[Power] Good day for a solar panel test

[James Cameron]

On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 05:24:07PM +1000, Kim Blewett wrote:
> These look really great for testing, but for field use we need
> something that's IMPOSSIBLE to change polarity!!! And
> water-resistant/proof, and locking (so it's not easy to disconnect
> accidentally).
> ...school of hard experience

The OLPC XO connector meets those requirements apart from
water-resistance and locking.  If the OLPC XO is given reverse
polarity at normal charging voltage, it should not be damaged, but it
won't charge.  If it is given high voltage then a fuse will blow,
requiring service.  If we made it locking, we'd end up with way more
broken cables and laptops.

> We've been using these in the field (adults computing in rural areas
> with no mains power), but they're not water-resistant enough for a
> solar panel that may be rained on, nor durable enough for kids.
> 
> http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles/powerpole-sets/

$9.99 ... that's a reasonable price for those connectors, given it is
a set of 10.  But 15A is a bit bigger than what we are dealing with
here.

-- 
James Cameron
http://quozl.linux.org.au/