[Elecraft] Solar Power for KX3

[Peter Wollan]

I suspect you're going to have to reinvent at least some of the wheel.  I
have a 10-watt panel I got several years ago and have used to power a K2 at
several Field Days.  It generates 0.5 amps at up to 20 volts in strong
sunlight.  Lower light intensity reduces the voltage but the amps stay
constant.  I run it into a charge controller (a kit from someone on this
list), then a gel-cell battery in parallel with the K2.  Running overnight,
not very intensely, the battery is fully charged again at the end of FD.

Lead batteries are very robust about charging, and I don't know if the
controller in the KX3 can accept this kind of wide-ranging power.

My panel is small and light, and is mounted in a nylon cover with a zipper
-- it's two panels which fold up.  It was about $100 -- cheap at the time.
 Looking around the web, there are folding amorphous silicon panels for
backpacking, for a lot of money, and larger, cheaper, heavier panels from
places like Home Depot and Northern Tools.  Kits are available.  You'll
need a silicon panel, a reverse-voltage protection diode, and some kind of
charge controller if the KX3 doesn't already do that.

I'd like to hear about your results.

Peter W0LLN


On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 3:28 PM, <jimk8mr at aol.com> wrote:

> Rather than reinvent the wheel, does anybody have experience or
> suggestions for a small solar array sufficient to keep a KX3 with internal
> batteries going during daylight? I would assume 10 watts average over a
> reasonable TX duty cycle would be enough.? Something strong enough or
> flexible enough to withstand packing for air travel would be desirable.
>
>
> 73?? -? Jim?? K8MR
>
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