solar powered rc car?

[shovenose]

i have a nikko rc car that runs off of a 9.6v nimh battery. it works ok but i want to add a solar panel on top for better runtime.
would a panel small enough to fit create enough power? i have enough space on it for two 5x4inch (appox) battery...
car: blue nikko morphnator (folds up in the middle so thats why i cant use 1 big panel...
would a 10v panel be good enough? where can i get one? and it needs to be relatively inexpensive

[brethin]

Re: solar powered rc car?

No panel you could fit on the car and afford would run the car like you would want. It could trickle recharge though and give you a few more secs from your batteries. Most all sanctioned racing bans any built-in recharging as far I know if that is your plan.

[shovenose]

Re: solar powered rc car?

nah its not for real races i just wanna get either something that runs off solar or has a solar panel that charges the batts while its driving. is that possible?

[dood]

Re: solar powered rc car?

RC motors are typically high-amperage draw. No panel you could buy would make any appreciable difference. Invest in a second battery, or get a mid-range R/C car that you can upgrade with a hump pack or LI-ION packs. An R/C car that ran off of nothing but solar would do about 1 mile per year.

[momaka]

Re: solar powered rc car?

Like the others said, probably won't be possible.
Those 9.6v RC cars normally have either 280 or 360 size motors, so you're looking at 1-3A of current draw when the RC car is accelerating and at least 0.5A when running on a level ground. If you can find a reasonably sized solar panel that can supply this current (read: unlikely), then you can do it.