News Digest is an occasional Off Grid Ham series on developments and news in off grid and alternative energy relevant to radio amateurs. I’ll sort through the geek stuff so you don’t have to! If you come across a news item that would be in interest to Off Grid Ham… Read more »
A lot of great info in one easy click. I find a lot of information about off grid amateur radio on the internet. Unfortunately, I have to sift through a great deal of mediocre content to find one worthwhile item. This article from the Dialtone Blog about buying a used… Read more »
That day will come. Those who depend on large storage batteries for their off grid needs dread the day they need to be replaced. It’s expensive, time consuming, and potentially dangerous. Common deep cycle flooded storage batteries bought at retailers will last about 2-3 years if used daily and maintained… Read more »
Over on the Off Grid Ham affiliate Google Groups.io forum a reader asked a question about how to properly maintain flooded batteries, also referred to as wet cell batteries. We have addressed this topic before but as a result of recent interest it’s a good time for a flooded batteries refresher course…. Read more »
I’ve been wanting to expand Off Grid Ham’s outreach for some time. I thought about starting an internet chat forum, but that would involve very disruptive changes to the website and a lot of ongoing maintenance. A Facebook page was considered too. I had more or less given up on… Read more »
It should not be this hard. Off Grid Ham reader Jim from Oregon, USA recently emailed to comment about the lack of on air radio nets specifically for preppers/survivalists and off grid hams. That sent me straight to my computer, where a cursory search suggested that he’s onto something. I… Read more »
What was supposed to be a minor one-click update late in the evening on February 15 ended up completely crashing Off Grid Ham. Not only was the entire website offline, I could not even log into the admin page to un-do the upgrade or figure out what happened. Everything was… Read more »
Getting back to business. Since the holidays are over and we are in that dull time between New Year and warm weather, it would be a good moment to take stock of where you are with your off grid goals and determine where improvements are needed. If you got money… Read more »
It’s not so simple. The other day I came across an interesting discussion on a ham radio internet forum about the pros and cons of amateurs getting involved with incident/disaster response organizations and whether or not assistance from amateurs is even wanted. Just as we’d expect from the internet, the… Read more »