Solar 'battery farm' project I'm thinking about

[philbx1]

Hi all,

Just in the early stages of thinking about a 'battery farm' - mostly related to RC models after..

1. Seeing Bruce's - RCMR on eevblog forum - videos on FPV (First Person View) from RC aircraft
    ref.
       RCMR Youtube channel
       RCMR website
2. Getting a sample LT3652 solar charging IC from Linear Technology
3. Having various types of batteries around like SLA, Li-ion & Li-poly
4. Thinking now that so many RC hobbyists are using Li-poly batteries a portable charging station may be required in future.

So, the idea is that a microcontroller manages charging from a solar panel (or AC if available) and, using a 'module'
based on the LT3652 charge each battery in the 'farm'.
Naturally the micro would hold all the charging parameters for each battery and allocate resources as required.

This would be a 12v DC based system due to requirements for a video receiver and DC up-converter for a laptop etc.

A common regulator would be used on the 12v out 'bus', and each battery would be connected into this bus using
a fast diode (like a BY229) for drain protection.

Anyway, before I get too far into this, thought I might run the idea by you guys.

BTW, hoping Bruce doesn't mind me referring to his sites, and I must say it's they are worth
looking at even though you might not be an RC hobbyist.

[ilikepez]

That would be kinda cool. I already use a battery charger that hooks up to car batteries for my battery pack charging. I can imagine that some hobbyists would be interested in having a solar system to take out in the field.