Posted: 4/22/2015 1:10:36 AM EDT
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I'm planning out an emcomm setup. I want to avoid the one 100lb box plan and go for two easier to handle boxes. I know that one will have the radio and one will have the battery. Past that I am not sure and am looking for use cases for various setups. AC power supply in the battery box for simple charging and one stop shop for power, or AC supply with radio so it can be a one box go for areas with shore power? Power bridge / power gate / charge controller co-located with battery or with AC power supply? I can come up with theoretical justifications for either side of the argument. What practical experience can you share for/against either plan? Other things to include? Swr/power meter? Hf tuner (auto or manual?) Cig lighter ports? (in battery box and/or box with AC power supply?) As I said, I'm not interested in big, hard to handle boxes. Side note FWIW - the box with the radio will pull double duty as my mobile radio. I'm working up the plans for the box to be secured and all the needed connections in easily disonnected and stowed form. |
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Quoted:
I'm planning out an emcomm setup. I want to avoid the one 100lb box plan and go for two easier to handle boxes. I know that one will have the radio and one will have the battery. Every motorized vehicle on the planet has a battery capable of powering your average ham rig. Why do you need to lug around another one? |
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I am planning out a box as well. I would/will put everything except the battery in 1 box so if i am going somewhere that power is available i am not lugging a battery for no reason.
My main box will have my Icom 7200, IT-100 tuner, Sec-1235m, battery backup module that is hooked to my home backup battery and obviously power distribution. It is not high speed/low drag but it is also my home shack in a box. If I don't need the battery then everything i need to operate is in 1 box. I have the option of only grabbing the second box if i need battery power. If I put the power supply in the battery box then i am dragging a battery around that i don't need no matter what my operating needs are. |
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Quoted: Every motorized vehicle on the planet has a battery capable of powering your average ham rig. Why do you need to lug around another one? Quoted: Quoted: ... Every motorized vehicle on the planet has a battery capable of powering your average ham rig. Why do you need to lug around another one? In pre-SHTF times, your signifigant other may want to run to "town" for supplies or to visit the local craft market, removing that battery from your plans. If you are not far enough up the mountain that there are other campers with cars in the area, their owners may object to you stealing their batteries. |
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I don't put the battery in the box with the other gear. It is very heavy, could break loose and damage things. And
other reasons. Also I want a battery big enough to last throughout the day, yet be light enough to carry from my vehicle to wherever I set up. For this I use a 55 AH AGM battery that weighs 38 lb. It has a strap handle on top. http://www.gruberpower.com/12-volt-55-amp-hour-ah-battery At home in my shack for backup, and too heavy to tote, I have a similar 80 AH AGM battery. It weights in at 55 lb. http://www.gruberpower.com/12-volt-80-amp-hour-ah-battery I have the HF rig (Icom IC-7200), power supply (Samlex SEC-1223BBM), and tuner (LDG IT-100) in a large SKB case. I have a Yaesu FT-1802M simply floating in foam in a little Pelican 1200. It has the mounting bracket upside down so that when placed on a table it is angled up. So if VHF is needed it can be brought along, plugged into the little 6-way Powerpole strip at the back of the SKB HF rig. Or plugged directly into the battery or a separate Samlex SEC-1223. All power leads are fitted with Powerpoles. If the VHF rig only is required, then I simply use that radio removed from the Pelican 1200, the extra power supply, or battery. And the battery can be maintained with solar or wired in with the plain SEC-1223 (no battery backup) with the KI0BK Low Loss PWRgate. http://ki0bk.no-ip.com/~pwrgate/LLPG/Site/LLPG.html 
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