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Projects, both in progress and in my head,
13 years ago
Just a note this was posted on my puppy account to, Feel free to comment,
Hey all,
this post is mostly for my own memory and such, however if anyone wants to throw in an opinion, or maybe they have done some of these things before and may know of ways to do things better, or more importantly, things I shouldnt do :P
These projects are in no particular order:
1: EMCOM Go box;
For those of you who dont know what an EMCOM go box is, it is a box that contains a two way radio and a strong battery. It is use in times of natural or man made disasters to help aid with emergency communications [Hence the name "Emcom"] Some radio ops call them go kits or go boxes. ;shrugs;
My layout plan is calling for a nice strong 12 volt battery, a 200 watt inverter, a switch, [which will allow me to switch from "Mains" 120 volt power and "emergency" 12 volt power] and a yet to be determined radio [May use a Yaesu ft7900R as I really like the rig] The big issue I have is, using the radio at full or even half power may kill any battery I would be able to put into the box [battery must be small and light weight, the norm is to use an alarm box battery] The inverter would def kill the battery within an hours use. So, I was thinking of another project to go with the first:
2: Portable solar charger for Emcom box;
I have been checking around online and I must say, anything that will decently work to charge any battery is rather expensive, costing between 100 and 250 US dollars. Also, I dong have enough knowledge to understand how the solar power system would work. Example:
I have two solar panels ment to maintain a car battery. Each is ment to put out 12 volts DC with a constant 1500ma charge. Now, normally wiring battery's in parallel [+ to +, - to -] would double the amperage, so I figured it would be the same for solar power right?
Well, when I wired the panels in parallel and hooked my volt meter to the leads, I was getting a reading of 19 Volts and .16ma HHmmm... Odd, so I disconnected the panels from each other and tested them separately, Both gave a reading of 18.5 volts and between .14-.16ma. THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE x.x' So using an automotive LED lamp, I hooked one panel to the light, and it lit, but was a little dim. I hooked the second panel in parallel and it was brighter. x.x' I think my volt meter needs replacing...
I also think that before I spend 150 dollars on a solar cell, I need to learn more about how they are wired and what powers I would need.
If anyone has built, used, bought, or otherwise has any knowledge on solar power please let me know what I should use. I figured on keeping a spare 1000A deep cycle battery for field operations for the emcom box, so any solar kit would been to be able to charge this battery within a day, and be able to power a radio and inverter.
#3: Mobile radio tower;
This project is in progress and may be used at Furfright this year. It will be about 20-25 feet high and consist of 5 sections [4 sections of 5 foot long 1 1/2" steel tubing and a base] I am waiting to get the equipment back from the shop and then I will need to buy some rope or paracord to use as guy wires.
#4: Forge;
For a while now I have been interested in aluminum forging. Ever since my trip to Ohio I have been thinking of ways to forge aluminum cans. After a bit of research and reading and watching videos, I think I know how I can do it now. It may be a little while, but maybe sometime next year I can offer some aluminum bricks to people who also forge art from this fine metal!
I think ill end it there for now. I find it nice to know that I am giving myself some things to do that while they may be a little expensive, or hard to understand, seem to keep me sane. ;shrugs; or maybe I have driven myself crazy and this is the proof everyone needs to prove it :P
Hey all,
this post is mostly for my own memory and such, however if anyone wants to throw in an opinion, or maybe they have done some of these things before and may know of ways to do things better, or more importantly, things I shouldnt do :P
These projects are in no particular order:
1: EMCOM Go box;
For those of you who dont know what an EMCOM go box is, it is a box that contains a two way radio and a strong battery. It is use in times of natural or man made disasters to help aid with emergency communications [Hence the name "Emcom"] Some radio ops call them go kits or go boxes. ;shrugs;
My layout plan is calling for a nice strong 12 volt battery, a 200 watt inverter, a switch, [which will allow me to switch from "Mains" 120 volt power and "emergency" 12 volt power] and a yet to be determined radio [May use a Yaesu ft7900R as I really like the rig] The big issue I have is, using the radio at full or even half power may kill any battery I would be able to put into the box [battery must be small and light weight, the norm is to use an alarm box battery] The inverter would def kill the battery within an hours use. So, I was thinking of another project to go with the first:
2: Portable solar charger for Emcom box;
I have been checking around online and I must say, anything that will decently work to charge any battery is rather expensive, costing between 100 and 250 US dollars. Also, I dong have enough knowledge to understand how the solar power system would work. Example:
I have two solar panels ment to maintain a car battery. Each is ment to put out 12 volts DC with a constant 1500ma charge. Now, normally wiring battery's in parallel [+ to +, - to -] would double the amperage, so I figured it would be the same for solar power right?
Well, when I wired the panels in parallel and hooked my volt meter to the leads, I was getting a reading of 19 Volts and .16ma HHmmm... Odd, so I disconnected the panels from each other and tested them separately, Both gave a reading of 18.5 volts and between .14-.16ma. THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE x.x' So using an automotive LED lamp, I hooked one panel to the light, and it lit, but was a little dim. I hooked the second panel in parallel and it was brighter. x.x' I think my volt meter needs replacing...
I also think that before I spend 150 dollars on a solar cell, I need to learn more about how they are wired and what powers I would need.
If anyone has built, used, bought, or otherwise has any knowledge on solar power please let me know what I should use. I figured on keeping a spare 1000A deep cycle battery for field operations for the emcom box, so any solar kit would been to be able to charge this battery within a day, and be able to power a radio and inverter.
#3: Mobile radio tower;
This project is in progress and may be used at Furfright this year. It will be about 20-25 feet high and consist of 5 sections [4 sections of 5 foot long 1 1/2" steel tubing and a base] I am waiting to get the equipment back from the shop and then I will need to buy some rope or paracord to use as guy wires.
#4: Forge;
For a while now I have been interested in aluminum forging. Ever since my trip to Ohio I have been thinking of ways to forge aluminum cans. After a bit of research and reading and watching videos, I think I know how I can do it now. It may be a little while, but maybe sometime next year I can offer some aluminum bricks to people who also forge art from this fine metal!
I think ill end it there for now. I find it nice to know that I am giving myself some things to do that while they may be a little expensive, or hard to understand, seem to keep me sane. ;shrugs; or maybe I have driven myself crazy and this is the proof everyone needs to prove it :P
