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That metal braid Techflex stuff is tough and it's used on electrical wiring often for EM shielding. The thing to watch is the ends. When they use it in high reliability applications (the stuff is used all over spacecraft and aerospace wiring harnesses, for example) the connector backshell is...

Indeed true. If you've been in the battery room for grid storage, data center, radio transmitter or telecom office then you know it's possible to build elaborate battery banks. But the bank is matched to the load and charging capability, which is controlled to the individual battery, even down...

There is no Part 97 commercial type acceptance broadly speaking with a couple of exceptions. Any manufacturers (e.g. either the ham himself home brewing or formally by a business) of external (e.g. linear) amplifiers have to test and have certified amps capable of transmitting below 144 MHz...

The irony is perhaps that SpaceX is who's been boosting the next block of Iridium into orbit. A PLB is pretty foolproof - flip up the antenna and push the "ON" button. It's literally a rip cord approach. From there it starts beaconing on the 406 MHz SARSAT (NOAA administered in the USA) and...

Garmin/InReach/Globalstar/Iridium/SPOT have the advantage of being established in the segment. But Iridium and Globalstar have both had financial difficulties over the years and Garmin isn't known for being a cutting edge technology company. They of course maintain a core market of people who...

Good information to know, didn't know that. Makes sense that they'd not want to send more than necessary. Original post edited to make the correction. Sounds like @Bravo30 will be fine with any two-way device in this case.

You asked for reasons and I gave you mine. I don't buy the relativity argument. Throwing your grounds on the ground is just a small thing that's unnecessary since you have a truck with a trash bag. In the case of someone backpacking carrying wet grounds I think is less desirable than...

That's an interesting read. I wonder, assuming most Italian coffee drinkers probably drink espresso, do they actually have higher cholesterol than we American coffee drinkers who (I would guess anyway) more likely drink weaker, paper-filtered drip coffee?

I don't know if it's right or wrong but I have my reasons for not throwing grounds on the ground camping. First just being unsightly, which of course is easy to alleviate by just spreading them well. I don't much like coming across a pile of grounds anymore than trash, toothpaste stained...

These device aren't quite perfect if you don't have people you can call on to do some back end work with Google and making phone calls on your behalf. Probably a sat phone and a subscription to some sort of travel assistance is what you may be thinking? Such as this...

Recommendation for what? What functionality are you expecting to have? The two main features here are (1) to have a way to send a few of texts to people you know or (b) to punch a button to get as close to 911 as you can get off grid. The SOS function with a two-way device does have some...

This seems like a better deal than the Bivystick.

Whether you actually need them or not is dependent on the car (AWD or 4WD), tires (type and tread depth), driver and conditions but our traffic codes states that the highway patrol can require you to have them under a Code 16 chain law, which impacts all vehicles. Far-and-away more common is...

You can pair an InReach with a phone. That's not an option with SPOT devices, they are stand alone devices. The activation fee and service between all the various devices is different. The ability to turn this Bivy on and off on 30-day uses and the buying credit thing is interesting. Garmin...

Your car's floor mats and cat box litter are the age-old traction aid for snow.

It's a taller technical order for an antenna you can use while actually mobile and still fit on a vehicle. SpaceX has started I believe experimenting with in-flight terminals on aircraft but the antenna they're using is a Ball Aerospace design and not the pizza box they're using for stationary...

What you're concerned with are two things. One is damaging anything and the second is performance. Performance (called desensitizing) is a tough one since there's really no way on a vehicle that a transmitting antenna can be far enough away to not interfere with others, especially on the same...

With the HTs running on their own internal batteries then you're dealing with radiated inference from the fridge. Putting the antenna outside should help but also make sure all your coax and connectors are in good shape. You might still have interference but sheet metal and physical distance...

What do you mean by track? The term "track" has a couple of meanings. The first being a continuous track of GPS locations that you use to build a fairly detailed "track", e.g. a line on a map, of where you've gone. GPS itself updates every second and your receiver can record a cookie crumb...

This is often cited but there's not much precedent to support that the Rules give you carte blanche. First is that the FCC gives a licensed amateur leeway to use whatever means necessary to protect life or property. This doesn't give just anyone a free hand to operate without a license. I'm...