PowerFilm F15-1200 Portable Solar Power for Ham Radio

Hello Operators
A few months ago, I ordered the PowerFilm F15-1200 solar panel as a migration away from the Goal Zero Nomad panels I used previously. It was my hope that the PowerFilm panels would prove to be a better investment as a lightweight & rugged puzzle piece in my portable ham radio power strategy.

So in this video, we are discussing the PowerFilm F15-1200 Solar panel, field-testing it along with the DIY 10Ah lithium iron phosphate battery pack from my previous video. Finally, we'll discuss the pros and cons of the PowerFilm panels over other variants.



The link to the episode notes for the PowerFilm F15-1200 can be found in the video description.

The next video in this portable power series, is a DIY 5Ah 4S2P protected pack with BMS.

I'll try to keep up with the comments here on QRZ. The video editing, background research, and field work going into each episode has me quite busy. I will check in, but please be patient.

73
Julian oh8stn

 

Great review. Thanks

 

I bought their 120w foldable this last summer; it's been great for running my ARB 50qt fridge, plus 857D radio setup. I'm interested in going lithium-ion battery route, so I'll be checking back as you test more configurations. Thanks.

 

I went to Powerfilm off the bat, I was at AFCEA WEST conference a few years ago and saw the military application. I found a suitable commercial maritime unit and invested in that running into a Goal Zero converter then broke out into a Powerworks micro Powerpole strip. I run my FT 817ND, charge iPad/iPhone and have an inverter to charge my Powerbook when I am deployed. I am still wrestling with batteries (using two SLAs) and was considering an A123 product.

Keep at it, see ya on the air. KZ3H

 

Neat stuff but quite expensive.

 

I owned the R21 several years ago, it failed in the cold. Output dropped to 5 volts full sun. I can only assume some of the contacts inside the film cracked. Cut it up and tossed it. A rather expensive mistake.

 

How cold are you talking?

 

Wisconsin cold, over time it died...

 

Good review, I have the F16-1800 30w I use for portable ops and backpacking. Great value for the money.

 

I've designed a lightweight portable battery box I've named COMBATT 12V; three configurations! It weighs 8.5# and I can change out the lead-acid AGM battery in two minutes! Pics at QRZ.com; my call sign.

I am going to buy the PowerFilm F16 1800 (30W) foldable solar panel early 2018.

Prefer waterproof so I'm happy you shared this splendid video.

Thank you!

Jesse-
KK6PKN

 

Pretty expensive for a 20 watt panel. It take it that it is light weight and make it easier to take with you backpacking remote ops.
If it were me, (and I don't do the back packing thing) I would just buy the Harbor freight one at 100 watts for less $$ than the 20 watt.

 

very gud article tnx,,

has anyone here tried to make there own flexible Panel ?
seen some flex cells for sale ,would be interesting to diy and glue to canvas or some foldable material .
73s have fun

 

Thanks for the feedback. I've also got one of the 120 watt panels on the way. To be honest I didn't think one could run a refrigerator off of it, that sounds pretty awesome.
The next battery pack build is a 5 amp hour lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) using A123 26650 cells. From a size perspective, it's probably not very interesting to you, but it's the first pack on the channel that will be a protected parallel 4S2P configuration. That's the learning bit.
In the springtime I hope to do a large lithium iron phosphate battery build. Depending on the funding, it could be a 40 amp hour or 96 amp hour protected lithium iron phosphate pack for an emergency field ststion. Kind of a diesel generator replacement to run a QRO station. That's what the 120 watt panel is for.
Thanks for commenting and for the kindness.

Julian

 

Yeah the light weight, waterproof, and zero pack size all costs. Another thing which costs is actually getting the 1.2 amps out of it compared to other panels. In my experience when I put an amp meter on the output of the panel, the PowerFilm actually gives you the amps specified. With my Harbor Freight folding suitcase, I don't get anywhere near the amps specified in full sunlight. So I'm wondering if it's just a number written on the box.
The other thing is the weight of the Harbor Freight folding suitcase. I carried it up a hill on a radar challenge a couple of years ago, and decided never to do that again.
Anyway I would agree with you, if I could actually get the specified amps out of the Harbor Freight, it would be nice to deploy from a car.

Julian

 

I didn't see if anybody commented but this is an excellent question. I saw that the individual components, the actual thin film cells, can also be purchased. They even have a YouTube video showing how to solder them up. To be honest and keeping it completely real, the cost of the complete panels is somewhat prohibitive for someone into casual amateur radio. Less so for the fanatic or emergency communications operator. Anyhow, I thought about ordering some of those thin-film modules, then doing a DIY build on the channel to see how it works out.
Excellent question
Julian