Tuning through some CW using my QRP rig in the truck.

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Things I want for my SHTF Ham Shack

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Links to products to keep in mind as I slowly prepare my shack for both emergency situations and portable ops. These are items I've either learned about through other hams who mentioned them over the air, or through online research. I'll include my thoughts about any of these that I own. If you have feedback about items I've listed or something that I should have listed, I'd love to hear from you!

Goal Zero Solar Power Supplies

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Yaesu FT-857D

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N9TAX 2m / 70cm Slim Jim Antenna

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Navy Flameproof CW Straight Key

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US Portable Super Rechargeable 6800mAh 12v DC Li-ion Battery Pack

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When I bought my used YouKits HB-1B, the internal battery was not recharging properly. I had read that using an internal battery could be harmful to the circuit board of the HB-1B over time, so I decided to try a different external battery rather than try to figure out what was going on with the original.

Today I'm trying out a new rechargeable li-ion 6800mAh 12v DC battery pack. So far it works great. It doesn't cause the type of notable interference that plugging the transceiver into the wall outlet does.

At 6:35am I started out with 11.1v power input, after a full night of charging. At 7:35am I'm getting 11.0v. My plan today is see how long it takes for the battery to run down to 9v (while listening only), which is the low end of the suggested input power range for this transceiver.

I've been listening to a constant stream of Morse signals on various frequencies. Reception on the HB-1B is great, mostly because of the filter. One of the really great things about this little QRP rig is that in addition to the CW that it transmits and receives, it can also receive USB/LSB voice.

We'll see how long this battery lasts. I'll update the hourly voltage readings below. Today I'm just listening, as I don't yet have my dipole set up at the new QTH. I'm looking forward to getting that set up and to transmitting soon.

Voltage Readings - Listening Only:

6:35am - 11.1v

7:35am - 11.0v

8:35am - 11.0v

8:47am - 10.9v / 11.0v

9:35am - 10.9v / 11.0v

9:41am 10.9v

10:35am 10.9v

3:35pm 10.8v

7:35pm 10.5v

9:35pm 10.4v

10:35pm 10.4v

11:00pm 10.3v

Needless to say... I don't think I'll ever be in a situation where I'll ever want to simply listen for more than 16 hours at one sitting. So, the next test will be to try some transmitting and see how well the battery does. I'm very happy with this setup. I might have to buy a second of these batteries for back-up on extended hiking trips in the mountains.

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UPDATE: 30 Nov, 2015

I had thought that the battery was fully charged when I received it in the mail, but I was wrong. Something that you might not expect with this battery is that you turn it on when you're charging it. If it is not fully charged, the indicator on the plug will turn red. When the battery is fully charged, the indicator light will turn green. The light on the battery remains blue at all times. With a (now) fully charged battery, the transceiver now shows an input power of 12.9v. Plenty of long-lasting power for future radio outings.

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Specs for this battery - as seen on eBay:

US Portable Super Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Pack DC 12V 6800mAh

Specifications:
Input: 12.6V DC
Output: 12.6-10.8V DC, 6800mAh
Dimensions: (W)5.95 x (H)2.37 x (L)10.14cm
Power cable cord: 60cm,5.5x2.1mm

Product Discription:
This super capacity battery preforms little resistance,large capacity,multi-recycable times and non-memory
Internal circuit for multiple protection design,can prevent the box from over-recharging or over-discharging,Production process uses computer ckeck the quality of the batteries,ensure the batteries performance.

How to charge:
1. Switch on the adaptor and the red light would be on
2. Press the switch of the battery to "ON" and the indicator would be on
3. Connect the point of the adaptor to "DC In/Out" of the battery and the green light would be on,
which indicates it starts to charge. The box does not finish charging until the green light is off.
(The charging times lasts at least 8 hours)

How to supply:
1. Connect one point of the power wire to "DC In/Out" of the battery
2. Press the switch to "ON",and the other point of the power wire to any kinds of household appliances.
(With the special technology, the inner circuit cut off automatically in case of uncorrectly use, resulting in no output. but, you can renew its output so long as to recharge battery)

Package:
1X DC 12V 6800mAh Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
1X Power adapter with US plug
1X Power cable

 

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