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diy solar

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IDK....Put's more stress on coming up with a good title. ;)
Hah! Yes, it does. But that's the secret to creating a site users will actually use. You want to build it so THEY don't have to think cuz you've done it for them ;) . One of the guiding principles of that mantra (Don't make me think! ... I actually have a book with that title.) is never present too many choices a user has to wade through on any given page (and especially the home page) to find the one that will take them to where they want to go. Too much reading/thinking ... they leave. Which is a nice segue into Will's request ...
Can you make a organization map? That would be great.
I think the reason you liked the top level organization of the Python wiki @upnorthandpersonal pointed us to ...
Have a look at the python wiki: https://wiki.python.org/moin/
Simple table with some starting points (especially beginners guide/errors etc.). This will allow for a starting point for new comers, and we can put in links to the more advanced topics in addition to the page overview.
... is that it does just that. Helps the user who knows where they want to go find the next step that navigates them to it. IMHO, a long list of unorganized links to read through on your home page doesn't really do that. Or maybe put that list below one that has fewer choices and is organized more like a high level table of contents (like the Python page).

If you guys agree, I could take a crack at an initial organizational hierarchy that starts with my original mock up (similar to the Python page that Will liked) or a different one if there's a better list of high level topics for the 1st level.

Think about a first-time user looking at this page and come up with less than 10 options for them to click that will help them navigate to any part of the site that has what they're looking for. Ideally, those choices should exist on a page you don't even have to scroll to view in its entirety once you land on the page, which the table format allows.
[h2]Getting Started[/h2]
Beginner's Corner
Web Resources for those new to Solar Power.
Capturing Solar Power
Panels, Charge Controllers and Safety
FAQ
Answers to questions commonly asked by beginners.
Storing Solar Power
Batteries, Grids and Safety
Oops!
Common mistakes and misconceptions.
Using Solar Power
Inverters, Converters and Safety
Other Resources
Books, seminars, events and such.
Putting It All Together
Examples of different types of solar systems.
How To
How to use & contribute to this site, ask for help and
provide feedback.
Solar Power In the News
Recent Solar Power-related news and stories
 
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Hah! Yes, it does. But that's the secret to creating a site users will actually use. You want to build it so THEY don't have to think cuz you've done it for them ;) . One of the guiding principles of that mantra (Don't make me think! ... I actually have a book with that title.) is never present too many choices a user has to wade through on any given page (and especially the home page) to find the one that will take them to where they want to go. Too much reading/thinking ... they leave. Which is a nice segue into Will's request ...

I think the reason you liked the top level organization of the Python wiki @upnorthandpersonal pointed us to ...

... is that it does just that. Helps the user who knows where they want to go find the next step that navigates them to it. IMHO, a long list of unorganized links to read through on your home page doesn't really do that. Or maybe put that list below one that has fewer choices and is organized more like a high level table of contents (like the Python page).

If you guys agree, I could take a crack at an initial organizational hierarchy that starts with my original mock up (similar to the Python page that Will liked) or a different one if there's a better list of high level topics for the 1st level.

Think about a first-time user looking at this page and come up with less than 10 options for them to click that will help them navigate to any part of the site that has what they're looking for. Ideally, those choices should exist on a page you don't even have to scroll to view in its entirety once you land on the page, which the table format allows.
[h2]Getting Started[/h2]
Beginner's Corner
Web Resources for those new to Solar Power.
Capturing Solar Power
Panels, Charge Controllers and Safety
FAQ
Answers to questions commonly asked by beginners.
Storing Solar Power
Batteries, Grids and Safety
Oops!
Common mistakes and misconceptions.
Using Solar Power
Inverters, Converters and Safety
Other Resources
Books, seminars, events and such.
Putting It All Together
Examples of different types of solar systems.
How To
How to use & contribute to this site, ask for help and
provide feedback.
Solar Power In the News
Recent Solar Power-related news and stories
Looks good but someone needs to write those articles. I will wait until we have all of those pages created, then add the table.
 
Looks good but someone needs to write those articles. I will wait until we have all of those pages created, then add the table.
Someone's gonna have to write something, else it's not really a wiki but more an index of links to other sources, unless that's what you guys had in mind for this. I can erect some "scaffolding" content for those pages that can be fleshed out later (by me or others), but would like to confirm, first, if you think those high level pages are the right ones to link to from the Home Page. Confirm the list or create a new one and I'll start on the "scaffolding" pages. Can work on that intermittently this week and wrap up initial drafts and take a stab at a topic hierarchy that each might contain (the upper levels of a site map). Just want to confirm the direction before I start working on any of that.
 
Someone's gonna have to write something, else it's not really a wiki but more an index of links to other sources, unless that's what you guys had in mind for this. I can erect some "scaffolding" content for those pages that can be fleshed out later (by me or others), but would like to confirm, first, if you think those high level pages are the right ones to link to from the Home Page. Confirm the list or create a new one and I'll start on the "scaffolding" pages. Can work on that intermittently this week and wrap up initial drafts and take a stab at a topic hierarchy that each might contain (the upper levels of a site map). Just want to confirm the direction before I start working on any of that.
How about you crank some pages out and show us?

I am using the wiki when I need to. If I see a question asked a million times, I will write an article. I am not rushing this process and will write articles when they are needed. We do not need to rush and build this wiki over night. I don't have that much free time, neither does anyone running this forum have much free time.

If you want to crank out some articles and post them, go for it. That's what a wiki is. If I find false information or organization/formatting issues, I'll fix them.
 
Is there anything you don't do? ;)
Point me to any you need help writing or editing if you care to.
Just updated your permissions so you can create pages. Crank out a few pages, and we will check them out. If they are good we will keep them.
 
How about you crank some pages out and show us?

I am using the wiki when I need to. If I see a question asked a million times, I will write an article. I am not rushing this process and will write articles when they are needed. We do not need to rush and build this wiki over night. I don't have that much free time, neither does anyone running this forum have much free time.

If you want to crank out some articles and post them, go for it. That's what a wiki is. If I find false information or organization/formatting issues, I'll fix them.
Sounds like @upnorthandpersonal is taking that on but have offered to help where and when anyone could use it. Don't want to just "go for it" w/o some direction on specific content that's needed. If you would rather wait and let the organization find itself organically, that's fine. Sounds like XenFro can let you easily modify that. But recommend that you have some idea of at least a high level outline of the site to begin with first.
 
Just updated your permissions so you can create pages. Crank out a few pages, and we will check them out. If they are good we will keep them.
Sry, my last post x-posted with this one. Think my last reply applies here too tho.
 
Sounds like @upnorthandpersonal is taking that on but have offered to help where and when anyone could use it. Don't want to just "go for it" w/o some direction on specific content that's needed. If you would rather wait and let the organization find itself organically, that's fine. Sounds like XenFro can let you easily modify that. But recommend that you have some idea of at least a high level outline of the site to begin with first.
How about making a FAQ section. We can always find a place to fit that in no matter how we organize it in future.
 
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How about making a FAQ section. We can always find a place to fit that in no matter how we organize it in future.
FAQ page now contains all FAQ content that @upnorthandpersonal pointed me to on the forums, some that I found on my own, and some I created from scratch. I think, before proceeding any further with developing this myself, I'd open it up to you all for adds/changes/deletes.
FYI, easiest way I found to organize all that disparate content was to create an outline to hang it all on (the Index page). There are a number of un-linked stubs in that outline I found no content for. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist somewhere (I didn't look too hard), but thought I'd leave 'em in place until it's found (or created, or it's determined not to be needed, in which case it can be deleted).
 
You guys thinks it's ready to post to the Wiki Index page? BTW, all links under Getting Started are now in the FAQ.
 
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I'd say just go for it. We'll edit it as we go along and as needed. I would edit/review/... it this weekend, but I'm currently occupied with work - I'll get to it asap.
 
I would post it and if someone sees a problem they will edit it. Go for it
Added link to FAQ under Getting Started, removing links that are now available via the FAQ.
Also, loaded a bunch of solar engery RSS feeds to a separate page. @Will Prowse Think you mentioned above that you didn't want "News" in Wiki (and that totally makes sense), but maybe somewhere else on the site?
Have a look?
 
I wonder if it would make sense to have organisational units for AYBC and NEC.
 
Could someone add a safety page, tips, steps, procedure, precautions, etc.? Something in one place would be nice even if it is just referencing
 
How to add links?

I suggest adding LTSpice to drawing tools - circuits
It is free, extensively used in industry, contains many IC models, especially good for switching power supplies.
Includes "Chan" model of inductor supporting saturation and hysteresis.




p.s. - I found the drawing tools probably because someone posted a link to it. Not sure I could find it in an index anywhere. Just like any other topic on the forum.
 
I found the drawing tools probably because someone posted a link to it. Not sure I could find it in an index anywhere. Just like any other topic on the forum.

If you search for 'drawing tools' using search, it's the first link that it returns. If you search for 'Spice', it's the fourth result.

I've added LTSpice to the list.
 
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