Battery Charger for 12v SLA

(Sealed Lead-Acid) Batteries

Charge your 12v Sealed Lead-Acid batteries

The LED flashes when the battery is charged

Antes de entrar en el funcionamiento del circuito cargador de batera SLA, hay una serie de puntos que debemos
cubrir sobre el cuidado y el uso de bateras de cido plomo selladas.
Las palabras Sealed Lead Acid cubren un nmero de bateras que no tienen un "agujero de llenado".
No se puede llegar al electrolito y la batera se puede utilizar en cualquier posicin.
Esta discusin tambin cubre las bateras AGM (Absorbido Glass Mats) que tienen un separador entre las placas
y el electroltico es grueso y no derrame.
Otro tipo: GEL CELL y INUNDADO LEAD ACID todos tienen los mismos requisitos de carga o similares y se
puede utilizar con este cargador, ya que es un cargador de baja corriente (alrededor de 300mA) y no daar nada.
Tambin tiene la caracterstica de proporcionar pulsos a la batera cuando se detecta 13.4v y esto se detecta y
esto finalmente cargar completamente cualquier batera y mantendr una carga completa durante meses, e
incluso aos
En primer lugar, las bateras selladas de cido de plomo deben cargarse, descargarse y almacenarse con mucho
cuidado. Normalmente pensamos que las bateras se pueden almacenar durante meses (si no aos) y que
estarn disponibles para su inmediato uso.
Esto no ocurre con las bateras SLA. Si almacena una batera SLA nueva y completamente cargada durante 6
meses o ms, ver que puede estar totalmente descargada. Tambin puede encontrar que no se puede cargar!.
Puede ser intil. As son las delicadas bateras SLA.
Deben cargarse regularmente para evitar que se descargue a un nivel muy bajo de voltaje. Si se permite que el
voltaje del terminal de una batera SLA sea inferior a 8v, un proceso llamado SULFATACIN comienza a cubrir la
superficie de las placas e impide que la batera se recargue. La resistencia interna de la batera aumenta y se
vuelve intil.
Ms sobre esto al final del artculo
Como trabaja el circuito: El circuito consta de 5 bloques de construccin

El circuito no se enciende hasta que una batera est conectada a travs de los terminales como se muestra en el
diagrama. (Se ha proporcionado un interruptor de pulsacin para arrancar el circuito cuando se instala una batera
totalmente vaca).
Esta accin activa el transistor PNP en el bloque "Turn ON". La resistencia entre los terminales colector-emisor
disminuye y el indicador LED se enciende.
La trayectoria al carril inferior del circuito pasa a travs de un diodo de seal, la unin puerta-ctodo del SCR y a
travs de dos resistencias 1R8 en paralelo. Por eso el LED se ilumina.
DEBE UTILIZAR ENERGIA DE AC
Antes de ir ms lejos, el circuito funciona mediante un enchufe de AC. Debe ser un suministro de AC ya que no
queremos que haya electrolitos presentes en el carril de potencia ya que esto permitir que una corriente de carga
muy alta fluya y posiblemente dae el SCR.
Un suministro de CC no permitir que el SCR se apague, ya que se apaga cuando la corriente a travs de l cae a
cero.
EL CIRCUITO ES UN RECTIFICADOR DE MEDIA-ONDA!
El circuito es en realidad un rectificador de media onda. Slo carga la batera cada medio ciclo. El paquete de
enchufe no le gusta esto ya que deja flujo residual en el ncleo del transformador y hace que se sobrecaliente.
Pero ese es el nico inconveniente con el circuito.
El SCR se enciende durante cada medio ciclo y la corriente fluye hacia la batera.
Un voltaje se desarrolla a travs de las dos resistencias 1R8 (en paralelo) y esta tensin se alimenta en el
electroltico 47u. Carga y enciende el transistor BC547.
El transistor roba el SCR del voltaje de la puerta y el SCR se apaga. La energa en el 47u se alimenta en el
transistor pero despus de un tiempo corto no puede mantener el transistor encendido.
El transistor se apaga y el SCR se enciende y entrega otro pulso de corriente a la batera.
A medida que la batera se carga, su voltaje aumenta y esto es supervisado por el bloque "Monitor de Voltaje".
El circuito es muy complejo y una manera de mirar la operacin es considerar el carril superior como un carril fijo y
cuando el voltaje de la batera aumenta, el carril conectado al terminal negativo de la batera es empujado hacia
abajo.
Esto le permite ver cmo el transistor de "Turn On"(Activar) est activado y cmo los componentes de "Voltage
Monitor" crean cadas de tensin en cada uno de ellos.
Los componentes de "Voltage Monitor" consisten en un diodo, transistor y zener, as como una resistencia de 8k2,
el potencimetro 1k, una resistencia 1k5, una resistencia 150R y un diodo de seal.
El diodo de seal es realmente parte del circuito intermitente(Flasher) y discutimos su operacin ms adelante.
A medida que la tensin a travs de la batera aumenta a 13,4 voltios, cada resistencia en la "red de deteccin de
voltaje" tendr una cada de tensin a travs de la misma que corresponde al valor de resistencia del resistor. El
diodo tendr una constante 0.7v a travs de l.
El voltaje en el potencimetro ser alrededor de 3.25v y el voltaje a travs del zener ser 10v. Esto deja 0,6v entre
la base y el emisor del transistor del monitor de voltaje.
Esta tensin es suficiente para activar el transistor.
Cuando el transistor del monitor de voltaje se pone en ON, apaga al transistor "Turn On" del voltaje base-emisor y
el circuito se apaga.
El SCR slo tiene dos estados: ON y OFF.
Durante el semiciclo cuando se enciende, la batera recibe un impulso de corriente alto y la corriente slo est
limitada por la capacidad del tomacorriente.
No hay corriente electrolitica para permitir que los impulsos muy altos de la corriente sean entregados y esto es
afortunado pues el SCR es solamente un dispositivo de 0.8 amp, pero tolerar aumentos de 10amp por medio
ciclo.
Siempre que el SCR es activado en conduccin durante el medio ciclo de su funcionamiento, permanece en
conduccin hasta que la tensin suministrada por el paquete de enchufe cae a cero. Esto es cuando el SCR se
apaga.
Cuando el tomacorriente y su transformador entrega un voltaje negativo al riel superior y un voltaje positivo al riel
ms bajo, el SCR no se activa en la conduccin y ninguno de los componentes en el circuito suministra corriente a
la batera. El SCR suministra corriente durante unos cuantos ciclos y luego se apaga durante unos cuantos ciclos.
As es como se controla la corriente media suministrada a la batera
El circuito est diseado para entregar una corriente de carga promedio de 300 a 400 mA. El valor mximo es
determinado por las resistencias 1R8. No permiten que fluya ms de 900mA durante un semiciclo y si esta
corriente fluye, el 47u inferior se carga y el transistor inferior se enciende para evitar que el SCR se encienda.
Cuando la batera est completamente cargada, el indicador LED comienza a parpadear.
El parpadeo es producido por la resistencia de 2k2 y 47u (conectado a la seccin de Voltage Monitor monitor de
voltaje).
Cuando la batera se est cargando, el 47u se carga a travs del diodo conectado al transistor BC557 y a travs
del 150R y el diodo de seal al negativo de la batera.
Cuando la batera est completamente cargada, la seccin Monitor Voltage Monitor de voltaje se enciende y
apaga la seccin Turn On "Activar".
Esto elimina el voltaje en el lado positivo del 47u y el lado positivo se lleva al ral negativo a travs del resistor de
2k2. Esto hace descender el lado negativo del 47u y se permite que el resistor 150R caiga por debajo del carril
negativo debido a la presencia del diodo, a medida que el diodo se polariza en sentido inverso
Esto mantiene el circuito en la condicin de "apagado", ya que desde la seccin de monitor de voltaje se ve un
voltaje extra a travs de l y se observa sobrecargada.
El circuito detecta 13.4v a travs de la batera y cambia al
"modo de goteo" (modo de pulso)
El capacitor de 47u descarga y el circuito se enciende para
bombear una pequea rfaga de corriente en la batera para
mantenerla cargada. Esto se denomina "Modo Trickle" o
"Modo Pulso".
CMO FIJAR EL POTENCIOMETRO
Cargue una batera y cuando la tensin alcance 13.4v, ajuste
el potencimetro para que el LED parpadee.
BATERIAS MUY DESCARGADAS
El circuito no se encender si el voltaje de la batera que est
cargando es inferior a 4 voltios.
Si tiene una buena batera totalmente descargada, puede
iniciar manualmente el proceso de carga conectando la batera
y presionando el botn. Esto elevar el voltaje en cada clula y
el circuito tomar el control de la manera normal una vez que
el voltaje sube ms de 4 voltios

SCR: MCR100

type - 6 400v

current 0.8A

Max current for half cycle 10A

No pierdas tu tiempo
Si tiene una batera que no carga, incluso despus de haber presionado el botn, no pierda su tiempo. Si ha
estado parado por ms de 6 meses en un estado no cargado, no cargar.
Este cargador es ideal para determinar si una batera puede cargarse.
Slo tiene que conectarlo al cargador y controlar el voltaje a travs de la batera. Si permanece a menos de 8v
despus de 1 hora, la batera es chatarra.
Usted puede probar fcilmente una batera poniendo un foco del coche 12v a travs de los terminales. Incluso un
foco de la luz de la cola requerir una corriente de ms de 1 amperio para conseguir que brille y si la batera no
puede entregar esta corriente, est MUERTA.
La nica batera "muerta" que se puede recuperar es aquella que ha sido conectada al equipo y est totalmente
agotada. El equipo ha agotado la batera.
Si lo carga en pocas semanas, el proceso de "sulfatacin" no lo habr daado y puede estar completamente
cargado.
Si la batera est "muerta" debido a la posicin durante mucho tiempo, las posibilidades de recuperacin son
prcticamente nulas.
Bateras selladas
Las bateras selladas tienen el cido gelificado o puesto en una esponja-como la estera de cristal. Tienen la
ventaja / desventaja de ser completamente hermticos a los lquidos. Pueden funcionar en cualquier posicin,
incluso de lado o al revs, y no se derrame cido. Debido a que el electrolito se mueve ms lentamente, estas
bateras no pueden tolerar altos ndices de carga o descarga durante periodos prolongados, aunque sus placas
ms delgadas permitirn altas velocidades durante un corto perodo de tiempo. Su construccin sellada, que los
hace ideales para algunas aplicaciones limitadas, hace imposible verificar las condiciones individuales de la clula
con un hidrmetro. Aunque estas clulas estn "selladas", tienen aberturas para prevenir la acumulacin de
presin en caso de gasear. Muchos controles de carga de PV empujarn el voltaje de carga demasiado alto para
bateras selladas. Se producir un fallo prematuro debido a la prdida de vapor de agua. Recomendamos bateras
selladas slo en situaciones en las que no se pueda tolerar el gas de hidrgeno durante la carga, o la batera se
va a mover y manejar mucho, o en condiciones en las que la batera necesita encajar en espacios nicos y
estrechos. Los usos ms comunes son los barcos, las fuentes de alimentacin de la computadora UPS y las
expediciones remotas. Se deben usar controles especiales de carga de baja tensin con estas bateras. La
expectativa de vida es de dos a cinco aos para la mayora de las bateras de AGM (absorbe la estera de vidrio), y
de cinco a diez aos para la de mayor calidad, pero ms difcil de fabricar, las bateras de celdas de gel. La
mayora de las bateras selladas son de tipo AGM.
Aqu est una placa de circuito impreso hecha por Tom Kelly, uno de nuestros redactores

Usted puede ver

claramente el trabajo
de pista bajo el
tablero y es fcil de
copiar el diseo y
producir su propio
tablero. El tablero fue
producido por Tom
Kelly. Usted puede
enviarle un correo
electrnico para el
archivo para que
pueda hacer su
propio tablero de PC.
O puede comprar un
PCB de Talking
Electronics con
superposicin y
estaado de
soldaduras por $
3.00 ms $ 3.00
franqueo
PARTS LIST
12v SLA Battery Charger
Buy a PCB $3.00 plus $4.50 post
Buy a kit $8.00 plus $4.50 post

2 - 1R8 0.5watt resistors

1 - 150R 0.25 watt resistor
1 - 180R
1 - 560R
1 - 1k5
3 - 2k2
1 - 3k3
1 - 4k7
1 - 8k2
1 - 1k mini trim pot

1 - 1n ceramic
2 - 47u 25v electrolytics

1 - 5mm red LED

4 - 1N4148 signal diodes

1 - 10v 0.25watt zener
1 - BC 547 transistor
2 - BC557 transistors
1 - MCR100-6 SCR
1 - 1m red lead
1 - 1m black lead
2 - alligator clips
1 - 2m very fine solder

1 - SLA Battery Charger PCB

Also required:
1 - 12v AC transformer (500mA AC)
1 - power lead
1 - case
 SOLAR CHARGER
A great kit for self-sufficiency
It's a very simple circuit. The skill in the design is in the transformer.
All the components and PC board: $13.50
0.5v @ 200mA solar cells $2.50 each
0.5v @ 100mA solar cells $1.50 each
Order the kit and/or solar cells from Talking Electronics

These are the pages on SOLAR CHARGERS:

1. SOLAR CHARGER - this page

2. Solar Light
3. 5v Solar Power Supply - Circuit 1
4. 5v Solar Power Supply - Circuit 2
5. Solar Charger - Push Pull circuit
6. Solar 5v Supply using 2 Garden Lights

See also an article on hand-cranked generator

This is another kit in our self-sufficiency range. We also have a 12v fluoro inverter kit for those who need to
operate 20watt to 40watt fluorescent lamps from a 12v supply.
We will be introducing a number of kits for those who have opted to live with 12v energy. With nearly
everything electronic capable of operating from a 12v supply, there is no reason why anyone opting to live with
a low voltage supply cannot enjoy all the electronic pleasures of those who live in the city.
Some products are not yet available for 12v operation but inverters are available from 100watts to 4kw.
The aim of this project is to cater for the other end of the range. We are looking at charging a 12v battery, using
the cheapest set of solar cells and the cheapest inverter. This also means the cheapest 12v battery - a 1amphr
(1AHr) gell cell or 6v cells salvaged from old analogue mobiles!

THE PROBLEM
The problem with charging a battery from a solar panel is the SUN! It doesn't shine all the time and clouds get
in the way! Our eyes adjust to the variations in the strength of the sun but a solar panel behaves differently.
As soon as the sun loses its intensity, the output from a solar panel drops enormously. No only does the output
current fall, but the output voltage also decreases.
Many of the solar panels drop to below the 13.6v needed to charge a 12v battery and as soon as this occurs, the
charging current drops to ZERO. This means they become useless as soon as the brightness of the sun goes
away.
Our project cannot work miracles but it will convert voltages as low as 3.5v into 13.6v and keep delivering a
current to the battery. Obviously the current will be much lower than the maximum, when the sun "half-shines"
but the inverter will take advantage of all those hours of half-sun.
At least you know it will be doing its best ALL THE TIME.
The other advantage of the inverter is the cost of the panel. You don't have to buy a 12v panel. Almost any panel
or set of solar cells will be suitable. You can even use a faulty 12v panel. Sometimes a 12v panel becomes
damaged or cracked due to sun, rail, heat or shock. If one or two of the cells do not output a voltage (see below
on how to fix faulty panels) the cells can be removed (or unwired) and the gap closed up. This will lower the
output voltage (in fact it may increase the voltage - the faulty cells may have reduced the output to zero) but
the inverter will automatically adjust.
The aim of this project is to achieve a 13.6v supply at the lowest cost. That's why the project has been released
as a kit. The equivalent in made-up form is 3 times more expensive yet doesn't have some of the features we
have incorporated in our kit. We have used a more efficient output circuit than the closest rival design and the
driver transistor is the latest "low-voltage" type. These two factors increased the efficiency by 20% over the
rival.

HOW THE CIRCUIT WORKS

The circuit is a single transistor oscillator called a feedback oscillator, or more accurately a BLOCKING
OSCILLATOR. It has 45 turns on the primary and 15 turns on the feedback winding. There is no secondary as the
primary produces a high voltage during part of the cycle and this voltage is delivered to the output via a high-
speed diode to produce the output. The output voltage consists of high voltage spikes and should not be
measured without a load connected to the output. In our case, the load is the battery being charged. The spikes
feed into the battery and our prototype delivered 30mA as a starting current and as the battery voltage
increased, the charging current dropped to 22mA.
The transistor is turned on via the 1 ohm base resistor. This causes current to flow in the primary winding and
produce magnetic flux. This flux cuts the turns of the feedback winding and produces a voltage in the winding
that turns the transistor ON more. This continues until the transistor is fully turned ON and at this point, the
magnetic flux in the core of the transformer is a maximum. But is is not EXPANDING FLUX. It is STATIONARY
FLUX and does not produce a voltage in the feedback winding. Thus the "turn-on" voltage from the feedback
winding disappears and the transistor turns off slightly (it has the "turn-on effect of the 1 ohm resistor).
The magnetic flux in the core of the transformer begins to collapse and this produces a voltage in the feedback
winding that is opposite to the previous voltage. This has the effect of working against the 1 ohm resistor and
turns off the transistor even more.
The transistor continues to turn off until it is fully turned off. At this point the 1 ohm resistor on the base turns
the transistor on and the cycle begins.
At the same time, another amazing thing occurs.
The collapsing magnetic flux is producing a voltage in the primary winding. Because the transistor is being
turned off during this time, we can consider it to be removed from the circuit and the winding is connected to a
high-speed diode. The energy produced by the winding is passed through the diode and appears on the output
as a high voltage spike. This high voltage spike also carries current and thus it represents ENERGY. This energy is
fed into the load and in our case the load is a battery being charged.
The clever part of the circuit is the high voltage produced. When a magnetic circuit collapses (the primary
winding is wound on a ferrite rod and this is called a magnetic circuit), the voltage produced in the winding
depends on the QUALITY of the magnetic circuit and the speed at which it collapses. The voltage can be 5, 10 or
even 100 times higher than the applied voltage and this is why we have used it.
This is just one of the phenomenon's of a magnetic circuit. The collapsing magnetic flux produces a voltage in
each turn of the winding and the actual voltage depends on how much flux is present and the speed of the
collapse.
The only other two components are the electrolytics.
The 100u across the solar panel is designed to reduce the impedance of the panel so that the circuit can work as
hard as possible.
The circuit is classified as very low impedance. The low impedance comes from the fact the primary of the
transformer is connected directly across the input during part of the cycle.
The resistance of the primary is only a fraction of an ohm and its impedance is only a few ohms as proven by the
knowledge that it draws 150mA @ 3.2v. If a battery is connected to the circuit, the current is considerably
higher. The 150mA is due to the limitation of the solar panel.
Ok, so the circuit is low-impedance, what does the 100u across the panel do?
The circuit requires a very high current for part of the cycle. If the average current is 150mA, the instantaneous
current could be as 300mA or more. The panel is not capable of delivering this current and so we have a storage
device called an electrolytic to deliver the peaks of current.
The 10u works in a similar manner. When the feedback winding is delivering its peak of current, the voltage (and
current) will flow out both ends of the winding. To prevent it flowing out the end near the 1R resistor, an
electrolytic is placed at the end of the winding. The current will now only flow out the end connected to the
base of the transistor. It tries to flow out the other end but in doing so it has to charge the electrolytic and this
take a long period of time.
These two components improve the efficiency of the circuit considerably.
You will notice the battery is receiving its charging voltage from the transformer PLUS the 3.2v from the solar
panel. If the battery voltage is 12.8v (the voltage during charging) the energy from the transformer will be
equivalent to 9.6v/12.8v and the energy from the solar cell will be equivalent to 3.2v/12.8v. In other words the
energy into the battery will be delivered according to the voltage of each source.

THE BLOCKING OSCILLATOR

The operation of the circuit has been covered above but the term BLOCKING OSCILLATOR needs more
discussion. By simply looking at the circuit you cannot tell if the oscillator is operating as a sinewave or if it is
turning on and off very quickly.
If the circuit operated as a sinewave, it would not produce a high-voltage spike and a secondary winding would
be needed, having an appropriate number of turns for the required voltage.
A sinewave design has advantages. It does not produce RF interference and the output is determined by the
number of turns on the secondary.
The disadvantage of a sinewave design is the extra winding and the extra losses in the driving transistor, since it
is turned on and off fairly slowly, and thus it gets considerably hotter than a blocking oscillator design.
The factor that indicates the circuit is a blocking oscillator is the absence of a timing capacitor. The circuit gets
its timing from the inductance of the transformer. It takes time for the current to start to flow in an inductive
circuit, once the voltage has been applied. In technical terms CURRENT LAGS IN AN INDUCTIVE CIRCUIT.
The timing feature is hidden in the circuit, but it has nothing to do with the feedback winding or the transistor. If
we simply place the 45 turn coil (the transformer) across a voltage source, current will flow in the coil and this
will produce magnetic flux. This flux will cut all the turns of the coil and produce a back-voltage in each turn that
will OPPOSE the applied voltage and reduce the voltage being applied to the coil. This will cause less current to
flow. During the time when the magnetic flux is increasing (expanding) the current is also increasing and the full
current does not flow until the magnetic flux is STATIONARY. When this effect is viewed on a set of voltmeters
and ammeters, it appears that the current is LAGGING. In other words it is taking time to reach full value.
This is the delay that creates the timing for the oscillator.
The voltage generated across the primary winding at the instant WHEN THE TRANSISTOR IS TURNED OFF, is
called a FLYBACK VOLTAGE. The value of this voltage is determined by the inductance of the transformer (coil),
the number of turns and the strength of the magnetic flux. In our case we are taking advantage of this energy to
charge a battery but if we did not "tap-off" this energy, it would enter the driver transistor as a high-voltage
spike and possibly damage it. (A reverse-biased diode can be placed across the winding to absorb this energy).

WHAT? NO VOLTAGE REGULATION?

Our simple circuit does not employ voltage regulation. This feature is not needed with a trickle charger. The
charging current is so low the battery will never suffer from overcharge. To be of any benefit at all, voltage
regulation must be accurately set for the type of battery you are charging. For a 12v jell cell, it is 14.6v. For a 12v
Nicad battery, it is 12.85.
This is the way it works: When a battery is charging, its voltage rises a small amount ABOVE the normal voltage
of the battery. This is called a "floating charge" or "floating voltage" and is due to the chemical reaction within
the cells, including the fact that bubbles are produced. When the battery gets to the stage of NEARLY FULLY
CHARGED, the voltage rises even further and this rise is detected by a circuit to shut-down the charger.
A voltage regulated charger is supposed to have the same results. When the voltage across the battery rises to it
fully charged state, the output voltage does not rise above this and thus no current is delivered.
Ideal in theory but in practice the voltage must be very accurately maintained. If its not absolutely accurate, the
whole concept will not work.
In our case we don't need it as the charging current is below the "14 hour rate" and the battery is capable of
withstanding a very small trickle current.

PARALLEL OR SERIES?
One of the questions you will be asking is: Should be solar cells be connected in parallel or series?
Most individual solar cells are made from small pieces of solar material connected together and placed under a
light-intensifying plastic cover. The output of the solar cells used in the prototype were 0.5v and 200mA (with
bright sunlight). The circuit has a minimum operating voltage of about 1.5v so any voltage above this will
produce an output. In our case the cells should be connected in series to get the best efficiency.

REPAIRING FAULTY SOLAR PANELS

You may have a solar panel or individual solar cells and need to know if they are operating correctly.
All you need is bright sunlight and a place where the entire panel can be exposed to uniform sunlight.
The main problem is being able to access each of the cells with the leads of a multimeter while the panel is
exposed to sunlight. To measure the efficiency of each cell, the panel must be delivering its energy to a load. You
can place a switch on one of the lines and measure across the switch (when it is open) to determine the current
being delivered.
The cells in our prototype measure 3cm x 5cm and deliver 150 mA with full sunlight. Smaller cells (2cm x 4cm)
deliver 70mA.
When the cells are delivering their full rated output current, the voltage produced by each cell is about 0.4v to
0.45v Any cell producing less than 0.35v is faulty.
If the output current of your cells or panel is known, (read the specifications on the panel) you can check the
output by measuring across the switch, as mentioned above. If the output is considerably less than this, you can
short-circuit each cell in turn to see if the output current of the whole panel increases. The problem is made
more difficult if two or more cells are faulty. Checking the voltage produced by each cell will detect two or more
faulty cells in an array.
If you cannot get to the wiring between each of the cells, you can sometimes get to the wiring at the opposite
end of the panel by cutting into the backing. This way you can check the left and right sections separately and
work out if one side is operating better than the other. From there you can cut into one side of the panel and
maybe get 75% of the panel operational. 75% of a panel is better than 100% of a dead panel.
This project is especially designed for a low-voltage panel. If you have a panel slightly below par, it is better to
buy a few extra cells and increase the voltage so the panel can be connected directly to the battery. This way
you will deliver 100% of the output to the battery. Our inverter has a maximum efficiency of 75%, so a panel
that produces nearly 13.6v should have a couple of extra cells fitted so it can be connected directly to a battery.

9v to 12v OUTPUT
If you require 9v to 12v output, you will need to add the four voltage-regulating components shown in the
diagram below.

With the voltage-regulation components added, the circuit produces a 9v or 12v output. This arrangement is
only suitable if you have a constant, reliable, source of sun as any clouds will reduce the output to below the
regulated voltage. (If a 9v1 zener diode is fitted, the output voltage will be 9v.) The BC 547 prevents the ZXT 851
oscillator transistor turning on when the voltage is slightly above 12v (or 9v). The 10u on the output stores the
"reference voltage" and keeps the BC 547 turned on during the time when the output voltage is above 12v. This
effectively stops the oscillator, but as soon as the output voltage drops below 12v, the circuit comes back into
operation, "charge-pumping" the 10u on the output.
The 12v zener works like this: No voltage appears on the anode end (the end connected to the 100R resistor)
until 12v is on the cathode. Any voltage above 12v appears on the anode and this voltage passes through the
100R to the base of the BC 547. For instance, if 12.5v is on the cathode, 0.5v will appear on the anode. When
the base sees 0.7v, the transistor turns on, so slightly more than 12.7v is needed to turn on the transistor.
The regulation components are not really necessary as a reliable output will only be present when strong
sunlight is seen by the solar panel. For the cost of a rechargeable battery or set of rechargeable cells, you get a
much more reliable arrangement by removing the regulation components, using the first circuit in the article,
and allowing the battery to deliver the 9v or 12v. The battery appears as a HUGE electrolytic on the output,
delivering a constant voltage and is capable of delivering a high current.

OUR PROTOTYPE
Our prototype consisted of 8 solar cells charging two 6v batteries in series. These were obtained from old
analogue phones and were purchased for $5.00 each but if you want to spend a lot more, you can get individual
AA cells or a 12v jell cell.
The solar cells in our prototype are rated at 0.5v and 200mA
The array produced 3.2v @ 150mA with bright sunlight and the output of the inverter was 12.8v @ 31mA during
the initial charging period. This reduced to 22mA as the battery became charged. As more cells are added, the
charging current increased.
WINDING THE TRANSFORMER
The primary winding consists of 45 turns of 0.25mm wire on a 10mm dia ferrite rod. Twist the two ends
together to keep the coil in position.
The feedback winding must also be wound in the same direction if you want to keep track of the start and finish
as shown in the circuit diagram. It consists of 15 turns spiral wound so that it takes 8 turns across the rod and 7
turns back to the start. Twist the two ends together to keep the coil in position.
The result is called a transformer. It's a feedback or blocking oscillator transformer with a flyback feature. The
output is taken across the primary via a high-speed diode.
The oscillator will only work when the feedback winding is connected around the correct way. The correct way is
shown in the diagram, with the start of the primary and secondary as shown in the diagram. For this to work,
both windings must be wound in the same direction.
You can keep track of the start and finish of each winding or simply connect the transformer and see if it works.
If it doesn't work, reverse the feedback winding (reverse only one winding - NOT both).
Nothing can be damaged by trying this method as the solar panel does not deliver enough current to damage
the transistor.

CONSTRUCTION
Wind the transformer as explained above and have it ready for fitting to the PC board. Fit the other components
according to the overlay on the board making sure the transistor and diode are around the correct way. The two
electrolytics must also be fitted around the correct way.
Now comes the transformer. As we have already mentioned, the easiest way to fit the transformer is to solder it
in position and try the circuit. If it is around the wrong way, the circuit will not produce an output. Reverse one
of the windings and the job's done.

PARTS LIST
1 - 220R 1/2 resistor
1 - 470R
1 - 1k

1 - BC 338 transistor
1 - BY 207 or equiv high-speed diode
1 - 10u 16v electrolytic
1 - 100u 25v electrolytic
2m - 0.25mm enamelled wire
1 - 10mm dia ferrite rod 5cm long
1- Solar Charger PC Board

Regulation components (not in kit)

1 - 100R
1 - 10u electrolytic
1 - 9v or 12v zener diode
1 - BC 547 transistor

TESTING THE CIRCUIT

The output current of the project can be measured with a multimeter set to milliamps. Place the meter
between the battery and output of the circuit as shown in the diagram below. You can add an electrolytic to the
output to smooth the pulses to get a more-accurate reading. Select a scale such as 0-100mA (for analogue
multimeters) or 0-199mA (for digital multimeters). Note how the multimeter is connected, with the positive
lead to the output of the circuit and negative to the battery.
There are many ways to "visualise" how the meter should be connected. The best way to remember is this:
think of the meter as going directly across the output, to measure the current. Which way would it be placed?
Obviously, the positive of the meter to the output and negative to ground. But you must NEVER place an amp-
meter (ammeter) (or milliamp-meter) directly across the output of a supply as this will either damage the supply
or the meter. So, include a resistor (or in our case, the battery being charged), and you will measure the "current
flowing."
Do not measure the voltage without a load. The output voltage will be as high as the transistor will allow. This
will be as high as the rating of the transistor. In other words it will be as high as the "zener voltage" of the
transistor (the collector-to-emitter voltage-rating of the transistor).
You may not be able to measure the output of the circuit accurately with a high impedance (digital) multimeter.
One constructor got a reading of 1900v from a digital meter. This is obviously incorrect and was due to the high
frequency of the circuit interfering with the reading.

SUMMARY
You can now see how the circuit works. It generates a voltage higher than the battery voltage and that's how it
can deliver energy to the battery. The energy comes in the form of "pulses" and we can measure the "average"
or "equivalent to DC value" on a milliamp meter (a multimeter set to milliamps).

A FEW NOTES ON TRANSFORMERS

Transformers are one of the versatile components in electronics. They can be large, small, high-frequency, low-
frequency, single winding, multi-winding, step-up or step-down (voltage) high-current, isolating, extremely-high
voltage, voltage-reversing or even a combination of any of the above. They can be technically very complex, or
very simple to design and you could spend a life-time studying their construction.
On the other hand you can learn how to construct them very quickly. Simply copy a design and maybe modify it
a little. By copying a design you "home-in" on the essential features such as wire-size, core size, number of turns
etc and you can change any of the features to suit your own requirements.
Before we start, let's point out the two main mis-conceptions of a transformer. Firstly, a transformer only
operates on a voltage that turns on and off. This is commonly called AC (it stands for Alternating Current but this
also means the voltage is ALTERNATING). The voltage can also be a DC voltage that turns on and off - commonly
called chopped DC.
A battery cannot be connected directly to a transformer. It will not work. An oscillator (an oscillator circuit) is
needed to convert the DC into pulses.
Secondly, the energy into a transformer (called watts) is equal to the watts output of the transformer (minus
some losses). If a transformer on 240v AC (or 110v) produces 240 AMPS output, the output voltage must be low
because the maximum input wattage for 240v is 2400 watts. This means the maximum output voltage is
2400/240 = 10 volts. Even though a transformer performs amazing things, it abides by the laws of physics. In
general terms, if an output voltage is higher than the input voltage, the current will be lower.

Order the kit and/or solar cells from Talking Electronics

Here is a completed kit from a reader. He has connected a very small solar panel to the circuit and the output is
very small. You can see each cell on the solar panel is very small and this type of panel is not suitable. The
output from these type of cells is only 25-35mA. The cells we sell are 100mA and 200mA and this is the
minimum output current for this type of circuit. Each cell produces about 0.6v, no matter how large it is and the
intensity of the sun.

Here is a YouTube video of the circuit on breadboard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_erzmvVIqI&feature=youtu.be