K7LOL Look Mom, No Grid
The entire K7LOL ham shack is powered by the sun. Radios, accessories, lights, fans and computer gear are all battery operated. The single exception is the RF amplifier.
I am using two generic 140 watt panels. They are mounted flat on the south face of the roof tied to the air conditioner support. No hardware was used and no holes were drilled in the roof. The rope mounted panels have survived 55 mph monsoon winds without incident.
Each panel has 10 gauge wiring into the house. The low voltage cables feed an 80 amp solar controller.
It charges dual 200 amp hour deep cycle batteries for the shack power and 35 amp hour batteries for portable use.
Power from the battery is distributed via an automotive fuse block.
This lash up will run a 100 watt contest weekend even with full cloud cover. That includes radio gear, PC, monitor, lighting and cooling fans for the room.
2024 - This winter has proved challenging with many days of cloud cover. One evening in particular got really quiet in the shack
...and dark. Batteries had dropped to 11.6 volts and off went the DC plant. Took three days of sun to get the batteries fully up to speed.
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