I seem to have bought the last 817 as the 818 was coming out.  It is my go-to radio.  I have talked next door and to Europe with 5 watts. (Morse Code). It has all modes and all bands.  I have a battery cable with attachments for a vehicle cigarette lighter plug, car battery clamps, and connectors for any 12v source I can find.  My all power power pack is a 26,000 ah battery when hooked to the 817 it should run for 20 days or more with accompanying solar panels.  It is worth the wait.  Also, you can listen to AM/FM broadcast stations for local propaganda.  With a small modification you can use it on the CB frequencies if it is legal in your country.

The last couple of days I have been camping in South Texas.  I am learning Morse Code and have been using it mainly with either my Yaesu FT-817 or the KX3.  With an endfed wire on my DX Commander pole I was talking easily to Hungary and Bulgaria.  My issue is my local EMMCOM wants WINLINK on 80 meters.  It is all well and good but if you are 'deployed' I can't see having the room for an 80 meter antenna.  Any suggestions??  It just amazes me that shack rats expect field rats to use 100 watts on WINLINK on 80 meters.

With the UK getting  serious on the idea there may be blackouts over winter here are some recommendations to get through the time the power may be off.


Also the attachment from the UK Government on blackouts and which areas may experience it and what times.

Same as Ray on second and third position, but my number one is the Elecraft K1! Maybe because I built it... Actually I built two and owned three, still own one I did build. It analog... No DDS, no DSP, pure unadulterated analog sound goodness :-) You can listen to it for hours without tiring. It's also super cute, which is always a plus. Current draw is only 50mAh and power output around 6W. It has a built-in auto tuner. I only wish I had kept my four-bander. For my current build I chose 30 and 80m, though I do not use 80m often for lack of an antenna at home. I only wish Elecraft would make an updated version, still fully analog, in the same case, maybe with five or six bands and of course still offered as a kit, but unfortunately it's not going to happen..

Gil.

The KX2 or KX3 were excellent receivers, very low current consumption and I made form fitting protective cases for them.  I do wish that I had never sold them, but I tend to sell radios that I have to buy radios that I 'want'.  This has not always been a good decision.

- RadioRay

The solar is a 13W briefcase type of panel. Might get something more better as 13W is not enough really for fast charge. It was one of them you got in the cheap stores or those that sell anything electrical. Looking on EBay they have flexible panels for under £30 with charge controller. Might get one and connect that if we get a power outage.

How much power is your solar panel rated to give?  The info the solar panel makers give is generally best case, so if there is haze, or clouds, or its not lined up to take advantage of the best angle the actual output will be less. Determine if you will have enough solar energy to charge your battery to enable to you run your radios for the estimated time each day you are going to want to operate.  Be sure to plan for a few cloudy or even rainy days between sunny days, or have a contingency for that (charge it a little while from the car or something handy).

 Also, importantly, heat makes the panel less efficient.. which is bad as you will notice they are all a black panel. What gets the hottest in the sun? Of course its our panels.
So, its best to mount them some place that has air flow behind to help cool them. I have a 120 watt folding panel, and I try to not lay it on the ground, as it gets warmer with no
under side air flow.   On summer outings (up to 40C at times) it is very noticeable the heating effect, where in winter time (as low as -20C) , it works a lot better.   

I hope those are some ideas that will help with what you are asking. 

73  Arn

Hello,
Indeed it has been slow.. I think also that the "unread posts" feature doesn't always work for some reason.. I have clearly missed posts I had not read yet..
Gil.

Welcome, we're a slow, but steady, group. I've moved recently, and need to get an antennae in the air. The good news is I'm hundreds of feet higher in elevation, so my DX should improve considerably.

Hello everyone
Name is Bill, new here and call sign id K8OB.I have participated in the radio prepper net hosted by shawn dunbar in the past. Been a ham since 2019,currently hold an extra class license and have ran a prepper net group here in MI on 2m and on 75m called The Great Lakes Preparedness Net (formerly Rust Belt Net). Looking to stay in contact with other like minded individuals.
73
K8OB