I don't like UTC.. I like 24h  time where I live. So, 11:00 is 11:00 AM, otherwise I would use 23:00. Eastern time.

Gil.

Listen tomorrow 14067.5 at 11:30 EST...

Gil.

Welcome aboard Paladin.

You'll like this forum. We have many knowledgeable and great people here.

You would have no toruble operating stealth with a small CW QRP rig  ;)

Gil.

I think there was a contest... Too busy... Sorry.

Gil.

Hello,

I did call you at 11:00 EST sharp on 14060... We could try 7030 at 22:00?

Gil.

Quotethe SCC3

I built that one too!

Gil.

Great, what do you use for a charge controller?

Gil.

Well, the guide10 has a charge LED which changes color and blinks... Enough to know it's working... Otherwise, a multimeter will tell you.

Gil.

QuoteSo how did the Goal Zero work out?

Pretty well. Though I did have to recharge only one set of AAs for use with the Guide10 LED light. I also recharged my mini speaker a few times... My set of eight AA cells for the MTR lasted the whole week, and probably could have lasted a few more days! Since I recharged the speaker and AAs at the same time, I do not know exactly how long it takes to recharge four AA cells alone... I just left it laying down on the ground for most of the day. I guess I'll have to plan a longer trip to find out more ::) It does seem to fit my needs is all I can say.

Gil.

QuoteI SAID I AM GOING TO GET THE GENERAL LICENSE!!!!! Is there an ignore button for the next guy who bring it up?

LOL  ;)

Gil.

QuoteNice looking unit, pretty similar to my SOTA tuner. In my opinion the EFHW is the key to lightweight, quick and easily deployed field antennas.

Exactly. I do have a SOTA tuner as well, but I find the end-fed to be much easier to set-up.

Gil.

QuoteI bet I could kick my Walmart special and break it.

Yep. I was happy to have it for my camping trip tough, at least my radio was dry... Small waterproof cases like that, even the cheap ones can be used for so many things...

Gil.

QuoteThe things I listed barely scratch the surface, TEOTWAWKI is definitely not the time to learn all this stuff.

What gets people is that it all seems deceptively simple... Until you don't make contact, and you don't know why... This is especially true of course for HF, but sometimes also VHF. I highly suggest getting into HF with a General license as well. Tech does allow HF, but only on 10m and lower, using CW. Like I said, General isn't much harder to get.

Most of all, do listen to people here with more experience... Had I not taken my time, I would have spent much more before actually getting what I really needed and wanted... My first inclination was to buy one of the big-name rigs, like a yaesu FT-897D at $1K. Not that it's a bad radio, but it doesn't answer my needs for portability and low current draw. Some radios draw 1.5A on receive. Others draw 0.04A... Think about battery size and weight... A battery that can power an IC-7200 for an hour will power my QRP rig for 37Hrs!

Then, we are getting into antennas, and that is whole new ball game, with polarizations, pattern graphs, impedance matching, and a flurry of other details which can help you or prevent you from making contact. So, sure, anyone can turn on a radio and press the PTT button. Whether anyone will hear them is another matter. Not to mention propagation...

The Technician license is a good start, but ommits a lot of technical and scientific knowledge. Even the General and Extra licenses far from cover it all. It took me close to a year to get to where I am at now, and that included previous schooling in electronics and messing around with CB. There are still many subjects I do not quite grasp. However, I do know now not to waste my money on gear that won't help me. For example, I have no family in the vicinity, so VHF is not a priority for me. Passing messages through HF nets or contacts over long distances is...

Also keep in mind that an HF transceiver doesn't cost much more (sometimes less!) than a good short-wave receiver, which it also functions as... Take the KX1 for instance: It received short-wave and transmits and receive Morse code... My KX3 does everything but serve coffee in the morning... Even a cheap MFJ-9440X will allow LSB and CW, and receive a few short-wave stations on 40m. You could even learn Morse and get on 7025 to 7125KHz with your Tech license! HTs are typically not good SW receivers... A lot of older radios can be found on Ebay for $300 or less that will do all that and more.

"SWL" means "Short Wave Listening."

Luck can tell you all about digital modes and email over HF...

I do email over HF too: I send a message to Ray in Morse, and he emails it for me  ;) Hahaha! Thanks Ray!

Gil.

QuoteI use a watertight gasketed box made by Outdoor products. it's nowhere near the quality of a Pelican but it's advantage is that it's cheap, i bought mine at Wal-Mart for less than $10.

I have one of those... The Pelicans do however look much stronger... That is why I don't mind spending a bit of money on them. It does cost much more to replace a radio!

Gil.

QuoteSo what was the end fed tuner kit you ordered?

Hello,

The kit was a BetterQRP end-fed half-wave tuner for 40 to 15m. That is the one I took camping. It does not cover 80m. The 80m end-fed matchbox I built was from scratch... I need to stretch the wire to measure the SWR, because with the wire over the house (inverted U), I get too high a SWR...

Gil.