It is now a couple of weeks since I made the effort and directly queried Silicon Chip about the Solar Lighting System published in the May/June 2010 issues.
I have been (half heartedly) playing around with Solar MPPT designs over the last year or so, and seeing one being offered up in kit form really stirred my interest.
So I sent the following queries of the design on the 8th June:
It was great interest that I read the article on the Solar Powered Lighting System (May/June 2010).
My interest was especially increased when I noticed it uses a MPPT algorithm for optimum energy transfer from the solar panel to the battery.
Reading the article also revealed further efficiency gains were sought by disconnecting the sensing circuits when not actually being read by the PIC micro.
It was then with some surprise to find an inefficient linear current regulator was being used to limit current passing into an LED load.
After all the prior effort, one would think a Constant Current switching regulator was the logical conclusion for the LED's drive!
BTW I notice the .hex file for the PIC is not available on your website at this stage, nor is anyone advertising a kit for sale.
This is somewhat surprising, and as it currently stands, a non functional project for us mere mortal readers.
Please lift the veil of secrecy soon!
Regards, Ray Jones.
So here it is, the 20th June and I have still not received any form of response for what I thought was a fairly simple query.
More concerning is the fact the .hex file still remains un-published on their website, leading one to think this is once again another "feather the Jaycar/Altronics nest" project.
Project as it stands is useless without firmware.
Am I being too unrealistic expecting a usable conclusion to this?
Ray