<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "> I look at these discussions and I keep shaking my head. I live off the grid ... I started using Solarex panels and I still have the 5 panels I bought nearly twenty years ago. I later switched to Siemens/ARCO SP-75s and have 16 of them that are 5-12 years old.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV> It really comes down to "ya gets what ya pays for!"</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV> I paid, by your metric, just about $6/watt for the Solarex panels. They were warranted to withstand 100 mph in quartering winds, direct impact of 1 inch hail, and to put out at least 90% of spec for 10 years (the new warranty is 90% of spec for 10 years, 80% of spec for 20 years). Right now, 19+ years old they are all still putting out at 90-95% of their original specifications (when I got them new they were putting out at 110-115% of spec). This performance level is after 19+ years at 1600 feet on the Western slope of Mount Mansfield ... steady winds at times of 30-60 mph, gusts as high as 107mph. Temperatures that have reached as low as -34F and as high as 106F. Snow rain, hail and ice. At 9 years and 10 months, I noticed that two the original panels seemed to have low output. I called Solarex and got an RMA, sent them to Maryland and I got two brand new panels back, no further questions asked. The heating/cooling cycles through the years had caused several solder joints to go cold and/or open up.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>What you get for $2 /watt will have neither the performance, physical soundness, reliability nor warranty backup those Solarex panels had. Penny wise and pound foolish is looking at just the price. What's it worth to you to be able to put them up and more or less forget about them for years on end? If you are going to be laying out that kind of money why not do it right? I know its not cheap, that is why I built my system here buying 1 and 2 panels at a time. It took me 12 years to assemble the arrays I have now.</DIV><DIV><DIV><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV style="">---</DIV><DIV style="">cheers ... 73 de brian riley, n1bq , underhill center, vermont</DIV><DIV style=""> <<A href="http://web.mac.com/brianbr/">http://web.mac.com/brianbr/</A>> Tech Blog</DIV><DIV style=""> <<A href="http://www.wulfden.org/TheShoppe.shtml">http://www.wulfden.org/TheShoppe.shtml</A>></DIV><DIV style=""> Home of the </DIV><DIV style=""> K107 Serial LCD Controller Kit FT817 Power Conditioner Kit </DIV><DIV style=""> Tab Robot Laser Tag Kit MSP430 Chips and Connectors</DIV><DIV style=""> Propeller Robot Controller SX48 "Tech Board" Kit</DIV><DIV style=""><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Feb 25, 2007, at 11:09 AM, Kriss A Kliegle wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"> Unfortunately they're not cheap, even at HarborFreight they get $8/watt!!! At Solar-electric.com (Northern Arizona Wind and Sun) you can get large panels for $4.70/watt. Still, no bargin though.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"> I purchased all of mine used from Ebay and local word of mouth sales for about $2.00/watt. You just have to look around at those Want-Ad type magazines at the local quick mart store, because I've purchased them from there too!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">Kriss KA1GJU</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">KA1GJU-3 Solar Powered WX digi</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2">W1WQM/R Solar/Wind Powered Voice 2M Repeater</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">aprssig mailing list</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="mailto:aprssig@lists.tapr.org">aprssig@lists.tapr.org</A></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="https://lists.tapr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aprssig">https://lists.tapr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aprssig</A></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>