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http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Mod ... gn=10P04-1

worth a punt for a tenner??

Could be Pete.

Hi Pete, I bought one of those a while back to charge the battery on the car I have in France. It worked - sort of... To be honest it would probably be OK for a bike, with its lower charging requirement, although I would be concerned about the possibility of over-charging on full power.

I found that in order for it to work properly (or even half-well) it needed unobstructed sunlight. If it's in even partial shade, or not fully facing the sun, then efficiency drops off quickly. In the end I was given a second one by a mate at work (who regarded it as useless) and cut and soldered the leads so the two of them were working in parallel. That worked well; when I went back to the house last April I put the battery on the car and it started up straight away. But the panels were both mounted immediately underneath a skylight window in full view of the sun for much of the day.

Oh yes - they don't like water much either, so leaving them outside is a no-no...

using the equation "Amps = Watts/Volts" you'll be getting 0.08A @ 17.5v.. in other words.. about as much use as a chocolate teapot..

thanks - was worth investigating