Search results

  1. scwhiteley1

    Solar charging a small SLA

    Sounds good. Another quick question: I think I'd like to expand the solar array beyond the single 100mA panel. I also have some 15.4v 50mA panels. I'm assuming it would be okay to hook up the 100mA panel in parallel with one of the 50mA panels to build a 150mA charger. This seems like a...
  2. scwhiteley1

    Solar charging a small SLA

    Excellent, thanks for all the info and suggestions. Chad
  3. scwhiteley1

    Solar charging a small SLA

    Awesome, thanks for the reply. The overcharging (and gassing) is exactly what I'm concerned about. I was planning on leaving the solar panels connected essentially all the time. That being said, I plan to incorporate a LCD panel meter to monitor the battery voltage, so i suppose i could put a...
  4. scwhiteley1

    Solar charging a small SLA

    As a follow up question, would it be okay to charge a 12 or 14.4 v NiMH battery pack using the same, low current, uncontrolled solar setup mentioned above, or is that asking for trouble? Thanks again, Chad
  5. scwhiteley1

    Solar charging a small SLA

    Hello guys and gals, I've started figuring and ordering parts for yet another portable stereo project and could use a little input. For this stereo, I'd like to use solar panels to provide charge for the battery pack. It should be mentioned that the solar panels will not be the only source of...
  6. scwhiteley1

    Eliminating Battery Charger Noise on DIY Stereo

    This particular stereo is roughly one million times better than commercially available stereos. It's a portable model that will go on my rear bicycle rack. My iPod fits inside it and it has a modified LED VU meter on the back that acts as a tail-light that goes to the beat of the music.
  7. scwhiteley1

    Eliminating Battery Charger Noise on DIY Stereo

    Hey, I'm currently working on a DIY stereo that will be powered by a 14.4V NiMH battery pack. I've already built a previous stereo with a similar design and the same style of battery pack, which I recharge with a "smart charger" I purchased online. My problem is this: If I turn on the stereo...
  8. scwhiteley1

    Charging 12V SLA with bike dynamo / generator

    Bottle alternator, got it. As for the current rating, not sure. Google seems to indicate that these "bottle alternators" (bartenders?) generate anywhere from 6V/3W to 12V/6W, but I think that has something to do with the characteristics of the bike lights used in the intended circuit, but maybe...
  9. scwhiteley1

    Charging 12V SLA with bike dynamo / generator

    Hello, I've found a number of posts regarding this (or related) topics, but I still have a few questions. This project is part a bigger project that involves a bicycle stereo powered by a 12V 1.2Ah battery. The current setup requires a wall charger to recharge the battery, but I'm looking into...
  10. scwhiteley1

    TDA7240 distortion at low volumes

    Howdy, I recently built a few amps using TDA7240 ICs. I used the circuit design from the spec sheet. They seem to work pretty well, but for some reason, when set to a very low volume, there is an audible "scratchiness" to the music. Any ideas what would cause this? I did not use shielded wires...
  11. scwhiteley1

    LED VU meter question

    Hello! I just ordered a few LM3916 IC's that I intend to use to build a LED audio meter. My plan is to connect it to a stereo I've built using TDA7240 amp IC's (20W). My approach is pretty straight forward, I'm planning to use the typical application schematic out of the spec sheet, which you...
  12. scwhiteley1

    Battery Pack Burnout

    Hello! I recently built a portable stereo that runs off a battery pack consisting of twelve AA size NiMH batteries (14.4V) It has worked like a dream, that is, until today. The stereo worked this morning, then as of this afternoon, it did not. I opened it up to see what was causing the...
  13. scwhiteley1

    Portable Stereo Project: Amp Woes

    Hello! I'm working on a portable stereo project and could use a little input. I've built a few stereos over the past couple of years with varying success. So far I've only used TDA2003 and TDA2030 IC's in my projects, but I'm open to suggestions. Here are some of the hardware parameters of the...
  14. scwhiteley1

    A battery of batteries... good idea or bad?

    Hello! I'm working on another portable stereo project and am bouncing a few ideas around about the power supply. The stereo I've been using for the past year or so is powered by twelve NiMH D cells (which power two 20 watt amps.) This is is fine, but it makes it big, heavy, and is a pain to...
  15. scwhiteley1

    Simple, in-line volume control

    This seems like a simple question with a simple solution. However, as usual, the more research I do, the more confused I become. I've built a few simple amps in the past using simple IC's and other people's schematics. So far I've had pretty good results. Currently, I'm building a simple stereo...
Top