Solar chargers?
 

Dear Forum,

I'm going to spend some time out in the woods and have started wondering how to charge my N770 + cellphone out there.

There seems to be some new small solar chargers out there now, http://www.urbanjunkie.co.uk/product...8218349d22a994

A whole solar charger bag thing:
http://www.voltaicsystems.com/


Fuelcells? handcranks, etc, etc?



Anyone here with experience and insight into this please?


edit Manual Power gyroscopic phone charger (via http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ead.php?t=1208)


http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/27/m...phone-charger/

http://www.manualpower-europe.com/EN/homepage.php


Here in Finland we have plenty of mosquitos, maybe one could use them to generate electricity somehow ;)?

how long are you planning on staying out in the woods? how about using one of those battery packs that plugs into a laptop. belkin, i think is the one who makes iit

http://www.solio.com/v2/explore-soli...-is-solio.html

I was looking into that product. It's a solar charger, with a battery built-in. That way, you wouldn't need sun to actually charge the 770/phone/gps. Just keep it open when you have the chance.

c_legaspi, Don't know how long, intersting battery pack that too...


The solio, wow, had forgotten about that one. It looks promising!

Backpack Solar Charger
 

This is what you need


http://www.voltaicsystems.com/bag_backpack.shtml

I don't know how long you have to sit in the sun waiting for your device to charge for maybe an hour or two with 4 WATTS OF POWER!!! WHOOO~

I just purchased the Solar E-Power Cellular Phone charger,
'cause it charges batteries, uses batteries to supply power,
and has adapters for both my Nokia 770 AND my Sony-Ericsson 710a!!!
http://www.modernoutpost.com/gear/ph...epower_kit.gif
so its only got 1.38 watts, but it provides 6 volts at full sun, folds up small, has "quality" seimens solar crystal, and costs only $39.99 USD here


I'll give a report when it arrives in a week or so.........

DCarter

More solar power products:


Soldius1
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005...one_soldiu.php
http://www.soldius.com/ourproducts.html
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...MP=OTC-FROOGLE


Silva Solar II
http://www.silva.se/outdoor/products/inst_solar2.htm



http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...MP=OTC-FROOGLE

It does a great job on my phone, but when I hook it up to my Nokia770, it tells me it is charging but actually DOESN'T charge it at all!!

I'm gonna keep fooling around with it, but so far, the Nokia770 doesn't want to play ball with the solar charger at all..... :mad:

I even bought the converter cable to fit.....
Anyone have any clues as to why it might SAY it is charging when infact it is not??
Could it be that only a small trickle charge is happening (enough to indicate it is charging but not actually enough to CHARGE it??)

DCarter

The AC adapter that comes with the 770 (in the US anyway - AC-4) has a rated output of 5 Volts and can source 890 mA of current. That's a maximum of 4.45 Watts. While the actual current draw of the 770 while charging the battery is likely less than 890 mA, it's very likely to be more than the 230 mA available from a 1.38 Watt, 6V source.

To minimize the current the 770 is using in excess of what's needed to charge the battery, try removing the memory card and also charge it while it's powered on so the screen will blank. The LCD screen and it's backlight along with the memory card draw a significant amount of current.

You could also wire 2 or 3 of them in parallel. :D

cool
 

Thanks for the response-

So you think the N770 actually uses up less power being on (left for the screen to blank out) than being powered off?? Interesting.....will try with the memory card out (swap off ofcourse) and on (left to blank screen)....I figuered the 1.38 watts might not be enough juice, but didn't know the conversion to mA.....

DC

When you plug in the charger with the 770 off, it seems to boot up to a point. It is running, it needs to be to display the charging status. On mine, the display doesn't blank in that state but if you let it boot all the way, it will blank.

If you have a voltmeter, you can measure the voltage while it's charging. If the 770 needs more current than your supply can give, the voltage will be pulled down.

Voltage (in Volts) times current (in Amps) = Power (in Watts) so
Power divided by Voltage = current. (1000 mA = 1 Amp) ie 230 mA = 0.23 Amps.

Fuelcell
 

There is a Swedish company that is about to pruduce a hydrogen-powered fuelcell for recharging cellphones. It's not for sale until this fall though, so it'll only be for the next camping trip. :D

The charger including hydrogen container will be the size of a PDA, and contains 50Wh per gas tank (should be a couple of weeks use for the 770?). They're hopng you'll be able to buy the disposable gas-tanks at 7-11...

http://www.myfc.se/

yeah, just what we need, more explosives wherever you go

hydrogen is a combustible, not an explosive.

Combustibles go "poof"
& explosives go "boom"

fine line, I know,

just sayin :o

I'd be cool with a portable fuel cell-
just to stick it to big oil!!!

DCarter

Then how do you explain the hydrogen bomb?

I think it did a little more than "poof"...

Yeah, but that requires a temperature of a hundred million degrees (in Celsius, that is. or Kelvin. :D) And it's not THAT good a charger.

Still might be problematic in you carry-on baggage though. :rolleyes:

I'm talking "Hindenburg" poof.....

you super heat ANYTHING and it is liable to be a bit volatile.....

really I am just joking around though.....so literal and serious..... :p

DCarter

Reware Jucice Bag
 

I've got an original Reware Juice Bag they have a flexible solar panel and are rated at more watts than the Voltaic bag.

The Reware site

It is ALL ABOUT the Nokia770 in the Wilderness
 

Been an awesome week in the Sierra Nevadas (wilderness between Yosemite and Kings Canyon, CA). I found my Nokia770 truly robust and ready for the rough and tumble lifestyle.

The soldius charger in this pic below has just enough juice to charge the Nokia,
Using OS2006, the black screen charge notification, and the mmc-rc card removed, it takes about 4 hours of direct sunlight for a full charge from zero. I kept a journal on the Nokia and got really addicted to Majong.

DCarter

that's pretty sweet.. now add with a satellite phone with bluetooth...and you have instant web!

yeah- wishful thinking bringing my bluetooth phone (cingular edge)....obviously no signal out there in the mountains....

...so how much will one of those bad-boy satellite phone with bluetooth COST????

it'd had been cool to have tigerserver'd my topo maps while cross country exploring......NEED a satellite phone w/ bluetooth......

DCarter

These thin foldable ones seem like newer technology?


http://www.globalsolar.com/consumer.htm
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=...Search+Froogle

http://www.discipline.org.ua/images/...kiacharger.jpg (Linked)
Here is how I've charged my n-gage and friends 6600 for two weeks. the cost of charger is under 40$ :), handmade. It survived a 2 weeks long mountainbike trip, and charged even when riding. Currently thinking of designing a charger from a bicycle dynamo. That would charge even faster.
A panel costs about 15$. Three panels would provide around 500ma after the charging circuit. I hope that would be sufficent to charge 770.

Re: Solar chargers?
 

http://misc.nicejewel.com/charging-n810.jpg
Using a 5 Watt panel

Re: Solar chargers?
 

Also with the solio which is relevant for you is that so long as the battery has charge you can hook it into your IT and have it run off the Solio so long as there is light. So for example you can open up the classic Solio while hiking and run the IT off mostly sunlight (assuming you have it) and therefore only using the internal battery at night when you're most likely to not be doing anything that drains power. In effect you keep the internal battery as a 'ready reserve" rather than the Solio as a ready reserve.