TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY ARES MEMBERS (OFFICIAL)
ALL ARES AND NON-ARES AMATEURS ANYWHERE (INFORMATION)
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM ARRL DISTRICT 3 EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WV ARES BULLETIN NR 15.51 DATE: December 20, 2015
SUBJECT: USED EQUIPMENT IS NOT ALWAYS JUNK PART 1 OF 2
Just because equipment has been taken out of service and discarded doesn't mean that it's junk, and of no use. At my house I'm using two banks of six batteries each. The batteries are rated at 2 Volts, 168 Amp hours each. The banks of batteries are just outside the house. They are all connected together as a back-up power source for all my communications equipment, computers, and emergency lights in the house.
All of the batteries were discarded by a utility company because they were due to be replaced on a routine change out, not because they were bad. Some of the computers that I'm using, very from old 486's to Pentium 2's, 3's, and 4's, all discarded from different businesses, schools, hospitals, and health departments.
To power the computers and monitors when the commercial power fails, I use a number of Uninterrupted Power Supplies or UPS' which were picked up at Yard Sales and the Dayton Hamfest for a very few dollars. The UPS' came equipped with a 12 volt, 7 Amp hour batteries which would normally give enough time to save any computer information you're working on, before the battery would go dead. But, since the batteries were no good, they were removed, the battery leads extended out of the units, and connected to the banks of back-up batteries.
The radios which are connected to the back-up batteries, includes two Packet radios, two Terminal Node Controllers, or TNCs, a Two Meter Voice Transceiver, a UHF Transceiver, an HF Single Side Band Transceiver, an 800 MHz Public Safety radio, and other miscellaneous equipment.
Using the bank of back-up batteries will allow a minimum of twelve hours of operation before worrying about them going dead. By that time, the emergency generator can be fired up. As you can see, just because equipment has been discarded by someone else, doesn't mean that it's junk, and can't be used in the field of Emergency Communications.
(Continued in Part 2 of 2, January 3, 2016)
Ken Harris WA8LLM
Wood County WV
WV ARES District 3 Emergency Coordinator
WCEC