When taken down, the stand folds flat and the support slips hinge-end first into the U-shaped receptacle on the panel side of the stand, leaving the assembly 5.5" thick, folded. I used piano hinges for the front edge, and for the base of the support. You just lift the top a little, fold down the support, and then the top folds flat on top of it and it can be packed away again for travel. View of the other side is here.

The angle is set by our latitude; the sun is generally pretty low in the sky here compared to a more southern placement. The panel itself remains in the stand and is protected by the surrounding bezel of 2x4s.

The panel is 100 watts, and feeds a smart charging system with a bank of 12.6 VDC lead-acid batteries. Inside the trailer, I use 12.6 VDC LED bulbs which provide very bright light with only 1.5 amps draw, or about 18 watts total (for three bulbs.)

The radios use a couple hundred watts on transmit, and what with all the computers and SDR gear, I pull about 50 watts during receive including the lights, so I get about 50 watts of charge constantly as long as the sun is out.

Because I don't transmit anywhere near as much as I listen, this setup goes all (sunny) day without any breaks at all. I've run it as long as 8 hours in the dark and still had power, too.

It's a fun way to get away from all the RFI in populated areas. I just find a place with no power lines, telephone poles, houses, etc., park and deploy. Takes about five minutes, and I'm good to go.

Next year I'll spend my first field day actually out in the field with this. Still don't know if I want to actually get involved in the contest itself, but it'll be neat to be actually out there, independent of everything, ready to go. I'll definitely be listening. The rest... we'll see.

#mobile

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