So I happened to run across someone selling some (new old stock?) 18v flexible panels and thought maybe I should
get a spare or two... and ended up getting two more frames worth (8) instead since they were cheap. ($400)
In my rush I didn't pay attention to the weight - 4 pounds per panel. (twice that of the Dokio) So what I got
are identical looking though twice as heavy, but they're probably a bit more durable. So, okay I guess?
Now I guess I should make the support hardware for them... two more solar frames, two more panel combiners,
eight more powerpole pigtails, and another panel tote. So here we go!
I slightly refined my method of positioning the powerpoles for gluing, tried using the existing wire with the
fuses, (bad idea), and installed a schottky inline with the fuse from the start. All-in-all it went pretty
well, though it took several days since I did the work a little at a time. Also, the meters I bought for it
ARE green as I wanted, but they're a lot dimmer than my first batch, and you can see a little flicker from the
multiplexing of the display. Bit of a bummer. Those are really hard to swap out, so I'm stuck with them too.
At this point I've got everything done for them except making another pair of solar frames. I hope the heavier
panels don't cause problems for the frames.
1 taping up the combiner boxes
2 drilled meter pilots
3 meter pilots done
4 punched powerpole pilots
5 messy rough carving done
6 fine carving done
7 propped for gluing
8 propped for gluing
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