On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 12:11:22 -0800, mike wrote:

I'd be interested to hear peoples' thoughts on what constitutes a
2-meter emergency during a power outage.
In winter, I'm most concerned about the gas heat not working and the
pipes freezing. Conversely, in summer, I worry about the freezer
thawing. Being able to talk to the same two guys I talk to every day
on 2-meters is NOT a priority. A power outage is a great time for a
nap...maybe even with the old lady...

The concern is not about talking with your buddies on 2M, but for
those who are involved in various emergency communications functions,
including their local Emergency Ops Center, their state's emergency
operations, ARES, MARS, SATERN, Red Cross, etc.

Many hams are involved with these efforts, and many times in natural
(hurricanes) or not so natural (WTC) disasters have been the only
reliable source of communications.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

Gary S. wrote:
On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 12:11:22 -0800, mike wrote:


I'd be interested to hear peoples' thoughts on what constitutes a
2-meter emergency during a power outage.
In winter, I'm most concerned about the gas heat not working and the
pipes freezing. Conversely, in summer, I worry about the freezer
thawing. Being able to talk to the same two guys I talk to every day
on 2-meters is NOT a priority. A power outage is a great time for a
nap...maybe even with the old lady...


The concern is not about talking with your buddies on 2M, but for
those who are involved in various emergency communications functions,
including their local Emergency Ops Center, their state's emergency
operations, ARES, MARS, SATERN, Red Cross, etc.

Many hams are involved with these efforts, and many times in natural
(hurricanes) or not so natural (WTC) disasters have been the only
reliable source of communications.

OK, I can see the need for a handheld or mobile to go rescue someone.
Seems like there would be limited need for a fixed isolated station.
You can have only so many coordinators...and they usually end up in the
sheriff's office on a generator. And those people know about emergency
power.

I used to do communication for hurricaine shelters back in the '60s.
Was mostly a waste of time. I don't remember anyone ever NEEDING
communication to/from a fixed shelter.


Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom



--
Return address is VALID.
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
Toshiba & Compaq LiIon Batteries, Test Equipment
Honda CB-125S $800 in PDX
Yaesu FTV901R Transverter, 30pS pulser
Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head...
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

Gary S. wrote:
On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 12:11:22 -0800, mike wrote:


I'd be interested to hear peoples' thoughts on what constitutes a
2-meter emergency during a power outage.
In winter, I'm most concerned about the gas heat not working and the
pipes freezing. Conversely, in summer, I worry about the freezer
thawing. Being able to talk to the same two guys I talk to every day
on 2-meters is NOT a priority. A power outage is a great time for a
nap...maybe even with the old lady...


The concern is not about talking with your buddies on 2M, but for
those who are involved in various emergency communications functions,
including their local Emergency Ops Center, their state's emergency
operations, ARES, MARS, SATERN, Red Cross, etc.

Many hams are involved with these efforts, and many times in natural
(hurricanes) or not so natural (WTC) disasters have been the only
reliable source of communications.

OK, I can see the need for a handheld or mobile to go rescue someone.
Seems like there would be limited need for a fixed isolated station.
You can have only so many coordinators...and they usually end up in the
sheriff's office on a generator. And those people know about emergency
power.

I used to do communication for hurricaine shelters back in the '60s.
Was mostly a waste of time. I don't remember anyone ever NEEDING
communication to/from a fixed shelter.


Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom



--
Return address is VALID.
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
Toshiba & Compaq LiIon Batteries, Test Equipment
Honda CB-125S $800 in PDX
Yaesu FTV901R Transverter, 30pS pulser
Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head...
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

mike wrote in message ...
KC8WVG , Bill wrote:
I'm trying to locate an emergemcy source of power to operate my 2meter
base rig in the event of a power outage. My HTX-242 manual states the
current drain of the transmitter as 8A @ 45W and 4A @ 10W. Would a 17aH
jump start battery work? Or is there something better, yet not to costly?


I'd be interested to hear peoples' thoughts on what constitutes a
2-meter emergency during a power outage.
In winter, I'm most concerned about the gas heat not working and the
pipes freezing. Conversely, in summer, I worry about the freezer
thawing. Being able to talk to the same two guys I talk to every day
on 2-meters is NOT a priority. A power outage is a great time for a
nap...maybe even with the old lady...

Like when a hurricane breezes through town and takes all the light
poles with it. In many parts of town, the lights can be out for DAYS,
not hours. I done seen it firsthand in 1983 with Alicia. Luckily, it
wasn't ours though. :/ Ours stayed on. But the people across the
street were on a different circuit, and their's was off for a long
time. The guy I work with is two blocks away, and his lights were off
for a week or two.

If you don't already have a rig in the car, it's not too hard to set up
so you can throw it in the car in such an emergency.

I have that too. In Alicia, I actually rode out the hurricane sitting
in the car, not in the house. It was fun watching all the power lines
short together in the wind, and then in turn, blow up the transformers
that fed them. They would glow a weird greenish color. The whole sky
looked like that from them constantly blowing all over the area.

A handheld can also serve the emergency needs...and can serve to satisfy
your 2-meter Jones while walking or shopping or whatever else takes you
away from the rig.

I have that too. That way I'm covered when sitting on the pot...

The biggest problem with the portable battery station is that you don't
use it...it goes flat...sulphates...and can't hold a charge when you
need it. I charge mine on a regular schedule and it still goes flat...

I have battery power in the shack at all times. Have for nearly 15
years. I have a 706 that runs off battery power all the time. Except
I use big batteries. At least a full size car battery, and preferably
a deep cycle. 17 AH? That wouldn't last me doodley on the 20 amp max
706...I use 100 AH plus batteries. The charger is fully automatic, so
thats not a concern. One plus to my bigger batteries is I also have an
inverter. So I can run a light bulb, and a TV, whatever if I want to.
I've had to do this quite a few times when the lights have gone out.
Sometimes, it's taken a few hours to get them back on. If I eventually
had to recharge a battery during a lights out, I can either swap with
the car, or I can also just take it out and plug it into the car via
the radio power cable. I use anderson power connectors on everything
12v. Any connector will plug into any other.

It depends on the area, but having battery power is just plain good
sense in Houston Texas. You'll eventually use it. As far as
emergencies, I'm covered from just about every angle you can think
of...We are due another big storm. Houston is so built up, a hurricane
just rips it to shreds. If we ever get a storm that is 150 mph,
Houston will be totaled. I'm talking big time. Alica just about
ruinated it, and it was a wimpy 105 mph job...It did roll right down
main street though...Made a heapum big mess. I look at old pix of the
damage and it's amazing. Trees blown down right and left. Our whole
street was covered in blown down trees and tree branches. MK

mike wrote in message ...
KC8WVG , Bill wrote:
I'm trying to locate an emergemcy source of power to operate my 2meter
base rig in the event of a power outage. My HTX-242 manual states the
current drain of the transmitter as 8A @ 45W and 4A @ 10W. Would a 17aH
jump start battery work? Or is there something better, yet not to costly?


I'd be interested to hear peoples' thoughts on what constitutes a
2-meter emergency during a power outage.
In winter, I'm most concerned about the gas heat not working and the
pipes freezing. Conversely, in summer, I worry about the freezer
thawing. Being able to talk to the same two guys I talk to every day
on 2-meters is NOT a priority. A power outage is a great time for a
nap...maybe even with the old lady...

Like when a hurricane breezes through town and takes all the light
poles with it. In many parts of town, the lights can be out for DAYS,
not hours. I done seen it firsthand in 1983 with Alicia. Luckily, it
wasn't ours though. :/ Ours stayed on. But the people across the
street were on a different circuit, and their's was off for a long
time. The guy I work with is two blocks away, and his lights were off
for a week or two.

If you don't already have a rig in the car, it's not too hard to set up
so you can throw it in the car in such an emergency.

I have that too. In Alicia, I actually rode out the hurricane sitting
in the car, not in the house. It was fun watching all the power lines
short together in the wind, and then in turn, blow up the transformers
that fed them. They would glow a weird greenish color. The whole sky
looked like that from them constantly blowing all over the area.

A handheld can also serve the emergency needs...and can serve to satisfy
your 2-meter Jones while walking or shopping or whatever else takes you
away from the rig.

I have that too. That way I'm covered when sitting on the pot...

The biggest problem with the portable battery station is that you don't
use it...it goes flat...sulphates...and can't hold a charge when you
need it. I charge mine on a regular schedule and it still goes flat...

I have battery power in the shack at all times. Have for nearly 15
years. I have a 706 that runs off battery power all the time. Except
I use big batteries. At least a full size car battery, and preferably
a deep cycle. 17 AH? That wouldn't last me doodley on the 20 amp max
706...I use 100 AH plus batteries. The charger is fully automatic, so
thats not a concern. One plus to my bigger batteries is I also have an
inverter. So I can run a light bulb, and a TV, whatever if I want to.
I've had to do this quite a few times when the lights have gone out.
Sometimes, it's taken a few hours to get them back on. If I eventually
had to recharge a battery during a lights out, I can either swap with
the car, or I can also just take it out and plug it into the car via
the radio power cable. I use anderson power connectors on everything
12v. Any connector will plug into any other.

It depends on the area, but having battery power is just plain good
sense in Houston Texas. You'll eventually use it. As far as
emergencies, I'm covered from just about every angle you can think
of...We are due another big storm. Houston is so built up, a hurricane
just rips it to shreds. If we ever get a storm that is 150 mph,
Houston will be totaled. I'm talking big time. Alica just about
ruinated it, and it was a wimpy 105 mph job...It did roll right down
main street though...Made a heapum big mess. I look at old pix of the
damage and it's amazing. Trees blown down right and left. Our whole
street was covered in blown down trees and tree branches. MK

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 11:09:13 -0500, "KC8WVG , Bill"
wrote:

I'm trying to locate an emergemcy source of power to operate my 2meter
base rig in the event of a power outage. My HTX-242 manual states the
current drain of the transmitter as 8A @ 45W and 4A @ 10W. Would a 17aH
jump start battery work? Or is there something better, yet not to costly?

Automotive starting batteries are designed to deliver one huge slug of
electrons over a short period of time. They don't do so well at delivering
a low amount of power over a long time.

Me, I scrounge old SLA (Sealed Lead Acid)or gel-cel mat (forget the
acronym) computer UPS batteries, recharge them and test them under heavy
load. If the voltage drop is 5%, I keep them or pass them on to friends;
otherwise, take them to a battery dealer for the $1 (or more) core charge I
get back.

I don't have an automated charging system, and instead use a trickle
charger from Wal-Mart said to have some degree of intelligence. It cost me
$18.

I charge up the batteries, test them under load and without, and log the
result. I also run each on rotation for the weekly ARES nets, so I can
report "operating on emergency power', which gets me off the net quickest
and also encourages other hams to be self-reliant.



--
John Bartley K7AAY http://celdata.cjb.net
This post quad-ROT-13 encrypted; reading it violates the DMCA.
Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT.

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 11:09:13 -0500, "KC8WVG , Bill"
wrote:

I'm trying to locate an emergemcy source of power to operate my 2meter
base rig in the event of a power outage. My HTX-242 manual states the
current drain of the transmitter as 8A @ 45W and 4A @ 10W. Would a 17aH
jump start battery work? Or is there something better, yet not to costly?

Automotive starting batteries are designed to deliver one huge slug of
electrons over a short period of time. They don't do so well at delivering
a low amount of power over a long time.

Me, I scrounge old SLA (Sealed Lead Acid)or gel-cel mat (forget the
acronym) computer UPS batteries, recharge them and test them under heavy
load. If the voltage drop is 5%, I keep them or pass them on to friends;
otherwise, take them to a battery dealer for the $1 (or more) core charge I
get back.

I don't have an automated charging system, and instead use a trickle
charger from Wal-Mart said to have some degree of intelligence. It cost me
$18.

I charge up the batteries, test them under load and without, and log the
result. I also run each on rotation for the weekly ARES nets, so I can
report "operating on emergency power', which gets me off the net quickest
and also encourages other hams to be self-reliant.



--
John Bartley K7AAY http://celdata.cjb.net
This post quad-ROT-13 encrypted; reading it violates the DMCA.
Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT.

It depends on the area, but having battery power is just plain good
sense in Houston Texas. You'll eventually use it. As far as
emergencies, I'm covered from just about every angle you can think
of...We are due another big storm. Houston is so built up, a hurricane
just rips it to shreds. If we ever get a storm that is 150 mph,
Houston will be totaled. I'm talking big time. Alica just about
ruinated it, and it was a wimpy 105 mph job...It did roll right down
main street though...Made a heapum big mess. I look at old pix of the
damage and it's amazing. Trees blown down right and left. Our whole
street was covered in blown down trees and tree branches. MK

What a bunch of wussies.
You ain't lived till you've been thru a hurricaine in Port Arthur.
Two blocks from the Gulf of Mexico and two feet below sea level.
That big battery had better be in the attic...and in a box to protect it
when the roof blows off.

And still, I don't think I ever handled any IMPORTANT traffic.
I'll waive
the public service banner if it helps keep the spectrum, but I don't
believe it.
I'll wager that 90% of the people with battery backup are of no value
in an emergency...not cause they're not motivated or stupid...it's that
there's nothing for them to do as long as they're fixed in one spot.
If you want to be helpful, put your rig in your vehicle...or your boat
if you live near the coast. Or put your repeater up high and put a
generator on it.
mike

--
Return address is VALID.
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
Toshiba & Compaq LiIon Batteries, Test Equipment
Honda CB-125S $800 in PDX
Yaesu FTV901R Transverter, 30pS pulser
Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head...
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

It depends on the area, but having battery power is just plain good
sense in Houston Texas. You'll eventually use it. As far as
emergencies, I'm covered from just about every angle you can think
of...We are due another big storm. Houston is so built up, a hurricane
just rips it to shreds. If we ever get a storm that is 150 mph,
Houston will be totaled. I'm talking big time. Alica just about
ruinated it, and it was a wimpy 105 mph job...It did roll right down
main street though...Made a heapum big mess. I look at old pix of the
damage and it's amazing. Trees blown down right and left. Our whole
street was covered in blown down trees and tree branches. MK

What a bunch of wussies.
You ain't lived till you've been thru a hurricaine in Port Arthur.
Two blocks from the Gulf of Mexico and two feet below sea level.
That big battery had better be in the attic...and in a box to protect it
when the roof blows off.

And still, I don't think I ever handled any IMPORTANT traffic.
I'll waive
the public service banner if it helps keep the spectrum, but I don't
believe it.
I'll wager that 90% of the people with battery backup are of no value
in an emergency...not cause they're not motivated or stupid...it's that
there's nothing for them to do as long as they're fixed in one spot.
If you want to be helpful, put your rig in your vehicle...or your boat
if you live near the coast. Or put your repeater up high and put a
generator on it.
mike

--
Return address is VALID.
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
Toshiba & Compaq LiIon Batteries, Test Equipment
Honda CB-125S $800 in PDX
Yaesu FTV901R Transverter, 30pS pulser
Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head...
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

Bill, if you are talking about the 12v booster packs, the ones that have a
pair of jumper cable ends plus at least one cig. lighter-type outlet, these
contain gel cell batteries, and work very well as emergency power supplies
for your 2m radio, particularly if you operate it at the low power setting.
Two years ago, when an ice storm trashed the city's utility lines in a small
city near me, a ham I know there operated his 2m/70cm radio from one of
these every evening for over a week. Every couple of days he would take the
pack with him to work and recharge it. Then it would be good for a couple
more evenings of operation. Go for it!

Mark


wrote in message
...
On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 11:09:13 -0500, "KC8WVG , Bill"
wrote:

I'm trying to locate an emergemcy source of power to operate my 2meter
base rig in the event of a power outage. My HTX-242 manual states the
current drain of the transmitter as 8A @ 45W and 4A @ 10W. Would a 17aH
jump start battery work? Or is there something better, yet not to costly?

Automotive starting batteries are designed to deliver one huge slug of
electrons over a short period of time. They don't do so well at
delivering
a low amount of power over a long time.

Me, I scrounge old SLA (Sealed Lead Acid)or gel-cel mat (forget the
acronym) computer UPS batteries, recharge them and test them under heavy
load. If the voltage drop is 5%, I keep them or pass them on to friends;
otherwise, take them to a battery dealer for the $1 (or more) core charge
I
get back.

I don't have an automated charging system, and instead use a trickle
charger from Wal-Mart said to have some degree of intelligence. It cost me
$18.

I charge up the batteries, test them under load and without, and log the
result. I also run each on rotation for the weekly ARES nets, so I can
report "operating on emergency power', which gets me off the net quickest
and also encourages other hams to be self-reliant.



--
John Bartley K7AAY http://celdata.cjb.net
This post quad-ROT-13 encrypted; reading it violates the DMCA.
Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct
tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT.