Solar Charging Anyone?

[konqithedragon]

the Solar Gorilla is 10W


According to that site the solar b-squares are 0.25W.... Sooo you will need quite a few

 

[Link]

the Solar Gorilla is 10W


According to that site the solar b-squares are 0.25W.... Sooo you will need quite a few

I don't see a size for that battery. How many mAh is this Gorilla?

 

[konqithedragon]

well one site says its output capacity is: 500mAh at 5V/20V

 

[Link]

well one site says its output capacity is: 500mAh at 5V/20V

So that battery size is a sixth of the capacity of a Voltaic Amp which is 3000mAh.


Problem with the Gorilla is that is over double the cost of a Voltaic Amp. The Voltaic Sparq will be around this price point, but it should fully charge a Pandora.


500mAh is going to give the Pandora about a tenth of a charge.


I might be wrong here, but this is what I've determined with trials via the Voltaic Amp.

 

[konqithedragon]

if you want to be really hardcore you could get some of these panels:


http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/Solar_Panel_Kits.html


of course they aren't really portable..

 

[TitanUranus]

I bought a really crappy solar battery charger. It takes 2-3 full sunny days to charge 4x 2500 Mha NiMh AA batteries. It's nice and compact though, and by keeping 4 batteries charged it will top up/charge any USB compatible device.


Perhaps we could all make mini nuclear generators to provide power for our Pandoras. There's bound to be someone out there who had a deal to sell some high grade plutonium. Now that their potential customer, a Mr O Bin Laden has no further interest, the deal will have fallen through, leaving someone out there with some surplus stock that could be put to good use in our open source community.


Maybe we could upgrade mobile phone's too - and as an added bonus we could have not just phone cameras, but x-ray phone cameras! That would be a truley hot little mod for some kiddies to do in their spare time. If anyone get's hold of some nuclear material and develops the technology then helps to spread it, I'm sure it would lead to some glowing reviews.

 

[Link]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jmcrae/b-squares-modular-solar-powered-electrics


This is closing soon, they've added a mini USB port, but I sent a question regarding the iphone charger on the 23rd of May and am yet to get a reply to it. I am hesitant to place a pledge until I get an answer regarding the threat of litigation from Apple regarding the use of the proprietary dock.


Anyone else placed a pledge in the Pandora Community for this? Would be curious if that Arduino-Square could be used with the EXT connectors in some fashion?

 

[bismuthdrummer]

These B-squares look intriguing.


Being a physics major of yore, I can speak lightly on the matter of power and energy. I have nary touched a circuit board, however, so take and correct my statements as you will.


Incidentally, the solar B-square technical specs state that a single panel is rated at 5V at 65 mA. The wall charger provided with the Pandora is rated at 5V at 2000 mA. From my understanding, the voltage must match the device specs (or at least be lower, higher voltage is dangerous), which it does and this is good. The current tells you the rate of charge, so 2000 mA would theoretically fully charge a 0% Pandora in 2 hours (battery is 4000 mAh). To achieve this with B-squares, you would need at least 31 of those solar squares running at full sunlight (2000 mA / 65 mA). Or 1 square under 62 hours of full sunlight.


If you want to compare to the charge via USB, check the amperage in and do the same math as above.


Considering that those solar panels are 6 cm on a side, I believe my answer to be reasonable. Of course, all other factors such as charge loss and variable charge rate are not considered. Charge loss according to Wikipedia of a Li-polymer battery comes to 5%/month (citation needed), and assuming this you lose 6-7 mAh each day, which would be negligible even with a single square running for hours. And I don't know a damn thing about variable charge rate; I just assume linear until I know better, just like you do in physics. :mellow:

 

[WizardStan]

Those are really cool, but I promised myself not to spend anymore money on anything until I start getting rid of (or find uses for) some of the junk I've already got.

 

[Link]

^


I'd like to get an answer on the iPhone dock before placing an order, not really sure these would fit my needs for the Pandora, but at least my phone.

 

[Kaniu]

Incidentally, the solar B-square technical specs state that a single panel is rated at 5V at 65 mA. The wall charger provided with the Pandora is rated at 5V at 2000 mA. From my understanding, the voltage must match the device specs (or at least be lower, higher voltage is dangerous), which it does and this is good. The current tells you the rate of charge, so 2000 mA would theoretically fully charge a 0% Pandora in 2 hours (battery is 4000 mAh). To achieve this with B-squares, you would need at least 31 of those solar squares running at full sunlight (2000 mA / 65 mA). Or 1 square under 62 hours of full sunlight.

You could stick two solar squares on the lid of the Pandora (they are supposed to have some kind of micro suction surface on them) and charge the Pandora while using it. You probably wouldn't get full 130mA, but it might still be enough to give an hour or two extra time.


I ordered the developer kit, I've been wanting to get an Arduino for a long time and a solar powered one was just too irresistable. Interesting to see which one arrives first, Pandora or the B-Squares...

 

[MarioPandio]

^


I'd like to get an answer on the iPhone dock before placing an order, not really sure these would fit my needs for the Pandora, but at least my phone.

I also asked them this question after you suggested it was a valid one. I used it as a plug for the iCP and Pandora in the process but unlike Eltons project where he responds to all questions in a timely fashion, these guys did not get back on this issue. I think they will have an issue with the dock connector but then again, surely there are other non-solar 3rd party iDevice chargers/speakers etc that do use it without infringement issues? I think Apple are more concerned about 3rd party controls on iPhone/Touch etc as they wish they had cornered that market first.

 

[MarioPandio]

Sorry to dig up an old thread but the PortaPow company I priorly mentioned have recently upgraded all their batteries and their newer Solar Chargers with impressively powerful models for a fraction of the price of rivals.


http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/portapowsolarcharger.htm Standard Solar Charger on sale


http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/portapowpremiumusbsolarcharger.htm Premium model (sold out till NOV but still very cheap)


6600mAh battery packs for just £30


The only better solar models I can think of is the PowerMonkey Extreme at http://www.earthtechproducts.com/power-monkey-extreme-solar-charger.html far more money.


So for any in good climates, or if that UK Indian Summer returns it maybe worth a look.

 

[Kaniu]

I ordered the developer kit, I've been wanting to get an Arduino for a long time and a solar powered one was just too irresistable. Interesting to see which one arrives first, Pandora or the B-Squares...

Just got my shipping notification for the B-Squares, still waiting for the Pandora one.