back to 2024.06.01 George Wyth POTA

5 solar and power:




Although this would be similar to a typical Field Day, I didn't expect to provide much in the way of solar
power, and so only packed three solar frames and one bag of 8 panels. (this, in addition to the various demo
bits for my presentation) I was first to arrive at the shelter, but after fully unloading I was still alone,
so I decided to just assemble one solar frame, just for demonstration purposes.

Instead of bringing my usual 2lb Dokio panels, I decided to pack the 4-pound glossy/heavy duty panels to test
them. They're twice the weight, not nearly as flexible, much more durable, and have a very glossy finish.

Others started arriving soon thereafter though, and so I went ahead and assembled another solar frame and
started getting the power system up and ready to run radios. Dave was the only other person to bring a battery,
but ended up using it to hold down his antenna, and so all three radios were running off my 100AH battery. My
two solar frames were perfectly sized to offset the power used by the radios, keeping my battery fully charged
and the radios running at full output.

Despite frequent overcast, panel voltage was pretty high, indicating more power was available than was needed
to keep the battery charged. At one point I was pulling in 190 watts and the panels were still close to 80 volts,
which is way above their maximum power point of about 60 volts.

There was considerable shade at the shelter, so I didn't have the option to lean the panels up against the shelter
to angle them, but they worked fine just spread out flat on the ground. The frames themselves probably weren't
even necessary. Total solar power collected for the day was 431 watt-hours.


infra-red pictures

2024.06.01 08.19.22	2024.06.01 08.21.20	2024.06.01 08.22.02	2024.06.01 10.26.40	2024.06.01 10.26.54	2024.06.01 10.27.08
2024.06.01 10.27.40	2024.06.01 11.27.55	2024.06.01 12.26.50	2024.06.01 12.26.58	2024.06.01 12.27.00	2024.06.01 12.35.48
2024.06.01 12.36.12	2024.06.01 12.36.20	2024.06.01 12.36.24	2024.06.01 12.50.32	2024.06.01 13.28.10	2024.06.01 13.28.22
2024.06.01 13.28.28	2024.06.01 13.28.39	2024.06.01 13.28.52	2024.06.01 13.29.14	2024.06.01 13.29.18	2024.06.01 13.30.46
2024.06.01 15.23.10	2024.06.01 19.32.34 431 Wh total

highest resolution images
last updated 12/11/2024 at 11:12:04 by make_www_index.command version 2024.07.09.A