Thread: Solar panels?

Wow. . . Just wow

May I suggest a nitro RC car?

If you are hell bent on electric then get some high quality LiIon batteries. They are half the weight, last 5x longer and are much more efficient. They stay at full charge longer then die very quickly at the end of the charge cycle, unline NiCad which just slowly die linearly. The weight decrease alone will help you go further and longer.

Solar panels are trickle type, they do not have "current on demand" for things like a DC motor. It is possible, your idea, but you would need to park the car in the sun for a few hours to recharge the LiIon cells (using approx 1 sq ft panel.) Just having hours of continous driving, which is what I believe you are after, is not possibile with todays solar technology.

This really is the best thread ever started.

Hey! I just had an idea. If you put a second set of batteries in the car and hook them up to the solar panels and then to the first set of batteries, you can charge the second set with the first set and then the solar panels will recharge them while the first set is running.

I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier.

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

This really is the best thread ever started.

Hey! I just had an idea. If you put a second set of batteries in the car and hook them up to the solar panels and then to the first set of batteries, you can charge the second set with the first set and then the solar panels will recharge them while the first set is running.

I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier.

why not add a third set?

They can charge the second set, which in turn charge the first set.



And the first set can then charge the third set and you can do away with the solar panels altogether.

Originally Posted by Enforcer

why not add a third set?

They can charge the second set, which in turn charge the first set.



And the first set can then charge the third set and you can do away with the solar panels altogether.

But then there is the internal resistance of the batteries so you need the solar panels to keep the perpetual charge.

Originally Posted by Enforcer

why not add a third set?

They can charge the second set, which in turn charge the first set.



And the first set can then charge the third set and you can do away with the solar panels altogether.

Man, you stole my idea, but I was also gonna suggest adding some resistors between some large capacitors so that they slowly charge from the first set of batteries and then a second set of resistors between the caps and the second set of batteries with a higher resistance, so that the caps can charge faster than they can discharge and keep the electricity flowing at all times.

Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

But then there is the internal resistance of the batteries so you need the solar panels to keep the perpetual charge.

Nah!. just send in some Stormtroopers to sort out those pesky resistance fighters.

If they are really persistant and won't go away, set off a small nuclear explosion in each battery, that should get rid of them.


And then all is good.

Originally Posted by Enforcer

Nah!. just send in some Stormtroopers to sort out those pesky resistance fighters.

If they are really persistant and won't go away, set off a small nuclear explosion in each battery, that should get rid of them.


And then all is good.

Well if you are going through the trouble of a nuclear explosion, make it nuclear powered! I am sure Elroy from the Jetsons would approve.

Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

Well if you are going through the trouble of a nuclear explosion, make it nuclear powered! I am sure Elroy from the Jetsons would approve.

Can't, the French are buying all our nuclear power stations

I'm not going to go through the trouble of posting another picture of good ol' Mr. Fusion, but I just wanted to say, "I knew it! I knew this was the ultimate answer!" Just don't forget your coffee-lid radiation sheild.