Category Archives: Alternative Power

Some Field Day 2013 thoughts…

Posted on June 24, 2013 by robert

Our W1LY Field Day was much nicer this year due to better weather.  It was warm and breezy but not to hot and humid until Sunday — when the humidity picked up along with the temperature.  Still, it was MUCH … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Power, Contests, Gear, History, Instruction, Operating, Public Service, Satellite | Leave a comment

Satellite RX Offsets for AO-07, VO-52, and FO-29

Posted on June 19, 2013 by robert

Field day for NCRC is right around the corner, and its a busy one for me.  I’m responsible for the GOTA station, am acting as the Public Information Officer, and am setting up the 2m SSB and Linear Satellite station. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Power, Contests, From the OM, Operating, Public Service, Satellite | Leave a comment

An AC Charger for the 60 AH Battery

Posted on May 1, 2013 by robert

After shopping around a bit, I decided to use a Tenergy 10 Amp Charger for 4S LiFePO4 batteries.  The charger output cable is a pair of alligator clips just begging to be shorted out, and I wanted to replace them with Power … Continue reading →

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Battery In A Box

Posted on April 28, 2013 by robert

I finally found the time to complete my 60AH LiFePO4 battery by building it into a box this weekend between sporting events for my daughter. I had checked the size of the four battery cells prior to ordering them and … Continue reading →

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PCM Doing Good Job

Posted on April 23, 2013 by robert

The PCM LO4S30 Power Control Module that I used with the the four-series 60 AH LiFePO4 battery (LFP-G60 cells)  is doing a great job keeping the cells balanced on recharge.  After the 3rd PCM charge, the largest difference is now 12 … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Power, From the OM, Gear | 2 Comments

65.78 AH, 10h58m

Posted on April 21, 2013 by robert

And the Test Results are in… 65.78 AH capacity from 14.35 volts down to 12.00 volts, at a C/10 rate of 6.00 Amps.  This is 9.6% more than the name plate capacity. Measured individual cell voltages were very close, ranging … Continue reading →

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Note to self…

Posted on April 21, 2013 by robert

So the bewitching hour has struck, and the capacity test continues on. Testing high capacity batteries takes a lot of time.   Note to self for future tests:  Start earlier in the day! The 60AH battery has been under a … Continue reading →

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60AH LiFePO4 Battery for Field Day

Posted on April 19, 2013 by robert

After monitoring my K3 power consumption during the SSB WPX Contest, I determined that I could run the K3 continuously set to full power in contest mode for about 30 hours with a 60 AH battery.  So my plan is … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Power, From the OM, History | 3 Comments

Zippy LiFe 4200 Battery Self-discharge Test: 4% perMonth

Posted on February 28, 2013 by robert

A month ago I published some test results indicating a Zippy LiFe 4200 battery did have a capacity near its manufacturer’s claims (in fact slightly better than the claim at a C/2 discharge rate (2.1 Amps).  That original curve is … Continue reading →

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Initial Test Results on Zippy LiFePO4 4200mA 4S battery pack

Posted on January 27, 2013 by robert

There has been substantial discussion, but not much in the way of published test, on the “Zippy LiFe” batteries offered by Hobby King.  Hobby King has been supplying RC hobbyist LiPo batteries for years and recently started offering a LiFe … Continue reading →

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