I may be getting addicted though.
Yesterday I bought a folding 120W solar panel setup, two 60W panels hinged together with fold out adjustable angle legs, with MMPT regulator, extension lead, battery connector, cigarette lighter type socket, etc all in a zip up bag.
Its practically brand new. I have an old ute I use only for dump runs and the battery is always a little low, so I was able to hook it up with an ammeter and watch the MPPT tracker do its stuff. The current 120W setup from the same company is $250 so the $50 I paid seems reasonable. German cells according to the label.
I didn't need it, and I may just flip it to make $20 or $30.
Especially since my guess was off by two inches and it simply does not fit anywhere in the teardrop except on the bed.
Today though, I bought something I am quite pleased with.
I got three new old stock light switches. Ceramic bases, built in fuse wire, brass covers.
They have quite a bit of patina, but when you open them up, they obviously have never seen a screwdriver.
Normally, I advocate against using mains switchgear on 12v systems. Switching AC is different to switching DC and you can get dangerous arcing using the wrong switch.
But these things use double knife type contactors to break the circuit, and the gap in the off position is huge.
I reckon they will be the light switches in my next project. It'll use LED bulbs so won't be switching big currents. I can't imagine them arcing.
They are single pole single throw, though.
I sat down with pencil and paper and tried to imagine a circuit where I could use these to switch on and off from either door.
Two switches to operate one light circuit.
This is normally accomplished with single pole double throw switches, but I wondered whether I could utilise diodes to come up with something. Alas I couldn't imagine a circuit that would work. Still they are cool and will look great polished up.
- switch.JPG (53.95 KiB) Viewed 283 times
- Switch on.JPG (78.18 KiB) Viewed 283 times
- Switch off.JPG (85.88 KiB) Viewed 283 times
