Trying to get my 2M/440 ham rig setup in my garage, I plan to be spending a lot of time out there this summer working on the pickup restore. I have a couple of mobile rigs to work with (Yaesu FT-8800 and FT-1802M) as a base station, and I'm putting a Diamond X30A antenna up on the peak of the roof this weekend. So, the only thing I need to figure out is the 12V power supply.
I like the idea of being able to run the radio off battery if the SHTF, and I happen to have a couple of spare batteries to use. So my thought was to get some sort of solar charging panel and mount it up on the roof next to the antenna to keep the batteries charged up. Free electricity and all...
I did a lot of searching and reading here on MUD, and out on the Interwebs, seems like it's not hard to do, but at a steep cost. I can't justify spending much more than $75-80 on this setup. If I can't do it that cheap, then I'll just stop at Autozone and pick up a cheap 1A trickle charger, put it on a timer, call it done.
I don't need the panel to necessarily RUN the radio (draws up to 10A according to the Yaesu docs), but just top the batteries back up when the radio is off. Seems like a 10-15W panel would do that, assuming I can trust the specs. It also needs to be durable enough to stay outside exposed to the weather year-round.
Am I expecting too much?
I like the idea of being able to run the radio off battery if the SHTF, and I happen to have a couple of spare batteries to use. So my thought was to get some sort of solar charging panel and mount it up on the roof next to the antenna to keep the batteries charged up. Free electricity and all...
I did a lot of searching and reading here on MUD, and out on the Interwebs, seems like it's not hard to do, but at a steep cost. I can't justify spending much more than $75-80 on this setup. If I can't do it that cheap, then I'll just stop at Autozone and pick up a cheap 1A trickle charger, put it on a timer, call it done.
I don't need the panel to necessarily RUN the radio (draws up to 10A according to the Yaesu docs), but just top the batteries back up when the radio is off. Seems like a 10-15W panel would do that, assuming I can trust the specs. It also needs to be durable enough to stay outside exposed to the weather year-round.
Am I expecting too much?
It has a 1" extruded aluminum frame and seem very well built for the price. I can post a pictures if you need to see a detail. Not as robust as the Siemens/ITE panel I have on the roof of my LC but not near the price. I have had mine a year and so far happy.
