Phil Heiple wanted a home solar electricity system to act as a power backup and to serve as portable power for vacations. But being a do-it-yourself kind of guy, he decided to assemble his own. This page lists exactly how he did it, at a cost less than $300 total.

It's worth noting that he didn't make a solar panel -- he bought one of those -- but a solar-charged power system. Whatever he needed to plug in actually pulled from the battery storage; the solar panel served to recharge the battery. In addition, the page appears to date from around 1996 -- and while the overall instructions are still quite valid, it would be interesting to see just how much better a system one could assemble for the same rough price with modern technology.

(Via Make)