[RFI] Covering Solar Panels To Assess RFI

[KD7JYK DM09]

> Inverters are inherently noisy.   So you replace a noisy one with another
> noisy one.  You cover the panels so the inverters have nothing to invert.
> That doesn't mean the solar panels are the culprit.  Plain old solar panels
> are very quiet, at least all of my 8000 watts sure are. It's all the other
> stuff that causes the noise.

True, however...

I have a panel in storage, a small one, 12 volts, or so, at a few mA.  I 
noticed it was not keeping a small battery charged.  Now, I have NOT 
done much testing on it at all, it's from a project that was mothballed 
almost ten years ago.

What I noticed was that the voltage output of the panel was erratic.  In 
direct line with the Sun, and connected to both a digital meter, and 
analog meter directly, no load, the voltage bounced all over the place 
while illuminated.  The reading was more what I would expect from an 
analog modulation meter monitoring a talk-radio station.

I should have connected it to a speaker, or an amplifier, and speaker to 
hear what it was producing, even sniff around RF-wise, but didn't.  I 
still have the panel, I suppose one day I should dig it up, and check.

Kurt