You're videos are great at capturing SOTA. I need to add a watt meter to my rig. Is there any particular reason why you use a Watts-up instead of Doc-Watt meter?
@TUFFMATE Thanks for your comment. There is no particular reason for the watt meter. It seemed to fit my requirements (small/lightweight/reasonably priced) and was readily available. I did not look into a 'Doc-Watt meter (but I will now :) )
Everything is connected at the same time. The solar-cell feeds the external XP-8000 and the radio is geting power from the XP8000 through the internal battery (FNB-85). There is no need for the charge controller since the XP-8000 accepts up to 19V (which cannot be produced by the solar panel). If you want to feed the radio directly (through internal battery) you will need a charge controller since the limit onthe radio is 13.8V (I believe). The solar panel can exceed that. Hope that explains it.
@k0mos you are a genius at explaining this in laymen's terms. I am new to non-commercial power and I thank you greatly for your patience in answering my questions about your setup. Thank you so much! I can't wait for more videos as I have subscribed to your page. Last question...so far my shopping list includes:
-XP8000
-Solar cell
any misc cables, connectors, etc... that you recommend?
If you want to charge the internal battery of the FT-817 I would definitely go with the charge controller. The external battery (XP8000) can handle 19V, the internal battery can't - therefore a charge controller is highly recommended to avoid any smoke :)
Is the battery and charger at the end necessary for the initial setup we saw at the beginning? I understand it to be the PV to the charge controller, to the battery, to the FT-817. Correct?
You're videos are great at capturing SOTA. I need to add a watt meter to my rig. Is there any particular reason why you use a Watts-up instead of Doc-Watt meter?
Clarence KI4WTT
TUFFMATE 5 months ago
@TUFFMATE Thanks for your comment. There is no particular reason for the watt meter. It seemed to fit my requirements (small/lightweight/reasonably priced) and was readily available. I did not look into a 'Doc-Watt meter (but I will now :) )
k0mos 5 months ago
Everything is connected at the same time. The solar-cell feeds the external XP-8000 and the radio is geting power from the XP8000 through the internal battery (FNB-85). There is no need for the charge controller since the XP-8000 accepts up to 19V (which cannot be produced by the solar panel). If you want to feed the radio directly (through internal battery) you will need a charge controller since the limit onthe radio is 13.8V (I believe). The solar panel can exceed that. Hope that explains it.
k0mos 7 months ago
@k0mos you are a genius at explaining this in laymen's terms. I am new to non-commercial power and I thank you greatly for your patience in answering my questions about your setup. Thank you so much! I can't wait for more videos as I have subscribed to your page. Last question...so far my shopping list includes:
-XP8000
-Solar cell
any misc cables, connectors, etc... that you recommend?
ThePilotBMP 7 months ago
Makes sense. That way I can run one battery while the other is charging.
ThePilotBMP 7 months ago
If you want to charge the internal battery of the FT-817 I would definitely go with the charge controller. The external battery (XP8000) can handle 19V, the internal battery can't - therefore a charge controller is highly recommended to avoid any smoke :)
k0mos 7 months ago
Is the battery and charger at the end necessary for the initial setup we saw at the beginning? I understand it to be the PV to the charge controller, to the battery, to the FT-817. Correct?
ThePilotBMP 7 months ago
Really good rig. I should change my battery ;-))
F5LKW 7 months ago