Pocket Portable Solar Generator for Ham Radio

August 10, 2022 Julian OH8STN battery power, DIY projects, Emergency Communications, Field Comms, Grid Down Communications, Ham Radio, LiFePO4, Off-grid Comms, Portability & Mobility, Portable Power, powerfilm solar, QRP, Solar Power, Solar Power for Ham Radio 0

A Pocket Solar Generator for portable ham radio, on today’s episode of OH8STN Ham Radio

Hello Operators.
Today we are talking about ultra.lightweight portable power for field comms.

We’ve been talking about portable power for ham radio for quite some time. We’ve designed and built large capacity solar generators on the channel, and smaller LiFePO4 batteries and solar generators to augment field deployment with radios like the IC-7300 and FT-891.

The video also discusses a shift in operating methodology, and a move back towards lightweight and efficient field radio. With the new range of extremely efficient QRP rigs and amplifiers available, the portable radio operator can truly have FAST field communications capabilities, without being weighed down by manpacks and battery packs.

Another point is preparedness. It is ridiculous to think we are going to add ~30lb of radio gear, on top of the 50-60lb we are already carrying. Our communications gear needs to be a efficient as possible, so that our loadout doesn’t suffer from it. The former military viewers and readers will understand this. Those without a military background need longer to come around.

Here are links to the current video, topic playlist, and videos already published on the topic. :

How to solar power your portable ham radio playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKMrdrsNkFA685wIKs32CcO9l7vM0V-SH

There is also a PDF version (no images), small enough to share over a Winlink or VaraAC P2P connection or file transfer: Pocket Portable Solar Gen for Ham Radio PDF https://oh8stn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Pocket_Solar_Generator_for_portable_ham_radio..pdf

EP01 Solar Power for Portable Ham Radio:

https://youtu.be/CAUamTA9G90

EP01 A DIY LiFePO4 battery for Ham Radio:  

https://youtu.be/YgKE8C_V1Y0

EP02 Pocket Portable Solar Generator Ham Radio :

https://youtu.be/HgQ3m6rzJko

Notes & info on the FAST pack: https://oh8stn.org/blog/2022/07/18/diy-lifepo4-battery-pocket-portable/

One of the videos in the series introduced a FAST field deployment battery pack. When integrated with a charge controller, power distribution and solar panel, this becomes a pocket portable solar generator.

Here are links to both variants.

Pocket Portable Solar Generator

Parts List for diy version of the FAST FD battery pack

If you are interested in the history of batteries and solar generators on the channel, take a look at this playlist:

I do understand this video and documentation are somewhat abstract. The reason is “we can’t talk about portable power, without having the hard discussion about efficiency”. We started that discussion some time ago on the channel. If you want to understand why OH8STN is taking a different direction that other YouTubers for emergency communications and radio preparedness., the following video kicked it off.

73
Julian oh8stn
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/oh8stn
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