Hi All I finally got the solar panels mentioned below so here is a report on them.
The panel is 5.5x8 when folded and has 5 sections 4 of which have solar cells. There are 4 metal grommets in the corners of the end panels for mounting with rope or bungee cords. It comes with a 10ft cord that can be removed and a cigarette lighter socket adapter. The panel is housed in a nylon fabric and is simi-flexiable. I measured the output at 20 volts open circuit and 380mA in noon sun. This is over 5 watts and the sun is not as bright this time of year so it should do even better in the summer when the sun is higher overhead. I connected it to one of my low power controllers and a 2.8 amp gel cell battery and it had the controller cycling within a few minutes although the battery was not really discharged much. The bottom line is this would make a great panel for backpackers as it folds up into a small package and is only a few ounces. It is much more practical and lighter than a VW panel as well as more powerful. It can charge a small gel cell or a 10 cell pack of NiMH batteries to run a K1 or KX1 in addition it could also charge a cell phone, GPS, IPod or lamp as long as you monitored the charge time. With one of my low power controllers and a small 1-3 amp hour gel cell you could leave the battery on charge all day without worry of overcharging. Don Brown >>>>>>>>> Hi All I just ordered 2 solar panels from Northerntool.com to experiment with. These panels are on close out and are rated at 5 watts. They appear to be about 4x5 when folded and fold out into 5 sections. It has a weather proof nylon shell with grommets at the corners for mounting. This looks like a great little panel for backpacking or other portable use. They are only $35 on sale now catalog number 339974-1615. I have seen similar panels go for much more than this and these are higher power than the popular VW panels. A small 2-5 amp gel cell and one of my low power solar controllers would be great for a K1 or KX1. You can also easily charge a 10 cell 2000-2500 mAH NiMH battery pack without a controller as long as you did not leave them on charge too long, about 4-5 hours with full sun. Usual disclaimers no connection with Northern Tool Don Brown KD5NDB <<<<<<<<<<< _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
