Me too .....

Here's how the thread looks to me:

"Blah Blah Blah, yadda yadda yadda, lots of money and crazy gizmos .... "

Not trying to bash, but definitely a foreign language to me.

Ham radio is a great way for you to get information and stay in touch when regular comms are unavailable. A Technician license exam can be earned with perhaps 40 hours of self-study. You might even find that it's fun .

The USB dongles aren't particularly expensive, except for the Funcube Dongle Pro+

Cheaper alternatives to the $25 ClimaxDigital USB DVB-T dongle can be for slightly less cash i.e.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/dvb-t-digit...k-149928?item=6

This dongle will only support DVB-T broadcasts which are not available in North America. This will allow reception of Digital TV, FM and DAB radio. Again DAB digital radio is not available in North America. The DAB radio on the ClimaxDigital USB radio is excellent giving near CD-audio broadcast quality that can easliy be recored to an SDHC card for later playback. It will also give Digital Video Recording.

The Samsung Netbook is less than 1/2 the price of an iPad (and much much more useful with its three USB ports and Gigabit LAN Ethernet connection). This will also be used for other purposes. It is a low powered (typically using around 10-22W Power) but will even run 1080p HDTV video and even HD video on the BBC iPlayer website. Many folks might already have a netbook available though.

The Lithium Battery + Solar PV folding panel are expensive but can be used for many emergency power requirements. If using a vehicle the kit can be powered from the Cigar socket be purchasing the appropriate cigar power adapter for the Netbook PC computer.

The Funcube dongle is much more expensive at around $200 but its performance for a wide band receiver - it will be a future purchase i.e. Christmas present . Cheaper alternatives can be used such as the using the RTL2832 chipset i.e the Hama USB DVB-T Receiver "Nano" if UHF is the main interest i.e. Satellite down conversion receiver.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-USB-DVB-T-Receiver-Nano/dp/B002NO7QJE

The Software Defined Radio Software is free
The VOIP softphone is free
The Wouxun programming software is free

The Wouxons are around $100 each. They are pretty capable and flexible to use when setup i.e. programmed using the $5 programming cable;

Here is a review;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqFtNF77ros

The Wireless 3G router (ZTE MF60) can be replaced with a simpler 3G USB dongle for around $30-$35

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unlocked-Huawei-...1970&sr=1-1

The Speedtouch ADSL landline modem can usually be found in a skip or for around $6. I will be able to get hold of one for nothing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Speedtouch-330-A...6413&sr=8-2

The landline PSTN/POTS phone (everyone should already have one) can be purchased if required for around $15.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BT-Duet-210-Corded-Telephone/dp/B006O89XTQ

A V.92 USB dial up modem (old School) will cost around $12

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TRIXES-External-...2409&sr=1-6

The Bluetooth GPS unit cost me around $15.

The Laptop bag really was an extravagance though but the Molle PALS webbing allows other pouches to be attached securely.

Here is a Screenshot of SDR-Radio when tuning into 5.450MHz Upper Side Band 3000Hz using an SDR-IQ front end over the Internet.





You can listen to this small recording - A Weather Station report

Here is a small recording of a Seattle AM station on 1000 KHz recorded yesterday using an SDR-IQ reciever based in WA. Seattle AM station on 1000KHz recorded yesterday

This was just using the free SDR-Radio software and an Internet connection, which allows you to tune the local front end SDR-IQ receiver remotely.

A more local recording DAB Digital Radio News Report recorded from the ClimaxDigital USB Dongle recorded on 223.9 MHz earlier today

DAB digital radio gives near CD-audio quality.

I love this post so far. With your solar "array", will you be trickle charging a battery? HTs are great for day hikes and can may get you through a week or two. I'd like to know if there are circuits/kits/projects out there that will allow you to charge an HT battery by solar or even 12v from a car outlet.

My BOB/SIGINT plan consists of my IC-7000 because of the multiband aspect. I'm more HF-centric so since the 7000 is a beefcake power consumer, in a SHTF scenario, it would be used VERY sparingly if power consumption is a concern. This is assuming I'm buggin' with a vehicle. On foot, sorry IC-7000, we'll see ya later.

An HT is a viable option which I agree with, again, those batteries don't last forever so a solar option would be awesome.

What I forsee myself mainly using is a QRP rig. Lightweight, low power, small, inexpensive, I don't see many downsides other than the fact it's QRP. We all know a 5w HT can go pretty far on high ground, nay even into space. But in most earthly conditions, the range is localized.

I'm still working on BOB/SIGINT but it's becoming a reality very soon.

Let me also share the QRP rig I have my eye on. It's a beaut.

MantiZ Transceivers

Caleb

It doesn't look like it does PSK31 easily. I'd love a small, affordable QRP rig that could connect to a laptop or a tablet. I'm not convinced that I want to learn Morse code; when I tried it 20-odd years ago for my Tech+, it didn't go well.

PSK31, 63, and all the other digital variants are really fun. Dragging a laptop/tablet around is too much power for me. However, staying at home during an emergency where its easier to have things like a generator or solar array makes it (HF digital) a good tool in the survival/emcomm toolbox.

I forgot to mention that the Elecraft KX3 is a really nice station to put in a BOB. It is a little pricey but all the goods are there. Even PSK. It can connect to software but also of note is the text input via the CW key for PSK, no need for PC.

A note on CW. I've been learning it for about a year now. Nothing consistent in the practice realm but I have and do sporadically. It does take time to learn and I also believe one has to have a desire to do so. It's one of those things that doesn't go into the mind very well. I, personally, just decided to make it apart of my everyday life. I downloaded some iphone apps to practice, regular, free computer software, and when I'm bored, mentally convert text I see to morse. I'm not fast (~10 WPM), but the beauty of it is, the person you QSO with understands that and will slow down.

I'm a network engineer. My laptop comes with me almost everywhere. Part of our CERTs comms plan calls for me to bring my laptop and my wireless hotspot to any scene that we're working as well as my ham gear.

If we're packing light or needing to run on lower power, there is software for my iPad that would do it. Where my laptop runs for a couple of hours without mains power, my iPad could operate far longer. A spare battery that recharges my iPad is also a lot smaller and lighter than anything similar for my laptop.



That looks really nice. I need to save my pennies.

The Brunton 26 Watt Folding Solar panel will charge the Powertraveler PowerGorilla Lithium Battery.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PowerTraveller-P...mp;sr=8-1-fkmr1

It will just use a direct connection to the PowerGorilla will take a wide range of input Voltage from 12v through to 25v when charging. When fully charged it will give around 100WHrs. So a 6-8hr solar charge will fully recharge the PowerGorilla. It also will power the Samsung netbook at 19V output @2.5 Amps and would give an additional 7-8hrs use above the 2.5 hrs with its internal 4 cell battery 7.4V @ 4000mAhrs. A Samsung 6 Cell battery is available to give about 4hrs use.

Measuring the power of the Samsung Netbook with the Digital TV and FM/DAB/SDR Radio dongles is typically around 12-15W. Not too bad even when comparing to the power consumption of a stand alone 10-12 inch portable digital TV.

Satellite DVB-S2 HDTV requires an additional approx 10W to power the DVB-S2 USB tuner. So in sunny weather this would get around 3-4hrs Satellite TV/Radio capability per day and 7-8hrs per day on all other SIGINT modes.

The Satellite Antenna and Tripod certainly won't fit into the Laptop bag though and is quite heavy weighing in around 7 Kg i.e. around 15lbs.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Satellite-Dish-H...3068&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Satellite-Tripod-Camping-Touring-Caravan/dp/B004S14UNU/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ce_2

when the analog to digital TV format became effective, I purchased a small digital portable TV for hurricane season... it is rechargable and 12v capable, but with the single telescoping antenna, picked up only 5 channels..... to increase the reception, I purchased a UHF/VHF HD "rabbit ear" antenna (Zenith)...just received it...it doubled the channels to 11 and much better reception... something you might look into if you have a similar setup...I live about 35miles from the xmtrs...