Off grid in a storm

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Comments

  • techntrek
    techntrek Solar Expert Posts: 1,372 ✭✭✭
    Re: Off grid in a storm

    I've seen that, too. Morning of Superbowl Sunday a few years ago somebody decided it would be valuable to drive their car through a pole that also held an amplifier. The pole was replaced quickly (electric and telephone lines remounted) but there wasn't enough time to do the cable + amp properly without possibly messing up part or all of The Game for a thousand people. So they ran coax on the ground to the next pole where they mounted a temporary amp at eye level with a generator chained to the base of the pole. Sat like that until the next day when they remounted a permanent amp on the original pole.

    An evil part of me wanted to drive back and pull the choke just before kickoff (I have Directv, wouldn't have affected me). The angel on the other shoulder won out. I didn't do it!

    After Irene there were many intersections in the city where they chained generators to a pole to keep stoplights running. Which they then didn't refill on a regular basis so it was about as effective as doing nothing at all...
    4.5 kw APC UPS powered by a Prius, 12 kw Generac, Honda EU3000is
  • bmet
    bmet Solar Expert Posts: 630 ✭✭
    Re: Off grid in a storm
    RandomJoe wrote: »

    Although I could also plug the HTPC setup into the inverter... Bit of a power hog though, HD projector putting a 12 foot picture on the living room wall, nice sound system, and plenty of movies on hand. I could just sit back and watch movies the whole time! :p

    I just have one of those automotive VCRs with a small LCD screen, the whole thing uses about 12 watts, and I have several boxes of VHS tapes to watch if there's nothing from the outside world.