Garlic

Re ATUs above, remember to keep your SWR meter inline and monitor power and SWR readings.

CB radio/HF. If you are already experienced with HF/CB radio you'll be aware of how SWR figures can change over the bandwidths and when mix-matching equipment. A tuning device known as an ATU is very useful. Here is a manual one avaliable on ebay for a…

Lighting.

There are quite a few different options for offgrid lighting from electrical to flame lights and it's always good to have a selection. I have a bit of everything from 12v led lights to backup torches and specialised headlamps but also Tilley lamp, paraffin lamp and even a carbide lamp. With them all becoming more popular the prices can sometimes be high so keep an eye out for bargains online and locally. I will start posting possible online bargains, if you miss out just keep looking online and checking here.

T.me/offgridgems

UK Autumn budget.

The Autumn budget is to be announced on the 30th October this year and it's fair to say we are looking at increases in many taxes including fuel. If you are thinking about stocking up on petrol or diesel, especially for generators, chainsaws and heaters now is the time to buy additional fuel containers. 20 litre containers are readily available on ebay for various prices and whilst plastic may be popular it isn't as strong as metal nor is it as good with temperature changes. A useful reminder is that 20 litres of fuel gets heavy when you are trying to hold the container up and avoid spilling as you top up your generator/car/van, you might want to consider a big funnel and/or hand syphon pump.

If you are collecting whisky/spirits for trading you might want to stock up on those too.

Remember, Wednesday 30th October buget superunleaded E5 petrol is going up by at least 7p per litre as are all fuels.

Prep for the cold whilst you have the comfort of the warmth.

Machine Mart wood burners on offer again 19th to 30th July.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/machine-mart-offers/stoves-price-crash/

For those that are ready, remember HF long distance calling frequency is 27.555Mhz USB. It's likely to get very busy so if you have a net choose a couple of alternatives and set your vswr accordingly.

A reminder...