Purchase a Pre-Built Battery Box
Once you've decided how many Amp hours you need and what type of battery you wish, it's time to shop for a battery box (unless you wish to build your own). Now you need to decide what bells and whistles you would like on it. Most boxes come with a master on/off switch plus one or more USB ports and a cigarette lighter port. Often they will have a flashlight feature as well. There must be some input port for charging which sometimes doubles as an output port.
Here are some common battery box features:
- 12V 10A Cigarette Lighter Port
- USB-A 5V, 2.4A Port
- USB-C PD 5V, 9V, 15V, 20V, 3A / Quick Charge 3.0 Port
- 12V, 7A (6.5mm/1.4mm) port
- LED Light
- Volt Meter
- Power Meter (Volts, Amps, Watts)
- Digital Thermometer
- SAE Port
- Anderson Port
- Binding Posts (Banana Jacks)
- 120V AC, 60 Hz Pure Sine Wave Inverter
- Solar Controller
Probably the two biggest decisions you will have is do you want a solar controller allowing you to connect to solar panels and do you want an AC inverter. AC inverters are not very efficient and can use up battery power quickly. They also produce a lot of heat inside the box requiring a fan (and even more battery power). On the other hand, almost anything can be plugged into an AC outlet making them very versatile.
Suppliers
Battery boxes aren't just used by amateur radio operators. They are used in camping, kayaking, amateur astronomy, ice fishing, etc. When you are searching for a pre-built battery box, don't forget to search in these fields as well as the more traditional Amazon.com, Harbor Freight, Walmart, Ham Radio Outlet, etc.
Here are some of the more popular suppliers: