Solar panel assembly
After considerable experimentation and frustration, I think I've got the hang of soldering solar cells together into panels. The keys seem to be:
1) Carefully scrape the intended contact area on the upper surface to remove antireflective and weatherproof coatings.
2) Use standard 60/40 flux-core solder, not lead-free.
3) Use a controlled temperature soldering iron. Start at 270 C and adjust applied temperature as needed to compensate for rapid heat loss to panel backing, heatsinks, etc.
4) Don't leave the iron in contact too long on the weak, spray-coated rear contact. It will rapidly damage or dissolve the contact region.
5) Use strain relief (can be a dab of epoxy) on all contact lead wires to reduce stress on the fragile cell contact.
If you've got other tips or suggestions, please comment. I'd be glad to hear.
1) Carefully scrape the intended contact area on the upper surface to remove antireflective and weatherproof coatings.
2) Use standard 60/40 flux-core solder, not lead-free.
3) Use a controlled temperature soldering iron. Start at 270 C and adjust applied temperature as needed to compensate for rapid heat loss to panel backing, heatsinks, etc.
4) Don't leave the iron in contact too long on the weak, spray-coated rear contact. It will rapidly damage or dissolve the contact region.
5) Use strain relief (can be a dab of epoxy) on all contact lead wires to reduce stress on the fragile cell contact.
If you've got other tips or suggestions, please comment. I'd be glad to hear.