Ok, so from time to time, I forget to bring my pv with me when I leave the house. Other times, I just don't want to kill my battery on a long road trip. I also currently only have one pv. So I've started planning my next mod.
I haven't yet heard of this being done, although I'm sure it has. I intend on using the car's battery to power my pv. As an electronics student, I felt well enough equipped to design this thing. But I was hitting a wall right from the start. A zener regulator would require some hefty power resistors, and I'm not all that confident in my theory at the moment to design a transistor regulator (summer break, ya know). But the sky opened up, and the angels sang when I found a DC-DC converter that will step down my car's 12V supply to my usual 3.7V. The little package is rated at 10W with a max current of 3A. It turns out, that may just be perfect for my application. I've ordered it, and it should be arriving by September.
I have a basic idea of how I want the device to function, but would welcome some input from veteran and amateur modders out there. As my knowledge of automobiles is quite limited, I could be steering down the wrong path.
So let me know if you have any ideas that may help. I'm always willing to learn something new.
Matt
I haven't yet heard of this being done, although I'm sure it has. I intend on using the car's battery to power my pv. As an electronics student, I felt well enough equipped to design this thing. But I was hitting a wall right from the start. A zener regulator would require some hefty power resistors, and I'm not all that confident in my theory at the moment to design a transistor regulator (summer break, ya know). But the sky opened up, and the angels sang when I found a DC-DC converter that will step down my car's 12V supply to my usual 3.7V. The little package is rated at 10W with a max current of 3A. It turns out, that may just be perfect for my application. I've ordered it, and it should be arriving by September.
I have a basic idea of how I want the device to function, but would welcome some input from veteran and amateur modders out there. As my knowledge of automobiles is quite limited, I could be steering down the wrong path.
So let me know if you have any ideas that may help. I'm always willing to learn something new.
Matt