Tag Archives: solar charge controller

Kirchoff’s Current Law And Today’s Amateur.

kirchoff's current law

A very high bar. Prussian-German scientist Gustav Kirchoff (1824-1887) was a pretty impressive guy. His research led to a series of electrical principles collectively referred to as Kirchoff’s Laws. Those of us who endured electrical engineering school or technical college are very familiar with Kirchoff. Yet, he’s not particularly well… Read more »

The Off Grid Ham Quick Start Guide!

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off grid ham quick start

When you want it now. off grid ham quick start I recently received an email from a reader who suggested that I write an article about how a newcomer to off grid radio can get started: Batteries, solar panels, etc. I was like, wait…whaaaat? Off Grid Ham is not a… Read more »

Solar Efficiency: It’s Not What You Think, Part 2 of 2.

In Part 1 we started with some conceptual topics, then moved on to the physical hardware that is the cause of inefficiency. In Part 2 we’ll address batteries, then go step by step through a typical system and identify where solar efficiency is compromised. Batteries: The great unknown. Calculating battery… Read more »

Solar Efficiency: It’s Not What You Think, Part 1 of 2

One of my readers asked about inverter efficiency and suggested that it would be helpful to the Off Grid Ham community if I did an article about overall solar efficiency. Since that’s not the first time the question has been raised, I’ll accept the invite. In this two part series… Read more »

What You Need To Know: PWM and MPPT Solar Charge Controller.

SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER

The solar charge controller is arguably the most important component of a solar energy system. Like the conductor of an orchestra, the solar charge controller makes it possible for all the other parts to work together. Understanding how a solar charge controller performs its task is important to planning for… Read more »