You can’t unpull the alarm. All the things that make the internet fantastic can also be to its detriment. Looking up a callsign, for example, is as easy as tippy-tapping a few keys. None of us who were there miss the days of flipping through a three inch thick $29.99… 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 »
A mature technology. AC inverters are like other technology in that during the early years they were very expensive and didn’t work particularly well. Over time they were tweaked and improved and today inverters are better and less expensive than their ancestors. I suggest including an inverter in your off… Read more »
If you are an off grid ham, you probably have a gas powered generator. And if you are a conscientious off grid ham, you have at least a few day’s worth of fuel stored. Does gas have a shelf life? Are all types of fuel the same? Are you unknowingly… Read more »
It’s always some variation of “How big of a battery do I need to run my (fill in the blank) radio?” It comes up a lot, not just in my email but also on the various forums and blogs I visit. The question is too open ended and comes with… Read more »
Radio utility monitoring may seem like just a hobby, but there is great practical value in keeping tabs on the airwaves outside of the ham bands. In an emergency or SHTF situation, traditional media may be offline or unreliable. Utility radio monitoring is the perfect “plan B”. This time around,… Read more »
So you’ve had your fun with small single solar panels and are ready for a larger multi-panel system that can handle beefier loads. Hopefully you’ve read previous Off Grid Ham articles and have your system all planned & spec’d out. There’s one important detail we haven’t covered on this blog… Read more »
It came a little late for some of us, but spring and warm weather has finally arrived. If you were laying low and avoiding radio activities over the winter because of the weather, then your chance to get out and do some portable off grid ham radio operating has arrived…. Read more »
Amateur radio is full of rules. Many of them are unwritten, others are quite clear. Some rules are not about manners or operating protocol, but instead were created for the very practical purpose of safety and standardization. NFPA-70, also known as the National Electrical Code, is the accepted standard of… Read more »
I always seem to find the coolest stuff when I’m looking for something else! While researching for a future Off Grid Ham article I happened across two on line propagation calculators that can determine what HF bands are best for any time or operating condition. There are many other similar… Read more »
Considered obscure & expensive technology less than a decade ago, lithium batteries are are all grown up now and can be found in pretty much everything. Even the cheap $29.00 off brand handheld radios come standard with lithium batteries. Often forgotten in the mix is absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries…. Read more »
A follow up to my November 2017 article about electromagnetic pulses (EMP) was not in the plan. Then Off Grid Ham reader “Charles” hit my email inbox with a bounty of information related to this topic that was too good to keep to myself. I’ll respect his request not to… Read more »