Robin said in a different post
This Intersolar show in San Francisco is going to be fun. We get to show a good prototype of the Kid and a new controller called the Brat. Morningstar probably won't be very happy with us. These are both high volume controllers. They will be built in Arlington, WA of course.
Please tell us a bit more on this please Robin...
tia
Indeed we are all ears.. would the Brat be under $150 product ??
Here is the brochure on the "Brat" I believe it will land at or around $100 list
http://kb1uas.com/MidNite/spec_sheet_brat_frontBack.pdf (http://kb1uas.com/MidNite/spec_sheet_brat_frontBack.pdf)
Quote from: Halfcrazy on July 24, 2013, 05:40:04 AM
Here is the brochure on the "Brat" I believe it will land at or around $100 list
http://kb1uas.com/MidNite/spec_sheet_brat_frontBack.pdf (http://kb1uas.com/MidNite/spec_sheet_brat_frontBack.pdf)
Oh man - you guys are killing me. 30A output for $100? The clear (?lexan) case is very nice. How does it dissipate heat? I may just have to buy one and find a use for it - perhaps solar power for the chicken coop...
Any word on the price of The Kid?
Midnite,
I could use a couple of Brat right about now. I have a project to be completed around end of November and the Brat is perfect for it. What is the estimated time of completion for this device Midnite. I fear that I would have to get a morningstar product for this project:( :'( >:(
Damani
The link for the brat does not work for me >:( ... also pricing on " the kid" would be nice to know
I believe you will find your answer in this previous post, #2 IFF you look carefully.
Quote from: Halfcrazy on July 24, 2013, 05:40:04 AM
Here is the brochure on the "Brat" I believe it will land at or around $100 list
Where is the brat?...where is the brat?....
Cheers...
Damani
Hi Damani.. my bets are on finishing the KID development (firmware) before they open the floodgates with the BRAT... don't forget the ongoing Classic work and the WBjr...
Are you a Kid Beta tester.. I am waiting for things to warm up around here.
It's -31 C this AM and -39 C at the Cabin right now so little outside activity... LOTS :D of SUN ;D ;D when its like this!!!
Then my Beta will go into the system... no way to monitor except when there ... :(
Hey West,
I know. But it has been quiet so I wanted to drum up some noise on the brat. I am a beta tester on the kid. I should get mine tomorrow as I recieved my shipment via ocean through Miami. Literally the "slow boat to China". I am patient though and willing to wait to get my hands on them. The only thing is that by the time I set them I up most persons would have commented on most things leaving little input from my end.
Cheers...
Damani
I used to live in Miami.
Actually the Brat has its own engineer and is coming along nicely. Brad assures me we are close to alpha field testing and a couple months from a roll out of Betas
Ryan
sounds like progress sounds like progress.so its all good.
Damani
Here comes the Brat. http://www.ecodirect.com/Midnite-Solar-The-Brat-30-Amp-12-24-VDC-p/midnite-solar-brat.htm
Now that looks sweet. First images I have seen of it. Specs out pretty nice, too for 12v and 24v systems.
Thanks for the share.
Wonder what the MSRP will be?
Tom
Looks GREAT... Now where is the info to be found on the MN site??? Search comes up empty
Quote from: Westbranch on February 08, 2014, 12:45:58 PM
Looks GREAT... Now where is the info to be found on the MN site??? Search comes up empty
Not the Midnite site but a pdf on it is over here:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ecodirect_docs/MIDNITE/Midnite-Brat.pdf (https://s3.amazonaws.com/ecodirect_docs/MIDNITE/Midnite-Brat.pdf)
There was a post with a link to the site I got this link from but I can't remember what it was.
Tom
HI Tom, ya, looks like they have it squirrelled away...??
Hmm Google is your friend... got it.
www.midnitesolar.com/pdfs/spec_sheet_brat_frontBack.pdf‎
I am thinking that it is the MN search function, it does NOT seem to pick up BRAT as a product if the name is for a PDF.
I noticed from the BRAT spec that input voltage up to 60v and nominal battery voltage 12v and 24v.
Since this is not an mppt controller that would be a lot of power being disposed of if there was that sort of voltage at a few amps.
No heatsinks or fans to assist? Or is that 60v a special case?
dgd
A Hyper V number? 60v - 24v = 36V (or ~ what you need for a 24v battery)
I am impressed that Eco Direct took our preliminary spec sheet for the Brat and put it on their website. No harm done since Morningstar was one of the first competitors to pick up the brochure last year in San Francisco. We expect the retail price to be $110 to $119. Since Brad isn't yet done it is hard to say. I am planning on starting a new version of the plastic case today. I think it would be nice if you could nail this Brat to a tree and then flip the main part of it down on a hinge. The way it is now, you would have to unbolt it from the tree and then also remove 4 screws. I think that can be improved? The wiring is similar to the KID in that the terminal block is on the back. IT just works out that way to make all the features and price work. It isn't the most convenient I realize, but you hopefully only wire it once. We are planning on having a rubber gasket seal around all the wire entry holes to keep bugs out. There will be one switch accessible out the bottom. Don't know what it does though?
We think the Brat will be a widely used PWM controller. I don't think you can take a competitors unit and just nail it to a tree and expect it to survive. dgd, we want you to put a few of these on trees in Barbados! That is a pretty severe climate.
By the way, there is no heatsink because we are using extremely good transistors. The best available on the market. There are two thoughts on heat dissipation. 1. put a big heatsink on the parts or 2. use good enough parts such that they just don't get hot in the first place. The Brat has 6 really good transistors and no heatsink. The KID has 7 really good transistors with a very good sized heatsink, but no fan. The Classic has 8 really good transistors with a medium sized heatsink and three fans. The Big KID will have a ton of transistors, big heatsink and no fan. I think the KID is the best compromise for power. The Brat doesn't need a heatsink because it is switching at a very low frequency. Once you go to MPPT, you can no longer switch slow and therefore more heat is generated.
Make sense?
Robin
Robin, I see the EQ is Automatic every 28 days @ 15 / 30V.
Can this be turned OFF?
Robin,
Is dgd from Barbados or New Zealand? I am from Barbados and if you send me a couple i have a large tree that I can nail it up on ;D.
Cheers...
Damani
Quote from: dapdan on February 09, 2014, 06:02:58 PM
Robin,
Is dgd from Barbados or New Zealand? I am from Barbados and if you send me a couple i have a large tree that I can nail it up on ;D.
Cheers...
Damani
I think he was referring to you as it don't get near as hot here in NZ and the pernicious greenies here would have a fit if they saw a BRAT being nailed to a tree.
dgd
With the Kid and the Brat, I can bet there are some folks at Morningstar that are on Prilosec OTC right now ... lol 8) :o ;D
Quote from: DMJ72 on February 11, 2014, 07:41:26 PM
With the Kid and the Brat, I can bet there are some folks at Morningstar that are on Prilosec OTC right now ... lol 8) :o ;D
And / or Wild Turkey.
(http://hotsauceandsalsa.com/images/categories/WILD_TURKEY_logo.jpg)
;D 8) :o
TomW - at 8am in the morning with no caffeine in the system, your comment is just hilarious! =)
Any updates on the Brat?
We are expecting our next and hopefully final PCB's any day now. I don't know how many were ordered? I am planning on reworking the plastic case design tomorrow. Rapid prototype clear plastic cases have proven to be invaluable, The first two versions looked cool, but they didn't work very well. I am hoping to have the next version in hand by the time we get the next boards stuffed in a couple of weeks. We will be getting only one or two sets of prototype enclosures though as they cost over $1000 each.
If we get it right this time (third time is a charm), we will send the files off to have the production tooling made. This means we may be able to have real prototypes in about 60 to 70 days. We will have another beta system here for all that want to test the Brat out.
The Brat does not have any heat sink because we use very good transistors. You can design power electronics a couple of ways.
1. Use crummy parts that are inefficient and require a heatsink or
2. Use really good parts that are much more efficient and do not get hot.
We chose number 2.
The 60V limit is actually 75 volts for the first 8000 Brats. We may keep it at that voltage? We do not expect anyone to run the PV array that high as it would be a bad design for a PWM controller. It does provide a fair amount of headroom though for those who plan on using this on Venus and Mars where it gets really cold in the morning.
News?
Is there any word as to when this controller will be available? I will be in the states later this year and would like to purchase (at least) one while there.
Midnite Brat Specifications (https://www.dropbox.com/s/bp4yjir7kpgdd9a/midnite_brat_specs.pdf)
(https://dl.dropbox.com/s/3dterr6sje3yixv/midnite-brat.gif)
See this post...
http://midniteforum.com/index.php?topic=2039.0 (http://midniteforum.com/index.php?topic=2039.0)
Thanks, mate.
I was just looking for a sealed unit. Use to have a Specialty Concepts CC on a pontoon boat in Florida, managed 2 years before it failed. I don't think they make anything above 15amps. I have friends who want power in their garden to run a water pump while the sun is shining, this should work nicely, looks like it will turn on and off with the sun, and work with a buried AGM battery (to keep it cool) -Nice!
Quote from: Robin on February 09, 2014, 04:04:16 PM
We think the Brat will be a widely used PWM controller. I don't think you can take a competitors unit and just nail it to a tree and expect it to survive.
Quote from: Photowhit on August 19, 2014, 09:11:13 PMI was just looking for a sealed unit.
The "Brat" has two 3mm holes in it for drainage. I imagine you can cover / plug them, though, if necessary.
Quote from: Robin on May 04, 2014, 02:37:47 AMRapid prototype clear plastic cases have proven to be invaluable, The first two versions looked cool, but they didn't work very well. I am hoping to have the next version in hand by the time we get the next boards stuffed in a couple of weeks. We will be getting only one or two sets of prototype enclosures though as they cost over $1000 each.
If we get it right this time (third time is a charm), we will send the files off to have the production tooling made.
Have you looked into 3-D printing for prototyping?
Yes we do have a 3d printer on site. I am not 100% sure why they did not use it for this other than maybe it is not quite up to the quality for the fine parts?