‰ NOW 40 WPM ‰ LIMITATIONS. THE BATTERY PERFORMED WELL WITH MY RADIO. THE RADIO SHUT OFF WHEN THE BATTERY OUTPUT VOLTAGE DROPPED TO 11R4 V. FINALLY, I PLUGGED A FLOOR FAN INTO THE 120 V AC OUTLET. ACCORDING TO THE METERING, THE FAN REQUIRED 223 W WELL WITHIN THE 300 W RATING. WITH A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO RUN THE FAN FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS. A BLINKING RED LIGHT ON THE 120 V AC BUTTON MEANS THAT, AT THE CURRENT LOAD, THE INVERTER WILL BE SHUTTING OFF SOON ITS TIME TO RECHARGE T PRODUCT REVIEW REVIEWED BY RICK PALM, K1CE QST CONTRIBUTING EDITOR K1CE ARRL. ORG GOAL ZERO YETI 400 LITHIUM PORTABLE POWER STATION EVEN WHEN OPERATING FROM HOME, I USE 12 V BATTERIES EXTENSIVELY TO POWER MY STATION EQUIPMENT BECAUSE I FIRMLY BELIEVE IN GETTING TO KNOW MY PORTABLE POWER SETUP PRIOR TO A COMMERCIAL POWER OUTAGE IN A STORM OR OTHER INCIDENT. I USE CONVENTIONAL SEALED LEAD ACID SLA BATTERIES, ALONG WITH ANDERSON POWERPOLE CONNECTORS AND SIMPLE Q PWR MICRO METER VOLTAGE/CURRENT METERS FROM QUICKSILVER RADIO INLINE BETWEEN MY BATTERIES AND RADIOS. CONNECTING EVERYTHING TAKES SOME EFFORT, AND I NEED TO MAKE SOME BASIC CALCULATIONS TO ASSESS A BATTERYS CHARGE STATUS AND HEALTH. ANOTHER OPTION IS A GOAL ZERO POWER STATION, WHICH IS SELF CONTAINED AND ABLE TO POWER A VARIETY OF AC AND DC OPERATED DEVICES. THE GOAL ZERO WEBSITE LISTS MANY RELATED PRODUCTS THAT COULD BE USEFUL FOR AMATEURS INVOLVED WITH DISASTER OR PUBLIC SERVICE COMMUNICATION IN AREAS WHERE COMMERCIAL AC POWER IS NOT AVAILABLE. OVERVIEW THE GOAL ZERO YETI 400 LITHIUM PORTABLE POWER STATION USES A LI ION NMC LITHIUM ION NICKEL MANGANESE COBALT BATTERY WITH A RATED PACK CAPACITY OF 428 WATT HOURS WH 10R8 V DC, 39R6 AMP HOURS AH. THE BATTERY IS SPECIFIED FOR HUNDREDS OF DISCHARGE/RECHARGE CYCLES, WITH A SHELF LIFE THAT INDICATES CHARGING THE BATTERY AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 3 TO 6 MONTHS. IDEALLY, THE BATTERY SHOULD BE ON THE CHARGER WHEN NOT IN USE, SO IT IS FULLY CHARGED WHEN NEEDED. THE UNIT WEIGHS JUST 17 POUNDS AND EMPLOYS A CHARGE CONTROLLER AND VOLTAGE BATTERY PROTECTION. GOAL ZERO ALSO OFFERS A YETI 400 PORTABLE POWER STATION THAT USES AN SLA BATTERY, WEIGHS 29 POUNDS, AND COSTS ABOUT 150 LESS THAN THE LI ION VERSION. THERE ARE SEVERAL DC OUTPUT PORTS, INCLUDING THREE USB PORTS 5 V DC, 2R4 A MAXIMUM A 6 MILLIMETER COAXIAL JACK 12 V DC, UP TO 10 A AND AN AUTOMOTIVE CIGARETTE LIGHTER TYPE PORT ALSO 12 V DC, UP TO 10 A. THE POWER STATION ALSO HAS A PURE SINE WAVE INVERTER TO PROVIDE 120 V AC AT 3 A 300 W CONTINUOUS AND 1,200 W SURGE VIA TWO STANDARD AC OUTLETS. THE INPUT JACK ACCEPTS AN 8 MILLIMETER PLUG FOR CHARGING 14 22 V DC INCLUDES AN AC WALL CHARGER, AND GOAL ZERO ALSO OFFERS SEVERAL OPTIONAL SOLAR PANELS THAT CAN BE CONNECTED TO THIS INPUT JACK. WE ORDERED THE OPTIONAL BOULDER 50 W SOLAR PANEL, SHOWN IN FIGURE 1 AND DISCUSSED BELOW. THE STANDARD YETI 400 WITH SLA BATTERY CAN ALSO BE CHARGED FROM A 13R8 V AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, WHICH IS NOT THE CASE WITH THE YETI 400 LITHIUM VERSION. THE LCD SCREEN, BUILT INTO THE FRONT OF ‰ END OF 40 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ