Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 4 of 5 < 1 2 3 4 5 >
Topic Options
#42231 - 06/24/05 03:17 AM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
GoatRider Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/28/04
Posts: 835
Loc: Maple Grove, MN
Nice. That replaces the ICOM AC-23 on my christmas wish list.
_________________________
- Benton

Top
#42232 - 06/24/05 06:18 AM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
This excerpt from the Toronto Sun was emailed to me in Jan. of this year. If their estimates are correct, we could all be wearing our equipment chargers on our collars in 5 years.

SUN-POWERED MATERIAL COMES OUT OF U OF TORONTO

Tara Brautigam
Canadian Press

Researchers at the University of Toronto have invented an infrared-sensitive material that's five times more efficient at turning the sun's power into electrical energy than current methods.

The discovery could lead to shirts and sweaters capable of recharging our cellphones and other wireless devices, said Ted Sargent, professor of lectrical and computer engineering at the university.

Sargent and other researchers combined specially-designed minute particles called quantum dots, three to four anometres across, with a polymer to make a plastic that can detect energy in the infrared.

Infrared light is not visible to the naked eye but it is what most remote controls emit, in small amounts, to control devices such as TVs and DVD players.

It also contains a huge untapped resource. Despite the surge in popularity of solar cells in the 1990s, we still miss half of the sun's power, Sargent said. "In fact, there's enough power from the sun hitting the Earth every day to supply all the world's needs for energy 10,000 times over," Sargent said in a phone interview today from Boston, where he is currently a visiting professor of nanotechnology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sargent said the new plastic composite is, in layman's terms, a layer of film that "catches" solar energy. He said the film can be applied to any device, much like paint is coated on a wall.

"We've done the same thing, but not with something that just sit there on the wall the way paint does," said the Ottawa native.

"We've done it to make a device which actually harnesses the power in the room in the infrared."

The film can convert up to 30 per cent of the sun's power into usable, electrical energy. Today's best plastic solar cells capture only about six per cent.

Sargent said the advance would not only wipe away that inefficiency, but also resolve the hassle of recharging our countless gadgets and pave the way to a true wireless world.

"We now have our cellphones and our BlackBerries and we're walking around without the need to plug in, in order to get our data," he said. "But we seem trapped at the moment in needing to plug in to get our power. That's because we charge these things up electrically, from the outlet. But there's actually huge amounts of power all around us coming
from the sun."

The film has the ability to be sprayed or woven into shirts so that our cuffs or collars could recharge our IPods, Sargent said.

While that may sound like a Star Trek dream, venture capitalists are keen on Sargent's invention. Josh Wolfe, managing partner at Lux Capital, a New York City-based venture capital firm, said while such a luxury may be five years away, the technology knows no bounds.

"When you have a material advance which literally materially changes the way that energy is absorbed and transmitted to our devices ... somebody out there tinkering away in a bedroom or in a government lab is going to come up with a great idea for a new device that will shock us all," he said in a phone interview.

"When the Internet was created nobody envisioned that the killer app (application) would be e-mail or instant messaging."

Sargent's work was published in the online edition of Nature Materials today and will appear in its February issue.

Top
#42233 - 06/24/05 01:58 PM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
KyBooneFan Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 06/19/05
Posts: 233
Loc: West Kentucky
Cedfire, I got really excited about your find on the VXA-700. I spent about two hours on the internet researching it and finding the cheapest price ($379 w/free ship). I was about ready to order it when I read some reviews which didn't say much for the radio. It apparently has too much crammed into too little space. Aircraft, ham, full FM broadcast band, NOAA weather, etc. As one reviewer said, if you want all this, better to buy THREE radios. I agree. See reviews:

http://www.avshop.com/prodinfo.asp?number=5135

At any rate, I appreciate your efforts in finding this radio. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
"The more I carry, the less I need."

Top
#42234 - 06/24/05 02:02 PM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
KyBooneFan Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 06/19/05
Posts: 233
Loc: West Kentucky
Benton, in case you missed my recent post on this radio, read the sad reviews on it before you spend your money:

http://www.avshop.com/prodinfo.asp?number=5135

I was ready to order until I read these. Now, I don't think so. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
"The more I carry, the less I need."

Top
#42235 - 06/24/05 02:35 PM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
GoatRider Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/28/04
Posts: 835
Loc: Maple Grove, MN
Thanks, I was going to ask about the audio quality of it. Back when I bought my A22, there were 3 different aviation handhelds available- the Icom, Sporty's, and Yaesu. Icom's audio quality was far superior. In the pilot shop at St. Paul Airport, the other two could barely pick up ATIS on the same airport, while Icom's sounded loud and clear.

Dang, I really liked that it has a lithium battery, and is the lightest one out there. Maybe I should think about the aviation only version.


Edited by GoatRider (06/24/05 02:38 PM)
_________________________
- Benton

Top
#42236 - 06/24/05 03:12 PM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
KyBooneFan Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 06/19/05
Posts: 233
Loc: West Kentucky
From my experience, there is no better radio made than Icom. It is the ultimate in quality although pricey. I agree on the lithium battery. That is the only way to go. I use lithium AA's in my iFinder Hunt Lowrance GPS and they last for MONTHS.
They cost about two bucks each but they are worth it. Getting where you can't get them at Wally World without undergoing a security check due to the meth cooks. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
"The more I carry, the less I need."

Top
#42237 - 06/24/05 03:22 PM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
GoatRider Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/28/04
Posts: 835
Loc: Maple Grove, MN
Know of any decent multi-band Icom's? Something that transmits on aviation and as many bands as it can, and also receives more bands?

Naturally, light weight is important, as well as rechargable batteries that last a long time and don't self discharge. And high transmit power. Oh- and it should induce peace and harmony amongst all who live in the middle east.


Edited by GoatRider (06/24/05 03:25 PM)
_________________________
- Benton

Top
#42238 - 06/24/05 03:47 PM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
KyBooneFan Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 06/19/05
Posts: 233
Loc: West Kentucky
I'm not familiar with aircraft jargon. You should be able to find something here:

http://www.icomamerica.com/avionics/

Maybe this won't offend the middle easterners! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
"The more I carry, the less I need."

Top
#42239 - 06/24/05 04:21 PM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
GoatRider Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/28/04
Posts: 835
Loc: Maple Grove, MN
I'm aware of those, in fact the A23 is on my wish list.

I'm hoping that somewhere there is something that does a lot of other bands in addition to aviation. Transmitting on frequencies we're allowed to, such as HAM, family band, CB, etc, and receiving on others, such as weather, AM, FM, short wave, and police, so I only have to carry one radio. I know it's contradictory to get good quality and also a lot of frequencies in one unit, and especially one antenna, about as likely as peace in the middle east. But I can hope can't I?

BTW, COM is just COMmunications on 118-132 mhz, VOR is VHF Omni-Range on 101-117 mhz, a radio beacon used for airways since the late 50's. Pretty sucky compared to GPS, but still useful as a backup.
_________________________
- Benton

Top
#42240 - 06/24/05 06:34 PM Re: What is THE single best survival item to own?
brian Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/28/04
Posts: 1468
Loc: Texas
Nice ... now all we need are sunny days and nothing between our collars and the sun. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
_________________________
Learn to improvise everything.

Top
Page 4 of 5 < 1 2 3 4 5 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 325 Guests and 52 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.