[aprssig] Backup Remote Power cord ops - to 3200'

[Robert Bruninga]

Stephen, Great info!
P.S. I have also distributed power over 3200 feet of a single wire #22
Earth-return that also fits on an under-seat sized spool (though at higher
voltage.  See: http://aprs.org/aprs-swer.html

Bob

On Wed, Dec 1, 2021 at 6:54 PM Stephen H Smith <WA8LMF2 at aol.com> wrote:
>
> On 12/1/2021 4:59 PM, Robert Bruninga wrote:
>
> When preparing for winter APRS (and other) backup power I found it
> possible to fit up to 175' of power cord on the  Home Depot power cord
reel.
>
> Just pull off the 20' of #14 power cord  and rewind with up to 175' of #18
> Zip cord..  Rated at 10 Amps the reel can still carry plenty of power the
> distance if precautions are followed and it can still fit under the car
seat if
> needed.
>
> I did this about a decade ago!   Used a generic orange cord reel from
Harbor Freight that had 30 feet of 16-3 cord on it.  Took it apart, removed
the cable, and replaced it with 200 feet of Monoprice premium "oxygen-free"
(an affectation in the audiophile community) speaker cable.  This stuff is
two-conductor 14-2 zip cord in a clear PVC jacket. One conductor is
stranded natural copper color; the other is silver (tinned copper) (so you
can tell the polarity for stereo speaker hook ups.  If you are really
serious about polarizing 2-conductor AC cords, the two colors are a lot
easier to see than the almost invisible ridges on one side of AC zip cord.

>
> At swap meets, Field Day, etc, the safety-enforcers always freak out when
they think they are seeing bare wires on the ground!
>
> ___________________________________________
>
> *** COOL NEW GADGET! ***
>
> For power in the field, I just took the plunge and invested in a Jackery
"portable power station".,   This is a 25-lb 10x10x12 inch box with a 1
kilowatt-hour lithium battery inside. The battery is surrounded by TWO
DC-DC converters and ONE DC-AC inverter:  One outputs 5 VDC to two USB-A
jacks and two USB-C jacks.   One outputs to a 10 AMP 12 VDC car lighter
jack,  The inverter outputs 110 VAC pure sinewave to  THREE 110 VAC
three-prong AC outlets.  The AC inverter can output up to 1 KILOWATT!
 I've tried it - it really can power a 3/4-horse table saw or a small
microwave oven, a coffee maker, or my 800-watt electric weed whacker..
>
> On the input end, it has charging jacks for a normal 12-VDC car power
jack (a.k.a "cigarette lighte jacr"). It CAN ACCEPT 10 TO 30 volts input,
so the power station can be charged on large trucks or military vehicles
with 28 VDC systems.  It can also be connected to  a provided 250-watt
 100-250 VAC-input power brick.    Finally, it has a built-in solar charge
controller that can be connected to "bare" solar panels - no external
charge controller needed.    The device comes with a Y-shaped cable with an
mystery junction box in the center that allows you to connect two similar
12-18 volt solar panels in parallel to the single port.
>
> The front panel has a nice LCD display that shows:
>
>    A bar-graph battery level "gas gauge"
>
>    The number of watts coming in from all charge sources
>
>    The number of watts going out to loads on all ports.
>
> I have used this device several times now at ham events including swap
meets, and a presentation on APRS that I gave to the Traverse City,
Michigan ham club last week.  I call the Jackery my "cordless extension
cord".  Sure beats chasing around unfamiliar venues looking for AC outlets
and stringing vast lengths of extension cords!
>
> Now that the winter season has arrived, the swap meets around here
(Michigan) are all indoors at auditoriums, union halls, high school gyms,
etc. There is always a mad scramble at these events for sellers' spaces
near the wall,  to get access to the scarce AC outlets.  Now, with the
Jackery, I can take any table in the middle of the room, and  plunk the
power station down under the table.    I then plug in everything  AC or DC
into the one power supply:  Phone and tablet chargers, 12 VDC transceivers,
AC supplies for 100-watt class HF transceivers, laptops, desktop PCs,
computer monitors, my drone charger, and even my Acer 1080-HD video
projector.   The Jackery has had no problems powering all this stuff for
the typical 5 hours of the average swap meet.
>
>
> ________________________________
> Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
> Skype:        WA8LMF
> EchoLink:  Node #  14400  [Think bottom of the 2-meter band]
> Home Page:          http://wa8lmf.net
>
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>
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>
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>
>
>
>
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