My solar setup for Yaesu FT-817ND

1. 

   F5LKW says:

   April 7, 2012 at 6:58 AM

   Really good rig. I should change my battery ;-))

   Reply
2. 

   ThePilotBMP says:

   April 7, 2012 at 6:19 AM

   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?

   Reply
3. 

   k0mos says:

   April 7, 2012 at 5:47 AM

   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 🙂

   Reply
4. 

   ThePilotBMP says:

   April 7, 2012 at 4:51 AM

   Makes sense. That way I can run one battery while the other is charging.

   Reply
5. 

   k0mos says:

   April 7, 2012 at 4:39 AM

   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.

   Reply
6. 

   ThePilotBMP says:

   April 7, 2012 at 4:19 AM

   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?

   Reply
7. 

   TUFFMATE says:

   April 7, 2012 at 4:12 AM

   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

   Reply
8. 

   k0mos says:

   April 7, 2012 at 3:51 AM

   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 🙂 )

   Reply
9. 

   VA7BC says:

   April 7, 2012 at 2:51 AM

   Great video. Thanks for explaining your set up. Looks A1
   73 from Canada
   Greg

   Reply
10. 

    k0mos says:

    April 7, 2012 at 2:25 AM

    You are welcome Greg 🙂

    Reply
11. 

    oe9fwv says:

    April 7, 2012 at 2:23 AM

    hi Mat, can find this charger in Europe?

    Reply
12. 

    k0mos says:

    April 7, 2012 at 2:22 AM

    Hi Werner, I just sent an e-mail to you regarding this topic.

    Reply
13. 

    ve6kk says:

    April 7, 2012 at 2:16 AM

    Hi Mat. Nice oither vids too – on SOTA hikes. I notice your rating on the XP8000 (obviously not an 8 Ah LiPo). Have you done a capacity test at 12V? Looking at one while waiting for the KX-3 to arrive. Cheers es 73 Peter

    Reply
14. 

    k0mos says:

    April 7, 2012 at 1:35 AM

    Hi Peter, sorry for the late reply. I did not do any capacity tests with the XP8000. When I remember correctly I used the numbers from somebody else on the web who did some testing. 73, Matt

    Reply

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