Solar power

[mountainmoped]

Many years ago I worked at a Motorola FSC as a 2-way radio technician. Lately I have entertained the idea of getting a ham license. Is there a study guide and material for the license that you would recommend?

There are some YouTube videos of people making LiFePO4 batteries from individual cells. Search YouTube for - DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse
He has a YouTube channel and does a lot of solar system testing. He tests different batteries and has a video making a battery.

This weekend is Field Day where ham radio operators from all over the United States set up portable stations an try to see how many contacts they can make with other stations. Our club set up at a local church and had several stations operating both inside and outside. We advertised in local papers and welcomed non-hams to join us. These visitors got a chance to operate the radios and see ham radio in operation. All equipment was operated on batteries or generators and one was even operating on solar power. A number of visitors came and got on the air. The field day runs until 2:00 this afternoon. I had invited one ODT member who showed up and spent a few hours with us. This is an annual contest that runs nonstop for 24 hours. I wish I had known you had an interest in ham radio you would have been welcome to join us.
As you already have some experience with radio I doubt you need any refresher in basic electricity and electronics. I would recommend the Technician License Study Guide from MFJ electronics. Morse code requirement was dropped years ago. The test consists of about 35 multiple choice questions pulled from a question bank of about 200 or so questions. The exact questions and answers are published by the FCC and are available online. There are many free online sources offering practice tests. i used the MFJ study guide with my students in our ham radio club when I taught high school in Kennesaw and never had a student fail the test. Our club holds monthly testing sessions in Jasper and there are many other clubs in North Georgia.`

 

[Leveraction44]

This weekend is Field Day where ham radio operators from all over the United States set up portable stations an try to see how many contacts they can make with other stations. Our club set up at a local church and had several stations operating both inside and outside. We advertised in local papers and welcomed non-hams to join us. These visitors got a chance to operate the radios and see ham radio in operation. All equipment was operated on batteries or generators and one was even operating on solar power. A number of visitors came and got on the air. The field day runs until 2:00 this afternoon. I had invited one ODT member who showed up and spent a few hours with us. This is an annual contest that runs nonstop for 24 hours. I wish I had known you had an interest in ham radio you would have been welcome to join us.
As you already have some experience with radio I doubt you need any refresher in basic electricity and electronics. I would recommend the Technician License Study Guide from MFJ electronics. Morse code requirement was dropped years ago. The test consists of about 35 multiple choice questions pulled from a question bank of about 200 or so questions. The exact questions and answers are published by the FCC and are available online. There are many free online sources offering practice tests. i used the MFJ study guide with my students in our ham radio club when I taught high school in Kennesaw and never had a student fail the test. Our club holds monthly testing sessions in Jasper and there are many other clubs in North Georgia.`

Thank you.

 

[William A. Ellis]

For all things solar, battery building, etc, check Youtube for content from Will Prowse, he tells it like it is, has a wealth of knowledge.

 

[Comanche]

Many years ago I worked at a Motorola FSC as a 2-way radio technician. Lately I have entertained the idea of getting a ham license. Is there a study guide and material for the license that you would recommend?

There are some YouTube videos of people making LiFePO4 batteries from individual cells. Search YouTube for - DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse
He has a YouTube channel and does a lot of solar system testing. He tests different batteries and has a video making a battery.

Will Prowse has some good videos, smart kid but he really, really , really needs to quit wearing eye makeup.
Now that I said this you’ll never look at him the same again…lol.

 

[Leveraction44]

This weekend is Field Day where ham radio operators from all over the United States set up portable stations an try to see how many contacts they can make with other stations. Our club set up at a local church and had several stations operating both inside and outside. We advertised in local papers and welcomed non-hams to join us. These visitors got a chance to operate the radios and see ham radio in operation. All equipment was operated on batteries or generators and one was even operating on solar power. A number of visitors came and got on the air. The field day runs until 2:00 this afternoon. I had invited one ODT member who showed up and spent a few hours with us. This is an annual contest that runs nonstop for 24 hours. I wish I had known you had an interest in ham radio you would have been welcome to join us.
As you already have some experience with radio I doubt you need any refresher in basic electricity and electronics. I would recommend the Technician License Study Guide from MFJ electronics. Morse code requirement was dropped years ago. The test consists of about 35 multiple choice questions pulled from a question bank of about 200 or so questions. The exact questions and answers are published by the FCC and are available online. There are many free online sources offering practice tests. i used the MFJ study guide with my students in our ham radio club when I taught high school in Kennesaw and never had a student fail the test. Our club holds monthly testing sessions in Jasper and there are many other clubs in North Georgia.`

I took the test for technician class today and passed it. The volunteers who were administering the test allowed me to immediately take the general class test. I passed it as well. I don't see the need for me to get the extra license. I have no radios. Do you have any that you would recommend?

 

[mountainmoped]

I took the test for technician class today and passed it. The volunteers who were administering the test allowed me to immediately take the general class test. I passed it as well. I don't see the need for me to get the extra license. I have no radios. Do you have any that you would recommend?

If you're not into contesting you don't need the extra license.

 

[Miatadude]

My wife set up an appointment last week with Solar Sale USA out of curiosity. I had the Rep quote a price for a 14 kVA system with a 10k kVa battery. Holy crap, $70,820. I can set up a 20 kVa with some really nice wet cell batteries for 1/2 of that. I just told him.....nope.

 

[Wheeler]

I took the test for technician class today and passed it. The volunteers who were administering the test allowed me to immediately take the general class test. I passed it as well. I don't see the need for me to get the extra license. I have no radios. Do you have any that you would recommend?

What kind of radio to purchase depends on what aspect of amateur radio you want to explore. I bought a Yaesu FT-897, one of the first “shack in a box” style radios and now discontinued. It will work 160-10 meters on HF, 6 and 2 meters on VHF, and 70cm on UHF. It will receive that entire range and the spots in between as well. It’s also capable of FM, AM, SSB, Packet, RTTY, and CW. It will transmit 100 watts on HF and 50 watts on VHF. It’s a great general purpose radio and very versatile.

If I were to look for a similar radio today I’d consider the Icom IC-705.

If you’re looking to get on the local repeater nets a decent quality handheld transmitter, referred to and an HT and a good mag mount antenna is a really good start. I’m not sure how much activity there is on the Digital Mobile Radio side of things but there’s a fair bit of activity on the local 2M repeaters.

 

[Leveraction44]

My wife set up an appointment last week with Solar Sale USA out of curiosity. I had the Rep quote a price for a 14 kVA system with a 10k kVa battery. Holy crap, $70,820. I can set up a 20 kVa with some really nice wet cell batteries for 1/2 of that. I just told him.....nope.

I did a cost estimate for a solar system for my house based on my annual electricity consumption. I left out the summer peaks and had an average use of 1100 KWH in a month. That cranked to about 37 KWH per day. So I needed about 31 (12 volt, 100 amp-hr) batteries for one day's use assuming a 100% discharge.

Take into account say 3 days of no solar recharge and I was looking at about 90 of those batteries. Even an off-brand cheap ($500 per 100 Amp-hr) battery cost would be over $40,000.

Add solar panels, inverter, cabling, BMS, labor, and Charger and that price probably doubles - Not an inexpensive endeavor.

NOTE: This is based on 100% discharge rate of the batteries - This is not real world even from a LiFePO4 battery. Also, efficiencies/losses in the inverter and other system components were not included.

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

Can someone give me a recommendation on a 50-100AH Battery for my new panel? Cant afford lithium. But AGM Or SLA is doable. ( Its a $100 Panel)

I have a couple of these wired up in parallel

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/marine-agm/battery-accessories/deep-cycle---marine-batteries/220f7dcd7121/super-start-marine-agm-group-size-34m-top-post-battery/ssbj/34magm?pos=0

Have had them on solar for about 5 years now. Haven't had any issues. If it's going to be outside, make sure you have a good battery box and something to keep it dry inside the box. I just use a sock filled with kitty litter and change it out twice a year.

Edit: realized your question was from February so you may have it squared away but good info nonetheless