Portable Bioenno Solar Panels | Solar all the things!!
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2021
- 100 Watt Panel: www.bioennopower.com/collecti...
60 Watt Panel: www.bioennopower.com/collecti...
40 Watt Panel: www.bioennopower.com/collecti...
28 Watt Panel: www.bioennopower.com/collecti...
Charge Controller: www.bioennopower.com/collecti...
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Here's a bunch of links to stuff I use.
Yaesu FT-891:amzn.to/2XaTkof
Xiegu X5105: amzn.to/2U4jrtM
Xiegu G90: amzn.to/30fszPD
Bioenno BLF-1203W: amzn.to/3bXsRhP
Bioenno BLF-1203AB: amzn.to/39OAW74
Bioenno BLF-1206A: amzn.to/2XaWQ1L
Bioenno 20AH LiFePO4 Battery: amzn.to/2XfZPWT
Bioenno 12AH LiFePO4 Battery: amzn.to/2WHU9kp
Bioenno Charge Controller: www.bioennopower.com/collecti...
Battery Charger: amzn.to/2YARsSt
Rich Solar 100 Watt Panel: amzn.to/3enp4vD
Carhartt Lunch Box: amzn.to/2xQfbGO
Shakespear 20' Wonderpole: amzn.to/2Rd9IiG
Powerwerx Power Pole Crimping Tool: amzn.to/3eDbpSo
Powerwerx Power Pole Distribution Block: amzn.to/2WHI3Ym
Powerwerx Volt Meter: amzn.to/2IG8AAw
Ailunce HD1: amzn.to/35HqBYZ
Baofeng UV-5R: amzn.to/2Ot3NX7
Tactical Backpack amzn.to/2k6jya7
Condor Rip EMT Pouch: amzn.to/2XjLUPG
iPad mini Bluetooth Keyboard: amzn.to/2IOtI7o
Red Rock Outdoors Sling Pack: amzn.to/2FdCKdf
Portable Operating for Amateur Radio Kindle: amzn.to/2X3I7EU
Portable Operating for Amateur Radio paperback: amzn.to/330xW7J
I may make a small commission on purchases made through the links above.
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#hamradio #bioenno #parksontheair - Věda a technologie
Good reference to “The Abyss” with your battery box names.
Hey glad you got it!
Bioenno is an awesome company with a solid. They just totally helped me out with a screwup on my end and were amazing.
Their customer service is top notch for sure.
Those are great solar panels. They look waaaaay more portable than my Renogy 100w briefcase. I think I need one now! Great video Mike!
Indeed they are. I have one of the Rich Solar panels (same as the Renogy pretty much) and they are way heavier, bulkier, and more fragile. These panels you can just throw in the car and go without having to worry about breaking them.
Thank you for the video, Mike!
This helps as I plan and build out my portable set up that will be multi-use: daytrip SOTA/POTA and weekend (or longer) vacations.
Glad it was helpful!
I’m looking forward to seeing additional reviews and/comparisons of the solar panels. Between you, Julian OH8STN, and Adam K6ARK there is a lot of good info.
A great presentation of Bioenno products,Mike.Thanks for posting this informative video..…👍
My pleasure! Thanks for watching.
Great video. Thank you. I have the 100w panels, and you've given me lots of good info.
Awesome. Thanks for watching.
Thanks jaison fantastic job
Always inspired me...awesome Mike 🎉
Thanks for watching.
Good presentation video Mike. Keep it going. 73.
Thanks, will do!
Outstanding video! I dig the hell out of my 100 watt foldable Bioenno panels... Much prefer these foldable panels over my heavier 120 watt panels. May have to pick up the 60 & 40 watt panels as well.
Well don't blame me for your spending. I get enough of that lol!
What are the odds?! My bioenno 60w panel and 30A controller came in today. I ordered a 40w but they were out of stock. So at least i have something for when im not packing out my gear. Ill be picking up the 40 when theyre available. And to those who think this is not a genuine review... get bent. I appreciate the chance to see products in use before purchasing them and im not concerned with how they came to get them. Great work Mike, keep it up
Haha right on! When the panels aren't stupid hot like they were in my video you will get even more output than what we saw. Thanks for watching and yes, the haters can get bent!
Power from the sun?! Madness!
Nice station
Indeed it is!
Very nice comparison Mike! Might look at those later on down the road. 73
Go for it!
I just got a Baldr 120 folding panel, it's great and the price is really good too. Works great on my Bluetti EB70!
Right on
BLUF: I enjoyed operating on Field Day. I wasn't able to use my TS--440S, because I did not think about "factory reset" when the display was scrambled. I thought it was broken. So, I operated the club's Alinco HF. Made a bunch of 20m SSB QSOs. Went to CW portion of the band, but did not hear anything. I ended up calling CQ, but no takers after 10 minutes. Returned to SSB. Thank you for your encouragement. It was fun.
We made the bulk of our contacts on 20 as well this year. All the other bands didn't seem as lively as years past for some reason. That's ok. Field day for me is more about the camaraderie than anything. It's nice to get out there with like minded hams and enjoy the time outdoors. Making contacts is second to that. When you do POTA, every day is field day.
Late saturday night on 40m was insanely busy. Coast to coast stations till 4am
Solar All The Things!
I just luv your videos :)
🤜🏻👍🤛🏻♡♡♡
Well thank you very much.
You have demo’ed what I have had my eye on for awhile now: quality, compact Bioenno solar panels. I know you use the 20 ah battery normally for your 100 watt 7300. The burning question is which solar panel is most appropriate for the 20ah Bioenno and the Icom 7300? I have these and would be interested to know which is most adequate and which would be inadequate to keep the 20 ah fully charged while operating at 100 watts. Many thanks! Rob/WA9RAD.
I have seven folding solar panels ranging from 20 to 60 watts. Very useful for powering fans, charging power banks and NIMH and 18650 batteries with USB chargers after hurricanes. I`m slowly building up a collection of 100 watt panels for my power stations and future solar projects once I get moved. One of these days I`ll be running a small AC window unit off solar during the day and I hope to be able to save my food after hurricanes. I plan to build a power station with a 100 ah lifepo4 battery at some point. I like portability. We took two direct hits by hurricanes last year. It was bad! The stupid battery powered fans quickly destroyed my alkaline batteries. I won`t be having that particular problem ever again.
Nice setup. It's nice being prepared. I'm not there yet but I've got a good start.
Great review of all these panels. Bob's my uncle.
All hail Bob, right after our fearless leader Jerry KG6HQD of course.
I have dealth with Kevin a few times. The man is a CLASS ACT! AND HE DOES STAND BEHIND THE PRODUCT!!!
Yes sir.
You might want to use a more heavy duty cable vs old lamp cord. You will get more power into your charge controller, dc can have huge loss even over short distances.
I suspect it was the temperature of the panels when I filmed this. They were extremely hot. I use this setup all the time and have gotten way better performance than is shown in this video. Solar panels loose a lot of efficiency when they go up in temperature. I'm going to do a follow up video soon.
SOLAR Mike 😎. Thanks for sharing de AB8AS
My pleasure!!
Good stuff!
Thanks!
While I did not use Bioenno I did use an eco worthy setup all weekend for field day. First time user using solar power and I like it. Definitely was impressed with my setup
It's pretty awesome knowing that if the sun is shining, you aren't going to lose power.
@@hamradiotube well there were some semi cloudy times all weekend but I think my test worked out. Do u have any videos on building a box to house the battery and charge controller
"And Bob's your Uncle!" : )
Mike, nice video. Question: when you got off the barrel connector and substitute powepoles what’s the easiest way to find negative and positive wires? Tnx and 73
Get the Renogy Charge controllers with the add on bluetooth controller. You can monitor and turn own your battery remotely. Nice!
Yeah I've seen those. They are pretty sweet.
@@hamradiotube I recently made my batter box use a 40amp replay instead of using a switch. Nice addition. The switch turns on the relay which turns on the power for the box.
I have the same 100 watt panel and it works really well. I had mine plugged into a West Mountain Radio Epic Pwrgate though 25 feet of 12 gauge Powerwerx power cord. I had to order the cable adapter separately though. The Bioenno web site says that this panel comes with a free carrying case, but it doesn't. I think only the glass panels come with the carrying case. Bioenno's LiFePO4 batteries are very reliable.
I've got nothing but great things to say about Bioenno. Their products and service are top notch. It sure does say it includes a free padded case. I never noticed that. I didn't get one but I really don't need one. I'm not worried about these panels. Glass ones, yes.
@@hamradiotube Yes it seems to be very durable as is, and I'll definitely be buying from Bioenno again in the future.
Excellent I have the 28 one
I use the 28 all the time. That and the 100 are my favorites.
Cool - going to buy a 100 watt panel
Right on!
Hey Mike. What do you typically get from the 40w panel? Seems mine outputs max 1.4-1.6 amps no matter how I place it. This is peak sun hours. Wouldn’t even charge my tablet from the USB port today. Just curious since there aren’t many videos on the panel, to see other’s experiences. K0CCA Matt
Who makes the cells? That style of panel folding with the kickstand is common now it seems. I have a few 100W panels (not Bioenno, another brand) and few more 50W from Renogy. I get around 80-85w at most from the 100W panel and with 3 in series I get around 250W. But I found that partial shading is an absolute killer. One passing cloud and 80-85 watts goes to 25 watts even with a quality MPPT controller.
I'm not sure. What I am sure of is I need to do a follow up video showing the output again. These panels were extremely hot and solar panels do decrease in efficiency when they are that hot.
nice, thanks
Thanks for watching.
Great review. Appreciating the side-by-side. What are your thoughts about charge controllers? BioE vs Buddipole? What do you have in your boxes? Did the boxes come with the charge controllers or did you build them? (I guess I need to watch the Big Geek vid. LOL.) 73, KM8RTY
Are the Bioenno solar panels water proof like Solar Film roll-up like the “R” series? BTW, your videos are super! Thanks for all you do!
No they aren't waterproof, but they also aren't $1500. Solar Film makes some great stuff but they can be out of the price range for a lot of people.
@@hamradiotube I used mine in the rain during a SET we had a couple of months ago. They still seem to be working fine, so I wonder if something will crop up in the future because the panel got wet.
Good question ♡
Great video, Mike. I may start charging you a recording fee for using my outdoor studio. Free this time, though. 73
Lol. I don’t think so.
I have the 40 w works great
Right on.
MRD Dude, my Bioenno solar panels must be newer versions ... my Bioenno 40W is made up of 4x10W panels, and my Bioenno 100W is made up of 2x50W panels - both much easier to deploy (especially the 2-panel 100W). Plus, no matter what I do, the 'Chain' function does not work with my two Bioenno 40W panels. I notified Kevin about that bug. Also, I noticed you're using a Bioenno PCM charge controller. Please graduate to MPPT! When I switched my Bioenno PCM to a Victron 75/15 MPPT charge controller, the sunny day amperage output increased by 20-30% over the PCM, and the cloudy day amperage output is typically doubled over the PCM. Let's make those Geek Boxes extra happy! 73 KJ6ER, Silicon Valley
Great video Mike!! 73!!
-Michael KQ4BFV
on doing my research some charge controllers will not work as good with some panels similar to the 100w. It really depends on if its a PWM or MPPT style. With the Buddipole powerpole charge controller i was able to get the full 5amp on my panel set up. Try a different controller and see what they do.
I've gotten way more power out of the panels with several different controllers. I need to do a follow up video soon. The issue was that the panels were extremely hot, and panels decrease in efficiency quite a bit when they do get that hot. I failed to mention that in the video too. It was 95 degrees that day! I do want one of those buddy pole controllers though.
I bought the cheapest 100 watt solar panels on Amazon...Mighty Max polycrystalline...and when I tested them charging my Bluetti power station after they`d been in the sun for an hour and were hot they produced 98 to 102 watts.
Good to know.
Can you make a video explaining how the battery amp hour and wattage works???
Thank you! I'm new to the solar power aspect of the hobby, so I have a question. I operate QRP HF for Field Day and I want to get into POTA. I purchased a 5A Genasun MPPT Solar Charge Controller for LiFePO4 Batteries to tie into my 12W solar panel and feed a 12Ah Bioenno battery. The controller has three pairs of terminals for panel output, battery input and load. Is it OK and safe to power my radio from the controller load terminals while the battery is being charged? The solar panel puts out around 15.5V to 17.5V.
P.S. -- I'm currently running a 160W solar panel into a pair of 55Ah deep cycle AGM batteries but I've been too chicken to power my 100W EMCOMM trailer station from a battery under charge. I've always operated with one battery for station power while the second battery is being charged.
Hey Mike great video and there’s nothing wrong being a battery and also Solar powered nerd, if I could afford one I would love to buy a Tesla automobile. The solar panels really look very professional it look like they can last a long time if you take care of them. And I do like your battery boxes. Hope you had fun Field day. And again thanks for doing another great video.
WD5ENH
Steve
Oh I'm not embarrassed. I love batteries and I'm proud to admit it. Would be sweet to have a Tesla too. Thanks for watching. 73
Where did you buy that meter that is in your geek box?
How many A did the 40w give you?
Nice review Mike. Hope to get a Solar set-up soon.
W6BKM
Thank you for watching. 73
Mike, how would you size them? My QRP rig only has a 4.5Ah LiFePO4, plus the battery in the X5105, so almost any of them would work, but I also have 891 in a go-box with a 15Ah (may get upgraded soon). Should I be looking at the 60W or 100W in that instance?
I mainly use the 28 watt for my G90 GoBox that has a 6ah Bioenno. I just like the form factor better than the 40 watt. For the 7300/891 I like the 100 watt. Jason from Ham Radio 2.0 ran all field day with the 60 watt though and never had a problem. It's a tough call.
I think it kind of depends on how much current you want to shove into the battery. The 60 watt panel would be good to charge the 20ah version at 2 amps, while the 100w version would probably charge at 4 amps. The bioenno solar panels look very similar to the RockPals solar panels on Amazon, and that company takes higher wattage panels and rates them for the actual output in normal conditions. I.E they'd take an 80w panel and rate it for 60w, and you'd end up getting 50-60w in full sun.
I'd say get the 40 watt panel, or maybe the 60w if you wanna charge your radio battery and another device like a smartphone.
@@andrewhamop6665 I wouldn't go any lower than a 60 watt panel with the 891. Remember, we're talking about max amps these solar panels can put out under ideal conditions. Solar panels actually loose efficiency as they heat up too. This video is proof of that. I typically get about 5 amps out of my 100 watt panel, and about 3+ ish out of the 60 watt, which is plenty to keep your battery charged up depending on your duty cycle. I'd rather have more amps and not need them.
@@hamradiotube Mm, very true. I'm hoping to take all my stuff to Canada next year with my Boy Scout troop, so hopefully I'll have my solar stuff by then. 73
How have these held up for you over the last few years?
If you are using the 7300 while changing, do you get any interface from the panels and charge controller?
Not if you're using a good charge controller like the Bioenno.
Question. How does the charge controller handle charge/discharge of the battery.
What I mean is, say you're pulling in 3 amps on the radio needs 1 amp on receive. Will your battery then charge at 2 amps, while the solar panel routes 1 amp out to the load? And when you transmit with your full 20 amps, will it completely switch over to the battery, or will the charge controller suck 3 amps out of the panel and 17 out of the battery?
Since obviously the battery can't be charged and discharged at the same time, I'd assume either the charge controller supplements the current with the battery and the panel, or it completely disconnects the panel for the high current demand. Thanks Mike, 73 de W8IJC.
Sorry to take so long in replying, but this is one of those comments that I had to think about because I want to do my best to answer it (and I've re-written this many times now lol). It's a little bit of voodoo that I don't fully understand but... yes the battery would charge at 2 amps in your example. The short answer is the charge controller would supply the current the radio would need, and send the rest to the battery. When the radio draws more current, it would use what it could from the controller and the rest from the battery (I think). The way I have my battery boxes wired, the load comes directly from the battery (as per the instructions from the Bioenno charge controller). Nothing is connected to the load of the controller and all power/charging connections are at the battery. That should mean the charge controller is supplying the current all the time to the radio, and the battery is there to supplement any excess current to the load. The charge controller would charge the battery when there is excess current not going to the radio, bypassing the load the radio would need from the battery.
In short, when the load demands power, I think it's going to take it from wherever it can. When there is an excess of power, it's going to go back into the battery.
Hope that helps more than it confuses! Let me know if you have any other questions.
@@hamradiotube Thanks for the reply Mike!!
This clears up a lot of my questions, as well as reading the FAQ page on the bioenno website. I'm not quite sure how they can charge and discharge their batteries at the same time but I think, like you said the charge controller does some magic voodoo stuff with routing power to the load and the battery depending on what is needed and what's available. I just got the BLF-1220A for my birthday (largely due to your video recommendations!), and I'm super excited see how well it works. Managed to snag one of the last new ones off of ebay, since everywhere else is out of stock lol.
Like you, I decided to use an aftermarket charger with these batteries. I'm either going to use my dad's old Hyperion DC charger, or his new smart charger. I was hoping to use his old small Hyperion charger, which would work off of a 12 volt outlet in a car, or from my bench power supply. Unfortunately, that one doesn't have a programmable cell voltage for lithium iron phosphate batteries, and assumes 3.2 volts per cell.
I'm also super excited to eventually get the 20a Bioenno charge controller, and eventually make a battery box for the whole deal. Thanks a lot for the informative videos, and replying on this oldish video Mike! 73
When you cut the 28w panel wire how do you know which is negative and which is positive? I’m looking to put power poles on.
Just ordered mine, waiting on delivery. I need an uncle!
I don't remember but I feel one wire was red and one was black.
@@hamradiotube thanks for the reply! I hope that’s the case. I’m sure you’re dying to find out so I will keep you posted lol. 73! De K2SCH
@@hamradiotube it came with a connection having a barrel plug on one end and yes bare wire (red and black) on the other.
I'm looking at the Bluetti 100 Watt folding panel. How does it compare?
Not sure. I’ve not played with that one.
How is the Bioenno charge controller? Any issues with noise?
None at all. It's as clean as a whistle. 10 out of 10, would buy another one.
Look for the Genasun 10amps or 5amps, both are small and better technology, and the most important rf quiet.
Attention at the correct model (LiFePO4 or acid or other battery type)
You are sweating on Big Geek!!!
I'm sweating on the whole state of Texas. It's frickin' hot here lol!
Just wait until it gets hot
looks like you have rain at about 5:25... hahaha
Yes, rain. Def not me sweating my butt off.
Mikeyyy... 😎👍
Hey hey!
@@hamradiotube Sup yo...? How you doing, buddy?
@@DK5ONV Not so bad. Had a fun field day. Now back to work. How bout you?
@@hamradiotube Doing alright, thx for asking! Just took a break from dx on the World Field Day Weekend to let others use the Bands cuz I am having 5 - 7 field days on every week, depending on the wx. Did some test on a home made antenna trying to figure out how to optimize and pimpin' it up a lil
@@DK5ONV Very nice. Its always field day when you're a portable operator for sure. That was nice of you to let the rest of the hams use the bands over the weekend too lol! Home made antennas are always fun. What you building?
where to buy in Europe? The solar panels and the batteries???
Unfortunately Bioenno batteries are very cost prohibitive to ship to Europe and they don't have a distributor over there. Not sure about the solar panels but you could shoot them an email and see if it would be worth it.
Mike, you are about to cost me more money. My wife won't like that. I'm hoping to get some sort of solar for next field day.
Just tell her that you've had them for years and you forgot about them. You just found them in a closet.
@@hamradiotube that is hard when I've only been a ham for 2 years and really serious for 1. 🤷♂️
@@hamradio1017 Hmm. I've got nothing haha
1Year In, How are they still working?? KF0HRF
They're great.
What is Bob's Your Uncle. BYU
BTW I looked it up. American version. Viola. It is what it is.
MOL - More or Less..
Are “big Geek” and “Little Geek” references to “The Abyss”?
Well Little Geek just folded so we're going to have to send out Big Geek.
I know what solar panel I want.
All of them haha!
@@hamradiotube Sounds good to me!
Wait...you said you had to plug in the solar controller in big geek, but before that you said the solar panel has a controller....confused
I don't think I said the panel has a controller because it doesn't. I could have misspoke though. You need a charge controller for any solar panel. Big Geek and Little Geek both have charge controllers built into them.
I know why I will never live in Texas. We had a heat index today of 107 in Maine. That's warm enough.
Feels great doesn't it lol! I'll take that over cold any day.
116 in Oregon today. Total BS
@@hamradiotube I hate the cold, and the hot. I think I am getting old. 68 and overcast is my favorite weather. I get sick pretty easy in the heat.
nice panels, but the current measurements are meaningless if not talking about the importance of using an mppt charger to get the power out of the panel. In plain words, the 100w panel can push about 90w but you are only sinking 50w due to not using an mppt converter. That said, the mppt may generate some rf noise if not properly designed.
100W panel only delivering 45W in midday bright sun? That's pretty low efficiency. 75W, maybe 80W is what I'd expect
Only when you go to film a video do things not work the way they do when you aren't filming.
@@hamradiotube Hahaha! So true.
It was doing 54W, not 45W, but in any case solar panels rarely perform up to nominal ratings unless in perfect conditions, which includes extreme cold... ironically solar panels put out less voltage when they’re hot.
Heat causes panels not to be as efficient. That is probably why you were not getting 5 amps.
That's what I was actually thinking. They were baking in the Texas sun before filming.
I have the same 100 watt panel, and even when mine was seriously hot in sunlight it still put out 5 amps.
@@kd5you1 What was the ambient temperature at the time?
@@chrisazure1624 I had to go look up the temp on wunderground but on August 15, 2020 at about 1:50pm it was 96°F. The solar panel was so hot that I brought it inside and left it open until it cooled down.
@@kd5you1 I was only expecting a best guess, but thanks for the effort. I now wonder how hot it was where Mike was. I wonder what factors caused his to have less power.
1 A is terrible. It will take too dam long. I need that solar panel to put out 8A or 12A. That way it will charge that battery faster. I can't take all friggin day to charge a 10AH battery. Hell sometime you don't have but a couple hours of sun. I need to pump some serious juice in that battery in the few hours of sunlight that I have.
I actually get way more. The meter I had in the box when I did this video was terribly inaccurate. I’ve since changed it out. With the 100 watt panel I get a little over 5 amps. The 60 is around ~3.5 ish. And I get about 1.5-1.8 with the smaller ones.