Solar Powered Pontoon Party Hut

[sanfordturbo]

I need some help building a solar system for my pontoon boat. I want to run my radio "up to" 4 hours without draining my batteries.
I have 2x12v batteries connected to a Perko switch (1,2,all,off).
Since the boat sits in the water all day in full sun at my dock, i want the systems to keep the batteries topped off all the time without boiling them dry.

The radio manual indicates a max 7amp draw.

1. budget $600
2. must be waterproof
3. FLAT mount up to 2x5 panel
4. battery monitor that tells me how much battery juice is left

[bcroe]

I want to run my radio "up to" 4 hours without draining my batteries.

The radio manual indicates a max 7amp draw.

Solid state radios may draw very little current in receive mode; for music, music peaks are brief with average being far
less. Fortransmit power can be high but predictable. Check it out. Bruce Roe