Love the plastic spoon insulator!

Has anyone here ever built their own solar panel, I have read some articles and seen some videos.  Looks tedious but not overly difficult.

Was looking at these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sunpower-Solar-Cell-Flexible-Mono-Wafer-Monocrystalline-Dogbone-Busbar-DIY-Panel-/262898382095

Thoughts?

I have a couple of 980SSB's but i personally have not modified them.  I heard this model finally got cracked and can be modified for expanded channels.  You can check out the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an_tCy10SGg

As far as boosting power on the unit itself, i do not believe it is part of this modification.  If you are looking for a small power boost I would suggest the RM KL203P amplifier, can be found online fairly cheap. The 980SSB runs this amp perfectly (My current mobile set up).  Pre amp is good, only down side is it is not the best on SSB due to biasing. 

Good Luck, 73's

Quote from: gil on December 31, 2017, 08:18:23 AM

QuoteYou could do fine talking to both repeaters and SSB operators without having to fuss with the antenna.

Bob, I was surprised to be able to talk to England from the French Cliffs at Cape Blanc Nez both in FM and USB with the same horizontally polarized Yagi...

As to the RF caused by the amp... I have said it many times and will continue to say it, you don't need an amp! Without the amp you also don't need a 40Ah battery! Which mean that you won't have to carry it if you have to. Using a smaller battery will also mean using a smaller solar panel. You win both in weight and money. 12W SSB is plenty of power. Some of them can also be adjusted for a bit more after the SHTF, if need be... An amp is a waste of amperes, money and carrying capacity. The only thing it might be good at is warming up your tent maybe, and at a significant cost.

Gil.

In all honesty i have to agree without the amp the 40ah Lifepo4 is over kill.  But since the expense was already made (400$+), i wasn't going to let it sit on the shelf.  This is why I incorporated an inverter into the box.  This allows the box to be not only portable comms but also a portable charging station.  With plenty of power to run the CB, and charge things like my cell phone and laptop. 

Thank you for the input LWolken!  I have been thinking over 60w at a minimum.  My radio only draws 650mA on the RX with no signal, and with CB it would mostly be used to RX.  I will let you know what panel and controller i decide on.

OK here it is CB Go Box 2.0...Spent quite a few hours putting it together, nixed the amp, secondary antenna mount, PA Horn. Changed my meter out to a new model and added power inverter to have the ability to charge some additional items Laptop Phone Etc.  I have tested this out and can also run my base station via the inverter for power down situations.  Still utilizing the 40 ah battery,  it is heavy but so much power and the price tag makes me want to keep using this thing.  Still just enough space to allow my dipole antenna some para cord and the dc charger.  Only thing i would like to add in the box is my solar controller and there should be plenty of room for that still.  I can't seem to find the perfect panel for inside the box storage, i will likely store the panel separate.

Great episode on CB radios on The Survival Podcast

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/cb-practical-prep-with-clay-vitis

They pack a lot into an hour its a good listen!

Well did some size testing, the dry box i picked up is a bit larger than expected (good thing).  I am able to fit my radio, meter, dipole antenna as well as my 40ah lifepo4 battery from my first go box plus an inverter that i picked up.  This will allow me to have a power station for cells and laptops etc.  If i go with this larger battery in the box, what size panel would i need to keep it topped off during field use?  I think i have my calculations down but not sure as this is my first dive into solar.  Here it goes:

40Watt Panel/ 12 Volts= 3.3 Amperes
40 amp hour Battery/ 5Amperes=12.1 hours of charge time approx. 

I know that there are discharge factors that would reduce this overall charge time, but then again i am only looking at keeping this battery topped off.

As far as power draw, i am going legal limit cb/ssb so 12amps max and that would be only on TX...

Does this sound like it would work?

Ok, Tried everything i could to stop the RF radiation coming out of my go box.  The only way to stop it was to nix the amp....so this brings me to my next incarnation of my CB go box...Legal power ??? I want to do everything right this time and make it small and compact so i could take this literally anywhere i would like.  My question is, i am going to buy a new battery 12ah bioenno lifepo4 seems to give me good dimensions and output.  But i would like to know what size solar panel i should get.  Any brands or ideas would be great.  Everything i could find shows a 10w would work good.  I would like to panel etc to also be able to fit in my smaller box but know if that is not possible i would like a fold able Powerfilm like panel that i could also stow away.  My initial thoughts would be to use a genesun solar charge controller as well...any thoughts?

Here is another good article on the channel 3 radio prepping philosophy

https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/3-3-3-radio-plan-for-shtf-communications/

Quick question, does anyone know what kind of mic plug man pack handsets use?  I was wondering if these could be switched out.  Any information would be helpful.

Well as i continue to test my go box i continue to run into some problems.  I have been experiencing some pretty significant RF feedback through the microphone when TX.  Basically, after the radio has warmed up when i transmit i am getting a small shock through the microphone.  This does occur more when i am using the amplifier than when i am not.  After my initial research it appears that a grounding issue is to blame.  My question and what i can't quite come up with a solution for would be how do you ground a go box? 

I am now into the market for a solar panel to recharge and run my Go Box with a 40 amp hour Bioenno LiFepo4.  What are some suggestions for panel?

Quote from: caulktel on November 08, 2017, 09:44:57 AM
I picked up a Uniden Pro 510xl and a Hustler mag mount from a guy on craigslist the other day for $25. I was amazed at how well it works. All of it was band new in the original packaging. I heard some truck drivers loading gravel at a local quarry about 12 miles from my house, they gave me a 59 signal report. I also was surprised to hear them talking like 'normal' people, no CB slang. The 510 is still rated the best CB for the price in 2017. All in all a good experience.

Joel
N6ALT

I hear local quarrys and loading docks all the time.  Usually on channel 11.  I don't know if that is standard but my Uniden 980SSB has scan feature which makes it easy to hear who is on or not.  I turn it on as soon as i start my vehicle up in the morning. 

The following link highlights the reasons CB (11 meter)should be included into radio prepping

https://offgridsurvival.com/cbradios/

Also included a generic listing of what channels to monitor, I found this helpful when starting out.