Well, Sir, I am on a similar mission with an eye to alternative energy, and also am wanting to spend budgeted $ carefully.
Thus far, my meanderings have uncovered Harbor Freight Tools selling the most affordable solar panels, which are designed to be hooked up and added units to as time and $ afford.
To get the recommended 100 watts of output from solar panels, you would have to drop about $440 (+S&H,tax, etc.) for two 45 watt panel kits, item #90599-8VGA.
Web address for above, if you want to get a gander:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90599On this link, you can click on "download product manual" if you want more info or to view specs.
As to the storage battery issues: I get golf cart batteries that are reconditioned via our local battery supplier.
Don't know what you have available where you live, but I pay about $20 for a reconditioned golf cart battery, which would retail for about $80 new.
To keep these used batteries going, they have devices you can build or purchase, which helps to keep the plates clean and active. There used to be a Yahoo! group dedicated to DIY efforts, but could not locate it last time I checked.
As to the windpower angle, that is an expensive proposition, unless you build your own, and I mean like the WindWorks octahedral module tower built from used (free) antenna masts (170' of tubing required), with your own design blades, governor system and driving either a geared commercial generator (sold at places like HFT <Example:$299 for item #45416-1VGA rated at 10,000 WATTS MAX/7200 WATTS RATED BELT-DRIVEN GENERATOR HEAD>) or else whatever you can salvage in the way of vehicle alternators, and regulators to go with your own design windmachine.
Mother Earth News sells $20(+S&H) plans for a rather primitive, low-power, vehicle alternator wind generator you can cobble together:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/shopping/detail.aspx?itemnumber=765There are a few useful DIY how-tos on the market: "The Homebuilt Wind-Generated Electricity Handbook" and those like of author Hugh Piggott, (
http://www.cat.org.uk/catpubs/catbooks.tmpl) but this is a hard way to go, unless you are a dedicated, stubborn, & dyed-in-the-wool inveterate DIY tinkerer like myself.
Hope some of this info is useful to you. Your beacon project sounds intriguing! Good Luck!
73s
Brad AF6HD
