This is a short video showing my solar power setup. I brought two 240 watt panels and connected them to my Outback charge controller. The charge controller is a microprocessor controlled charging unit. It regulates the power to the batteries. My 1100 watt pure sine wave inverter is sitting on top of the engine. The inverter is also black and difficult to see.

This video was shot the next morning before the contest started. It is a tour of my makeshift station.

Here is a short primer for non-radio people. DX means a station outside the US (or your Country). 10 Meters and 15 Meters are only open during the day, with 20 Meters open nearly 24 hours. 40 and 80 meters are open to local communications during the day (CA, OR, WA, NV, AZ, etc), but don't open up for long distance contacts until night. Due to our current solar activity and the time of year (summer) 10 Meters often has poor performance and that is why I was just going to give it a quick try and move on if no stations were heard.

This is a photo of my power station a few hours before the contest started. You can see my breaker boxes and charge controller on the ground. Remember I'm at 9163 feet elevation and I expect to endure subfreezing temperatures at night. You can see my two 40 oz thermos' near the car tire. I've already boiled water and made 80 oz of hot chocolate. I placed them in the sun during the day to help retain the heat.
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