Posted: 2/25/2011 8:12:48 PM EDT
As I am preparing to take the technician exam and researching radio options for emergency situations I am now thinking about simple charging solutions. Come deer hunt (October) I hope to be capable of experimenting with my radio. Unlike the rest of my family, I choose to stay in a ISQ wall tent with my kids (and wife when she comes). We have a wood burning stove that goes pretty much non-stop but thermo-electric options seem limited for charing a radio. We get mostly clear days during the hunt and eventhough there is an excess of generators running around me I would like to be able to keep it quieter when charging things. Until now, I have not planned on any large power demands (only flashlights and a LED light in my chuck box) so a solar panel would only need to support the radio(s). Thank you ahead of time anyone who has experience with this. 
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if you want to just charge batteries you can easily just get a 5w solar trickle charger. with two batteries you could charge one while using the other. it would be a simple solution, but you would need 2 batteries, which get heavy quick. one deep cycle marine battery could last you quite a while for talking, and then you could just charge it on the generator while you don't care about noise. running your radio full power on solar gets expensive, you would need some decent panels and probably a bit more equipment to make it work, I have never done this so I don't know for sure what would be needed, mainly because I don't think I can afford to go this route. |
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I like Solar Electric for solar panels; but calculate your requirements first. A handheld or 5W HF radio like the FT-817 doesn't require much power at all; a 100W radio requires, of course, much more when run at full power.
The basics: Panel Wiring and fuses Charge Controller Battery Means of tilting it towards the sun. Note that solar panels need uninterrupted sunlight - a single small shadow can, depending on panel design, dramatically reduce the power output. Quiet, yes... but not cheap. |
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Thank you all for your input. The radio I'm leaning towards is a handheld Yaesu VX-8R/DR or Kenwood TH-F6A. My search brought me to a company called Goal Zero which I visited the day before yesterday. They are working on new panels and battery combinations and if I only had a clue what I needed they could have taken that into consideration as they work on their next line (don't worry, the door isn't shut. I still have contact with them and plans to get them more detailed info about HAM radio needs). The one I'm thinking will work for me is the Nomad 13 (it is going to have more hardwired options in a few months) with 2 of their small battery chargers (for now). While I wait for the date to take my technician exam my mind continues racing on this part of the problem and I pulled an old cooling fan out of an old PC which I am going to play with to see if I can make a small wind turbine (something that is about the size of a soda can). The place I hunt and fish (where I am wanting to use this equipment) has pretty good winds in the afternoon on through the evening (it would also give me some charge options at night). We also get plenty of sunshine (even through the deer hunt) so solar should work great. Granted in some ways weight isn't too much of a deal as I can fit it all in my Chevy Equinox (wall tent w/wood burning stove and all) but I just don't enjoy listening to generators run (especially at night). My energy needs have been pretty much next to nothing, but wanted to accommodate some HAM radios and if anyone can add to this that would be great. Perhaps some alternative/backup power sources would be a great sticky in this forum.
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check out Terminus' write-up http://69.65.114.219/solar/power-shtf-backpack.pdf
"Keep your Laptop and other high current-demand electronics working when there is no power. By Terminus © 2008 version 1.06" |
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Quoted:
I like Solar Electric for solar panels; but calculate your requirements first. A handheld or 5W HF radio like the FT-817 doesn't require much power at all... While this statement is certainly true to some extent, an FT-817ND draws 1.9-2 A when transmitting at 5 watts, so to power it directly from the sun, one would still need a 20W-25W panel (and that's in ideal sun conditions). Battery charging is another story though. If you're just looking to recharge the battery in an HT, then you should be fine with a 5W-10W panel (err towards too much to help take up slack if clouds roll in, etc). Remember that you'll need a good voltage regulator more than a charge controller, since you're still relying on another device to do the charging. |
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I found this on Ebay ( a solar QRP rig) that may offer some ideas?
Solar QRP not connected to seller, just stumbled over in my search for a rig. |
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Nice rig on eBay. I think I will get some of the Goal Zero panels and see how they work. Nice thing about them over anything else is I now have the attention of the company and the engineers. They are looking to make their product more compatible with different systems and invited me to give them input to make them better for HAM radios.
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Quoted:
Nice rig on eBay. I think I will get some of the Goal Zero panels and see how they work. Nice thing about them over anything else is I now have the attention of the company and the engineers. They are looking to make their product more compatible with different systems and invited me to give them input to make them better for HAM radios. It's good to know that you have their ear. Please let us know how it goes! |