Hi I have tested my controller with a VW panel and a 2.8 amp hour battery. This setup WILL fully charge the battery and the controller will start cycling with the panel in full sun, but if the battery is discharged it may take several days to bring the battery up to full charge. The VW panels are very low power about 3 watts at best or about 180 mA. It would require over 14 hours of full sun on the panel to charge a discharged 2.35 amp hour battery. If the panel is not perpendicular to the sun the output will be lower and would require even longer to charge the battery.
You may have a battery with a bad cell. You may want to try charging it with a battery charger designed for gel cells or connect it to a power supply set to 13.8-14.5 with a limiting resistor of about 5-10 ohms at 10 watts. If the terminal voltage of the battery will not come up to 13.8 or higher the battery is most likely bad. You do not need a current limiting supply to test the controller. Any power supply with an output of 15 to 25 volts will work in place of the solar panel if you install a limiting resistor in series with the power supply of about 5-10 ohms and about 5-10 watts. If you have any variable power supply that can be adjusted from 13.0 to 14.2 volts you can follow the instructions supplied with my controller to check the operation of the controller. The current required for this test is only about 20 mA so any type of variable power supply should work. If you still cannot get the controller to work send it back to me and I will test it for proper operation and repair or replace it if required Thanks Don Brown KD5NDB 19132 Falls Creek Drive Flint, Texas 75762 ----- Original Message ----- From: "KEN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "elecraft" <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2006 9:42 AM Subject: [Elecraft] K1 -- VW Solar Panel -- Controller Help Hello folks, Have a new 2.3SLA battery I'm trying to charge for the K1. Here the problem I'm having. The battery started out at about 9.6V and is now at 12.10V or so after charging for several days on and off. The VW panel reads about 20V in full sun. When connected to Don Brown's low power controller, it drops to 12.75V (full sun). I have a few panels and tried them all....same results. Even paralleled two. The controller will cut-off around 14.0V. Needless to say, this one will never make it to cut-off. I'm wondering if there is a problem with the controller. Don says the panel connection point at the controller should read about 15V. I don't have a current limiting supply to test the controller the way the instruction sheet suggests. Any thoughts appreciated, Thanks....Ken...W2GIW _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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
