{"id":18519,"date":"2016-04-25T08:04:20","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T12:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=18519"},"modified":"2016-04-25T08:12:22","modified_gmt":"2016-04-25T12:12:22","slug":"off-grid-radio-portable-power-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/off-grid-radio-portable-power-recommendations\/","title":{"rendered":"Off-Grid Radio: Portable power recommendations?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Elecraft-KX3\"<\/a>This year, I have a lot of portable radio play in mind as I travel across the continent. At some point, I even plan to spend several days\u00a0in an off-grid cabin on the coast.<\/p>\n

In the past, I’ve powered my 12 VDC ham radio transceivers with a system comprised of three PowerFilm solar 5 watt foldable PV panels<\/a>\u00a0(see below), a Micro M+ charge controller and several gel cell type sealed batteries (a couple 7 Ah and one 20 Ah).\"Powerfilm-Solar-Panel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The system works well, but the batteries are a little heavy and unhandy when I want to\u00a0hike into a remote site or play radio on the beach, for example.<\/p>\n

\"PowerFilmAACharger-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In terms of receivers, my portables (like the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, Tecsun PL-660, etc.) simply use AA batteries which I charge with PowerFilm AA PV chargers (see above).\u00a0My CommRadio CR-1a<\/a> has an internal battery that will power it for hours at a time.<\/p>\n

Power is much less of an issue with receivers because they’re quite resource efficient.<\/p>\n

I mainly need a system to power my\u00a0QRP\u00a0ham radio gear, and that’s where I could use your experience!<\/p>\n

Wish list<\/h1>\n

Charge controller<\/strong><\/p>\n

I need a\u00a0new charge controller since my Micro M+ (no longer produced) is now being used to power a remote antenna tuner.<\/p>\n

Of course, I’ll need an inexpensive charge controller that doesn’t produce RFI (radio interference).<\/p>\n

It would be an added bonus if the charge controller could also charge my batteries when grid power is available.<\/p>\n

12 VDC Battery packs<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’d like something relatively lightweight and safe.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/em> LiPo packs worry me, especially since\u00a0I had one (an early GoalZero model) quite literally melt down and burn up on my bed only a few hours after bringing it back from an eight hour flight a few years ago. Scary!<\/p>\n

Pure Sine Wave Inverter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"PureSineWaveInverter\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I’d also like a small, efficient pure sine wave inverter that I I could connect to my largest battery and power my laptop for extended SDR spectrum recording sessions while off-grid.<\/p>\n

I’d love a recommendation from someone who uses one\u00a0and can confirm a model that doesn’t create radio interference while operating.<\/p>\n

Recommendations?<\/h1>\n

Post<\/em> readers: Please comment with your recommendations and include model numbers and links if possible. Thank you in advance!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year, I have a lot of portable radio play in mind as I travel across the continent. At some point, I even plan to spend several days\u00a0in an off-grid cabin on the coast. In the past, I’ve powered my 12 VDC ham radio transceivers with a system comprised of three PowerFilm solar 5 watt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4199,599,545,3,3196,553,43,158,1154],"tags":[486,5012,4102,2175,4126,5011,3304,5013,594],"class_list":["post-18519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accessories","category-emergency-preparedness","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-portable-radio","category-preparedness","category-shortwave-radio","category-software-defined-radio","category-travel","tag-batteries","tag-charge-controllers","tag-ham-radio","tag-off-grid-radio","tag-portable-radio","tag-portable-radio-power","tag-powerfilm-solar","tag-pv-panles","tag-solar-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-4OH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7359,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/living-off-grid-the-ideal-shortwave-radio-system-for-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":18519,"position":0},"title":"Living off-grid? The ideal shortwave radio system for you","author":"Thomas","date":"September 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"What's the best system for off-grid living?\u00a0From time to time, I'm asked this question in the \"comments\" section of the website or via email.\u00a0 Recently it came up again, and I thought it might make sense to answer it here, and also open it for discussion. 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You were tasked to track down\u00a0a radio kit\u00a0that would keep you in touch with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Laya-Bhutan-Location-Wikipedia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Laya-Bhutan-Location-Wikipedia.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32819,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/steve-searches-for-a-usb-powered-battery-charger-for-solar-recharging\/","url_meta":{"origin":18519,"position":2},"title":"Steve searches for a USB-powered battery charger for solar recharging","author":"Thomas","date":"June 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Steven Crawford, who writes with the following inquiry: [I'm searching for] good quality USB powered battery chargers for AA and D size rechargeable batteries. Wall outlet chargers are common but quality USB powered battery chargers appear much less common...less common than the packable solar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/batteries.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/batteries.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/batteries.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32886,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/give-your-radios-a-vacation\/","url_meta":{"origin":18519,"position":3},"title":"Give Your Radios a Vacation!","author":"Thomas","date":"June 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2013, I wrote the following feature for the Monitoring Times Magazine. 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