You may be thinking of a "deep cycle battery", which make good batteries
to power communication gear. They are commonly called 12 Volt batteries
(just the same as car batteries are) but in reality, when fully charged,
they are really 13.8 Volts (just as car batteries are), so they will
work fine for powering gear designed for 13.8V.

Charging with a solar panel is pretty easy. All you need is a solar
panel, a charge controller and the battery. The charge controller will
have positive and negative connection points labeled "Array" or
something similar. Hook up the solar panels positive and negative leads
there (positive to positive and negative to negative). The other
connection points will go to the battery (again, positive to positive
and negative to negative). Aim the solar panel due South and tilt it (0
degrees being horizontal) at an angle that is your location's lattitude
+ 15 degrees. In Florida, that would be about 43 degrees in Central
Florida. So the panel would be placed at a 43 degree angle up from
horizontal and so that the solar cells are facing South. Be careful to
have the batteries located in a place that is vented since they will
give off a little hydrogen as they charge (even the sealed batteries do)
and hydrogen is explosive (aka Hindenburg). A small vented box outside
it good and run the wires inside (be sure to use a large enough wire to
avoid dropping the voltage at the radio to a level that is too low to
operate it). 10 or 12 gauge wire should be fine for short runs of 10 to
20 feet for an HF radio that draws something like 20 Amps in transmit.

More info on this can be found at http://www.homepower.com and I
whole-heartedly suggest you subscribe if you are at all interested in
alternative power sources for other things around the home. You might
check your local library and see if they have the magazine (I can get it
at my local Border's Book Store).

Scott
N0EDV

west wrote:
I know this question has probably been beaten to death, nevertheless I hope
you will still indulge me.

During a power outage, which occurs frequently in Florida, I would like to
use a battery to power some communication gear. Although the battery is 12v
and not 13.8v, I think that the gear will still work OK (hopefully).

Question 1. I believe that car batteries have a low internal resistance
because their primary function is to provide a lot of current for a short
time. There are other 12v large battery types that will last as long as a
typical car battery. They are designed not to provide peak current, but to
supply steady state current for a long time.
For the life of me, I can't remember the name of those type batteries so I
can't do a google to find a supplier. I hope this is making some sense.

Question 2. Where can I find articles & schematics for a solar cell to
provide a trickle charge for the aforementioned battery?

Thank you very much.

Cordially,
west