I've had a Genasun controller for over ten years, the 10 amp version for LA batteries. It has always been flawless. I have it hooked up to 200 watts capable. I have a gauge on it as well so I can check the condition of things all day. and also peaks in performance. Never have I seen more than 40 watts peak. That's less than 4 amps. I am certain this controller could handle 400 watts of panels. During the day, maybe once a day if you are lucky the sun will be optimal. The rest of the day the panels and sun are off angle. In the summer it's hot so the panels aren't so efficient and in the winter the sun isn't as strong. I live in So Cal, maybe if I lived in Colorado at elevation things would be different. I played around with a 50 watt panel and kept adjusting it to the sun. It made over 45 watts so I know the controller can do it but I'm not going to sit on the roof adjusting panels all day.
I use the Genasun LiPO4 10.5A version for my DIY solar generator (OH8STN build) and they work great for portable operations. I also wish they sold a version with a higher max watt input as these are limited to 34V 140W input. As I type, I am using this charge controller paired with a Harbor Freight Thunderbolt 100W panel and I am inputting 7.59A @ 99.8W on a sunny day.
@@hamradiotube No offence, my all three of my solar controllers say to you have to connect the battery first or it could cause a problem. Maybe its not with the genasun. Sorry, I'll butt out!
@@hamradiotube Some charge controllers that work with different voltage batteries need this to know what voltage battery has been connected to the system before they know what to do with the solar input. Some just want the processor powered up first. My Renogy controller and some others I have seen clearly state to always connect the battery first or you may cause damage. The Genasun manual shows the steps of connecting the solar input first... then the battery.. so I guess their design does not care. It's still a good thing to watch out for when you encounter a new controller.
@@originalgrantbob Ahh, now that makes a lot of sense. I’ve not delved into that type of controller. I only use the LiFePO4 batteries but I could see how that would be important. Thanks for the info!
Good video Mike I am giving a short program next month to my Ham club on Emergency and Back up Power for Ham Radios so I am going to recommend this video for solar controller reference 👍 73 KV5P
Thanks for the video Mike. I've seen this charge controller before but I liked your real world test. I've been meaning to pick up a solar setup for POTA/EMCOMM/SHTF use for a while. In Jan 2022, what would you recommend as the best portable, efficient, durable and high quality set of panels for the field? I think there are many good charge controllers on the market, but the panels seem to be the biggest variable.
Thanks for watching Dan. I don't have too many panels honestly. I have some Bioenno foldable panels that work well, and I have a 100 watt panel from Rich Solar that Will Prowse recommended that I really like. Not the most portable panel though. Stay tuned to the channel, I've got some Power Film panels that Gigaparts is sending me along with some kind of device that will improve the efficiency of the panels in lower light.
Another great video. I have been wondering about noise with solar. I have noticed some ham RU-vid channels say the MPPT have more noise than the PWM ones. Also I saw a video with a neighborhood solar optimizers was pooping out noise so bad they couldn’t get on the radio. So thanks for revising this one. I have had my eye on that one for a bit. Might add that to my portable power I am putting together for POTA and a trip to our cabin next summer in northern Minnesota. So thanks for proving excellent content. All the best, 73 de KI5HXM
Thanks Brent. There's a lot of sub par controllers on the market unfortunately. Genasun has a great reputation and I wasn't let down with this one. I'm not sure if it matters which type has noise, but I really have no idea. I would guess its more attention to detail when building the product. I have a friend who can't get on the air because of a neighbors solar. Most people aren't even going to think about RFI.
@@hamradiotube yes you are probably right about the manufacturing and attention to detail. I saw a video with a neighbors panels causing noise pegged around S9. It was from the DC optimizers which are controlled with a little AC signal to turn on and off various panels. It works nice for shading problems which plague panels but make the RF environment trash. On that video they used a mag loop with a portable radio to hear noise. I would like a simple portable radio to do those fox hunt type things. Any ideas on portable radios (while I go to the interwebs asking this question). So back to Genasun, I have heard several say they were RF quiet and even some non hams liked them as well. All the best!
@@brentjohnson6654 Well I'm not too versed on RFI finding but I would guess the 705 would be one of the better radios for sniffing out RFI on the HF bands. Or maybe the new Xiegu 6100?
@@hamradiotube yeah those are small. I am looking for more of a transistor Radio size. Or maybe make one out of a SDR dongle and some 3D printed housing for Raspberry Pi. Oh wait! Not another project!! I need to get my mobile install finished first. Haha. I am easily distracted.
Mike, quick question, what are the terminal connectors that you used to connect to the Genasun controller? I was looking for those terminal connectors, nothing obvious is coming up. And Go Bucks :)
See, I was gonna tell you until you just had to throw that go bucks comment in there. We all know Ohio is the dingleberry clinging on to Michigan. But, since I’m feeling nice, it’s this. I’m guessing this is what you’re talking about anyway. www.amazon.com/dp/B07LCF39W9/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_Y0E8YCQ67DXM4GN7KHND?linkCode=ml2&tag=k8mrd-20
I haven't noticed any RFI from my Renogy charge controllers. I have with others but seems to be filtered out with the Noise Blanker with my Yaesu FT-891.
There's lots of good ones out there, but there's even more bad ones. I'll tell you I wouldn't want to rely on my Noise Blanker to get rid of it. I'd rather not have the issue in the first place.
Mike, Do you by chance have any links to the plugs/adapters you used for this video? I just purchased a Rockpals sp003 100W solar panel. Website said I didn't need a controller, but I don't think that's right. Also, looking at the solar panel, it doesn't appear to have any Anderson Powerpole output plug, just the 12v DC plug. Just trying to figure out how to hook all of this up to my Bioenno 20ah battery and what all I will need in terms of adapters and apparently this controller as well. Thanks in advance. 73 KN4YGC
