Alternative Power?

[Trip]

How hard would it be to incorporate a small solar panel into a GP2X case? (the soft type of case, not the housing for the console itself).
I was thinking about this a couple of years ago for my laptop but the power requirements were way too high. The GP2X however only needs 3.3V for the power supply doesn't it?
Places like Maplin stock small panels thet can supply upto 12V etc. & I would have thought that better panels could be found at decent electronic stores & on the web.

Just an idea but I can't see why it wouldn't work.

 

[Vimacs]

to get enugh current you will need expensive an big cells, at least as big as the gp2x itself (you need 1a!!)

the best suited i could find with a quick search was a 122mm x 115mm x 3mm cell that outputs 624mw and costs 15,95, you will need two of them.
Also to power any sensible devices with it you need to feed the power in a battery (or maybe a goldcap) first and than draw it from that, not realy portable at all.

 

[bazuka]

Do you mean you want to run off solar energy in real time, or you want to charge your batteries with it? You'll need a solar panel that can put out 1000mA@3.0V to get what you want.

 

[Trip]

Well the GP2X can't recharge the batteries internally as far as I know, so I guess it would have to be real time.
Shame! looks like it's pretty much out of the question then

 

[nites]

There is a solar charger for the gameboy advance, maybe you can
tweak that one:

GameBoy advance solar recharger

 

[cbox]

The GBA and GP2X PSUs are identical except the tip is the other way on the GBA, I believe someone posted that they modded a GBA PSU by taking it apart and switching the polarity of the wires.

 

[Series-8]

This: http://store.sundancesolar.com/poso4aafosob.html

You could modify one of those clam shell type chargers to get the right power for a GP2X.

but the sunlight you'd have to play it in would be blinding... :lol:

 

[DaveC]

This: http://store.sundancesolar.com/poso4aafosob.html

You could modify one of those clam shell type chargers to get the right power for a GP2X.

but the sunlight you'd have to play it in would be blinding... :lol:

​

I think the sun would have to be going nova to be able to power a GP2X with that pack

 

[OrR]

The GBA and GP2X PSUs are identical except the tip is the other way on the GBA, I believe someone posted that they modded a GBA PSU by taking it apart and switching the polarity of the wires.

​

The GP2X also needs more power. While the GBA should be happy with around 0.5 A, the GP2X needs around 1 A. (VERY unsure about the numbers... )

 

[Trip]

That much sunlight in the U.K?
Never gunna happen

 

[theoddbot]

Its not the amps its the power sillies, you'd need around 2.5 watts at the minimum end of things, 5 to be safe (so a passing cloud doesn't ruin your day). Depending on materials you're looking at about a square foot (12"x12") of solar cell. Have fun

Hell, why don't you power it off trees.

 

[luteijn]

trees.

​

The sad thing is that article isn't even dated April 1st.

"Simply drive an aluminum roofing nail through the bark and into the wood of a tree -- any tree -- approximately one half inch; drive a copper water pipe six or seven inches into the ground, then get a standard off-the-shelf digital volt meter and attach one probe to the pipe, the other to the nail and you'll get a reading of anywhere from 0.8 to 1.2 volts of DC power,"

 

[DaveC]

Its not the amps its the power sillies, you'd need around 2.5 watts at the minimum end of things, 5 to be safe (so a passing cloud doesn't ruin your day). Depending on materials you're looking at about a square foot (12"x12") of solar cell. Have fun

Hell, why don't you power it off trees.

​

Actually amps (current) is PART of power silly

Power (watts) = V x I

V=voltage, I=current measured in amps

 

[theoddbot]

No kidding. My point was that giving currents without specifying the voltage is kind of pointless.

 

[OrR]

Well, I thought the voltage was set to stone as about the same voltage the batteries provide, so around 3V.

 

[theoddbot]

The battery input seems to be fairly tolerant of a range of voltages, at least according to http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=23995&hl=#

Of course it's possible to power it off a solar cell, but probably not one you could fit on your hat (at least without looking a bit silly)

 

[shrubberyrobbery]

i would guess that the gp2x requires a steady regular power supply with no wobbles. sourcing this directly from a solar cell sounds problematic!

easiest way to do this is to 'cheat', and use one of the solar-powered chargers available from greenshop.co.uk or somewhere like that. so your spare set of aa's are charging while you use the other set.

yeah, plus if you live in the uk, like me, that spare set is gonna take a while to charge!

 

[Paradox]

to get enugh current you will need expensive an big cells, at least as big as the gp2x itself (you need 1a!!)

the best suited i could find with a quick search was a 122mm x 115mm x 3mm cell that outputs 624mw and costs 15,95, you will need two of them.
Also to power any sensible devices with it you need to feed the power in a battery (or maybe a goldcap) first and than draw it from that, not realy portable at all.

​

but great for a zombie apocalypse when your stuck on the roof of building and your AA's have ran out

 

[lintsniffer]

I read this thing in an electronics magazine where you can make a really cheap setup and get electricity from the air. You basically get a wire or small pipe, and stick it like 15 feet in the air and can get some decent electricity from it. I dont know the specs, but it sounds pretty cool. You could just mount the pipe to your house in a corner or against your chimney, and then have a wire going into your room.

 

[bazuka]

I read this thing in an electronics magazine where you can make a really cheap setup and get electricity from the air. You basically get a wire or small pipe, and stick it like 15 feet in the air and can get some decent electricity from it. I dont know the specs, but it sounds pretty cool. You could just mount the pipe to your house in a corner or against your chimney, and then have a wire going into your room.

​

Yeah, but you need snake oil to make those.