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A bifacial panel is only half-installed when the modules are bolted down, because the whole point of paying for glass on both sides is the light that comes up from underneath — and that depends entirely on what you put on the ground. This is the part most backyard installs ignore, and in my case

The MC4 connector is probably the most reviled electrical connector in modern use–and it’s not the connector’s fault. We’re going to cover more than just the MC4, and the basics here apply to almost everything you want to connect in power electrics/electronics. I’ve read hundred of posts in solar forums, and on facebook, about making

The panels are the part people photograph. The rack, the neat rows, the glint of glass — that’s the money shot. But the decisions that actually make or break a solar build often happen in the unglamorous space between the array and the inverter, where a calculation you get wrong can cook a $3,000 inverter

This is what I posted on Facebook: New plan. I’ve been considering pumping my solar channel by doing better videos. But that means less getting stuff done and more screwing with videos. So no. Instead I’m going to do short posts to ExpertAmateur.com, my blog, showing what I’m up to, and short, crappy videos with

so my newest EMS/Detection/Fire Resilience experiment is implementing the system at my home and my shop in Hood River. I previously stated that once I had the prototype of the project files to dump into Claude, that it only took four hours to implement. That was misleading–I took four hours to get the integrated software

I’ve been telling people for years that changing tires is all about technique, not equipment, and you can change tires easily with just two small aluminum tire irons, and good tire lube. A bead holder is handy but not critical. I’m not wrong for smaller bikes, like dual sport and small-ish adventure bikes, or for