One of my larger projects has been to convert my QTH ham radio station to run on solar power.
My station's layout has the HF is on one end of my house and the VHF/UHF the other.
I use two identical 12 volt 4 x 100 Watt solar panel arrays, each having a 100 Amp hour lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) storage battery.
These type of batteries cost more than lead acid deep cycle, but totally out perform them with usable voltage.
Each set up is located near the radio it serves. This minimizes cable loss.
You are probably wondering what this cost. Since I built two identical systems, I'll laundry list one.
$240 ? ? 4 - 12v 100W solar panels with weatherproof MC-4 connectors on leads (400W max output).
$235 ? ? ? ?1 - 100 Amp Hour Lithium Iron LiFePO4 storage battery.
$60 ? ? ? ? ?1 - 12v Solar charge controller with 30A capacity and lithium battery support.
$65 ? ? ? ? ?1 - 4x6" treated timber and 5 - screw style dog anchors with tie down line and 2 noodles cut to fit panel tops.
$100 ? ? ? ?3 - Wye 2 into 1 MC4 connectors, 10ga x 20' power cable MC4 on one end. Use for solar to controller and controller to battery connections.
$40 ? ? ? ? ?2 - 4 bolt 5/16" power distribution bars, one red & one black. The radio and accessory power leads connect here, safely and neatly.
$20 ? ? ? ? ?2 - 10ga - 40A inlineline fuses, 5/16" ring terminals, butt splice, misc shrink tubing.
Installation notes.
Mounting-
The panels are located about 18" away from a south facing wall with their bottoms set in the grooved landscape timber. The timber is anchor nailed to earth.
Split swim noodles are used to protect the siding from the solar panel tops. Slit length way and paint with latex to protect from sun damage.
The panels have a pair of mounting holes on each side. Two lines are threaded across the top and bottom holes then tied to the anchors on each side.
Four panels requires 5 anchors to securely tie them down.
Electrical-
There are 3 pairs of 2 into 1 weatherproof wye MC-4 connectors allowing the panels be connected in parallel.
10 gauge cable connects the 4 panels to the battery charge controller located indoors near the storage battery.
There are many solar chargers to choose from. I use the one in the picture with very good results. It also has stout wire terminals compared to others.
The charge controller's output connects via 10 ga cables and a 30A in line fuse in the positive lead to the battery terminals.
The battery is also connected to the 12 volt distribution bars with the positive lead fused at 30A.
I recommend buying a good crimping tool. ?A tight, gas free crimped connection seldom gives any trouble. Poor connections will get hot and waste Watts.
American made connectors tend to be stouter in my experience.
Contact me at N0QBH@... for details.
73
Mike N0QBH
N0QBH Mike Berg