I will agree with the consensus of yeast in the freezer, I have had it still be viable long after the best by date. Another suggestion I can offer is to start a sourdough starter. It can be kept for years and kinda forces you to make a loaf of bread every week or two. Just a thought if you like sourdough bread.
I am at the point you were saying of matching the panels to controller. I have been given several panels, and in a giddy hurry ordered a charge controller. The controller is rated for 30 amp, but only 25 volt on the panel side… I measured the panels, and they are producing 34.6v. I now have to either modify the panels (which I really don’t want to do) or get a controller that will handle the input. Definitely a big learning curve for me on solar, but hopefully I can be up for the task. OP, probably not a popular opinion, but I have a friend who purchased the complete system from Harbor Freight and uses it to power his portable radio setup. After adding Anderson Powerpole connectors, he has a fairly compact, reliable system that powers his 100 watt radio and a laptop. With the addition of a 22 amp hour LifePo battery (and cutting back the power a bit at night), he can run this setup well into the night. May be a good, affordable way to get your feet wet in solar and can always be used to charge phone/laptop/flashlight in a grid down situation.
Good luck with your test! I found myself a year and a half ago looking into ham radio, and now find myself at your level 4! It has been a very enjoyable hobby and the education just studying for the different licenses has been very rewarding. I agree 100% with at least visiting and going to local ham clubs. This is how I managed to get into hf radio with a minimum investment and some sweat equity (work for a radio as payment). The education pays off with the knowledge of building antennas that perform as well or better than some high dollar offerings from the big name stores. I know several people who have their technician license and are completely happy with it, and I also know some who have their Extra license and communicate via satellite repeaters timing their pass in orbit and adjusting for doppler shift…. it can be a rabbit hole (or money pit) but it can also be a rewarding hobby with the added benefit of short and long range communication. I guess the 80/20 part would also depend on how much a priority comms and information gathering ability is to the individual prepper. 73, and hope to catch you on the air some day.
Well stocked first aid kit, energy bars or some snacks kept in the glovebox, rotated bottles of water and cans of soda, blanket, small tarp, flashlight, matches and lighter….
Good article. I’m usually bad about overlooking the obvious, and I had not even considered popcorn. I would agree with the article that the shortage and higher prices should come next year, but with the hoarding going on due to covid and civil unrest, once people put 2 and 2 together, I’d expect the shortage to hit sooner.
Thanks!
Actually, may not be as bad as it could have been. Hate using the WaPo as a source, but roughly 200 million bushels of corn could be affected out of over 2 billion bushels that Iowa produces. Well, I tried to link to the WaPo article, but cant figure out how.
Reading about the devastation to Iowa’s corn and soybean crops. May be a good idea to stock up on any corn-based products; dog food, gas (ethanol), whiskey, corn meal… just off the top of my head, may be affected.