KG9E Portable Solar Powered HF Station Shopping List
Radio Station
Yeasu FT817ND (5 watts) or FT857D (100 watts)
HF Packer 35watt amplifier for use with FT 817ND
SuperAntennas MP-1 40m - 6m vertical
MFJ 10-foot telescopic whip
12VDC Power
7 amp Solar Charge Controller Battery Monitor
A terminal strip to tie everything together and some terminal block jumpers
or use a Terminal Strip Kit
A nice sturdy aluminum toolbox to keep everything organized and protected
1) Connect solar panel to charge controller.
2) Connect charge controller to terminal strip (use terminal block jumpers to define positive and negative
3) Connect terminal strip to battery.
This takes care of solar charging the battery.
+ + + = Basic PV system
4) Connect the radio and amplifier power leads to the terminal strip and you are good to go. No regulation is used since the FT 817ND can run from a voltage range of 8V to 15V. Nor does the amplifier seem to mind the lack of regulation. You can also run other DC loads - a small fan, lights, another radio, or even hook in another like battery in parallel for extended operation.
Here is some other stuff you may want to try:
