Steve and others,
A generator is nice, but there are, as with most everything, both pros and
cons. On the plus side, you have a source of power that should be good for the
entire contest. I tried one while roving for one contest.....then I went back
to batteries. I almost never operated off of the truck battery.
I used standard marine deep cycle batteries for awhile and then added a couple
of real nice batteries that were used in large UPSs. They worked great. I did a
lot of operating and never really took the battery down to where it was
unusable. I'd usually take 3 or 4 batteries with me. If I came home at night,
I'd put them on a charger and they'd be ready to go in the morning.
Also, there are times and places where a generator is not allowed to be
operated. If there is a high possibility of fire, some parks ban generator
usage. I believe there are also rules as far as having a spark arrestor
incorporated into the generator. There is some sort of specification for this
that has to be certified if I recall correctly.
I'd say go with batteries.
73,
Dave N8AG
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