Many years ago I worked at a Motorola FSC as a 2-way radio technician. Lately I have entertained the idea of getting a ham license. Is there a study guide and material for the license that you would recommend?
There are some YouTube videos of people making LiFePO4 batteries from individual cells. Search YouTube for - DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse
He has a YouTube channel and does a lot of solar system testing. He tests different batteries and has a video making a battery.
This weekend is Field Day where ham radio operators from all over the United States set up portable stations an try to see how many contacts they can make with other stations. Our club set up at a local church and had several stations operating both inside and outside. We advertised in local papers and welcomed non-hams to join us. These visitors got a chance to operate the radios and see ham radio in operation. All equipment was operated on batteries or generators and one was even operating on solar power. A number of visitors came and got on the air. The field day runs until 2:00 this afternoon. I had invited one ODT member who showed up and spent a few hours with us. This is an annual contest that runs nonstop for 24 hours. I wish I had known you had an interest in ham radio you would have been welcome to join us.
As you already have some experience with radio I doubt you need any refresher in basic electricity and electronics. I would recommend the Technician License Study Guide from MFJ electronics. Morse code requirement was dropped years ago. The test consists of about 35 multiple choice questions pulled from a question bank of about 200 or so questions. The exact questions and answers are published by the FCC and are available online. There are many free online sources offering practice tests. i used the MFJ study guide with my students in our ham radio club when I taught high school in Kennesaw and never had a student fail the test. Our club holds monthly testing sessions in Jasper and there are many other clubs in North Georgia.`