Solar-powered Phone / Tablet / Device Charger
Description
After Being Underwhelmed By Commercial Solar Chargers (Expensive + Slow-To-Charge + Heavy) I Decided To Hack Together Something That Delivered More Power For Less Weight. The Easiest Way To Shed Weight Was To Forgo Any Kind Of Battery Storage - This Will Be A Direct-Charging Device. To Make My Thing I Obtained A Cheap 6-Volt / 2-Watt Solar Panel + A 12-Volt Usb Car Charger. I Disassembled The Usb Charger, Removed (Desoldered) The Cigarette Socket Components, And Wired It To My Solar Panel. Even Though It'S Made For A Nominal 12-Volt Input, The Charger Will Work Down To Anything Just Over 5-Volts. The Thing Files Attached Are A Surround / Bumper For The Finished Device - Mainly To Protect And Strengthen It. The Parts Are Joined With Double-Sided Sticky Tape (And Perhaps Spin-Welded). The Panel Is Attached On One Side With Vhb Foam Tape. The Charger Is Attached Onto The Other With Hot Glue Or Sugru. Misc Notes: - The Result Is Not Water-Proof! It Can, However Be Used Inside A Clear Polythene Bag, With Maybe A 20% Drop In Power Output. - The Box Slots On The Sides Are Meant To Hold Popsicle Sticks (In Order To Hold The Panel At An Angle). I Didn'T Have Any To Hand, So My Photo Demonstrates The Idea With Bamboo Skewers. Popsicle Sticks Are Recommended. - The Tabs On The Tapered End Are For Attaching The Device To A Backpack (Should You Find Yourself In Need Of Juice Whilst Walking With The Sun Behind You). - The Thing Files Attached Assume A Solar Panel That Is Around 136Mm X 110Mm (Which Was A Pretty Common Size When I Was Sourcing Mine). - The Resulting Device Charges My Phone Roughly Twice As Fast As My Friend'S Store-Bought Charger. **Update:** The Thing You See Here Has Just Come Back From New Zealand'S [Te Araroa Trail](Http://Www.Teararoa.Org.Nz/) Where It Performed Perfectly, And Survived The Entire 3000Km Journey.
Statistics
Likes
18
Downloads
0