[Elecraft] Solar power for the K2

[John R. Lonigro]

Andrew:
This is exactly what we do at Field Day every year.  We "search and 
pounce", so our transmit duty cycle is relatively low, but after 
operating all afternoon, the 7 Ahr battery used with the QRP K2 is 
almost fully charged (assuming sunny weather, of course).  We use two 5 
Watt solar panels in parallel, each costing less than $40, hooked up to 
an inexpensive gelcell charger, to keep the battery from overcharging 
(probably not necessary with these solar panels).

73's,
John AA0VE

Paul wrote:
> Andrew,
> When reading the other posts and seeing those large Solar Panel 
> wattages, I think they are using a K2 but with the 100W option. I 
> can't imagine needing a 33W solar panel to power the base K2 model. On 
> a nice day, I guessing you could hook up a 7 Ahr gel cell and have it 
> charged with a 5-10 Watt panel and work for a long time. The battery 
> supplies the TX power when you need it and during the RX cycle the 
> Solar Panel is catching it for power used.
>
> You might try posting your question on the Yahoo QRPSolarPower newsgroup.
> 73,
> Paul
>