Narrow bands of colour
Now that I’ve got solar power on my mind, I’ve been reading and collecting and trying to get ready for a sunny day. Have my first battery (a 7Ah gel cell) with room to expand, and now I have a controller. Actually, I already had one, but it was simply for voltage. Now my kit contains a small circuit board that allows me to trickle charge. Apparently that’s really important. And since I’m not afraid to melt a little solder from time to time, I ordered and received a kit from AcmeQRP. Today, I assembled it.
Nothing too difficult, other than trying to identify the resistors. The bands are getting narrower, the colours are vague (that’s my fault, not the kit manufacturer), and it took a little while to get my act together. Finally, after some careful measurement with a digital VTVM, I felt secure enough to begin soldering. After some relaxing effort, the circuit was populated, tested and marked (mentally) as a success. Now all that remains is the fabrication of a few patch cables and I’ll be ready to test the local sunshine. As to the question (inevitable) about what one can do with all of this, the answer was clear: miracles.
I’m under some pressure to begin preparing for travel, so I decided to “rebuild” the camera bag. Last year, I purchased a Kata 3N1-33, and it did a great job of getting me from one photo opportunity to the next. However… I now have more gear than before, and so I had to rethink the layout. My first effort is done, and everything that must be “in the bag” is. There’s still some time for revision, but I’m ready to hit the long, lonesome highway.
