Power Film Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of thin, flexible solar modules. The company designs, manufactures and retails their products in Ames, Iowa–a quality made-in-USA product.
Last year, at the Dayton Hamvention, PFI’s booth was very popular. Why? Their sale of small, rollable and foldable solar panels, absolutely perfect for field use, drew crowds of hams, DXers, campers, and/or frequent travelers. Needless to say, sales were brisk.
While browsing their website recently (just for fun), I came across their PowerShade™ Solar Field Shelters. They’re available in 1 kilowatt and 2 kilowatt versions at 15.4 V or 30.8 V. Wow…
This paneled tent is primarily focused at the military market. Perhaps exclusively. And I readily admit, it would be overkill for QRPers, even for a multi-op QRP Field Day. After all, aren’t we about “less is more”–?
But is it wrong for me to fantasize about this wonderful 2 kW creation? A tent-topper that sucks in Sol’s readily-available energy and, with the assistance of a battery bank, produces enough juice to fuel several QRP rigs?
I dunno. I’m too busy fantasizing to care…!
We actually used that very tent for Field Day 2010, graciously provided to us by PowerFilm… we have a lot of pictures of it on our club’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.310913512268762.91871.310894028937377&type=3 (if you don’t use Facebook but want to see more pictures, contact me and I’ll send you some).
It is a heck of a tent. We used solar power exclusively from that tent in 2010. A big windstorm came through that Saturday night and didn’t even bother it. It was extremely hot that weekend, and the tent provided lots of shade, but didn’t offer much protection during rain. It’s awesome to have a company like PowerFilm in our backyard to do cool stuff with. In 2010, they provided $30,000 worth of equipment to my club in Des Moines and another club in Ames (their headquarters). Every year since then, we’ve been lucky enough to be loaned some of their equipment for Field Day.
Thanks for sharing that, Kevin! Wow–I checked out the photos from your FD. I’m most impressed with the photography.
Very happy that the PowerShade has actually been used in a FD event. It seems like a natural fit. The folks at PowerFilm are top-notch. They’ve also supported my charity, Ears To Our World, with rollable panels. We work in places around the world where there is no electrical grid.
As you say, it’s great to have a tech innovator like them in our own backyard (especially for you!).
Best,
Thomas
Pls send me more details of the cost and its availability