solar trickle charger
- Thread starter Tengu
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I have two 12v portable power packs which i keep charged up with the trickle charger so they are always powered up in case of power cuts etc
Picked them up in lidles, not a bad price about £12 i think but they are great, have sockets for the ciggy type connectors plus some for different voltages. Very handy for having around.
What type of batteries is it for? Car batteries?
You could connect it to a battery and inverter, which would give you mains power (220-240v). Maybe for a light/fan/small electric heater in a shed or something? Or, just connect the battery to 12v devices (anything that can be plugged into a car cigarette lighter).
What do you want to know about solar power? Generally, the current available from solar chargers is very small and you can't run equipment directly from them - this is why they are most often used to charge batteries, which then act as the main power source
Solar cells are usually Ultra-Violet (UV) light sensitive and so will operate even on a cloudy but bright-ish day (UV penetrates clouds) but at a lower efficiency (less UV available). Likewise, as most double-glazed windows are UV reflective, they will also significantly reduce the power available if you put the cells behind a window.
Other aspects are pretty simple: the bigger the area of solar cells, and the more efficient the solar cells are, the more power you get and the quicker you'll charge those batteries.
I used to work on satellites, including both payload and bus systems. We did a lot on battery charging and solar efficiency and it's one of the subjects that looks simple at first but gets horrendously complex; indeed, degradation of solar panels is one of the key factors in satellite life. But no-one is interested in that so I'll shut up. :tapedshut
That's it in a nutshell, really!
I saw them at Asda for £10 including crocodile clips as well as a cigarette lighter socket a few weeks ago.
Blimey!Someone's interested!
Did a load of courses at Uni of Surrey but mainly through military. Space and ground segment for SKYNET 4 before we sold it all to Astrium/Paradigm.
Lost an empire...
Hi Mikey,
Yeah I am, I was an imaging specialist with the MoD, worked with some of you Surrey mob in the wind tunnels at Farnborough, and in the satellite simulator did you ever get in there? Coms, ion thrusters and...
Hey Mikey,
I've spent a few sleepy days at Oakhanger, but I don't remeber getting to Corsham, it was all along time ago though.
Doug rings a bell, was Kat a girl from Whitbyish? All the names are a bit vague now, my main contact was a guy called Dave Lloyed (I think) - big into Ion thrusters, and a tall guy who was an Ozzy I think (good the mad cows must be kicking in!) but my main memory are of the Space department parties - legiondary!
Nice to bump into you mate, brought back some great memories!
Andy
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