Gunnery Sgt. Michael Ott from Marine Air Control Squadron 4, Detachment Alpha gathered old parts to put together a solar-powered box to provide electrical juice for a TACAN unit.
Photo: USMC
It took him four-months from conception to implementation for his project. Along the way, he had to buy some resistors, an AC inversion system and a charge control system. Otherwise, the rest of the components were either from the trash or recycled old equipment.
According to Ott, the “Ott Box” has been running for more than 600 hours of uninterrupted service.