Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
Do these charges have any builtin monitoring via SNMP? -Original Message- From: Christopher Erickson [mailto:christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com] Sent: 15 January 2010 19:22 To: 'WISPA General List' Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Latitude and average cloud cover will be factors. I would use MorningStar MPPT solar charge controllers. Get every last watt of solar charging you can manage. Each controller can handle one to three 75 to 200 watt panels. If you end up needing more than three panels, add controllers and panels until sufficient charging is obtained. Avoid as many power conversions as possible. Power conversions never have 100% efficiency and many of your precious watts end up wasted as heat. 6V golf cart batteries are the best bang for the battery buck and can be deep cycled much better than 12V automotive-style batteries because they have much thicker plates. Dusty and/or snowy areas can be a problem. If so, schedule regular PMI visits to inspect and clean the panels. Use security screws on the solar panel mounting brackets. Solar panels are starting to become a popular theft item. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 8:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
I think most people fabricate their own pole mounts using angle iron and hose clamps. You can find some pole mount designs at power-fab.com Regards, Scott -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 9:36 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Wow those Tycon panels look right up our alley - what exactly seems to be the preferred mounting bracket/hardware for these? Thanks! -AJ On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 5:33 PM, Scott Parsons sc...@e-zy.net wrote: You have plenty of battery capacity to handle your intermittent load so you just really have to deal with the standby load. A 10W solar panel would handle your standby load. There's a handy calculator at tyconpower.com/learning_center I would recommend a small 30W solar panel to take care of standby load and give enough extra capacity to keep the battery bank fully charged. A 12V 5A controller would handle the charging of the batteries and your load. Some prices from beezwaxproducts.com 30W 12V panel $179 12V 5A controller $24.95 Scott -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 11:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
They have serial interfaces instead of network interfaces and support a type of MODBUS communication, which can be interfaced to SNMP by various means. One way would be with the ultra- low power Parallax PINK module, which can give a web and telnet interface as well as SNMP. My advice is always free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Paul Hendry Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 1:47 AM To: wireless Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Do these charges have any builtin monitoring via SNMP? -Original Message- From: Christopher Erickson [mailto:christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com] Sent: 15 January 2010 19:22 To: 'WISPA General List' Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Latitude and average cloud cover will be factors. I would use MorningStar MPPT solar charge controllers. Get every last watt of solar charging you can manage. Each controller can handle one to three 75 to 200 watt panels. If you end up needing more than three panels, add controllers and panels until sufficient charging is obtained. Avoid as many power conversions as possible. Power conversions never have 100% efficiency and many of your precious watts end up wasted as heat. 6V golf cart batteries are the best bang for the battery buck and can be deep cycled much better than 12V automotive-style batteries because they have much thicker plates. Dusty and/or snowy areas can be a problem. If so, schedule regular PMI visits to inspect and clean the panels. Use security screws on the solar panel mounting brackets. Solar panels are starting to become a popular theft item. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 8:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
www.packetflux.com has serial to ip converter for those Gino A. Villarini g...@aeronetpr.com Aeronet Wireless Broadband Corp. 787.273.4143 -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Christopher Erickson Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 12:11 PM To: 'WISPA General List' Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? They have serial interfaces instead of network interfaces and support a type of MODBUS communication, which can be interfaced to SNMP by various means. One way would be with the ultra- low power Parallax PINK module, which can give a web and telnet interface as well as SNMP. My advice is always free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Paul Hendry Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 1:47 AM To: wireless Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Do these charges have any builtin monitoring via SNMP? -Original Message- From: Christopher Erickson [mailto:christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com] Sent: 15 January 2010 19:22 To: 'WISPA General List' Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Latitude and average cloud cover will be factors. I would use MorningStar MPPT solar charge controllers. Get every last watt of solar charging you can manage. Each controller can handle one to three 75 to 200 watt panels. If you end up needing more than three panels, add controllers and panels until sufficient charging is obtained. Avoid as many power conversions as possible. Power conversions never have 100% efficiency and many of your precious watts end up wasted as heat. 6V golf cart batteries are the best bang for the battery buck and can be deep cycled much better than 12V automotive-style batteries because they have much thicker plates. Dusty and/or snowy areas can be a problem. If so, schedule regular PMI visits to inspect and clean the panels. Use security screws on the solar panel mounting brackets. Solar panels are starting to become a popular theft item. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 8:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
Latitude and average cloud cover will be factors. I would use MorningStar MPPT solar charge controllers. Get every last watt of solar charging you can manage. Each controller can handle one to three 75 to 200 watt panels. If you end up needing more than three panels, add controllers and panels until sufficient charging is obtained. Avoid as many power conversions as possible. Power conversions never have 100% efficiency and many of your precious watts end up wasted as heat. 6V golf cart batteries are the best bang for the battery buck and can be deep cycled much better than 12V automotive-style batteries because they have much thicker plates. Dusty and/or snowy areas can be a problem. If so, schedule regular PMI visits to inspect and clean the panels. Use security screws on the solar panel mounting brackets. Solar panels are starting to become a popular theft item. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 8:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
or smog cover. ;-) There's more usable sunlight here in Chicago than there is in LA and they're a bit south of us. - Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com -- From: Christopher Erickson christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 1:21 PM To: 'WISPA General List' wireless@wispa.org Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Latitude and average cloud cover will be factors. I would use MorningStar MPPT solar charge controllers. Get every last watt of solar charging you can manage. Each controller can handle one to three 75 to 200 watt panels. If you end up needing more than three panels, add controllers and panels until sufficient charging is obtained. Avoid as many power conversions as possible. Power conversions never have 100% efficiency and many of your precious watts end up wasted as heat. 6V golf cart batteries are the best bang for the battery buck and can be deep cycled much better than 12V automotive-style batteries because they have much thicker plates. Dusty and/or snowy areas can be a problem. If so, schedule regular PMI visits to inspect and clean the panels. Use security screws on the solar panel mounting brackets. Solar panels are starting to become a popular theft item. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 8:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
As far as sun hours are concerned, this is in the Boise, Idaho area which falls within Zone 4 with an average 4.5 sun hours per day. The site itself should be in full sun the majority of the day as it sits on a bench above the downtown area. The inversion haze is pretty bad in the winter - however - not many parades, marathons, races or marches (other than the Boise Holiday Parade) between November and April... Power is consistent across the board - all of the radio and control equipment work directly off of 12 VDC. Batteries are free to us as surplussed by the utility donating them. I *completely* agree with security screws on panels - the BLM sites here have heavy L channel over the edges of the panel with pad locks to completely secure the panel in place. We work on roughly a $500 annual operating budget solely from donations - whatever we end up with would need to be scalable so we can start out with a very basic system and ramp up over time. Thanks! -AJ On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 12:21 PM, Christopher Erickson christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com wrote: Latitude and average cloud cover will be factors. I would use MorningStar MPPT solar charge controllers. Get every last watt of solar charging you can manage. Each controller can handle one to three 75 to 200 watt panels. If you end up needing more than three panels, add controllers and panels until sufficient charging is obtained. Avoid as many power conversions as possible. Power conversions never have 100% efficiency and many of your precious watts end up wasted as heat. 6V golf cart batteries are the best bang for the battery buck and can be deep cycled much better than 12V automotive-style batteries because they have much thicker plates. Dusty and/or snowy areas can be a problem. If so, schedule regular PMI visits to inspect and clean the panels. Use security screws on the solar panel mounting brackets. Solar panels are starting to become a popular theft item. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 8:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ -- -- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -- -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
Lot of sun down there in Hawaii, Christopher? Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. --- Albert Einstein On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 3:05 PM, Christopher Erickson christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com wrote: Maybe start with one or two 75 watt panels and an MPPT charger and see where that gets you. And it isn't against the rules to visit the site to charge up the batteries with a Honda 1000i generator once in a while during winter if the site begins to fall behind a bit in charging. The MPPT chargers ar a tiny bit more expensive than the old technology chargers but they do a better job of being able to charge with feeble sunrise, sunset and overcast light. They can even charge the batteries when the panels are putting out less than 12 volts. They probably add about 5% to 10% more charging every day than old style chargers. And they will never overcharge your batteries. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 9:42 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? As far as sun hours are concerned, this is in the Boise, Idaho area which falls within Zone 4 with an average 4.5 sun hours per day. The site itself should be in full sun the majority of the day as it sits on a bench above the downtown area. The inversion haze is pretty bad in the winter - however - not many parades, marathons, races or marches (other than the Boise Holiday Parade) between November and April... Power is consistent across the board - all of the radio and control equipment work directly off of 12 VDC. Batteries are free to us as surplussed by the utility donating them. I *completely* agree with security screws on panels - the BLM sites here have heavy L channel over the edges of the panel with pad locks to completely secure the panel in place. We work on roughly a $500 annual operating budget solely from donations - whatever we end up with would need to be scalable so we can start out with a very basic system and ramp up over time. Thanks! -AJ On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 12:21 PM, Christopher Erickson christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com wrote: Latitude and average cloud cover will be factors. I would use MorningStar MPPT solar charge controllers. Get every last watt of solar charging you can manage. Each controller can handle one to three 75 to 200 watt panels. If you end up needing more than three panels, add controllers and panels until sufficient charging is obtained. Avoid as many power conversions as possible. Power conversions never have 100% efficiency and many of your precious watts end up wasted as heat. 6V golf cart batteries are the best bang for the battery buck and can be deep cycled much better than 12V automotive-style batteries because they have much thicker plates. Dusty and/or snowy areas can be a problem. If so, schedule regular PMI visits to inspect and clean the panels. Use security screws on the solar panel mounting brackets. Solar panels are starting to become a popular theft item. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 8:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
I would go for a dual site wind and solar. It covers for long spell of cloud. Richard WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
Oops, forgot to mention that part - license from the city parks and rec department (who owns the land the abandoned railroad building and wooden poles sit on) specifically prohibits the use of wind generation equipment. Small inconvenience for a free site :) Thanks! -AJ On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 1:20 PM, richard sterne wireless.r...@gmail.comwrote: I would go for a dual site wind and solar. It covers for long spell of cloud. Richard WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
Lots and lots of sun here! Nothing at all like building high-reliability off-grid power systems for frigid mountain top comm sites during my 25 years in Alaska. Speaking of which, I generally try to avoid wind generators in snow and ice country. All it usually takes is a bit of ice on the blades and before you know it, the bearings are shot. And charge controllers for wind generators are much more problematic and inefficient than solar controllers. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Josh Luthman Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 10:08 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Lot of sun down there in Hawaii, Christopher? Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. --- Albert Einstein On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 3:05 PM, Christopher Erickson christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com wrote: Maybe start with one or two 75 watt panels and an MPPT charger and see where that gets you. And it isn't against the rules to visit the site to charge up the batteries with a Honda 1000i generator once in a while during winter if the site begins to fall behind a bit in charging. The MPPT chargers ar a tiny bit more expensive than the old technology chargers but they do a better job of being able to charge with feeble sunrise, sunset and overcast light. They can even charge the batteries when the panels are putting out less than 12 volts. They probably add about 5% to 10% more charging every day than old style chargers. And they will never overcharge your batteries. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 9:42 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? As far as sun hours are concerned, this is in the Boise, Idaho area which falls within Zone 4 with an average 4.5 sun hours per day. The site itself should be in full sun the majority of the day as it sits on a bench above the downtown area. The inversion haze is pretty bad in the winter - however - not many parades, marathons, races or marches (other than the Boise Holiday Parade) between November and April... Power is consistent across the board - all of the radio and control equipment work directly off of 12 VDC. Batteries are free to us as surplussed by the utility donating them. I *completely* agree with security screws on panels - the BLM sites here have heavy L channel over the edges of the panel with pad locks to completely secure the panel in place. We work on roughly a $500 annual operating budget solely from donations - whatever we end up with would need to be scalable so we can start out with a very basic system and ramp up over time. Thanks! -AJ On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 12:21 PM, Christopher Erickson christopher.k.erick...@gmail.com wrote: Latitude and average cloud cover will be factors. I would use MorningStar MPPT solar charge controllers. Get every last watt of solar charging you can manage. Each controller can handle one to three 75 to 200 watt panels. If you end up needing more than three panels, add controllers and panels until sufficient charging is obtained. Avoid as many power conversions as possible. Power conversions never have 100% efficiency and many of your precious watts end up wasted as heat. 6V golf cart batteries are the best bang for the battery buck and can be deep cycled much better than 12V automotive-style batteries because they have much thicker plates. Dusty and/or snowy areas can be a problem. If so, schedule regular PMI visits to inspect and clean the panels. Use security screws on the solar panel mounting brackets. Solar panels are starting to become a popular theft item. My advice is free and worth every penny! -Christopher Erickson Network Design Engineer Waikoloa Village, HI 96738 N19°57' W155°47' -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 8:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
You have plenty of battery capacity to handle your intermittent load so you just really have to deal with the standby load. A 10W solar panel would handle your standby load. There's a handy calculator at tyconpower.com/learning_center I would recommend a small 30W solar panel to take care of standby load and give enough extra capacity to keep the battery bank fully charged. A 12V 5A controller would handle the charging of the batteries and your load. Some prices from beezwaxproducts.com 30W 12V panel $179 12V 5A controller $24.95 Scott -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 11:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site?
Wow those Tycon panels look right up our alley - what exactly seems to be the preferred mounting bracket/hardware for these? Thanks! -AJ On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 5:33 PM, Scott Parsons sc...@e-zy.net wrote: You have plenty of battery capacity to handle your intermittent load so you just really have to deal with the standby load. A 10W solar panel would handle your standby load. There's a handy calculator at tyconpower.com/learning_center I would recommend a small 30W solar panel to take care of standby load and give enough extra capacity to keep the battery bank fully charged. A 12V 5A controller would handle the charging of the batteries and your load. Some prices from beezwaxproducts.com 30W 12V panel $179 12V 5A controller $24.95 Scott -Original Message- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of AJ Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 11:38 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Solar suggestion for ultra low use site? Thought I'd tap in to the collective intelligence of the WISP group for this question... Looking at setting up a solar powered VHF ham repeater in the middle of a metro area for infill coverage... Site is land locked by ghetto on one side and rail tracks on the other - commercial power is not an option. We have available a dozen or so surplus Alpha 85 amp hour gel cell batteries which test out at roughly 90% capacity (PM swaps)... The first thought was to simply charge up a battery for each event we work in the downtown core, drop by the site and swap out whatever battery is in place.. Not quite the most efficient plan. Our next thought was to place a decent sized array, maybe 300-400 amp hour, then supplement with an off the shelf solar panel or two to maintain a charge... Our equipment consists of an ancient GE MastrII repeater turned down to 25 watts and an NHRC controller. Standby draw is 125 mA, transmit ramps up to about 3.5 amps... Duty cycle is key here - we work perhaps a dozen events a year within the coverage of this repeater for about 4 hours each on about a 10% duty cycle (TX 6 out of every 60 minutes). The rest of the time the repeater sits idle and will not transmit unnecessarily (no IDs or anything unless it's actively in use)... What is out there on the market for a low cost solar site? Thanks! -AJ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
