portable power Archives

The FT-857D as a Shack in a Box: Why It’s One of My Favorite SHTF Radios

August 28, 2026

Part of our The Yaesu FT-857D: The Complete Guide. One Box, Every Band You’d Actually Need When I think through what a grab-and-go radio needs to do in an actual SHTF scenario, the list is short: reach the local repeater network, monitor and work HF for anything past line of sight, and do it all…

Your Comms Plan for Every Disaster Scenario

August 15, 2026

Part of our Emergency Communications and Preparedness pillar I have written about a lot of individual disaster scenarios on this site, and I kept hearing the same thing: people wanted one place to find all of it instead of hunting through a dozen separate posts. So here it is. Every scenario-specific comms plan I have…

DIY Battery Box vs. EcoFlow, Jackery, and Predator

August 10, 2026

Part of our Building Your First Ham Radio Station guide. When setting up a portable off-grid power solution for camping, overlanding, mobile field operations, or emergency prep, you quickly run into a big decision: should you buy an all-in-one commercial solar generator or build a custom LiFePO4 battery box? Commercial all-in-one stations from brands like…

FT-891 vs FTX-1 Field vs G90: Which Portable HF Radio Wins for POTA

August 4, 2026

Part of our Getting On The Air: Modes, Operations, and Making Contacts guide. I get some version of this question constantly: which of my three portable-friendly HF radios should someone actually buy for POTA. I own all three, I use all three in the field, and the honest answer is that they’re not really competing…

Backup Power for the Shack: Generators, Solar, and Batteries for Extended Outages

August 4, 2026

Part of our Emergency Communications and Preparedness guide. I’ve written plenty about LiFePO4 batteries and solar charging for field kits, but there’s a bigger question I haven’t tackled directly: what actually keeps the shack itself running when the grid is down for days instead of hours. Batteries alone won’t carry a base station forever, so…

Tag: portable power

The FT-857D as a Shack in a Box: Why It’s One of My Favorite SHTF Radios

Your Comms Plan for Every Disaster Scenario

DIY Battery Box vs. EcoFlow, Jackery, and Predator

FT-891 vs FTX-1 Field vs G90: Which Portable HF Radio Wins for POTA

Backup Power for the Shack: Generators, Solar, and Batteries for Extended Outages

Packing an FTX-1 Go-Bag: What I Actually Carry

Battery Power and Runtime: Running the FTX-1 Field Head Off-Grid

Storing and Rotating Batteries So Emergency Radios Actually Work When Needed

How Long Will Your Comms Kit Actually Run When the Grid Is Down

Building a Solar-Powered Meshtastic Repeater Node

Solar Charging for Your Ham Shack: Panels, Charge Controllers, and Realistic Expectations

LiFePO4 vs. SLA: Choosing a Battery for Portable Power

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