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Author Topic: Preparing equipment for emergency use  (Read 6177 times)

KB1HJW

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Preparing equipment for emergency use
« on: December 26, 2001, 03:03:40 PM »

I am in the process of preparing a to-do (actually a to-get) list in order to be able to contribute in a communications emergency situation. I have already initiated preliminary contact with local ARES and RACES, so this post is limited to equipment questions. Currently I have a Kenwood TH-F6A tri-band HT with 2 battery packs, and an Icom 706MKII. My only current mobile antenna is a tri-band mag mount.

I am considering a marine rated 12v battery. Is this the type of battery you pick up at Wal-Mart, or is brand quality an issue? What is the most prudent way to connect the MKII to the battery? Should I get a second factory power connector, or make one myself? If home made, what gauge wire, what size fuses and what type of connectors at the battery end? Would grounding to my truck frame suffice? As far as antennas, what band and type? I was thinking about building some sort of wood frame for the truck bed to support the antenna. I would also use all of these items for regular mobile communications. Any other aspects I should be thinking of at this point?
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KE4SKY

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Preparing equipment for emergency use
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2001, 08:16:25 PM »

I would recommend that you go to the Virginia RACES web site, http://www.varaces.org and click on the training and video section and download the module on family and personal preparedness.  That should give you a good start.  

Buckmaster has Yuasa NP65-12 65ah gel cell batteries for sale on their web site which are new, old stock, 100% charged and load tested.  These weigh about 50 pounds each and have retractable handles and would be a good source of auxiliary power for your IC706 and would run your HTs for a very long time!  There is a link and description of these batteries in the State News section of the Virginia RACES page.

73 de KE4SKY
Virginia State RACES Training Officer
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N5ZTW

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Preparing equipment for emergency use
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2001, 10:02:42 AM »

I have built and operated what I like to call my "Home Land Defense" station. I built it in late September.  using the 12v deep cycle marine battery purchased at Walmart for about $60-$70 I also purchased adapters from walmart that adapt the standard top mount battery connectors to a standard wire connection. I built a 10 foot long cable of red and black #6 wire purchased at Home Depot into a heavy duty fuse holder switch combo. This item can only be found at an electrical supply house. This type of fuse holder allows the #6 to connect on one side of the fuse and other smaller wires on the other. The fuse holding compartment hinges open breaking the circuit. It becomes a terminal block, fuse holder and switch all in one. Remember to use one for both positive and negitive. The output of this fuse holder has another cable built from two sets of #12 red and black to a connector for the radio. I use an FT-847 or FT-840 rigs for my station. I think the Icom radios use the same connector. The connector can be purchased from a vendor seen here on eham.net and it comes with the pins and black rubber boot. The Molex connector is not the same. It may look the same but it is not. As for an antenna I use the W3FF multi band dipole for 14 Mhz- 147 Mhz. I built one as described in his web site. Look up W3FF on QRZ.com as he has a link. I mount this antenna on the paint roller extension as shown on his site but I also extend it higher by coupling the paint roller to a light stand with a 3/4" white PVC tee I placed a 4" stub in the tee section allowing it to be used as a handle for "armstrong rotation".
The light stand was one of the type that carry two 500w lamps used for construction. You find these units for around $30 at Walmart and Home Depot. I feed the antenna with 75' of RG58 coax. I use a two wheel hand cart to carry the battery and store the radio and antenna and all other small items needed for a station in a plastic storage box, the type with two hinged folding covers that interlock and have a hole for a lock. This allows one trip with the cart from the truck to the site. I like to operate from the local park on a picnic table. The 10' of #6 allows the battery to sit on the ground but have the fuse/switch on the table.The deep cycle battery has never gone low after running for hours at 100 watts (worked the Ca qso party one weekend in Oct.) So I feel this is the best power source for the buck. Just remember to keep the terminals covered to prevent a short that could weld steel or start a fire. I used a pair of small food storage containers found in most food stores. I have operated three times from this station remote portable and logged many contacts. I guess I should take some pictures and write an article for eham.net.  
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KB1HGI

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Preparing equipment for emergency use
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2002, 07:52:01 PM »

I would like to see pics...please do!!!!
I also have the 847...great radio for the home shack but small enough for portable remote ops.
Let me know when you post pics from your remote location in the park.
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VA7BRO

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Preparing equipment for emergency use
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2002, 06:36:18 PM »

on the virginia races documents, I was wondering if they were available anywhere else, they won't work on my computer (I have no trouble with other pdf files).

thanks,

Brodie Otway
VA7BRO
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KE4SKY

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Preparing equipment for emergency use
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2002, 08:55:40 AM »

Viewing the .pdf versions of the PowerPoint programs requires Adobe Acrobat version 5.0 or later.  If you have an earlier version of Acrobat you must "uninstall" this for the 5.0 or later version to load properly on your machine.

If you require the Adobe 5.05 upgrade you may download this for free from our server.

Hope this helps.

73 de KE4SKY
Virginia RACES State Training Officer
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