I went ahead and ordered the internal charger so that I have the clock and so that I can keep a set of Eneloop XX batteries healthy inside the radio for ultralight operations. I, too, am interested in solar charging of my LiFePO4 packs.
If one feeds raw solar panel power to a battery, then things get "exciting" to a degree, depending on what kind of battery is involved. I will defer to those who have actual field experience as to when that is or is not advisable. BuddiPole now offers a solar charge controller for LiFePO4 battery packs. It is $45.00 and charges the entire pack but is not a balancing charger. It is small and compact for field use. One will want to periodically test and balance their packs with a balancing charger. http://www.buddipole.com/sobaco.html An untested idea of mine (though I'm certainly not the first person to think of it) is to feed a standard balancing charger with power from a solar panel - as long as there is sufficient current and the voltage ranges are compatible - or using a DC-to-DC device between the panel and charger to maintain a steady voltage into the balancing charger. This is certainly more moving parts and more weight. Again, I will defer to those with actual field experience. Is this efficient? Is it practical? Has anyone done this already and can report findings? I suspect that for both the internal NiMh cells and the external 4SxP LiFePO4 packs, a simple charger for field use and a smart charger for bench use, will provide the best of both worlds. Food for thought... and experimentation! 72/73 de JP WF4Z On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 3:38 AM, Holger Schurig <holgerschu...@gmail.com>wrote: > I also wondered about the NiMH stuff, now that LiFePO4 is affordable. > Currently I'd like to go with an external LiFePO4 pack as well. So > I'll have no clock in KX3 :-/ > > One thing that stuck me (not that it is overly important for me ...): > I read once that somebody wrote "LiPo isn't trail friendly, you can't > charge them easily from a solar pad, lead-acid and NiMH are more > friendly to the varying nature of sun charging. Now, LiFePO4 is a very > different LiPo, does anybody know if that statement is true for them > as well? > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
