Ron, The SunWize installation instructions specifically warn against grounding the system (panels, battery, or radio) at more than one point, since to do so will short out one or more current sensors. Inasmuch as the metal parts of the antenna are always grounded for lightning protection, that means that it is the radio that must have its negative terminal grounded.
There is no reason to ground any other component in the system. The solar panel output terminals are always floating with respect to the mounting frame, for exactly this reason. The mounting frame can be grounded for lightning protection. Solar power is quite pervasive in Europe, particularly in Sweden, Germany, and Finland- where many solar power components are manufactured. In some countries, it is common to ground the positive terminal. In order to make such components work in other countries, certain precautions must be taken. Follow the instructions packed with the charge controller to the letter, and don't risk damaging an expensive part by assuming that it's okay to ground the circuit at more than one point. Most of the troublesome solar-powered repeaters that I know about have failed for obvious reasons. One was installed with the solar panel connected directly to the battery, without a charge controller. The battery failed in one year due to overcharging. Another solar-powered repeater failed because the owner connected the radio directly to the battery instead of to the charge controller's load terminals. In this case, the charge controller had no way to determine the battery's state of charge. I could cite several more examples, but I hope I've made my point: Use a good quality solar charge controller, and make all wiring exactly per the instructions packed with it. 73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ron Wright Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 9:24 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: RE: [Repeater-Builder] Solar Power Eric, On the solar panel negative lead could you ground the negative of the battery, but make sure the solar panel terminals, both pos and neg, are not grounded??? The solar panel and charger would be floating on their own with the combination output connected to the battery with the pos to pos and neg to neg of the battery, but it grounded. 73, ron, n9ee/r >From: Eric Lemmon <[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:wb6fly%40verizon.net> > >Date: 2007/07/13 Fri AM 11:08:10 CDT >To: [email protected] <mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> >Subject: RE: [Repeater-Builder] Solar Power > >Tim, > >I have a commercial UHF repeater that has been operating 24/7 on a mountain >ridge since January 2003. It uses two Siemens 75 watt solar panels in >parallel, two Concorde 105 AH SLA batteries in parallel, a SunWize Steca >charge controller, and a Motorola R1225 45 watt radio. A Celwave PD696-1-2 >duplexer feeds a Decibel Products DB408 aluminum dipole antenna. > >Perhaps the best advice I can offer is to properly apply the solar power >components. The solar panel should be large enough supply at least eight >times the standby current required by the repeater equipment, and the >battery should be a sealed lead-acid type both for safety and longevity and >of a capacity sufficient to run the repeater for at least two days with no >input from the solar panel. Finally, use a commercial solar charge >controller to manage your power flow. Your load should connect to the >charge controller and not to the battery. Some charge controllers have >current sensors in the negative lead, so you may need to ensure that there >are no connections to ground except at the load circuit. Since the antenna >cable shield is connected to ground, you cannot ground the negative poles of >either the battery or the solar panel. > >73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY > >-----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] <mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> >[mailto:[email protected] <mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of Tim >Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 6:47 PM >To: [email protected] <mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> >Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Solar Power > >I have a site located that I would like to install a 220 Ham Repeater >but there is no electrical power. I don't know the first thing about >solar power but would like to consider this project for my first solar >powered repeater. I would appreciate any links, tips, suggestions, or >information about solar power for repeater use. I have looked at a >couple of web sites but I know there are hundreds of solar powered >sites around the country and I figured that this group would have the >experience to point me in the right direction for research or purchase >of equipment. If you would like to send off group, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:kk4wh%40yahoo.com> ><mailto:kk4wh%40yahoo.com> will >get to me. Thanks in advance for the help. > >Tim, KK4WH > > Ron Wright, N9EE 727-376-6575 MICRO COMPUTER CONCEPTS Owner 146.64 repeater Tampa Bay, FL No tone, all are welcome.
