[Elecraft] Solar power source

Tue Jul 9 12:49:00 2002

Hi

As you may know I make a solar charge controller kit. It is very simple b=
ut does the job quite well. I have used it on two 35 watt panels made by =
Solarex. These panels are commercial quality and designed to be used in h=
arsh environments. This size is used to power the flashing warning lamps =
used at school zones and fire stations. Two of these panels with my contr=
oller were used at field day this year and powered a K2/100 at 100 watts =
continuously all day and with the 35 amp hour gel cell up to about 11 PM =
when I switched to the AC power. The battery was not run down but I didn'=
t want to push it to far. The battery was back fully charged about 8 AM t=
he next day from the panels. This is probably more than you would want to=
 operate so I think you could get by with one 30-40 watt panel and a 35 t=
o 50 amp hour gel cell or lead acid deep discharge battery. I like the So=
lerex panels because they use rectangular cells so there is no wasted spa=
ce like with round cells and they have a heavy duty aluminum frame with a=
 water tight connection box. My controller kit is $30 and takes about 1 h=
our to build will handle from 5 watts up a 200 watt panel. The controller=
 is fully automatic and does not generate any RF noise. It will keep the =
battery at 13.8 volts as long as the panel is supplying more power than t=
he load. The controller could be mounted in the ORP K2 to keep the intern=
al battery charged with a 5 to 10 watt panel.

Don Brown
KD5NDB

----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 10:26 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Elecraft] Solar power source

Although this is not a K1/K2 post strictly speaking, I
thought I'd ask for advice here, as it is nonetheless a
related topic.

I'm considering constructing a 12 V DC solar-based
power solution that can run a 100 watt radio (K2/100
maybe?) on an intermittent basis.  I'm seeing a LOT
of information on the web regarding choice of panels,
charge regulators, and batteries.

Now to my question(s): For the larger solar panels (50-
120 watt), which vendor appears to be the best choice?
I'm leaning towards Siemens, but before I plunk down my
hard-earned beans, I'd like to get some input.  Also, the
AGM-type batteries look like a good choice.

Any advice, ladies and gents?

73,

Bob  WA4FOM

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