View Full Version : SolarJolla
http://oi44.tinypic.com/2i1h17m.jpg
This will happen. Charging your phone is a thing of the past.
Stay tuned for more.....
great. So this is community spirit. :)
I don't know in which state this is, but I hope that panel will somehow be more integrated (blended) in TOH, I would like to se TOH flat as it is now.
Some calculations.
-From this post (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1392224#post1392224) I found that the phone will run for two days with everything turned off. The shortest day in Holland is 8 hours, so for two days I have 16 hours of sunlight.
The phone has a 2100mAh, 3.8V, 7.98Wh battery, which holds 28728 Joules. This amount of energy has to be restored in 16 hours. The solar-charger thus has to have at least 0.5 Watts of power.
The panel I have in mind right now has 0.935 Watts of power. This panel has to be hooked up to a voltage regulator to ensure a steady 5 volts.
With an input of 5.5 volts from the projected panel, the step-up/down dc-dc regulator has a measured efficiency of +- 93%, which leaves a comfortable .87 watts for the phone.
This is about 175ma @ 5 volts. Your regular laptop usb2.0 does 500ma, so its about 1/3rd of that.
Don't forget the power for the tracking device that will keep the solar panel constantly turned perpendicular to the sunlight.
I hope that panel will somehow be more integrated (blended) in TOH, I would like to se TOH flat as it is now.
The panel is 3mm thick, as well as the voltage regulator. So, I project the phone will we around 3mm thicker and will have slightly round back, like N9.
I would love if the other halves were stackable. Otherwise there will be constant switching, that is tiresome and I guess also wears out the mechanism that fits the halves to the back.
MaemoUser
2013-12-04, 10:12
Solarpanel mixed with keyboard and NFC would be great ;).
Solarpanel mixed with keyboard and NFC would be great ;).
I like the enthousiasm, but you do realise this will result in an enormous phone??
"And add a battery!" "And add a drink dispenser!"
1 step at a time.
Some calculations.
-From this post (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1392224#post1392224) I found that the phone will run for two days with everything turned off. The shortest day in Holland is 8 hours .
Great project, but be careful with the panel's power rating. It is given for an incident light intensity of 1000W/m2, which is reached on a sunny day in central Europe around noon, with the panel facing the sun directly. As rule of thumby, a fixed panel installed at the optimal angle and direction gives the equivalent of 1000 full-intensity hours per year, a little bit less than 3 per day in average. It's more in summer, but less in winter, and depends strongly on the cloud conditions. So I guess your assumptions are a bit too optimistic.
To not sound that destructive: a nice addition would be an app that tells you the optimal angle based on time and GPS-location, using compas and acclerometer :)
ggabriel
2013-12-04, 10:30
I like the enthousiasm, but you do realise this will result in an enormous phone?
Yeah, I thought about that, and I'm ok with it. I'd personally use an enormous (what is enourmous? 2cm thick?) phone most of the time, and swap the other half with a skinny one if I'm going out for drinks or something. This is where TOH is really powerful, and loads of good things could come out of it.
The panel is 3mm thick, as well as the voltage regulator. So, I project the phone will we around 3mm thicker and will have slightly round back, like N9.
I don't mind the thickness, but I would like flat TOH. I don't know what is your plan for this, make them and sell them or just provide us with schematics. THX in both cases. And if it is the later I suppose that panel is just glued on original TOH. And in that case I hope for some 3D printed covers that will be a bit thicker in top area with a space to glue the panel. But that raises another question, how thick TOH can be without making negative impact on camera.
I don't mind the thickness, but I would like flat TOH. I don't know what is your plan for this, make them and sell them or just provide us with schematics. THX in both cases. And if it is the later I suppose that panel is just glued on original TOH. And in that case I hope for some 3D printed covers that will be a bit thicker in top area with a space to glue the panel. But that raises another question, how thick TOH can be without making negative impact on camera.
Pre-ordering the solar-oh will start in 2014.
benny1967
2013-12-04, 11:39
Pre-ordering the solar-oh will start in 2014.
You still have to learn a lot. We don't say "2014" or any such thing. We say "soon". :D
You still have to learn a lot. We don't say "2014" or any such thing. We say "soon". :D
Sorry, pre-ordering will 'probably' start 'soon' for 'everyone'
ste-phan
2013-12-04, 11:58
I like the enthousiasm, but you do realise this will result in an enormous phone??
"And add a battery!" "And add a drink dispenser!"
1 step at a time.
NFC, seems to me like a patch sized antenna (looks to the other half of 808)
it's not thicker than 1 or 2mm maximum.
Despite the undeniable coolness of the Sollar OH I may drop it in favor of an attractive keyboard other half.
At that point I don't see myself swap my keyboard for the Sollar OH unless I am somewhere in the dessert.
What about stackable other halves? Can this I2C connector be passed through to another attached 2nd other third?
is it so difficult to read thread with ~ 15 replys Polluter999 :confused:
it's all in #3
NFC, seems to me like a patch sized antenna (looks to the other half of 808)
it's not thicker than 1 or 2mm maximum.
Search for "i2c nfc (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=i2c+nfc)". These parts are larger than 2mm and the design problems are primarily software. Also, offtopic.
Despite the undeniable coolness of the Sollar OH I may drop it in favor of an attractive keyboard other half.
At that point I don't see myself swap my keyboard for the Sollar OH unless I am somewhere in the dessert.
This is the whole idea of the Other Halves.
Can this I2C connector be passed through to another attached 2nd other third?
Yes, this is the whole idea of I2C, also: google (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=i2c).
What about stackable other halves?
Stackable OH's is the worst idea ever, get over it. Yes it is possible, just as possible as gluing you phone to a rock and throwing it in the sea. Still, terrible idea. And offtopic.
I don't see myself swap my keyboard for the Sollar OH unless I am somewhere in the dessert.
Sweet! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dessert) :)
Mitrigol
2013-12-04, 13:19
dude! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKfxMuNdqsU)
sry, can't resist to this one :p
ste-phan
2013-12-04, 13:30
Search for "i2c nfc (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=i2c+nfc)". These parts are larger than 2mm and the design problems are primarily software. Also, offtopic.
This is the whole idea of the Other Halves.
Yes, this is the whole idea of I2C, also: google (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=i2c).
Stackable OH's is the worst idea ever, get over it. Yes it is possible, just as possible as gluing you phone to a rock and throwing it in the sea. Still, terrible idea. And offtopic.
Trying to remain constructive -before you glue somebody's idea to a rock an throw it in the sea - would you care to explain how swapping a camera / keyboard / battery other half for the Sollar other half is more practical than hooking up to a solar USB charger or just a wall outlet?
Apart from that I like the Sollar OH idea, only , it will gather dust when more interesting OH come around.
Just some back-of-the envelope calculations to check feasability: up-to date light intensity data can be found here (http://www.solarserver.de/service-tools/strahlungsdaten/deutschland/oktober-2013.html) (for Germany, but the Netherlands should be close to northern Germany in terms of "sunniness"). It's given in kWh/month/m2. To obtain the total energy harvesting of your module, multiply this figure by it's power rating (as they are rated for 1kW/m2 incoming radiation power)*. So for a 1Wp (Watt peak) panel that you leave outside in the sun during the whole daylight time, you can expect ~50Wh per month to be produced in October, ~180Wh in June, and maybe ~15Wh in December. A full charge is 8Wh, plus about 20% charging losses (rough estimate) you need 10Wh to charge your battery. This means in December you can charge your mobile ~1.5 times during the month, leaving it in the sun the whole day every day. And this does not cover self discharge losses and the reduced efficiency at low light intensities.
So, a solar back might be nice for outdoor trips in summer, but it definitely
does not make charging a thing of the past. And most of us do not have transparent trouser pockets, in south direction... As cool as this project is in itself, IMHO an external panel with a buffer battery and usb charger is the much more sensible alternative.
* actually, most cell types' light conversion efficiency is significantly worse at low light intensities.
It's given in kWh/month/m2. To obtain the total energy harvesting of your module, multiply this figure by it's power rating (as they are rated for 1kW/m2 incoming radiation power)*. So for a 1Wp (Watt peak) panel that you leave outside in the sun during the whole daylight time, you can expect ~50Wh per month to be produced in October, ~180Wh in June, and maybe ~15Wh in December. A full charge is 8Wh, plus about 20% charging losses (rough estimate) you need 10Wh to charge your battery.
This is a very strange calculation. Can you elaborate? At which step did you include the surface area?
This is a very strange calculation. Can you elaborate? At which step did you include the surface area?
The surface area is included in the rating of your panel. An 1Wp-panel gives 1W at 1kW/m2 sun intensity, this can be reached by a bigger panel with low efficiency or a smaller one with higher \eta. So for 1kWh/m2 of irradiation energy your panel gives 1Wh, which means for 50kWh/m2 a month it gives 50Wh.
Is this more clear?
EDIT: As said before, efficiency is in reality not independent of light density, and also the sun spectrum changes during the day which has different effects on different cell types (depends mainly on the band gap), so this is a simplification assuming constant light conversion efficiency.
Is this more clear?
Yes, this totally makes sense now.
So, during the winter you have +-2 free charges. In the summer however, with 200kWh/m2 per month, charging is no longer necessary.
This is more convienient, as in the winter most people are inside and in the summer outside. The beach does not have a lot of power sockets!
benny1967
2013-12-04, 16:49
All these calculations are above my head and I feel no motivation to become an expert here...
... BUT:
My main use case for a solar panel would not be to use it instead of regular charging. Instead, I would want it to produce just enough juice that I can use the phone a little longer while outdoors. In other words: I would be perfectly happy if such a panel could make the phone "discharge at a slower rate" (if this is technically possible at all)
Is this a realistic expectation?
All these calculations are above my head and I feel no motivation to become an expert here...
... BUT:
My main use case for a solar panel would not be to use it instead of regular charging. Instead, I would need want it to produce just enough juice that I can use the phone a little longer while outdoors. In other words: I would be perfectly happy if such a panel could make the phone "discharge at a slower rate" (if this is technically possible at all)
Is this a realistic expectation?
I would say yes, 2h in direct summer sunlight should be enough to charge 20% with such a panel (2Wh minus losses). The pitfall is that you have to direct it at least roughly to the sun's direction, and maybe that your phone does not like getting hot.
Could make sense btw. to combine it with an extra battery to make charging without the phone possible.
EDIT: And it's dirt cheap, this (http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/1w-solar-panel-75x100-p-633.html?cPath=155) 1W-panel for example is just $3.50 in single quantity.
Quite pointless calculations, as no one sits full day outside holding phone in the way that it is facing always directly the sun. However, idea might seem to be interesting, but as I have used in the past Nokia 1610 with original solar battery (BBT-1L: http://www.nokiaport.de/content/de/akkutyp/pic/bbt-1l.png), I already know that we should not have very high expectations for such solution to actually significantly increase battery life of the Jolla...
Sorry to be bit pessimistic.
It would make sense to me for it to have it's own battery so that you can leave it somewhere with sun (while you use the phone) and pop it on when you run out of juice.
I would also be less afraid to leave it under direct sunlight than the whole phone.
However, idea might seem to be interesting, but as I have used in the past Nokia 1610 with original solar battery (BBT-1L: http://www.nokiaport.de/content/de/akkutyp/pic/bbt-1l.png), I already know that we should not have very high expectations for such solution to actually significantly increase battery life of the Jolla...
Sorry to be bit pessimistic.
Well, I am happy to tell you that effiency of solar cells has increased almost the same proportion that prices have decreased :)
The BBT-1L is ancient stone-age technology :D
zlatokosi
2013-12-04, 19:22
It would make sense to me for it to have it's own battery so that you can leave it somewhere with sun (while you use the phone) and pop it on when you run out of juice.
That is my N900 summer travel setup (or if I travel in warm climates). I have to say I understand the pessimism, solar battery charging has it's drawbacks, especially since from my experience they tend to mess up the battery quite quickly. Also, I hope the Jolla has good charging software/communication... My first setup was a solar charger directly connected to the beast, but it usually just worsened the charge (software?) and confused the phone.
I still fully support the idea (and tech keeps improving). Remember, most of the population of the world live in warm/tropical climates, where this is useful all year long.
Good luck.
Would it be possible to add a solar OTH that also has E-link?
http://www.meetearl.com/
Would it be possible to add a solar OTH that also has E-link?
http://www.meetearl.com/
Hmm.. sure.. but where do you want to put the panel? The earl has it on it's back...
(Semi-)Transparent panels to exist, but are expensive and efficiency is very low.
Would it be possible to add a solar OTH that also has E-link?
http://www.meetearl.com/
I guess (as it does not show on the pictures) that the solar cell is on the backside of the Earl device, so where'd you put it on the OH if you are going to have large-as-possible E-Ink display on it? :p
---- edit ----
damn, @Oblomow beat me to it by seconds :)
I was more thinking It would be in the same screen. Or connect a solar case that could cover the main screen to the phone that you could open and close and charge it via nfc?
I was more thinking It would be in the same screen. Or connect a solar case that could cover the main screen to the phone that you could open and close and charge it via nfc?
ROFL 10char
I was more thinking It would be in the same screen. Or connect a solar case that could cover the main screen to the phone that you could open and close and charge it via nfc?
Fine, I will add keyboard, NFC, e-ink, solar panel and 5000 mah battery. Does anyone has a large bucket of glue for me?
Fine, I will add keyboard, NFC, e-ink, solar panel and 5000 mah battery. Does anyone has a large bucket of glue for me?
In fact it should be possibly in the same screen panel. The biggest issue would be the cost. But at least we don't have to pay for glue...
http://oi43.tinypic.com/2lsi03l.jpg
solar cell and voltage-regulator are in!
this is a step-up-step-down regulator. quite efficient and very small!
When I find my solder iron I will hook it up to my N9 and see what happens in terms of milliamps!
benny1967
2013-12-14, 14:12
I would say yes, 2h in direct summer sunlight should be enough to charge 20% with such a panel (2Wh minus losses). The pitfall is that you have to direct it at least roughly to the sun's direction, and maybe that your phone does not like getting hot.
So the only thing I need to check is if the phone gets too hot in direct sunlight? Nice.
Because my use case would be like: I'm on holidays and I know the batteries sometimes don't last the whole day. This is, in fact, a typical holiday problem: At home, there's a charger everywhere and I don't use the phone so much. When on holidays, I'm out all day long, no place to charge the phone, weak reception eats battery, I use both GPS and cam a lot more often than at home... Now if I could only help the battery survive the day by exposing it to bright sunlight while I'm having a break at enjoying some ice tea... that would be great.
Some calculations.
-From this post (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1392224#post1392224) I found that the phone will run for two days with everything turned off. The shortest day in Holland is 8 hours, so for two days I have 16 hours of sunlight.
The phone has a 2100mAh, 3.8V, 7.98Wh battery, which holds 28728 Joules. This amount of energy has to be restored in 16 hours. The solar-charger thus has to have at least 0.5 Watts of power.
The panel I have in mind right now has 0.935 Watts of power. This panel has to be hooked up to a voltage regulator to ensure a steady 5 volts.
With an input of 5.5 volts from the projected panel, the step-up/down dc-dc regulator has a measured efficiency of +- 93%, which leaves a comfortable .87 watts for the phone.
This is about 175ma @ 5 volts. Your regular laptop usb2.0 does 500ma, so its about 1/3rd of that.
it seems that there was a bug with the NFC drawing too much current - standby time can be 500 hours..
Thats good news!
In the solar department:
Making a solar charger is hard... Just connecting a solar panel to a dc-dc 5v converter does not work. The voltage on the solar panel will drop and no power is generated!
There needs to be a current limiting device in between. Like a buck converter. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter) Adafruit makes this one (http://www.adafruit.com/products/390), but it only works with 6v panels (while mine is 9v) and is too big to cram in the OH.
The dc-dc coverter I have already is really tiny, so with a tiny buck converter I am ready to go!
Pre-ordering the solartoh will start in 2014.
polling for demand
http://oi61.tinypic.com/2ry0bko.jpg
chargemon
03.09.2014 16:22:05.139 34% 40.5°C 3.81751 V -77.957 mA 4.32647 V 0.049704 V
03.09.2014 16:22:05.641 34% 40.6°C 3.81780 V -78.343 mA 4.32647 V 0.049704 V
03.09.2014 16:22:06.142 34% 40.5°C 3.81809 V -77.107 mA 4.32764 V 0.049704 V
03.09.2014 16:22:06.641 34% 40.6°C 3.81751 V -74.016 mA 4.32588 V 0.049704 V
03.09.2014 16:22:07.140 34% 40.5°C 3.81751 V -77.493 mA 4.32647 V 0.049704 V
03.09.2014 16:22:07.639 34% 40.5°C 3.81809 V -77.493 mA 4.32588 V 0.049704 V
-77.957 mA
Is it net? If so then that's actually pretty good. How sunny was it? Was the panel positioned optimally (perpendicular to the incoming sunlight) or just lying flat on the desk?
Sorry I am not buying but only because I do not have a Jolla. If I did, then this would definitely be an interesting accessory to buy. If you ever get around to make a combined solar keyboard one, that might even sway me to buy a Jolla phone :)
Is it net? If so then that's actually pretty good.
Net current at battery ports, actual charging current.
Need some hinges to "open" solar panel to the front.
Markkyboy
2014-09-03, 22:11
Nice going dirkvl....I'm interested!, will you be printing in black and how much are you asking per unit?
Regards,
wormdrummer
2014-09-04, 00:51
I am interested too. How much and what colour options?
Interesting and promising project, given the reported values. For the first time, I won't be one of the early buyer of the new OH around though. Not because I am not interested, but because so far my Jolla happens to hold the charge quite well every day, so I would not need it and I prefer using the other OHs I currently have/will have soon. :) I might be interested after the reviews, or for the kitchen sink OH someday.
Keep up the good work!
blood_falcon
2014-09-04, 05:23
interested also, with your keyboard and solar panel
Today I made test on sun featuring dirk's solar other half and Jolla in airplane mode with my custom kernel allowing CPU going idle while charging. The phone is really charging - see attached picture.
But I guess it's still not optimal as you can see charging current between 44..71mA - i dont know how much is the panel supposed to give, but IMO it should be more. But i have still some ideas to try...
i dont know how much is the panel supposed to give, but IMO it should be more.
it should do more, but the phone draws a lot of power -> voltage drops a bit -> power drops (i think)
I voted: "Waiting for reviews", but I think I want to change my vote to: "Waiting for imfamous KitchenSinkTOH."
I've said it before, if you can combine 2 or more TOH's & do it well, then you'll have single-handedly made Jolla's device far more appealing than it currently is.
You also will have convinced me to finally 'jump thorough hoops' to buy a Jolla, even though it's not locally available/supported.
Oh and it's infamous, not imfamous ;)
I've said it before, if you can combine 2 or more TOH's & do it well, then you'll have single-handedly made Jolla's device far more appealing than it currently is.
You also will have convinced me to finally 'jump thorough hoops' to buy a Jolla, even though it's not locally available/supported.
+1
Jolla is available in my locale but I have never felt the appeal. However a combined keyboard + solar panel TOH would finally persuade me. (Oh, and I have also said it before :))
+1
Jolla is available in my locale but I have never felt the appeal. However a combined keyboard + solar panel TOH would finally persuade me. (Oh, and I have also said it before :))
and i have answered this question before. over and over and over.
it is not really motivating when i am developing a lot of stuff and everyone is saying 'oh, if you join them all together and add battery within 2mm, then i will be interested'
<insert consuela>
TBC, I don't think anyone's suggesting that you do anything that's unrealistic/infeasible*, we realise everything you're doing now is still a learning curve.
Combining can come later, much later, if you/Jolla are still around...
Anyway, it was you that put the Kitchen-sink TOH option in the poll, hence making it a point of discussion, so you must at least be aware of the demand/interest ;)
*well, most of us anyway
so
- you know you asked earlier
- you know i answered earlier
- you know it is not going to happen
- you have already expressed your demand/interest via the poll
- you know that i am aware of the demand/interest, hence and because of the poll
but still you feel the need to express your feelings in a topic that is only about this concept and getting this concept working.
feel free to start a topic about the kitchensink-toh to poll for demand and discuss what needs to be combined, but i am not making a 200$ toh that adds 12mm to your phone.
this whole discussion is off-topic and unnecessary as it is a complete repetition of earlier statements.
anyway, more updates on the SolarTOH tomorrow (hopefully)
Sorry, I did not mean to sound demotivating, quite the opposite. Try reading my post as, "Hey, dirkvl, you are doing a fantastic job! Even I, who do not have a Jolla and never intended to buy one, am impressed so much that I am starting to consider getting one, only to have an excuse to get some of your creations!"
Better? Don't worry, I will just shut up... :o
Sorry, I did not mean to sound demotivating, quite the opposite. Try reading my post as, "Hey, dirkvl, you are doing a fantastic job! Even I, who do not have a Jolla and never intended to buy one, am impressed so much that I am starting to consider getting one, only to have an excuse to get some of your creations!"
yes, that is very motivating. but when you insert halfway 'if you combine it with %randomfunction then ...' then it is less motivation. this happens a lot. every page on every topic.
anyway, thanks for your compliment, sorry for the harsh response (i am hungry) and in the future please take all your suggestions about kitchensinking to the designated kitchensink topic.
so
- you know i answered earlier
- you know it is not going to happen
IIRC I've seen you answer Qns like this before, but, I don't recall you saying that you don't intend to do anything like that, ever.
- you know you asked earlier
- you have already expressed your demand/interest via the poll
- you know that i am aware of the demand/interest, hence and because of the poll
but still you feel the need to express your feelings in a topic that is only about this concept and getting this concept working.
this whole discussion is off-topic and unnecessary as it is a complete repetition of earlier statements.
I didn't know it was something you're so sensitive about, I'll endeavour not to raise it again, can't promise it'll never happen, but I'll try.
Odd that it's something you'd rule-out as 'never happening', I don't think you're doing yourself a favour with such absolute thinking, but it's your project.
Some combos are completely unrealistic sure, but not necessarily others...
Anyway, I see no point in starting a dedicated KSTOH thread, that must be started by you, & your heart must be in it too.
If it's not then me starting one is a waste of time, as I won't be the one driving it, & there's no one else I'm aware of that would be.
/end off-topic
considering parts, labour, shipping, tax, development of other projects, risk and profit;
what would be a fair price for the SolarTOH?
considering parts, labour, shipping, tax, development of other projects, risk and profit;
what would be a fair price for the SolarTOH?
If jolla was not burning somewhere those 80mA it would be priceless for outdoor lovers and i'd buy one if it was somewhere near 100EUR. Just my 2 cents :)
well I don't know the cost of the parts nor how long itll take to make one...
so I cant really say what price id think would be fair
personally id like it to be less than 100EUR but LOL THIS IS A SOLARTOH!!! you throw ur wallet for something like that! happy to pay the cost :D
Makeclick
2014-09-08, 05:18
Does it come in black? :)
http://i2.wp.com/unrealitytv.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/batman.jpg
Does it come in black? :)
White, blue, red, purple, pink, yellow, green, orange, black, alumide
mariusmssj
2014-09-08, 07:31
White, blue, red, purple, pink, yellow, green, orange, black, alumide
You had me at purple!!!
SolarTOH is open for pre-order (http://funkyotherhalf.com/?page_id=9#!/SolarTOH-PRE-ORDER/p/40687078/category=9141090)
Results from 1 hour test: http://goo.gl/gzzlvN
Don't know if after pre-order campaign all colours will still be available. Delivery first half of November, primarily due to waiting on custom panels.
If jolla was not burning somewhere those 80mA it would be priceless for outdoor lovers and i'd buy one if it was somewhere near 100EUR. Just my 2 cents :)
I'm quite possibly the target market for solar charging my phone. I spend days on end away from any power sources sometimes bicycle touring.
I don't think a SolarTOH is very useful to me.
1) it's on the back. My phone is usually facing up, on my bars with mapping running or in a bag keeping dry. It'd not get any charge.
2) I'm always moving so keeping it facing sunlight would be tricky. Also, northern Europe so not exactly guaranteed sunshine.
3) It's too small to generate enough power compared to hub generators or much larger solar panels. I use a hub generator - 6v 3w at average cycling speed which feeds a buffer battery and then delivers USB 5v.
4) You'd have to leave the phone out in the open for hours to charge which generally isn't something you want to do with expensive kit on campsites or whatever.
What I need is a mega efficient transparent solar panel on the front of the phone so you could have it face up and using it. :cool:
Hmmm... while it seems awesome for a fishing trip, I wonder about the survivability of the panels, since no cover seems to exist in current model. Are they rugged enough to not have to carry it in a separate container? (extra battery pack would then have advantage of not having to depend on weather) Will they survive normal usage? (I'm probably just paranoid, like when I heard about magnets in OH, for someone growing up with floppies magnets next to electronics seemed like crazy idea)
Hmmm... while it seems awesome for a shipping trip, I wonder about the survivability of the panels, since no cover seems to exist in current model. Are they rugged enough to not have to carry it in a separate container? (extra battery pack would then have advantage of not having to depend on weather) Will they survive normal usage? (I'm probably just paranoid, like when I heard about magnets in OH, for someone growing up with floppies magnets next to electronics seemed like crazy idea)
The cover around the panel is the highest point, so if you lay it flat on the table, the panel does not touch the surface.
The panel itself is made from a base pcb (glassfiber+epoxy) and covered in epoxy. I would say it is pretty durable and if you manage to make some scratches you have about 1mm of epoxy before you reach the photovoltaic cell, so safe to polish.
Should be fine. Would worry more about the front of your phone ;)
The cover around the panel is the highest point, so if you lay it flat on the table, the panel does not touch the surface.
The panel itself is made from a base pcb (glassfiber+epoxy) and covered in epoxy. I would say it is pretty durable and if you manage to make some scratches you have about 1mm of epoxy before you reach the photovoltaic cell, so safe to polish.
Should be fine. Would worry more about the front of your phone ;)
The screen tech is for pocket handling, not sure if those panels are, and you don't need to scratch them deep to lower their efficiency (if epoxy does get less transparent from pants fabric rubbing...) Nameday is coming soon, will give it a try.
blood_falcon
2014-09-09, 23:19
excuse me bro dirkvl, what is the base made of? because as I can see it, it looked like, it made of styrofoam.
Sorry if I'm wrong, but the picture gives the impression of that material
excuse me bro dirkvl, what is the base made of? because as I can see it, it looked like, it made of styrofoam.
Sorry if I'm wrong, but the picture gives the impression of that material
Styrofoam hates printers as most adhesives dissolve styrofoam, so you should be good
??? To pay for this purchase right now, link a debit or credit card to your PayPal account, how about f*** you. Any other option for payment?
Yeah,ok, now I understand why people hate paypal, f*** them, hopefully I can get my money back without having to disclose my grandmothers'/grandfather's details
youmeego
2014-09-10, 02:23
Can we have battery other half for jolla?
Yeah,ok, now I understand why people hate paypal, f*** them, hopefully I can get my money back without having to disclose my grandmothers'/grandfather's details
Unfortunately that's how paypal works, You usually do need to bare your grandfathers genitals to make them do anything for you :D
because as I can see it, it looked like, it made of styrofoam.
lasersintered polyamide or 'plastic'
??? To pay for this purchase right now, link a debit or credit card to your PayPal account, how about f*** you. Any other option for payment?
are you okay? did it work?
my webshop does not allow for a lot of different payment methods, what do you need? you can always mail me if you have this kind of issues.
Can we have battery other half for jolla?
not by me (and offtopic)
Unfortunately that's how paypal works, You usually do need to bare your grandfathers genitals to make them do anything for you :D
they only ask me for username and pw
I'm quite possibly the target market for solar charging my phone. I spend days on end away from any power sources sometimes bicycle touring.
I don't think a SolarTOH is very useful to me.
1) it's on the back. My phone is usually facing up, on my bars with mapping running or in a bag keeping dry. It'd not get any charge.
2) I'm always moving so keeping it facing sunlight would be tricky. Also, northern Europe so not exactly guaranteed sunshine.
3) It's too small to generate enough power compared to hub generators or much larger solar panels. I use a hub generator - 6v 3w at average cycling speed which feeds a buffer battery and then delivers USB 5v.
4) You'd have to leave the phone out in the open for hours to charge which generally isn't something you want to do with expensive kit on campsites or whatever.
What I need is a mega efficient transparent solar panel on the front of the phone so you could have it face up and using it. :cool:
I got the points. My last idea for solar toh was like this:
- use like 6 flex solar cells
http://www.flexsolarcells.com/index_files/OEM_Components/Flex_Cells/pages/09-PowerFilm-Solar-Cell-Module-MPT6-75.php
- normally used as screen protector
- when you want to charge phone, unroll them and put on the sun
- depending on numer of cells you get like 300mA charging current
- the TOH is used to attach cells and for charging pins
But still dirk's solar TOH could be very useful for me if Jolla had proper charging support. Btw one more problem with solar TOH: if you want to use camera and TOH is charging, the GUI is very frozen...
Btw one more problem with solar TOH: if you want to use camera and TOH is charging, the GUI is very frozen...
I assume this will be fixed in a 'monthly' update before release.
Last proto feels way less bulky due to rounded edges.
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/7kb116g6b746a4a/2014-09-10%2012.20.202.jpg
Think this will be final form, now ordering it in all colours.
youmeego
2014-09-10, 12:37
Sharp edge looks better than rounded edge
Schturman
2014-09-10, 16:22
How and when we can pay for this OH ?
Thanks
How and when we can pay for this OH ?
Thanks
funkyotherhalf.com -> store -> solartoh
Schturman
2014-09-10, 17:59
funkyotherhalf.com -> store -> solartoh
Thanks!
Payment done! Waiting for new toy :)
Isn't it possible to just have the solar part at the same level as the bezel framing it? The solaroh would be less thick that way.
What about sealing the two parts together with screws (to make it solid) + glue or any resin (to avoid gaps and prevent dust accumulation)? The depth of the frame in the plastic part would be just the same as the solar part's thickness.
Waiting for mine.. =P````
benny1967
2014-09-11, 13:19
Payed - and only later found out that there'll be no sun in November to charge my Jolla :D
Maybe this will give me a reason to finally escape the fog, take a week off and fly south. ;)
Payed - and only later found out that there'll be no sun in November to charge my Jolla :D
Maybe this will give me a reason to finally escape the fog, take a week off and fly south. ;)
haha yes, timing is not really perfect ;)
but seems like a legit reason!
chris_pap
2014-09-11, 21:37
Looks awesome!!!
My only concern is if we will get scratches in the housing.
But really nice work!!!!
meemorph
2014-09-14, 08:02
I like that prototype too. But in summer I can't use my Jolla because the display is not readable. I can use it as mirror for a shafe. My Jolla is a winter phone and does not need a solar OH. I need an OH that turns movements to power more.
Lots of colours!
LINK (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y7algkn0unzzg2o/AABMO4cEXRQKXWbji33q9_ZTa?dl=0)
Does charging with SolarTOH work also if phone is powered off ?
Does charging with SolarTOH work also if phone is powered off ?
Well yes and no:
When the phone is off, but you charge it via the pins on the back, all sorts of wakelocks go off and essentially the phone goes back on. There is currently some sw/hw hacking going on to fix this.
It works best in flightmode, then you get the results you can download from the store page.
youmeego
2014-09-26, 13:22
Bring back the sharp edge design
Bring back the sharp edge design
sharp enough? it is only chamfered at the top, looks a lot less bulky that way.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/1780104_525123814287519_2601144862381747683_o.jpg
Schturman
2014-09-26, 14:05
can't wait :)
"Your order has been placed"
:D
"Your order has been placed"
:D
Has been placed... where? That could make a difference :p
Woo, that was faster than expected!
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/hm1j3c97rxicu1y/panel_delivery.JPG
Still waiting for prints though, expected the 25th of October.
Schturman
2014-10-11, 09:50
waiting waiting :)
Panels are here!
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/k58utpp0wony3un/2014-10-15%2010.09.16.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/tbtqkpwpo953htd/2014-10-15%2010.09.28.jpg
Alignment of charging pads is perfect
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/tbdcgy9zkb5rleh/2014-10-15%2010.03.57.jpg
The bad news is, Shapeways is moving to a new location, so there is a three week delay on the casings. Casings now expected halfway novembers - which was my original estimate for delivery.
Just got shipping notification for my solar TOH! Looking forward to recieving it...
salyavin
2014-10-28, 01:03
JollarUsers posted this video about the solar TOH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRmE6qJ0XRE I'm looking forward to others thoughts and reviews.
Thanks for solar TOH:) Arrived and fitted...
Thanks for solar TOH:) Arrived and fitted...
nice! feel very free to share your pics on twit/fb, running into some minor cashflow issues due to lots of developments, could use all publicity ;)
First batch of casings still expected 15Nov here. Some people already got theirs, had one of each colour for final testing.
Will order the next batch today or so, build up some stock.
Shabooya, 4% per hour in Finnish conditions and wifi on!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-09R7tYt5cJk/VFItIzwZy6I/AAAAAAAADZI/PmF9-HGruDw/s1600/8_in__two_hours.jpg (http://reviewjolla.blogspot.nl/2014/10/solar-other-half-does-it-charge-your.html)
http://media1.giphy.com/media/LiulpjZi9Rz8s/giphy.gif
Schturman
2014-10-30, 13:39
Cool, waiting for my one :)
Cool, waiting for my one :)
still expected here 15nov...
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/1uwlj9f26rwyofs/waiting.JPG
Custodian
2014-11-17, 19:50
Any updates since 14-15nov?
small update:
just got confirmation mail from shapeways that first batch (50) of solartoh covers are shipped. will go to their new owners this friday!
second batch expected next week.
lots of shipment notifications today
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/v7xqg4ko198jkwj/2014-11-21%2012.30.43.jpg
clovis86
2014-11-21, 09:50
Hi Dirk,
If I order a sollar today on your website, when can I expect to receive my precious approx. ?
Hi Dirk,
If I order a sollar today on your website, when can I expect to receive my precious approx. ?
Ehhhhhhhhh that depends on the colour I think, next batch is expected next week, but a lot of them are not sold yet. Ordering rest of batch today also to speed up delivery in the future.
clovis86
2014-11-21, 10:06
Alumide polished would be my colour :)
Before:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/1smaguqyhyjmtt8/2014-11-21%2018.10.53.jpg
After:
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/rax7jc12zreqd6n/2014-11-21%2020.18.11.jpg
Hi Dirk,
If I order a sollar today on your website, when can I expect to receive my precious approx. ?
Alumide polished would be my colour :)
I will have three spare Alumide on the next batch, so it would ship on Tuesday! :)
Schturman
2014-11-21, 21:30
Today got mail, my on the way!
Thanks
clovis86
2014-11-21, 21:56
I will have three spare Alumide on the next batch, so it would ship on Tuesday! :)
You can take one for me, ordered few minutes ago and sent mail also :)
Can't wait ! :D
Just out of curiosity, as a tohkbd2 preorderer who had a tohkbd1, can I "claim" my SolarOH (or BreadboardOH) now, or should I wait the tohkbd2 shipment? :o
P.S.
You're sending one of the above parcels to "Bularia". :<
Just out of curiosity, as a tohkbd2 preorderer who had a tohkbd1, can I "claim" my SolarOH (or BreadboardOH) now, or should I wait the tohkbd2 shipment? :o
P.S.
You're sending one of the above parcels to "Bularia". :<
you will be contacted after campaign :)
just wondering when the SolarTOH will be ready? :D
just wondering when the SolarTOH will be ready? :D
what do you mean
pre-ordered a while ago.. :D
benny1967
2014-11-27, 07:06
Received mine yesterday. Great quality, beautiful color... and it really works! (Not that there's any sun ATM, only fog and rain, but the lamp on my desk did the trick for a short test.)
Thx dirk, made me happy. :)
I did received it also yesterday (thanks Dirk) and soon going to visit some sunny islands so that will be a nice opportunity to see how much it helps ;-)
I guess the only warning is to not leave it too long under direct sun to avoid too much warming?
pre-ordered a while ago.. :D
no shipment confirmation?
no shipment confirmation?
I did get mine (for excluding the SolarTOH) two days after the package with the Qi ones, which I thought to be quite amusing.
Solar arrived yesterday as well, alumide looks gorgeous. No extra shipping confirmation as of yet, though.
One thing:
PayPal tends to remove company names from addresses – through sheer luck (or is it excessive online shopping?), the local mail people gave both packages to a colleague of mine downstairs at the counter, so no real problem there. Just a heads up – I'd hate to lose my TOHKBD because of this when it's ready.
benny1967
2014-11-27, 09:17
pre-ordered a while ago.. :D
I received a mail last week (Friday 21st) that my Solar Other Half has been shipped. (Check your spam folder maybe.) Got it yesterday evening. Depending on where you are, chances are that maybe you didn't receive the confirmation mail and delivery to your place takes one or two days longer than to Vienna. :)
There's still hope! :)
clovis86
2014-11-27, 10:12
So Austria delivering is faster than France, maybe I'll have mine today !
Cant' wait :D
benny1967
2014-11-27, 11:09
So Austria delivering is faster than France, maybe I'll have mine today !
Cant' wait :D
The fact that I'm right in Vienna might also help: The parcel didn't have to travel through all those romantic alpine valleys. ;)
no shipment confirmation?
nope :(
ill send u pm :)
EDIT: oh wait. found it. heh :rolleyes: sorry bout the drama
So Austria delivering is faster than France, maybe I'll have mine today !
Cant' wait :D
I am in France and received it yesterday (see previous page )...
An idea for an iteration of this (and I don't think this counts as a kitchen sink :) ):
If the solartoh had a *connector* for a Jolla battery built in, once those become available you could leave it somewhere to charge a second battery, come back when you're low, and swap the batteries round.
Don't know how feasible (or expensive) that'd be. But at least you could avoid the thickness problems with having a built in battery (since the idea would be to have it charge the Jolla's battery when it's attached to the Jolla: you'd only attach a battery directly to TOH when it isn't attached to the phone, so the battery can stick out more or less as much as it likes...)
eta - obviously you'd have to think of a clever way to keep the battery attached to the connector. But I could see it being possible... a velcro strap or something.
clovis86
2014-11-30, 11:34
still nothing, will have to wait until monday :(
too bad, 2 latest days were really shinny here :p
clovis86
2014-12-02, 12:00
received it today !
working as I expected :D
Is vertical line in the middle of the solar panel from top to bottom normal ?
benny1967
2014-12-02, 12:01
Is vertical line in the middle of the solar panel from top to bottom normal ?
yep. it is on all the pictures and i have it, too.
received it today !
working as I expected :D
Is vertical line in the middle of the solar panel from top to bottom normal ?
yes, that is a metal strip that connects the separate cells together :)
clovis86
2014-12-02, 12:20
Oh ok, nevermind :D
can't stop testing every light and window near me :p
Oh ok, nevermind :D
can't stop testing every light and window near me :p
hahaha it is fun right?
works best outside, lamps have little power generally and windows also block a lot of the light.
You bet. Managed to get first ding-dong from sunlight today as it was the first not-totally cloudy day in a while. But angle was very tight, can't wait for spring/summer (or holidays, just need some sun)
clovis86
2014-12-03, 04:07
Yep, same here, last weekend was the shinnyest for weeks, since sollar TOH arrived, weather is really grey and cloudy, too bad :( hahaha it is fun right?
works best outside, lamps have little power generally and windows also block a lot of the light.
I'm trying different types of artificial lights atm ( to find the best performance on indoor conditions, using my Jolla as modem hotspot all day long @ office )
BTW, am I the only one to notice that network signal reception is weaker with sollar TOH than with standard empty white TOH ?
Switch edge/3g and LTE are happening really more often since i switched to Sollar one :(
And LTE reception is not present as often as before I putted it in, maybe coming from my provider but I have doubt really :D
salyavin
2014-12-03, 04:16
Would be interesting to see if someone could reproduce your suspicions clovis86. Has anyone else noticed that?
clovis86 if you switch back to the white TOH does it behave like you expect?
clovis86
2014-12-03, 04:29
Definitely not sure if this is the case atm, just guessing.
Too early to go to work, I'll try remove the oth @ office and see if signal is better.
Here @ home, no change with or without the Sollar TOH, so I'm probably wrong about this suspicion.
( won't be the 1st time my provider is disabling LTE signal for hoursin the middle of the day :D )
Stay tune for this wonderful TOH to be definitely cleared of blame. :p
n900user259
2014-12-03, 20:34
Hi Dirk,
Any chance of a white SolarJolla being availabe in the near future? In the store only the Green, Red, Pink and Purple ones are currently available.
clovis86
2014-12-03, 22:05
Definitely not sure if this is the case atm, just guessing.
Too early to go to work, I'll try remove the oth @ office and see if signal is better.
Here @ home, no change with or without the Sollar TOH, so I'm probably wrong about this suspicion.
( won't be the 1st time my provider is disabling LTE signal for hoursin the middle of the day :D )
Stay tune for this wonderful TOH to be definitely cleared of blame. :p
definitely wrong, sorry about that :)
Any chance of a white SolarJolla being availabe in the near future? In the store only the Green, Red, Pink and Purple ones are currently available.
also waiting here, hope they are here in time for reaching xmas trees!
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/tb0o52jn91h35v8/solar_order.JPG
BTW, am I the only one to notice that network signal reception is weaker with sollar TOH than with standard empty white TOH ?
Switch edge/3g and LTE are happening really more often since i switched to Sollar one :(
And LTE reception is not present as often as before I putted it in, maybe coming from my provider but I have doubt really :D
Well I'd be interested in investigations on that matter too. I've used diptoh since I got it, and finally had to remove it because reception was terrible (even no network at all quite often). I am back with toholed and no network issues anymore, same with The First One OH. There's really something with diptoh (at least mine, I'm not saying it happens with all units) and I'm concerned if the same issue happens with solartoh, 'cause that means that maybe it will happen with tohkbd too.
I'm not exagerating: my phone was almost impossible to use with these network issues because I totally lost the connection quite often (several times a day, and when the network was there, it was only for a few minutes). Now that I noticed it was related to diptoh, the phone works quite well. Not sure if this was a hardware or software issue, because rebooting the phone sometimes solved the issue (very temporarily). I've not noticed any network loss since days now, while I got more and more issues since September with diptoh. Further testing would be required, but there really seems to be something here considering how long I used diptoh.
clovis86
2014-12-06, 23:01
Sorry, but I definitely got the same issue here..
Came back to my parents, usually got edge connection and now on, no network or really weak, just removing the sollar toh gimme edge network instantly !
Same @office, usually got LTE, now got really weak hsdpa signal and sometines edge ... :(
No problem here.Its perfect.Thans dirkvl.
clovis86
2014-12-07, 09:41
Just noticed the same behaviour regarding wireless signal :(
mind_the_gap
2014-12-09, 13:32
Since there are already custom made solar panels in use, I was wondering if your manufacturer could add random patterns to it as described here (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/194938-jackie-chan-blu-ray-disc-boosts-solar-panel-efficiency-by-a-massive-22) to get 22% more efficiency:
and anyway, the more important takeaway here is that we should start nanopatterning our solar panels immediately. It just so happens that taking a mold of a Blu-ray disc is a cheap and easy way to get your hands on a good quasi-random nanopattern — but in the future, the patterning could be produced directly, without the Blu-ray intermediate.
This would be really great. :-)
Schturman
2014-12-14, 14:27
Received my today! Perfect fit, thank you very much..
But honestly, I was thinking that plastic should be clean-slick. Current plastic will catch all dust from anywhere, this material like a cloth.. :/
benny1967
2014-12-14, 14:47
Mhm... One thing I noticed only when I tried to take it off again: I can't. Or hardly can't. It took me 20min and two nail files to get the solar OH off my Jolla again. And I now have a crack in the phone.
Dirk, I suspect you put it on and off various times during development. Is there anything I'm missing?
woot got mine today! finally :D
happy man
and lol yeh, agreed with @schturman... its picking up dust better than my vacuum cleaner hahah
Going to hopefully more sunny location soon, will have some data to share. Any idea what are the effects of jolla with solarOH going through xray machine? Is it going to explode? Supercharge in 1 second? Get some super powers?
Mhm... One thing I noticed only when I tried to take it off again: I can't. Or hardly can't. It took me 20min and two nail files to get the solar OH off my Jolla again. And I now have a crack in the phone.
Dirk, I suspect you put it on and off various times during development. Is there anything I'm missing?
I find it works best if you start at the sides (in contrast to the Jolla OHs, where you start at the bottom).
Can I ask a pair of dumb questions?
1) Presumably it doesn't do it any harm if I plug it in to a charger *and* leave it in the sun?
2) Is it significantly better for the life of the solar panel / electronics to not leave it in light that isn't strong enough to charge from? I.e. does it generate current all the time, and 'wear itself out', or will it only generate a current if there's enough to charge with, or is wearing it out not a significant worry?
<-- didn't study much electronics / physics ;)
Thank you.
1) Presumably it doesn't do it any harm if I plug it in to a charger *and* leave it in the sun?
Yes, that should not be an issue
2) Is it significantly better for the life of the solar panel / electronics to not leave it in light that isn't strong enough to charge from?
Yes, if the voltage is just dancing around the trigger voltage, the phone does not really like it sometimes.
Mhm... One thing I noticed only when I tried to take it off again: I can't. Or hardly can't. It took me 20min and two nail files to get the solar OH off my Jolla again. And I now have a crack in the phone.
Dirk, I suspect you put it on and off various times during development. Is there anything I'm missing?
Start on the side, below the volume buttons - the same with all harder TOHs.
All my real-life testing suggests it's a dud. Last four days in mexico/belize with 28 celsius on average jolla has not gained a single percentage of battery. It probably is because jolla on charger goes full throttle, not disconnecting its ssh daemon etc, and since it goes ladida even when not facing the sun it results in worse battery life overall. Oh and turned off, even midday sun never results in the second animation, you only see the cable about to be plugged in, never inaide with thw percentage :(
edit: I wonder if through addition of nfc sticker you could signal to jolla that solaroh is connected and to not go overboard/full steam when current is detected, no idea about the off charging though, doubt nfc is active then
So no one has experienced any issue with network reception when using Solaroh or Diptoh as Clovis and me have experienced? The results were quite clear for both of us that these OHs were the cause of the bad (or null) reception, after several weeks of intensive use, I admit I'm a bit concerned about how the reception will be with tohkbd.
So no one has experienced any issue with network reception when using Solaroh or Diptoh as Clovis and me have experienced? The results were quite clear for both of us that these OHs were the cause of the bad (or null) reception, after several weeks of intensive use, I admit I'm a bit concerned about how the reception will be with tohkbd.
Nothing as drastic as what you had, but that would depend on the city/network. Didn't see jolla going null reception, but maybe 3/4 when without solar it was full. Haven't noticed this with tohkbd v1, so I hope v2 will be fine as well
Schturman
2014-12-26, 18:48
Unfortunately I have a bad experience with SolarTOH :(
Twice tried this in the sunny day and twice it just eaten my battery like a crazy frog...
I checked top and found "system_service" process speed up CPU up to 90+% and my battery quickly empty.
I stopped using this TOH :(
I just received my Solartoh today (thanks Dirk!), but unfortunately I have the exact same problem I had with my Diptoh, and same problem Clovis had with Solartoh: no network at all when mounted. I had no issue at all the days before with my prototype Toholed (not the same plastic) and my official TOHs. I removed my Solartoh, and pouf, back to 4G network. :/
The same as Schturman. The solar toh actually drains the battery much quicker :/
Jolla about solar charging (https://together.jolla.com/question/89295/fix-solar-charging-of-jolla-phone-with-direct-solar-usb-charger/?answer=91113#post-id-91113)
issue is with phone hw&sw..
Jolla about solar charging (https://together.jolla.com/question/89295/fix-solar-charging-of-jolla-phone-with-direct-solar-usb-charger/?answer=91113#post-id-91113)
issue is with phone hw&sw..
Oh wow, that's pretty shitty, did ask them at fosdem and they were supposed to look, guess it didn't look to good. Wonder if we can still 'fix' it from userland, with underclock to 125mhz/disable all network interfaces/display/sensors/kill all unnecessary processes, would maybe this bring the power consumption below what the panel gives on a sunny day? At least then it would be an option for a camping trip to get those few percentage points
Just some thinking, maybe totally off track:
is it possible to charge via usb and pins at the same time? Would this add up or actually conflict in some way?
Jolla about solar charging (https://together.jolla.com/question/89295/fix-solar-charging-of-jolla-phone-with-direct-solar-usb-charger/?answer=91113#post-id-91113)
issue is with phone hw&sw..
Wonder how much is the answer accurate or if they want to just get rid o the problem. He says "the phone cannot sleep". It would be useful to know which part of phone (CPU?) and which work exactly is done to control the charging. Are all the possibilities really exhausted? E.g. couldnt the phone go sleep for 5 minutes then wake up for 1s and do the work and go sleep again?
Btw on my old openmoko i connected the solar panel straight to the battery and it worked pretty good. Overcharing the battery can be quite easily done in SW (just wake the phone when battery is over 95%). Wonder why this does not work for Jolla - the battery seems to be not charging by default - maybe it needs some command to start charging?
For me "solar charging not possible" is disappointment - it's one of the reasons i bought jolla, because i believed it would be working. Thankfully the rest of Jolla is very possitive for me, so i dont regret buying it :)
benny1967
2015-06-07, 10:44
Wonder how much is the answer accurate or if they want to just get rid o the problem. He says "the phone cannot sleep". It would be useful to know which part of phone (CPU?) and which work exactly is done to control the charging. Are all the possibilities really exhausted? E.g. couldnt the phone go sleep for 5 minutes then wake up for 1s and do the work and go sleep again?
I also wonder if there's really no way to work around this "phone doesn't go to sleep"-issue. I remember that in the earliest phase when this idea evolved, someone published a kernel patch... So we know there's at least one way. Playing around with the kernel might not be what most users are comfortable with. so maybe there's something else that could be done?
The idea is just so appealing, the project was so much fun and so much work was invested... It just cannot be that some software issue now reduces its usefulness.
Think, people, think! :)
But the kernel patch didnt help much. I am quite sure that CPU was sleeping, but there can be other HW which has to be put to idle mode (USB controller?).
Having good kernel sources would might help here - those sources on github are really crippled because of missing commit history. Is it some legal problem to publish commit history?
I aggree that having this working would be cool - we have nice HW, but it's quite useless for now...
V10lator
2015-07-31, 10:24
Wonder how much is the answer accurate or if they want to just get rid o the problem. He says "the phone cannot sleep". It would be useful to know which part of phone (CPU?) and which work exactly is done to control the charging. Are all the possibilities really exhausted?
As far as I saw the problem seems to be the phone trying to charge while there's not enough energy. I wonder if that behavior could be tuned, a quick look showed maybe relevant interfaces at /sys/module/pm8921_charger/parameters - Did anyone try to play around there yet?
//EDIT: On the other side I just discharged the phone with the original charger, so energy design seems to be just bad.
mikecomputing
2015-08-01, 09:14
I been very interested in solar stuff lately. I have setup a big solar panel at my balcony since balcony is on the south side in my new home :D I am still tweaking with it. Right now I have one too small 12v battery. I plan to upgrade ASAP. I will use it for charging my laptop, mobile, and hopefully also lighting(leds only) in my home in winter. Will be interesting to see how well this work in winter since I live in north european :/ Anyway back to topic:
Do you have any plan to add a tiny NIMH/Litium battery to your solar in next iteration of your project?
I think it could be an idea. Why? Because when you phone is fully charged you can use sun to charge the extra battery. Also it make charging of the phone more stable if there is a "backup battery"?
I don't know how much extra electric needed to make that work. I realize the costs will get higher and the solar heavier but....
@mikecomputing, your suggestion sounds a bit like one of those solar charged power banks. That may be an even better idea as it is a separate device. You can leave it charging in the sun whilst keeping your phone with you (in the pocket/purse, using it, whatever...). If someone "finds" (read: steals) it, they have only got your charger but not your phone.
IDo you have any plan to add a tiny NIMH/Litium battery to your solar in next iteration of your project?
I think it could be an idea. Why? Because when you phone is fully charged you can use sun to charge the extra battery. Also it make charging of the phone more stable if there is a "backup battery"?
I don't know how much extra electric needed to make that work. I realize the costs will get higher and the solar heavier but....
Actually as it happens this will counter the nasty problem that currently haunts the solar TOH; on low lighting the TOH produces so little current that the Jolla device actually consumes more than it gains as it has to keep in active state to moniotor the charging process.
How this concept should work:
If there is not enough current from the solar panel, the system is separated from the input circuit of the Jolla phone and the solar panel charges the TOH-integrated LiPo battery with trickle current.
When the charge in the TOH-integrated battery is high enough or input of the solar panel is sufficent, the system connects to the Jolla phone and starts charging it.
Got mine, seems to work from what I've been able to test. However, the green colour of the plastic has already become quite yellow in the places where it touches my hands after just a few days. Is this normal, how do I fix it, does it fix itself, etc?
If there is not enough current from the solar panel, the system is separated from the input circuit of the Jolla phone and the solar panel charges the TOH-integrated LiPo battery with trickle current.
When the charge in the TOH-integrated battery is high enough or input of the solar panel is sufficent, the system connects to the Jolla phone and starts charging it.
I wonder if this could be hacked to our already existing SolarTOH.
To charge a lipo bat from solar there is max1811 (http://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX1811.pdf).
Sadly it is at least 1.3mm thick according to the sheet so we would need another 3d printed TOH also.
My ideal solution would be: .stl files available to selfprint a thicker version of the TOH with space to hold BL-5C or other standard lipo we all have laying around or can acquire cheap.
Plus a pcb with max1811 or comparable to charge the toh-bat via solar and a yet "undetermind" circuit/IC to release charge from toh-bat to jolla-bat if enough juice is available. Some selfsoldering and adaption would be acceptable for this "upgrade".
Already throwing money to my screen but nothing happens :/
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