160 Amp solar Tracker 5

[Tom C]

all of the products sold by TeslagenX and tesla chargers come directly from Johns shop in Idaho. I am not sure what it is you are looking for, we have chosen at TeslagenX to offer everything John manufactures, including his amplifiers, and the energy from the vacuum DVD series, while Aaron and peter have chosen to focus on chargers, solar trackers, and the books that Peter and Aaron write. Aaron also sells the ASEA actvated water, which is amazing also!


Rick is manufacturing chargers without a License from Energenx, nothing you buy from Rick comes out of John's shop, it is all copycat clones with inferior parts.

Tom C

[gandyman]

I am very confused...

Why are the products - with are made/produced by John Bedini" not everywhere the same ??

Wen I look ad:
John's site : http://energenx.com/products.html

And
Tom C his website : http://www.teslagenx.com/?source=TC

Last but not least on the website from peter Lindeman his friend and Aaron Murakami : http://teslachargers.com/solartrackeriii.html#solar12

This mess dont give me a trustable feeling......

With my experiance with Rick in the past my feeling say buy it only ad John's site http://energenx.com/products.html, but there are not all the products.
This is why I think people selling there own products for big money and not products directly from John.. ???

Correct me if I am wrong.....

[John_Bedini]

Strapping Units

@ All,
Please let me explain again about strapping the Tesla Solar chargers, this only applies to the Tesla 5 Tracker.
First you can not parallel the Tracker's as each linear regulator and amplifier is adjusts for the unit that it is working in and set.
This means if you attempt this they will not share any currents and you will over heat and burn out one or the other as one will try to supply more current as they are not tracked between the two units. As I have said in an earlier post, this is possible at the time of manufacturing and must be ordered that way. The only way around this is to send the units in and have it done as this is the same thing as having matched Amplifiers. One of the modules is removed and a slave unit is put in it's place and three cables are added two 18 gauge wires and a 8 gauge cable. On the front of the unit cables are added between the two units.
I have said before you would only do this if cost was no object. If you have the 160 Amp unit send it in and have it done, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS YOURSELF, the circuit is critical and must be balanced with all devices. One circuit is the controlling circuit, if you try to do it anyway it would be like having two brains in the same head, they would fight each other to the death of one. We have plans for much bigger units soon but production and designing takes time. Please do not attempt this as it will be very costly if you burn them out.

[John_Bedini]

Jelloir,
The answer is yes. the driver for that would be in the slave stages. That is correct except some people require the 160 for what they are doing. The 160 amp unit uses 24 selected output transistors, it is less costly to do it that way. Once they are stacked they become very rugged in terms of SOA. each device in the amplifier is sharing currents to a level that is safe.
A much bigger unit is planed with built in drivers and switchable slave stages so it can operate at any power level. Some of the units on the spice programs are planned to do 1500 amps, by the way spice does not always work in the real world so they must be breadboarded to check for problems. I'm also looking for logic switching with high currents. The units require emitter balancing so some resistors require a selection of less then 1 percent. I sometime must go through 100 resistors at a time to find the correct one. Hope this answer your other question. The 20 amp Tracker uses three 25 watt precision Dale 1 percent resistors so balance is achieved.
John B

[jelloir]

Yes that answers my question thoroughly. Does modifying the driver portion of the unit mean that unit can still operate standalone?

It raises a question about redundacy. Given they can be stacked it seems that if you want increased reliability, one could consider using 2x 80A trackers in place of a single 160A for example. I know the trackers are built rock solid but Murphys Law is always a consideration. So if one of the trackers did fail then at least you could still produce power (albeit less) whilst waiting for a new unit from Energenx.

I presume a special request would need to be made with a tracker order for the the driver component? Is there anything else that should be considered if someone wanted to use this scenario?

Simply adding slave trackers when required and budgets allow seems excellent.

Also, whilst I have the oppurtunity, a sincere "Thank You" for the technology you have provided to the public. I only just begun research into electronics, Bedini SG's, radiant energy, etc. 2 months ago but it has been the most fascinating time in my life and I expect it will continue to be.

[John_Bedini]

strapped together

Jelloir,
In answer to your question about stacking. The Tracker 5 can be stacked but that requires the other units to be just slave units. Regulation then must be controlled by the master Tracker it then would only require two small 18 gauge wires as all output's would be parallel to the main unit. The outputs and inputs then are strapped together and you could take this up to 15Kw and beyond if you wanted to. The slave units would also be fan cooled but the battery indicator would be missing. The driver portion of the unit must be modified for the proper drive current. We have not had anybody ask for that to be built that way but the circuits are already in the board to do that. so the slave units would just have a blue led and the fan all controlled by the master unit. The tricky part is the driver amplifier but it can be done to drive any amount of output slaves. Not very many people would be able to buy that many units unless money was no object. The 160 amp unit is limited by the output breaker but can take far more then advertised it's almost 50% under rated the 80 Amp is 20% under rated giving these units large safe SOA curves for the amplifier section. I did build a few with large TO3 Devices with massive heat sinks. The units are still in test and running just fine 3 years later. I did this the same way as the Amplifiers because If I live 35 more years that is when I would see them back if anything failed. Hope this answers your question.
John B

[BobZilla]

I just wanted to say thanks again to Mr. Bedini for taking the time to shoot those videos and answer all the questions so thoroughly.

I am aware of the primary side on the monopole containing spikes and that was really where I was going with the question, I wanted to know for sure if it would interfere with the circuitry of the tracker. I have been trying to use that primary side in various ways, most people do not look closely enough at the primary and tend to just think of it as a the supply but it does have pulses. That is not the topic of our discussion here but I should have known; and now I have been given the answer and explanation.

[jelloir]

How does stacking Solar Trackers work? Will it only the rely on the slave tracker/s if the master cannot support the load or is the load shared amongst them all? I ordered a 10A Solar Tracker so I can test using the technology before I buy a larger unit later this year which will likely be a 160A unit. Once I have a 160A was going to have the 10A as a standby and perhaps use it for charging another battery bank for my garden shed and outside lights. But if I can stack the 160A and 10A that might be a better option.

James

[John_Koorn]

John B,

Thanks, that does answer a lot of questions. I was talking to Erik about it earlier today. The Tracker 5 is very much like an audio power amplifier - you have a variable voltage on the input (the solar panels), and a variable voltage on the output (the battery). The output needs to be limited just like a speaker, or you will blow it out.

Doesn't matter if the Tracker 5 is just charging the battery or running the load - it just sees it as a load, with protection.

Also, like an audio amp the bias on the devices has to maintained or the switching will be compromised.

I think what you are saying if you have an SSG as a load, it's like noise or distortion to the Tracker 5. This can upset the biasing of the devices which may lead to a device failure. Yes, you could build circuits into it to handle that noise - but as you say it's a fair bit of work.

Given what I've heard of your audio amps - which are amazing and the best I've ever heard - I think it's pretty safe to assume that you've put those types of circuits into the Tracker 5. That would make the Tracker 5 the best solar charger I've ever used

The other thing that makes your work stand out is the commitment to quality. Anyone could through a bunch of cheap Chinese parts onto a board, slap it in a box and call it good. But you don't. Only the best quality proven parts are used. That means that the Tracker 5 will not only outlast the warranty period - but will most likely outlast the solar panels.

John K.

[John_Bedini]

Information

John K and all.
The solar Tracker 5 you must look at it like a current amplifier that has a voltage gain but only in the limits of the regulation within the devices. The first thing to go would be the indicator for the batteries since it's an amplifier also. The tracker 5, 40 Amp up to 160 amp is desecrate so it would be possible to repair it.
The real problem is once the board is removed it may not go back the same way and then you would crack the devices when installing them. The regulators must be matched and adjusted. We glue the pot for that adjustment as it must be set not to boil your batteries away. You have said it well it's like a bottle of pop. To much and the battery will just boil away to little and no reserve. The Tracker 5 10 Amp to the 30 Amp are potted for good reasons you can not repair these units. If they fail you can just crap can these modules. The fan is going to be the only thing useable, but you can put another module in and make the proper adjustments. It is possible to stack them except then it just a slave unit. some of the 10 amp chargers are auto controlled as they were ordered that way. The SSG produces spikes on the input and the output and requires series pass circuits and inductors to filter all this out. once you do that you change the way the SSG works and may not have the same charging effect. I look at it this way, you have bought the unit your free to do what you want, but I would not take that chance.
When using Linear Charge Amplifiers on the output of the SSG you must convert the wave shape three different ways, in the end the signal must be pure DC. I have talked about the transformations before in all the old posts. You can look at this like a current amp as it works just like a power amplifier in an audio amp, you would not go out of your way to shock the wires on the speakers, the fly back diodes are not fast enough to protect the output devices and emitter breakdown takes place, you can junk the amp after that. I'm not saying that it cant be done, it can with allot of work. We always allow time with the battery here even when it is floating. The Tracker 5's go through a burn in process because the adjustment is critical. The Tracker 5 is a very rugged device and can take allot. when pushing a battery. The regulators that control bias, the red light when the sun is down. Bias must be stabilized as you do not want drift in the circuit. Hope this answers some more questions.
John B

[Tom C]

thanks JB we had talked about this a while back, this is going to work perfect for a project I am doing for a tiny hydroponics setup.

available here:
http://www.teslagenx.com/chargers/tx...egory=chargers

Tom C

[BobZilla]

I understand John k, I hook all kinds of crazy things up and we all get lucky with tolerances sometimes.

I was looking at some panels for the 3a and I wonder if anyone would share an opinion on what I am looking at.

From Mr. Bedini's recommendations it has a pretty high Open circuit voltage (22.1) and is rated for 3.1A output but of course I will never have perfect conditions to drive it that well.

Here are the electric specs for the panel:

ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS


Power at STC: 55 Watt

Maximum Power Voltage (Vpm): 18.18 Volt

Maximum Power Current (Ipm): 3.1 Amp

Open Circuit Voltage (Voc): 22.1 Volt

Short Circuit Current (Isc): 3.31 Amp

Tolerance: ±5%

Standard Test Conditions: Temperature 25° C, Irradiance 1000W/M², AM=1.5

Maximum System Voltage: 1000V DC

Series Fuse Rating: 12 Amp

Temperature Coefficient Isc: 0.06%/K, Voc: -0.36%/K, Pmax: -0.5%/K

Operating Temperature: -40° C to +85° C

Storage Humidity: 90%

Type of Output Terminal: Junction Box


And the page for them:
http://www.ul-solar.com/Solar_Panel_..._p/stp055p.htm

[John_Koorn]

Bob, I am doing it a little differently which perhaps why I haven't had issues. I am also very glad John B posted what he did - I would hate to blow up an 80A tracker!

I am charging a large 24V bank, but was only running the SSG at 12V - so just tapping off half of the battery bank. I'm also only pulling 2.5A off that bank which is like C50 for that bank.

I'll be sure to follow John B's advice and find out how to do it properly before trying it again, just in case

John K.

[BobZilla]

Thank you Mr. Bedini,,,, That is what I was asking about. I am very happy to have one of these smaller units available. At least now I will use solar to charge up my primaries and I can run my machines all night from the batteries.

John K I appreciate your input too. From what I understand it can be done and you are doing it but as Mr. Bedini says you have to know how to filter the spike and at least for now I am not completely sure I can do that. Maybe put in some nodes with bridges and dump that spike to a cap or something. Anyway thanks for all the help everyone.

[RS_]

Hi John B,
I am glad you made this post.....
I was planning on using my Solar Tracker 5's, to not only power the intended loads with large 120/240 inverters, but using the 24V Tracker output and the large battery's, to charge other large battery banks, using some variation of your SG or SSG circuits that i have built in the past.........
If you use a High amp diode to isolate the Tracker 5's / batterys from the the SG/SSG circuit. would that be enough...? because it does not sound like it based on this info...

Thanks
RS