There has been a lot of on line chatter about how the public communications network (i.e., “the phone company”) fits into off grid ham radio and survival/prepping plans. After listening to endless anecdotes, half truths, misunderstandings, and in some cases amazing fiction, I will attempt to clear up a few… Read more »
Radio amateurs who never drift outside the ham bands and don’t see a need for a scanner receiver to monitor other services are cheating themselves out of a very valuable resource. Not only is monitoring non-ham communications interesting and fun, it can give you a huge advantage in a shit-hits-the-fan… Read more »
One of the perceived barriers to off grid amateur radio is the selection of solar panels. Most hams fall into one of two categories: Those who spend many hours researching the various options and end up more confused than when they started; and those who impulsively buy whatever is cheapest/easiest… Read more »
One of my readers asked about inverter efficiency and suggested that it would be helpful to the Off Grid Ham community if I did an article about overall solar efficiency. Since that’s not the first time the question has been raised, I’ll accept the invite. In this two part series… Read more »