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 »
A recurring theme at Off Grid Ham is the importance of going out and testing your ideas and projects in real world operating conditions. Very few of my schemes have ever worked exactly as planned the first time I tried them. Most needed modifications; a few were complete flops and… Read more »
There are not too many options for radio amateurs who want portable DC power beyond the batteries in their devices. The Off Grid Ham 100 Watts For $300 Solar Power Plant is one alternative, but that can be too much for the ham who only needs to run a handheld/QRP… Read more »
Even many experienced ham operators will approach a table full of coax cable reels at a swap meet or stare at on line listings and feel lost in all the options, then out of confusion will default to buying whatever the vendor suggests or whatever is cheapest. They end up… Read more »
Go boxes are a well worn subject in ham radio circles. On prepper/survival internet forums in particular, the topic has been beaten beyond death. In nearly all of these discussions, there is a lot talk about the how, but not much on the why. When reasons are given, they are… Read more »
I’m sure you’ve seen those portable solar panel kit systems that give you everything you need in one package, for one price, and appear to be a complete plug-and-play solution. I’m going to explain why solar panel kit systems are not the best choice for the off grid ham. Although… Read more »
I am frequently approached by frustrated radio amateurs who are looking to get into solar power and feel completely lost in all the options. To address the need, I’ve come up with a simple solution that really works and is priced right. I call it The Off Grid Ham 100… Read more »
So you did your homework, chose carefully, and your shiny new, fresh out of the box inverter has come home. Then the obvious question hits: What now? Welcome to Part 2 of the Off Grid Ham inverter series. We’ll go through some concepts you’ll need to understand to get an… Read more »
Good operating practice states that radio amateurs should use the minimum transmitter power required to maintain effective communications. In most cases that would mean to QRP (reduce power), yet in reality pretty much everyone runs their HF rigs at full power, all the time. There are two big reasons why… Read more »
One of the big thrills of amateur radio is working DX. There’s a lot of excitement in contacting that “Holy Grail” station on the other side of the world and earning bragging rights on local FM repeaters. But crisis communications necessitate that amateur radio operators trade DX glory for close… Read more »
One of the biggest problems of off grid energy is getting batteries to work together. You cannot mix different types of batteries, old and new batteries, or batteries of different capacities. The Magnum Energy ME-SBC Smart Battery Combiner easily solves this problem for not a lot of money. When I… Read more »
Welcome to the newly launched Off Grid Ham. Our purpose is to discuss amateur radio technical topics with a focus on operating without commercial power. All hams, no matter how they power their equipment, will find a lot of worthwhile ideas here. I know a lot but I don’t know… Read more »