[MRCA] Vehicle Power in the Field

[Ray Fantini]

Interesting idea going solar. The thing is that somehow try to keep the mutt working with technology from the sixties up to the late eighties. Something like the period of time they were in service. Would someday like to have a CUCV like a M-1009 to do some newer radios but don't know if that will ever happen. That would be a great place for my Falcon two junk.
The noisy MEP-025 has its drawbacks, mainly the noise and the pull start also sucks but it is the period correct generator for that time. Looked at Harbor Freight Predator generators and they are quiet and small but somehow just don't feel that would be right. Certain its just me but somehow don't see solar being an answer and an additional step for an already involved set up.
Maybe a later generator like a MEP-831 with its acoustic housing or a MEP-501, I looked at a 501 a couple years back at Hagerstown and it had the huge advantage of being electric start but the disadvantage of being just as noisy as my old 025 and came with a new benefit of generating clouds of diesel smoke.
As a side not, I did have to change out the two batteries in the mutt this year because the old ones were just starting to get too sketchy, and with new batteries was able to do things like take part in the Moose & Squirrel net on Saturday just using the batteries onboard the mutt without issue. Just need to address long periods of transmission like teletype nets and other occasions where I am running as NCS.
On one hand feel sorry about not being at Beltsville lake this year as NCS but on the other it is nice having shore power available  and only having to contend with the cooling fans on the 106.

Ray F/KA3EKH


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/mrca/attachments/20251013/01edbdf4/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Gilbert.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1859905 bytes
Desc: Gilbert.jpg
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/mrca/attachments/20251013/01edbdf4/attachment-0001.jpg>