PCM-3012: The $140 MPPT, in-depth review, test & teardown

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Finland FFcossag
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Published on ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTDKogV7Djk


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Review
Duration: 56:49
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The MPP Solar PCM-3012 is practically the cheapest true MPPT charge controller on the market (yes - it is a true MPPT charge controller). MPP Solar sell them directly on Ebay, for roughly $140 US, shipped.

In this video, I unpack it, tear it down, and test it in a controlled environment, using a current limited power supply. Some of the things we find out about the unit, are:

- MPPT tracking up to 48 V (and possibly even higher)
- 93 % efficiency using a 36 V, 4 A 'panel'
- The unit has excellent ripple and noise levels in the sub-20 MHz region
- The unit has some kind of programming header inside
- The battery can not be hot-swapped
- The unit responds poorly to overload situations
- The unit has several critical bugs in the software
- And more, good and bad

Over-all, the unit is impressive in its build quality, but it's not without its flaws, most of them relating to the software being poorly implemented.

A pinout for the serial port can be found here:
http://www.mppsolar.com/v3/pcm20123012-series/
http://www.mppsolar.com/v3/catalogs/MPPT%20cable%20pinout.pdf



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Tags:
Maximum Power Point Tracking
solar
power
charge controller
efficiency
test
review
12v
24v
mpp solar
pcm3012
25a
Solar Energy (Industry)
panel