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A mostly no with a caveat yes. The movies and TV are not exactly representative of the U.S. but we do have a high propensity to lock people in prison. We suck at math but we are #1 for incarceration due to draconian drug laws and mandatory sentencing, amongst other factors. The worst can...

I've noticed that odd over-sizing thing. I wonder if maybe modern buyers expect comfort immediately, either not willing or don't know about breaking in a set of boots?

Indeed, we must obey the laws of physics in this forum! There's many less obvious sources for error beyond just the steel body. Any cable carrying current will produce a magnetic field. The steel clip on a flashlight. The motor in your ABS pump. Heck, any powered electronics or even the...

The SPOT Trace is designed exactly for this, although it's a satellite tracker with an annual subscription. On the cheap(er), don't people use those Apple tags for this?

Do you happen to use the Mobilinkd to both send and receive packets? I ask because Yaesu radios used (my FT-8800 and old FTM-350 anyway) to have an odd configuration in that they can dual receive but can't intelligently transmit from an external TNC. So when you hook a TNC to their data port...

My APRSdroid phone has no SIM card. I use prebuilt OSM maps in Mapsforge format so it doesn't talk to Google at all. I don't even allow it on my home WLAN network. I directly load apps via APK files and map data over USB. I try to get it about as close to a dumb terminal as a phone can be...

There's the ever present rumor Kenwood is exiting the amateur radio market. There's no definite reason to believe it since they still advertise monthly in QRZ so it's possible they're just focused on fulfilling other contracts with the supplies they can actually get. Yaesu is in the ham market...

For iOS the only option is a Mobilinkd TNC3 (the TNC2 does not work) and the aprs.fi app. For offline use (e.g. backcountry) you'd have to make sure to cache Apple Maps but the app itself works fine without data. So positions would still be sent and received over RF, messages and weather could...

There's 29 D-STAR repeaters in Utah out of 352 total listed in the repeaterbook database. Compare that to Yaesu Fusion (19) and DMR (12). So there's some infrastructure you could use. https://repeaterbook.com/ I have a DMR radio personally since that's more prevalent in Colorado (51 of 404...

That's interesting in discussion and presentation of formulas but it's kind of not useful here. Their conclusions are based on the same band aggressor radio having no affect on the victim so they find distances in kilometers. It seems geared to how to identify suitable repeater sites for...

All valid generalized concerns. There's nothing wrong with sealed batteries, they're used all the time in hi-rel situations where not being open to atmosphere is useful. And lead-acid is still viable where cost, reduced need for temperature controls, domestic-sourcing are significant benefits...

I mean you essentially integrate current over time, so kind of A-hr. Strictly it's incompatible units per se, but used to make a guess about state of charge by using rated capacity and acceptance rate. So a 100 A-hr capacity battery that's been accepting a stable 1A (arbitrary 1% or 0.01C) @...

These are valid parameters but it's important to measure current over time to judge state of charge. When a battery is fully charged the internal impedance will increase so at CV you'll integrate charge current over time to see the knee of the plateau. Decent Nicad or NiMH battery chargers...

I usually carry a drag chain for stuff like downed trees, too.

For me there's two reasons for a rope over a strap. One is that the ends are spliced into an eye loop rather than sewn. Not that I've had stitching break or wear out but this strikes me as better. Second is that a rope tends to stretch more so I don't have to yank as hard to achieve the...

Yeah, indeed. If it's a packaged kit then it seems like there's got to be more to it. Especially if the controller is MPPT running higher voltage and reducing current is better anyway.

The A-hr isn't important in this calculation. You say the kit came with 4 x 200 watt panels and a 40 A controller? Can you link to something that shows this kit? I wonder if the controller has an exceptional high maximum voltage (you are absolutely sure it's MPPT?) and expects 12V panels to...

Real overlanders use ball point pens housings. https://www.pbo.co.uk/practical-projects/make-fid-ballpoint-pen-36304

Remember, too, for best charging you need to do temperature compensation and ideally you measure the actual battery. There's more than one way to charge a battery, constant voltage, constant current, three step profile, taper profiles, combinations of methods. Then charging and maintaining...

You already have the solution, just carry a 120V cord and plug into any outlet. Trying to use an EV charging station is adding complexity where you don't need it. A fast charging station is going to be high voltage DC and it's going to require negotiating with the charger to mimic EV battery...