Could I respectfully suggest that if a contributor wants to present a long URL rather than copy and paste five lines of characters go to tinyurl.com, insert it there, and post the comparatively very short URL that tinyurl produces. There is also bit.ly that does the same thing.
The above suggestions are helpful but there's no need to go to an external source for this
In the tool bar above the text box is an icon that looks like a link in a chain. Click on this and you can paste in your link and give it a simple name. As an example...
link to us
In the tool bar above the text box is an icon that looks like a link in a chain. Click on this and you can paste in your link and give it a simple name. As an example...
link to us
Parksy
Moderator
Or alternatively, rather than going to a different website,copy the url, click on the linked chain icon in the task bar at the top of the dialogue box, paste the url and add the key word(s) below then click Insert.
Edit: you beat me to it Sam 😄
I did try the Forum link chain in settings but for some reason it wouldn’t work. It did work as a 5+ multi line link insert. But I don’t plan on signing up for tiny url or any other website. I left it as it was with multi lines as I was seeking to give the OP a helpful answer with links that worked.
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Our choice, if we changed the controller, would be a Victron MPPT controller. It is one of the best on the market.
What on earth are the moderators on about ?? All I was asking were a few questions about solar panels and I get people (normally the same people) waffling on about something else !!
It stemmed from my post where I couldn’t get an Amazon link to work as it should. In the end I inserted it as it appears where it consists of a number of lines (10 in all) . Key thing being it worked to link the reader to the required site. But it upset one member who suggested I use other link forming apps, which I’m not prepared to do, as it’s only very occasionally that I’ve had such a problem which seems to be Amazon or EBay. The moderators came in just to remind members that there is link inserting software already in the forum tools at the top of the post when replying. But as per my issue it didn’t work last night. Perhaps because I’d been trying out a new search engine to partner Safari.
Sorry that you feel that your original question has taken a slight deviation.
Since the question about inserting links had been raised it seemed appropriate to point out that a mechanism for inserting short links already exists on this forum.
It may help you and others format clearer replies to questions.
If anymore posts on this off topic part occur we'll do our best to keep them out
Parksy
Moderator
How rude!
⁰Moderators advising forum members about the best method to add a url about solar equipment to this thread isn't the 'same people' "waffling on about something else".
Moderators don't enforce a strict "on topic only' regime to this forum.
Conversations can and do deviate from the original query from time to time, especially when enough valuable information has already been added to a thread, as in this case.
I take exception to your uncalled for comment aimed at myself and my fellow moderator Sam who were merely trying to keep url links to this thread short and simple.
I make absolutely no apology for this latest example of "waffling on about something else" because your criticism of moderators was uncalled for and unjustified.
The biggest concerns I have about buying Chinese branded products is whilst they may look very similar to well respected brands, and in some cases they may even be the actual manufacturer for the respected brand, and adhere to good practice and consistent quality for that brand, but that does not guarantee what's inside their own branded product is the same.I recently bought a "Chinese one from ebay. It was cheap, works perfectly, and likely has exactly the same innards as any non-Chinese PWM one that has some other branding.
£15.59 for a 20amp one.
10A/20A/30A MPPT Solar Charge Controller Panel Battery Regulator Dual USB 12/24V | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 10A/20A/30A MPPT Solar Charge Controller Panel Battery Regulator Dual USB 12/24V at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
What is also a problem with some Chinese branded products, is their not always consistent inside from batch to batch. There is one YouTube creator who often (and deliberately) reviews cheap Chinese electronic products and finds despite outwardly looking the same, it's pot luck with what's inside, and it's very worrying how many items have significant design or manufacturing flaws that render some of them very dangerous to the point of being lethal in normal use. What's also disturbing, is how many of these products show fake safety approval marks leading buyers into a false sense of security. (Edit) in addition it's also quite amazing how some products fail entirely to do what they claim to do, clearly by design, rather than error.
It's a real shame, because there are some real gems out there, that genuinely do work well, and do meet our safety standards, but they are often difficult to identify amongst the offender's which look near if not identical.
For equipment that will often not be supervised for long periods such as solar chargers, I'd recommend avoiding products with suspiciously low prices, or other "to good to be true" deals from the plethora of sources selling unrecognised brands.
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This ^^
The quality of cheaper electronics sourced from China is shocking (literally). Nothing I would want left unsupervised.
Note the earlier post where someone's solar charger had malfunctioned and cooked (exploded) the battery.
As I suggested there are some gems out there, I am fortunate to have the necessary knowledge, skills and test equipment to be able to check some items, but that's not the case for most of the buying public. but as a result I do have a number of Chinese sourced items which are perfectly safe, and work very well.
I don’t think I was rude at all and “the same people “ wasn’t aimed at you or Sam it was someone else also I don’t have to justify myself to any body especially you .
While you may not of thought your comments were rude they obviously appeared that way to some.
I draw your attention to the first line of the community rles:-
Do not harass, attack, or demean other forum users, including official staff. Disagreement is welcome, but different points of view can coexist without anyone resorting to personal attacks.
Anyone who cannot keep within these rules faces a suspension or ban
I draw your attention to the first line of the community rles:-
Do not harass, attack, or demean other forum users, including official staff. Disagreement is welcome, but different points of view can coexist without anyone resorting to personal attacks.
Anyone who cannot keep within these rules faces a suspension or ban
Parksy
Moderator
Neither do any of us on this forum have to justify or to excuse anything that we decide to write on any forum message board on any thread at any time to you.
No matter who your comment was aimed at paulsy, it was rude, especially in view of the fact that the people who you were apparently referring to had offered you nothing but help up to that point.
If you're going to launch any more ill mannered veiled references in future, perhaps this isn't the caravan forum for you?
Do not forget to keep it clean. Output will be considerably reduced if dirty.
I would add to this constructive comment that it is not just "grime" as such, but even the presence of bits of debris like a shard of dead leaf. The presence of these, derate the output way higher than any proportionality to the small area affected might logically suggest.
In my various playing with solar panels, I noted how completely disproportionally the output was affected by flies coming and going, and how a particular blue hue panel was a magnet for the things. Here multiple flies, could take down several columns of cells at a time.
I am aware over the years the technology for reducing this affect has been partly addressed, so more modern and higher specification arrays are somewhat better able to accommodate this than those panels I tested in the 90s.
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That’s a good point. Fit and forget, except for cleaning! Bird muck especially can damage the surface of a panel irreparably.
I bought something very similar to this, from this company. Newport Caravans fitted it for me when I was having some warranty work done.
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