After a little under a couple months of use, I can say that this power setup is quite adequate. My concern was that it would not be enough to sustain radio operations and I would have to charge batteries from wall power from time to time, but I have not needed this. I did an initial charge when I first installed it but nothing since. I am transmitting at 100 watts often so the system is getting moderate use. The Powerwerx power meter is very helpful in monitoring whats happening with the batteries – https://powerwerx.com/watt-meter-analyzer-inline-dc-powerpole. The gel type batteries charge at voltages above 13.8 and the meter shows when this is happening, even overcast days can provide sufficient charging voltages. Measuring the level of the battery is done by turning off everything and reading voltage with no draw, 12.85v is full, and anything under 12v is empty. I have not observed below 12.60 (75%) so far.

If you are considering powering your amateur radio equipment with solar, it can be successful, unfortunately there is not much information to review about it. Fortunately, there aren’t many components and making a design was fairly straightforward, but finding references took some hunting. Overall I am very happy with my setup.

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