Food Living Outside Play Technology Workshop
Communication / power box
by PBR Street gang on March 2, 2015
Table of Contents
Communication / power box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Intro: Communication / power box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Step 1: Gathering all the stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Step 2: Putin it all together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 3: Other things packed away and ready to go. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
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Intro: Communication / power box
So there are lots of portable power boxes out there and there are lots of Ham radio go kits ( radio in a box) kits also This kit blends these together along with a iPad and
Bluetooth speaker for extra flexibility .I now have a better organized set up that incorporates portable power and all my communications stuff in one place for
emergencies or even a possible Zombie Apocalypse!
Step 1: Gathering all the stuff
In this project, I used the following...because I had almost all of it laying around:
1 Pelican case #1510 ( you could use wooden crate or a big plastic tote)
1-35 Ah AGM battery ( the bigger the better)
1- B&D float mode battery charger ( small motorcycle battery tender is what I use)
1- 750W modified sine wave inverter ( 1500W max ) from harbor freight $37.99 { this also has a usb plug on it}
1- Kenwood TM-700 VHF/UHF FM Dual Band Ham Radio (this is a superior communication device with APRS etc.) 1-Yaesu VX-6R handheld Ham radio w/charger
cables ( great radio and also picks up weather band 162.55MHz)
2- FRS radios - with lots of batteries
1- iPad w/chargers (works great for a Scanner and many other things)
1- Bluetooth Jambox speaker ( great for amplifying the sound from the iPad)
1- Ambient Weather NOAA crank style weather radio/ flashlight/ AM-FM radio
1- Homemade J-Pole 2 meter antenna ( another instructable soon )
1- bag of assorted charging adapters,BNC connectors, batteries and other small parts
1 -homemade 12v multi-function plastic box, it has a battery level indicator, 2-12v marine grade 10A cigarette lighter sockets and one set of banana plugs.
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Step 2: Putin it all together
I wanted to keep the pelican box itself "intact" if by chance we are overrun by the "Undead" or we experienced an EMP that would renter most electronics useless ( I
know ...think Faraday cage) and I needed to dump all this useless crap out for more important things like food and hatchets( hey these pelican cases are expensive) so I
did not drill any holes in the sides or anything. The idea was to keep it a free flowing flexible system. So when "in use" the lid is kept open. The inverter and radio amplifier
could possibly get hot so I used flexible power cable as much as possible here so things can be moved around.
The Battery is a 35Ah AGM battery that is perfect for lots of charge / discharge cycles. The inverter is a modified sine wave type. This is also not a long term setup, I
could get crazy with more batteries and wind generators and solar but for now I am going to push the limits in a field trial test once the weather gets better. I will be getting
a Sherpa goal zero solar panel soon.
I simply cut out a piece of foam for the lid to mount some of the items such as the weather radio the ipad and the Kenwood main control head unit to keep them secure
while the lid is open. Some Pelican cases come with pluck-n-pic foam but this one did not so I found some rigid foam for the case lid. The iPad is protected by a otterbox
case and it does the job nicely, I do not have a designated scanner so for now I use the iPad scanner app to monitor the local police channels...this is nice to have in case
of a breakdown of humanity.
I used Velcro to keep things from sliding around. When the box is in storage I disconnect the battery and protect the terminals against shorting.
The remaining equipment is stored in tool pouches or plastic bags for easy access.I keep the power cords and adapters and batteries in a clear plastic bag so I can see
what's in there. I like the ALOKSAK brand.
It's always a good idea to keep a small flashlight accessible because in most movies I have seen, when there are Zombies there is no electricity...
I keep 2 FRS radios in this kit for short distance communications ...these come in great for setting up Antennas or Zombie scouting patrols.
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Step 3: Other things packed away and ready to go.
Here is a short list of things I like to keep together ether on me or in my communications box or in a bug-out-bag just in case :
Wallet- Money - Keys - Cell phone- Yaesu HT Radio - Leatherman tool
Portable 2M rollup J-Pole antenna
Cell and HT chargers
2 mini flashlights w/AA batteries / headlamp
Small Tool kit
Watch
Repeater directory
GPS, Compass and maps of the area
Matches/ lighter/ ferroceium rod
First Aid Kit / sunscreen/ bug spray
Memory sticks with encrypted data password protected
Paracord
Duct tape
Food- clif bars, jerky, instant coffee ,candy etc.
Water Bottle - Stainless steel
Water purifying tablets
Pens
Markers
Highlighters
Heavy Duty Garbage bag
Headlamp
Batteries
Paperclips
Paper / notepads
Business cards
Spare reading glasses
Improvements not done yet
* install a Powerwerks rigrunner to connect all the 12v power to one clean fused panel
* Pure Sine wave inverter- re-evaluate after field test
* Solar panel
Thanks for looking! I will be entering this in the Apocalypse Preparedness contest so if you like , please vote for me.
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Thanks again
Related Instructables
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listening to G5RV Jr. (Half Remote Speaker Scanner and
Ford Explorer Size) Ham Radio Mount For Photocopier
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Listening to from far away... Antenna by Scanner - 2004 Light by Josehf
Radio/Scanner Satellites on a Jeep Liberty
Installation by by ke4mcl kc8hps Murchison
Handheld (video) by
stangtime Scanner by stangtime
philip42
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