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Best oscilloscope for beginners? FNIRSI-1C5 first look, unpaid review
(The author purchased this item with his own money) Having worked on various electronics for 15 years, I never actually owned an oscilloscope. They took up too much room on the workbench and I thought they were very complicated to use. Normally I scraped by guessing what was going on in the circuit and using…
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Using Solar Panels and Ohms Law to drive DC loads directly
Hi folks, I’m going to briefly cover some concepts that are helpful to understand when driving loads directly with PV DC solar panels: whether it is a fan, a heating element, an electric pump, hot water heater, and so on. We will use a heating element for this example because it’s simple and has no…
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Learn About Solar / DC Circuit Breakers in 5 Minutes!
I work with DC circuit breakers quite a lot, and had the urge to make a quick video primer about choosing DC circuit breakers and the various ins and outs of the process. This presentation tries to be beginner friendly while encouraging further investigation and independent research – which is the core part of DIY.…
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Simple PV Solar heating for beginners – plus video guide
For years I have been using excess solar power to heat my home with various types of directly PV powered DC heaters. I wanted to help beginners who want to try tapping direct PV Solar power to heat their home or shop. So I created a detailed video guide (posted below). Background Previously, I showed…
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Buying Used or New Solar Panels? A few thoughts…
It’s very common for people to shop used solar panels. I personally have had the experience of buying both used and new, and learned a lot. If you’re interested, I produced a video a while back that includes commentary on this subject (posted to the right). On with the article! Used Solar Panels The most…
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(Updated) Solar Panels can heat your Home or Shop – DIY video series
Did you know that a small (~1kW) array of solar panels can generate enough heat for a typical room in a home or shop? In fact the idea is so simple, so good and so affordable, it ought to be in every home. Due to the complexity of this topic, a new “Beginner-friendly” DIY space…
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Surviving Planned Obsolescence
If I could only warn the common man about one often overlooked economic factor, it would be Planned Obsolescence. Simply put, it’s the practice by companies of deliberately designing and manufacturing the item or product you buy to have a limited lifetime. That way they can sell you more. Isn’t that great? This can apply…
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Why Survivalists should own at least one solar panel
Perhaps you’re not really into solar, but are a survivalist or into preparedness, prepping etc. I would argue that everyone should own at least one (or two +) 100 Watt 12 Volt solar panels as part of their survival and preparedness kit. They are truly a high tech Swiss army knife. Plus a 100 Watt…
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VIDEO: Learn how to use a Multimeter – From Basic to Intermediate
Hi folks, knowing how to use a digital multimeter (DMM) even at a basic level can place you at a new level of knowledge. It looks good on your resume too. This is a skill that will pay you back for years to come. Don’t fear it – the journey of a thousand miles starts…
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Low Voltage Solar Panels can cook food directly – And why it matters
Did you know it’s possible to cook food directly off low voltage solar panels? No inverter, no high voltages, no battery, no charge controller. It’s technically feasible, and I have done it several times now with prototypes developed in my solar workshop. The simplicity and efficiency of such a setup is nothing short of astounding.…
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The problem with today’s electric cars (EVs) and it’s not charging
In the author’s opinion, the EV market has taken a wrong turn, probably on purpose. By the way, EVs are not going to save the world, this is a silly illusion and part of a fanatical belief system. I love electric cars For the record, I loved the idea of electric cars before “T-Motors” (not…
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PV to EV – why isn’t this everywhere?
Photovoltaic to Electric Vehicle – why can’t a person plug solar panels straight into his electric car (EV) in the driveway and charge it off the electrical grid? This concept means the car supports direct solar panel input natively, without much effort on the end user’s part. How much more green does it get, if…
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What’s the easiest way to start learning about solar power?
Question: What is the easiest and quickest way to get started in solar energy for backup power and resiliency? Answer: To easily learn about solar PLUS making it immediately useful to you and your family, get a Solar Generator and 1 or 2 12V 100W solar panel. What is a Solar Generator? A solar generator…
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Making a cheap DIY HEPA Air Purifier
The air is dirty – fact. There’s a lot of stuff in the air that shouldn’t be, we won’t get into that here. Inside a typical home, it can be even dirtier. For this reason I have a lot of HEPA air purifiers in my home and shop. If you have sinus issues, asthma and…
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Ryobi 18v Solar Battery Charger DIY project
Wouldn’t it be great if Ryobi 18v power tool batteries could be charged directly from a 100 watt solar panel? A while back I developed a prototype which achieved this aim successfully. Products like this should already be on the shelf. With solar power, efficiency is a good thing. The normal route involves the solar…
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Can you mount LiFePo4 batteries on the side or inverted?
Question – Can you mount LiFePo4 batteries on the side or inverted? Article By DD @ Solar Power Edge Hi folks, this is to start a new series of posts (and videos) about Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries. It’s my favorite battery chemistry of all time, so far. I first started researching and using LiFePo4 batteries…
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Are wall mounted solar panels worth it?
I took the chance of mounting some 100w monocrystalline solar panels on the wall of my metal building (solar workshop). If interested, check out my video of the setup at the bottom of the page. I really needed some extra power for lab experiments and so forth, but did not want the burden of more…
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Are Plug-in Grid Tie Inverters safe?
Grid Tie (Tied) Inverters are an attractive way to use solar power to reduce electric bills. They work by backfeeding A/C power into the electrical service wiring or via a standard wall outlet, causing a slightly higher line voltage. In a nutshell, this causes the Grid Tie Inverter’s power to be used up first by…
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