[Elecraft] Folding Solar Panel

[Don Brown]

Hi All

I finally got the solar panels mentioned below so here is a report on them.

The panel is 5.5x8 when folded and has 5 sections 4 of which have solar 
cells. There are 4 metal grommets in the corners of the end panels for 
mounting with rope or bungee cords. It comes with a 10ft cord that can be 
removed and a cigarette lighter socket adapter. The panel is housed in a 
nylon fabric and is simi-flexiable.  I measured the output at 20 volts open 
circuit and 380mA in noon sun. This is over 5 watts and the sun is not as 
bright this time of year so it should do even better in the summer when the 
sun is higher overhead. I connected it to one of my low power controllers 
and a 2.8 amp gel cell battery and it had the controller cycling within a 
few minutes although the battery was not really discharged much.

The bottom line is this would make a great panel for backpackers as it folds 
up into a small package and is only a few ounces. It is much more practical 
and lighter than a VW panel as well as more powerful. It can charge a small 
gel cell or a 10 cell pack of NiMH batteries to run a K1 or KX1 in addition 
it could also charge a cell phone, GPS, IPod or lamp as long as you 
monitored the charge time. With one of my low power controllers and a small 
1-3 amp hour gel cell you could leave the battery on charge all day without 
worry of overcharging.

Don Brown



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Hi All

I just ordered 2 solar panels from Northerntool.com to experiment with.
These panels are on close out and are rated at 5 watts. They appear to be
about 4x5 when folded and fold out into 5 sections. It has a weather proof
nylon shell with grommets at the corners for mounting. This looks like a
great little panel for backpacking or other portable use. They are only $35
on sale now catalog number 339974-1615.

I have seen similar panels go for much more than this and these are higher
power than the popular VW panels. A small 2-5 amp gel cell and one of my low
power solar controllers would be great for a K1 or KX1. You can also easily
charge a 10 cell 2000-2500 mAH NiMH battery pack without a controller as
long as you did not leave them on charge too long, about 4-5 hours with full
sun. Usual disclaimers no connection with Northern Tool

Don Brown
KD5NDB
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