OCA Field Crews Go Solar!
The Office of Contract Archeology is currently conducting an archeological survey of the US-Mexico border along with several access roads in preparation for construction of a border fence. Because the field camp is in a remote area with only limited power supplies, the archeologists have employed solar panels to charge their electronic ecquipment. This transition to tapping into solar energy is a important step for OCA archeologists to being able to conduct field work in rural areas with no reliable sources of power.
This system itself is a relatively simple one: Three solar panels producing 45 Watts of electric power connect to a converter with various plug-ins to charge a cellphone, light bulbs, iPods, CD players and other 12-volt electronic equipment. For a higher voltage ecquipment, the Converter connects to a Marine/RV/Deep Cycle battery which then connects to an inverter from 12 to 120 volts. The inverter has available connection to plug in computer TVs and other 120-volt electric operators. |
New 45 Watt solar panels used by OCA crews to supply electric power for electronic field equipment
|
