The MCARA held yet another ham camp this weekend (I forget the count now, it's something around 15 since the first one in 2014), and a good time was had by all. Learned a lot about operating a new-ish small solar power system and managing its trickle of power to keep a 100 watt radio on the air. Here are some pics, I'll interleave a few nerd notes to self along the way.
The new-ish 27 watt panel, along with connectors to get things conducted back to where I want to be, 50' away under a shady tree. Solar panels don't get berated by the dermatologist the way I do. Of its nominal 27 watts, in the real world it delivers just under 21 watts – slightly above par.
The business end of things. That wiring setup is akin to a science fair project, and will receive considerable re-engineering between now an the resumption of camping season next fall. It did all work though, so as a thrown-together prototype that allowed the rest of the system to be stress-tested, it was a complete success.
Of course, this solar power system can run a coffee grinder. We may have been roughing it, sleeping on the ground and using non-resonant antennas, but we are not savages. Standards must be maintained. Pre-ground coffee will not do.
And finally, speaking of standards, this morning's breakfast featured the traditional fare of the MCARA ham campouts:
Back to the small solar power system, the bottom line on the weekend's power budget is: went to the woods with 12 AH in the battery, the panel supplied another 15 AH, and the radio, computer, and (of course) coffee grinder used 23.4 AH. This left about 3.6 AH brought home in the LiFePO battery – ample margin. Remember, the objective is to go operate on minimal gear and have just enough power to do so, not to return home with a topped-off battery. This system is enough for a fun weekend of casual operating on full-house 100 watts. It'll also keep a QRP radio in business indefinitely. At less than 10 pounds, it's a joy to load up for car camping.
As far as contacts went, there were a handful to the Florida QSO party, a short one to Costa Rica on 17m (the band opened just before dark on Saturday), fooled with a bunch of digital modes with a friend 20 miles away in Diamondhead on 80m (I suspect that was via groundwave propagation), and had a nice chat on PSK-31 with a guy out in Texas. Not many in total, but the ionosphere isn't in the best shape lately either. It was all fun.
One more gear note worth mentioning, the 1/4-size W3EDP antenna tuned just fine down to 80m. It probably wasn't very efficient there, but like the dog that mows the lawn it doesn't have to do it well, it's amazing that it does it at all. This may have had something to do with the antenna extending all the way to the ground, rather than being suspended well above, as I usually hang this thing. Will have to experiment with this in the backyard in the near future.
Back to unpacking and cleaning gear.
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