Spectacular Butter said:
Yikes. I am only getting the solar panel in a day or two because it costs $$$ and we have limited budget. Besides testing the output voltage, what else do i have to test on?? Current? How do i know how much current i need to run the whole thing?
Yes, you need to know the voltage and current (the power) it will provide under the lighting conditions you plan using it under - the specifications are usually highly optimistic, based on the absolute maximum amount of light falling on the panel - my usual comment is 'think sahara desert at midday!'.
What are the provided specifications for the panel?.
As for the current required, it depends on a great many different things, and also what you require from the finished device. As it's going to contain a rechargeable battery you could let it charge all day, then have ten minutes running time - but if you require the panel to provide power for the unit continually, it will need to provide more than the complete power requirements of the unit.
For a start I would do two things:
1) Find out how much power the panel can supply.
2) Measure how much power the rolling chassis is going to require, bearing in mind increased load will increase motor consumption drastically. Measure with different weights on the chassis, and climbing up slopes. The rechargeable battery will provide the extra power for high loads, but the solar panel needs to provide enough to drive the unit normally, and have enough over capacity to recharge the battery.
This should give you some indication of how much power you may have left (if any) for the electronics involved!.
For an educational project it gives lots of scope for interesting design possibilities, marks will probably be improved by including the design challanges you meet, and how you overcome them!.