do I have to uese a zamp soalar panel in the zamp port
We will be getting our new escape 21C in July. We are planning on camping in Washington and Montana before coming home to Colorado. I would like to bring up a portable panel to plug into the zamp port if we are in a shady spot where the roof panel won't work well. I have looked into the zamp panels and they are pricey, but from what I have been reading you can only use these panels with the zamp port. Any suggestions?
You can use any solar panel that has SAE (ZAMP) connectors, ie the ZAMP connector is a SAE connector. You will need to check polarity - ZAMP reverses the polarity from the SAE standard. You can either rewire the connector or purchase a reversing adapter.
For panels that come with MP4 connectors, there are adapters to the SAE type. Again, check polartity before connecting.
Since you already have a solar panel on the roof of the Escape, they will wire the ZAMP/SAE connector to the input of the on board solar controller. You must either bypass any controller built into the portable panel or purchase one without a controller.
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