WB4SON

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Solar Cycle 25 Prediction

Posted: 20 Jul 2020 07:05 PM PDT
https://wb4son.com/wpblog/?p=4167


Not all predictions are accurate, of course, but I bet the folks at NASA
and the Solar Observatory have a good handle on things.Â* This was one of
their predictions from early last year, based on some new observations of
the past 4 solar cycles:



Ouch!Â* Not very encouraging.Â* Of course there are always nay-sayers,
including some calling for the largest solar cycle in decades.Â* But I
seriously doubt that.Â* In any event the board that decides these things
issued their official forecast at the end of 2019.Â* Here is what NASA
forecasts for Cycle 25:



Not quite as low, in fact pretty much comparable to Cycle 24.Â* And there is
no doubt that Cycle 25 has begun already.Â* Two more years from now and
times should be MUCH better.


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K2 Energy LiFePO4 going strong 9+ years later

Posted: 20 Jul 2020 01:47 PM PDT
https://wb4son.com/wpblog/?p=4161


The first LiFePO4 battery I acquired was produced by k2battery.com back in
2011.Â* It was a drop-in replacement for the standard size 7 AH SLA battery,
model K2B12V10EB.Â* It has served me well, all these years, being the
primary battery I use with my KX3 on extended trips.

I noticed that I had not recharged it for 16 months.Â* That gave me a good
opportunity to measure how much energy I put into it to bring it to full
charge.Â* The answer was 0.21 AH.Â* So in 16 months it had lost 0.21/9.6 AH,
or 2.2% of its full capacity.Â* Granted it was sitting inside my house, not
exposed to thermal extremes, but thats amazingly low self-discharge for all
those months just sitting on a shelf. (One of the MANY reasons I prefer
LiFePO4 battery technology.)

In a few more months, when the battery hits a full decade, I will redo the
full capacity tests that I ran all those years ago.Â* Id bet that it remains
90% of its nameplate capacity.