Concur with all. I just ordered the Wouxun KG-UV6D v2 at http://www.wouxun.us/item.php?item_i...category_id=66 for all of the reasons mugwump just listed. Yes, it is more expensive but it also has a better reputation in the HAM community.

For anyone considering purchasing one of these radios - I STRONGLY recommend getting your HAM Technician license. Two weeks ago I spent a week of evenings reading the ARRL study guide and 20 minutes taking the test on the following Saturday morning. Painless. Had my results before I left the test site and my license the following Monday. A simple investment of time and $15 that will allow me to build experience legally and interact with a community of hobbyists that can help me improve my skills BEFORE I need them. To be blunt - knowing the rules and abiding by them makes life easier and flattens the learning curve. When the SHTF, all bets are off - do whatever you have to do to communicate (emergency - e.g. threats to life, etc.). And that is recognized in the law. Until then, I'm going to practice "squeaky clean".

Other then getting into the Ham radio area, just for the better frequencies, etc.

You'll soon find-out there are a lot of like minded folks out there that are in the loop of being prepared. Not only ARES/RACES teams but also look into CERT teams.

I have been on the air since 1980 and seen many radios come and go. I have learned that a radio is a tool and like a good knife it is only effective if the person using it is skilled.

AL KA1FFO

Fine choice; have 2 Wouxuns. Picked up 2nd one dirt-cheap from someone who couldn't be bothered with the Chinglish manual. KG Commander (free software) and 8 minutes later the radio was cloned.

For those who may charge these things up & put them away for whenever, take the charged batt pack off the radio. Just sitting on the radio over time will often drop .5 to .75 volts off the charged pack. Just a thought for those who may want truly fully-charged packs when they need 'em.

Congrats sir on getting your ticket. :lifter

Solar Charging
 

Searched various threads here and could not find the info. Would this charging system work for recharging batteries. Goal Zero Guide 10 plus. I like the pack-ability of it.

Ebay link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370891153568...84.m1438.l2649

For it's intended use of charging a few AA or AAA or a cell phone, then yes. My daughter is using this exact one trekking in the Himalayas. She charges batteries for her gps, flashlight, and iPhone 4S.

This one is the current king of the mountain if all you need is USB charging --> Instapark

ODA CDR I should add that she said she would just carry an extra set of energizer ultimate lithiums for her light and a Solarwrap Mini if she had to do it again. The Solarwrap is tiny and weighs next to nothing. She saw another trekker using one...just unrolled it and hung it on his pack all day. String on one end, dab of Velcro on the other so it doesn't get twisted. Said the battery was usually fully charged when they stopped for the day. It's USB only though, so no aa charging.

All that said I think your original goal zero would be better if you're thinking mid to long term. One warning: daughter unit's first one died after two charges. It was instantly replaced, but make sure you test it thoroughly before you depend on it.

Well paint my toenails and call me Sally. AA eneloop chargers using USB. Guess I never looked. Lots of options open up using these little AA/AAA chargers I guess. USB AA charger

This would sway me back to the Instapark for $50 (especially if you already own some AA recharg. batts) because it has a monocrystalline solar panel (sig. better in cloudy conditions and partial shade) vs the polycrystalline (set up under trees with dappled shade, power output drops more than is proportionate to the portion of the panel shaded) on the goal zero.

I've been researching this pretty extensively because I need 10W solar for the emergency comms net I'm planning. Neither of these work for me because I need 12v out for my charger but I have settled on a 10w monocrystalline panel.

Looks like I'll have to make one.....
 

I need a cigarette socket (female) that has a USB connection on the end. Looking to use a cigarette lighter charger that can hook up to the solar panels via USB. Can't seem to locate that animal. They can be found all day long male plug with USB socket. Any help here???

You won't find a USB to female cig because it's going from 5v (USB) to 12v (Cig) and that can't be done without wasting a boatload of power and producing a lot of heat. Male cig to USB can be easily found because they're going downhill--12v from the car to 5v for the USB.

12v solar panels directly produce 12 - 17 volts output. These guys who sell solar charge stations with 5v USB only are making a marketing decision and converting the 12v from the panel to 5v USB.

You can hook a 12v female directly to the output of a solar panel if whatever you plug into the cig can handle 12-17 volts DC. What are you trying to power?

If you need 12V out...

You can find a cheap monocrystalline panel and directly hook the output into the input of a battery pack:

This is a good 5W mono panel (small 8.7" x 10.4" about a sheet of paper) and is a good deal at $30. Ask about connection wiring before you buy.

This is twice the power--10W--for about half the price but bigger.

This 8000 mAh power pack has an input up to 19V so the panel can charge it directly. It has 9-12V output (for your cig socket), USB for phones etc, and 16-20V output for laptop computers. The trick with this power pack is, people are using it without a charge controller because it's apparently built in. I'd put a diode between the panel and the battery so you don't lose current backing up into the panel when it's dark...or just unplug the battery when you aren't charging it. Easy peasy.

That's all you need--a 12v solar panel, an Energizer pack, a bit of wiring, and the cables to plug your devices into it. It might all fit into a large single revolver pistol case or jerry-rig something out of tupperware.

Biolite Stove
 

Consider one of these: BiolLite Stove

I have one along with the grill and it is awesome. I also have the GoalZero system and the stove outperforms hands down.

I can charge 2 sets of AA batteries in the time it takes to cook a meal and heat water to do the dishes. Plus, I no longer need to carry fuel as the BioLite burns wood I pick up from around my camp.

As soon as REI gets the Kettle Pot I am going to get one. The stove will fit inside the pot saving more room in the pack.

Downside to the stove is if there are fire restrictions you can't use it. Much of New Mexico was under those for most of the summer and USFS did not budge on their ruling on stoves. White gas was ok, but wood burning stove was not.

Just my 2 cents.

cake

I thought I was all clever and everything with "my" handheld tranceiver-simplex repeater idea. I just found maybe 20 YouTubes on the subject. :rolleyes:
This guy works up the battery and panel requirements for solar charging. He's pretty long-winded and says "charger" when he means "charge controller" but even if you're starting from scratch you'll understand the issues by the end.

Last call for high-sulfur diesel
 

The farm owners contiguous to my property think about a grid-down scenario quite a bit. It's an expensive and complicated proposition to plan for continuity of operations for a large farm and there are many moving parts. One of the biggest is fuel. They guys around here who prep are serious about storing diesel. Serious.

The guy next door uses 2300 gallons of diesel per year. He wants enough fuel on hand to keep things going for two years. Two years is his planning window for a low-probability, high-impact event (financial collapse, pandemic, CME) and with a longer timeline would give him sufficient time to switch over to using soy/sunflower pure vegetable oil and biodiesel for critical processes. It would be pretty drastic in the longer term--e.g. culling 2/3 of his dairy cows, shifting from corn to sunflowers and potatoes--but he thinks the plan is do-able. He figures using all the land available in our hollow we could keep 600 people alive the first two years and 400 for years 3-5/6. Then it would all depend on how fast equipment degraded and draft animals could be obtained (accompanied by another 10-20% drop in the people the land could support--animals need to be fed).

Here's hoping it never happens, eh?

Anywho...diesel. My friend claims (and my research on the web backs up) that the new ultra-low-sulfur diesel--besides causing a host of problems in older equipment like decreased power, lower lubricity, fuel system leaks, clogged fuel injection systems, and incompatibility with lubrication oil--stores very, very poorly. If there is any zinc or copper anywhere in the delivery/storage path there is accelerated formation of sediments, gels, and soaps. And because it picks up water so easily, ULSD grows biofilms at a much faster rate than high-sulfur diesel. Biocides (Tri-D, BioKleen) help in the short term but not much. And no, you just can't add sulfur back into the fuel, it doesn't work.

The guys around here who store for SHTF are buying high-sulfur (>5000 ppm) home heating oil instead of the current diesel being sold (<15 ppm). Heating oil is just diesel fuel that's been dyed red to indicate it's untaxed and not for on-road use. With biocides added they think they can get years of safe storage and with the epoxy-lined collapsible-membrane tanks and automated fuel polishers some are using, up to 10 years.

In any type of emergency the EPA issues immediate waivers to allow home heating oil to be used for transport purposes so you wouldn't be breaking the law in a short-term blip like a hurricane.

Even now it's getting difficult to find high-sulfur fuel because many larger refiners have switched all production to ULSD but it's worthwhile to search around. Note that newer diesel car and truck engines can be damaged by HSD (the catalytic exhaust systems killed, injector woes). Check your equipment and the impact of HSD before you use it.

If you can't find or use HSD, consider accelerating your rotation schedule to use your ULSD every 6 months if no additives are used and every 12 months if they are.

Southern-style snowstorm: Gridlock, kind neighbors
 

Southern-style snowstorm: Gridlock, kind neighbors

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...01-29-07-10-58

"ATLANTA (AP) -- Students camped out with teachers in school gyms or on buses and commuters abandoned cars along the highway to seek shelter in churches, fire stations - even grocery stores - after a rare snowstorm left thousands of unaccustomed Southerners frozen in their tracks........"

I wonder how may people thought as they were getting ready for work "Gee, maybe I'd better throw a couple of old blankets and a bag of snacks into the trunk. Never know what could happen."

A wonderful example
 

This snowstorm is a great example of the lack of preparedness that people typically have whenever there is a situation out of the norm.

My buddy called me yesterday telling me his wife could not find milk, eggs, or bread at any grocery stores.... It will be a good thing to ask clerks what could and could not be found yesterday/today in stores...Most people just lose their minds in the most mild of inconveniences.


Snowmageddon, has caused the death and end to Fayetteville NC and total destruction of Ft Bragg and the Airborne :rolleyes:

Had I not had any food or blankets in my apartment my wife and I would have starved to death and then frozen to death during the last 12 hours :rolleyes: