I'm looking into building some solar panels.

[greguganus]

Does anyone know where I can get used/chipped solar cells somewhere besides Ebay for a good price?
Has anyone ever made their own solar panels?
Thanks.

[amerikat]

1. Don't belive those ads you see all over the net.

I've made solar panels in a factory. not really something you can do at home.

[Nederland]

2. I have

I built two, very small panels of four cells each for some outside lighting. Got the cells on Ebay. It was fun, but very time consuming. I guess it depends on how many you are going to do. I can't imagine doing it for even a small number of large panels. Depends on how much free time you have I suppose...

[8 track mind]

3. yes i just got through making one

solarcells101.com

This guy sells on ebay. Now bear in mind that what i built is not a high power roof bound monster. What i built was a simple 2'X2' panel using 2"x2" cells to recharge my van battery during the daytime when i'm out riding around on the dirtbike. I'm a ham radio operator/ shortwave listener and my receiver is pretty thirsty, pulling 750mA.

Soldering can be a bit tricky, and i used one of our temp controlled weller's here at my place of business. I took one cell as a sacrificial lamb and practiced soldering on it. I found the lowest heat i could solder with was 650 degrees F. Just be careful, be patient and expect to break a few. And don't buy any cells made by evergreen. they break if you look at them the wrong way. The ones i got were thicker than the evergreens and they were chipped. they kick out a .5 volt at 80mA shorted current. Right now my panel is loafing along at 13.06VDC @ 500mA hooked up to my van's optima battery. It looks like hell, but seems to work really well thus far! I made a lot of mistakes, but screw it: i learned a lot and i had a lot of fun!

I haven't whipped up a regulator yet, just simply haven't had the time. I will probably be using an LM350K adjustable regulator IC just because i have a bunch of them lying around. I did however use a fast switching schottkey diode on the output, positive side, so when the sun goes down the battery won't "backfeed" back into the panel. Just remember that the diode has a .3 to .7 voltage drop across it depending on the type. Something to take into consideration when you are designing.

Hope this helps, i will post some pictures shortly!

[8 track mind]

5. Pix

[timeforpeace]

4. Talk about bringing back memories. Tried this in 1974.

[greguganus]

6. Thanks for all the replies.

I've seen a couple of videos on building the panels from cells. Looks great if all your cells are the same size with minimal chips. I was looking into building a large panel to offset my house electrical.
8-track, I've been a ham since around 1990. Extra Class, CW only. Used to enjoy working contests and field days, but I lost interest in it a couple of years ago. Guess I could sell all my ham gear and buy some solar gear! 73.

[8 track mind]

7. well

If you have any gear that 'glows in the dark', i might be interested. I love Hallicrafters!