Cheap Chyna solar controller help.

Rickster

Rickster

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My dad is working on a project, he bought a battery, a solar panel and a solar charger.

Everything seems to work fine however when we run the DSTV off of it for about 15 min, the DSTV display goes blank and decoder seems to be frozen. The decoder itself is on and the "display" is working but there is no picture. It's hard to explain but its not like the HDMI cable is unplugged, the TV will show a blue screen if that happens, its showing like a near black screen.

Now im thinking the solar controller isnt giving the correct voltage, the load terminals on the controller seem to mirror battery voltage, is there a way to change it to 12v?

Its pushing 12.6v to the decoder, is this a problem?

1675351059762_1200x1200.jpg
 
so you have the inverter connected to the load part of the charge controller

i would connect it to the battery direct
and see if the problem persists

is he powering the devices from the 12v ie no inverter involved
 
Last edited:
12v devices should be fine with accepting a bit higher voltage

device dependant ,

can always get a buck converter if you want to keep it a constant voltage
the pwm switching on and off could be generating noise that affects electronics, hence why i say connect inverter to battery as it helps smooth out this noise or spikes and dips
 
Am I correct in assuming he is using it like
1678187908845.png

I see DSTV needs 12V 2A.

And please don't tell me he is running DSTV directly off the battery.
 
Last edited:
Are you connecting the decoder to the solar controller output and there is no inverter involved here?

how are you planning to run the tv?
 
AlphaJohn said:
Am I correct in assuming he is using it like
View attachment 1488445

I see DSTV needs 12V 2A.

And please don't tell me he is running DSTV directly off the battery.
Click to expand...

He is running it just as your picture shows, except the "DSTV" in red box is going to some switches for various things. LED Lights, Car radio, 12v TV and DSTV.
 
Could be that the 12v from battery not at the right voltage for dstv decoder
Will maybe need a dc to dc converter to get to right voltage level

Worst case step up to higher voltage and then step down to 12v
 
Smells like you need a 12v regulator off the battery output so you can feed the decoder.

They're pretty cheap and can be bought at electronics shops.

eg
grobotronics.com

Voltage Regulator L78S12CV - 12V 2A

grobotronics.com grobotronics.com
. (but not this one as you need something that will take a lower input range)

"12v" positive from battery / pwm -> input, 12v out from regulator -> positive on decoder, negative / ground -> other wire.

Or buy a slightly better pwm controller with regulated output. heck, mppt ones are cheap enough nowadays, why go pwm..
 
Last edited:
How many amps is the controller
Note the limit on the load port is often limited to the same as the controller charge limit

Quick google reveals
Overloading this port can damage the charge controller

How many watts are you pulling?

The reason you use this port is so that the load can be disconnected from the battery if voltage goes to low

You can check if you are overloading this port if you don't have clamp meter by connecting the load direct to the battery
 
itareanlnotani said:
Or buy a slightly better pwm controller with regulated output. heck, mppt ones are cheap enough nowadays, why go pwm..
Click to expand...

That is just how my dad is, he buys Chinese junk and then wonders why he struggles with it or it doesn't work. I told him from day 1 to buy a trolley inverter and be done with it.

Oh well...
 
Rickster said:
My dad is working on a project, he bought a battery, a solar panel and a solar charger.

Everything seems to work fine however when we run the DSTV off of it for about 15 min, the DSTV display goes blank and decoder seems to be frozen. The decoder itself is on and the "display" is working but there is no picture. It's hard to explain but its not like the HDMI cable is unplugged, the TV will show a blue screen if that happens, its showing like a near black screen.

Now im thinking the solar controller isnt giving the correct voltage, the load terminals on the controller seem to mirror battery voltage, is there a way to change it to 12v?

Its pushing 12.6v to the decoder, is this a problem?
Click to expand...
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Have the output regulated to be within the range that's needed for the DSTV.
 
those little devices only put out what the battery V is ,its simply a relay that turns on when you switch the output on .it also wont work without a battery connected .if you want to try regulate the output just get a 7812 voltage regulator a bit of aluminium for a heat sink .if you lay it flat with heatsink down the lhs leg is 12 v pos or whatever in .middle is negative and rhs leg is 12 volt out ,put a small capacitor over the neg and 12v out say a 16volt 100 microfarad or bigger makes no difference .but usually most 7812 can only put out 1amp easily
 
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