At the Jars Field Day we saw a Johnston County ARES Go box that had been put together by nc0j. Jamey did an excellent job and with the solar panels. He was able to operate on HF and still be fully charged. Obviously it was a sunny day but still he was operating late into the evening and had enough battery to last.
As you can tell from the pictures it is a solid design and works well. There are many features that he implemented and is a very nice package. Certainly designed to get out in the field and maintain the communication when all else fails.
Looking forward to hearing you on the radio tonight at 9:00 PM on the AK4H repeater as we have our weekly rag chew about preparedness. Whether you enjoy listening on your radio, scanner, or even echolink it is a check in driven net so if you have your technician license or higher feel free to hit the PTT button. If you have not gotten your ticket yet please let us know what we can do to help.
If anyone has any questions about the Battery Box or Solar Panels, feel free to send me an email or find me on the JARS repeater. My information is correct on QRZ.com. I have a list of parts available if anyone wants to see what went into it. It did do a great job both days and nights on Field Day. There was hardly any sun the first day, but the second day, the panels were pumping in more juice than I was using due to clear skies. I was able to operate Packet WinLink with the ARES GoBox, a laptop, and an HF station all from the battery all weekend and finished up with about an 80% charge.
~Jamey – NC0J
Jamey,
Thank you! I am sure someone will have questions. It is a top notch setup.