Mike Morris WA6ILQ wrote: > The lock-shut-through-its-own-contacts latching relay uses > power as long as it is activated. > As another gentleman pointed out, the magnetic latching > relay only uses power when the coil is activated (i.e. a > pulse to change the state of the relay).
I would want to use the magnetic latching type, since I see no sense in wasting solar power if the package is shut down. > The 12v circuit breaker with the shunt trip coil sounds like the > most feasible, and besides it's designed exactly for the job. I'm researching that, as I wasn't aware of these devices. Sounds interesting. So far I haven't found a source of suitably rated units, but I haven't had much time to devote to it. > dropping a dead short (even > momentary) across the battery is not going to do it any good. Good point. > You could use an old IMTS horn honker decoder to trigger the trip coil. Do you recall how much power they consume? I'm leaning toward the Selectone ST-809B for its negligible power consumption. My working theory is that (within reason) it's cheaper to spend money on low power consumption electronics than to buy more solar panels. :) Paul N1BUG
