solar chargers
#26
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this is completely wrong, I was just reading that the 2nd gen ipod touch does not charge with the firewire pin in the connector as previous models had. If you get an new ipod it will not charge in any of the docking stations or older accessories. The newer gen ipod touch needs to be charged with a usb connector
"Anything that has car style cigarette lighter adapter should charge any iPod or iPhone assuming you have appropriate chargers"
Belkin, among others, makes makes such "appropriate charger"/ car power adapter for iPod Touch 2nd gen.:
https://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=489423
If you get one of those for your 2nd gen iPod you can use it with anything that has a cigarette lighter socket: portable power source or solar charger.
Or a universal USB car adapter:
https://www.griffintechnology.com/pro...erduouniversal
Does anyone have any knowledge of this product from Amzer? Not much bigger than an iphone. It probably isn't that efficient from a solar standpoint but I like the option of charging the storage battery with AC when you have access to get me through a few days where I may not have access.
"Follow instructions for usage. Do not overheat or overexpose the Amzer Solar Charger to direct or indirect sunlight and AC/ USB charge. "
I bet like many other chargers this size the 2.5h charging time refers to how long it charges a phone when its battery is full, but like Solio, it takes 10+ hours to charge the internal battery which makes it impractical. IMHO, those devices are gimmicks. If you're not gonna be using the solar panel part then get a straightforward rechargeable battery power source like this:
https://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=603
Adam
Last edited by AdamDZ; 01-26-10 at 03:48 PM.
#27
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AdamDZ your statement are full of baloney. not everything that charges with a car adapter will charge a second generation or later ipod touch. monster car charger and radio transmitter will not charge a 2nd or later. If you have a second gen ipod touch and used such a device it would be obvious. But really what difference does a charger matter in this situation. I am sure that the OP will carry a car in his pannier to charge is Ipod!!!.
#28
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AdamDZ your statement are full of baloney. not everything that charges with a car adapter will charge a second generation or later ipod touch. monster car charger and radio transmitter will not charge a 2nd or later. If you have a second gen ipod touch and used such a device it would be obvious. But really what difference does a charger matter in this situation. I am sure that the OP will carry a car in his pannier to charge is Ipod!!!.
The iPod, iPod Touch and iPhone use the same chargers and cables and all work via USB. I own 4 iPods and and iPhone including 2nd gen iPod Touch and they all use the same power accessories! I have Griffin and Belkin car adapters and they charge my iPhone and my iPod and my wife's 2nd gen iPod Touch and her old Nano, no problems, either in the car or from a portable Schummacher power source. My buddies at work own all kinds of iPhones and iPods and we freely share chargers and cables. Any iPod or iPhone will charge either from the small cube AC adapter or the older larger one. There is no difference between any iPod Touch or iPhone in terms of power accessories.
Just go to Apple's website and look at iPod power accessories: none of them specifies any difference between 1st or 2nd gen iPods, geez....
https://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...ssories/power?
So.... all iPod/iPhone USB/power cables can be used with the above car adapters/chargers, no problems or the car charger plugs directly to the iPod/iPhone. And they will charge just fine from a solar panel as long as it has USB or cigarette lighter output.
I'm sorry, I just can't make this any clearer for you. If you still don't get it I'll give up Do some research before accusing someone of making baloney and nonsensical statements.
Hmm.... so you actually missed the whole point, interesting....
Adam
Last edited by AdamDZ; 01-26-10 at 05:49 PM.
#29
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https://www.icetechusa.com/catalogue-...7464-spec.html
Works fine for recharging a cell phone or mp3 player. It has a built in 2500 mAh battery so it's like carrying a spare battery that can be recharged via solar or 120v. If I try run my palm centro with my gps software plotting (and communicating via bluetooth with my Freedom 2000 keychain gps), and the icetech plugged into it, it will increase the battery time from 3 hours to more like 6 or 8 but the icetech will still discharge faster than the sun charges it. So it's a handy thing to have on a trip, but don't expect it to keep everything up during constant use, and it'll never charge up a laptop.
Last edited by sesmith; 01-26-10 at 10:03 PM.
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Couple tidbits/thoughts-
Search the net for "minty" (I think)- there's a do it yourself power thing that fits into an Altoid Mints can. Look in the gadgets forum here too.
There are several gadgets out there made to work off a hub or bottle generator, again, search in the gadgets forum here
There are cheap inline adapters that will allow iphones or ipods to charge off ANY USB power source- they give the apple device the "signature" it looks for from an apple compatible charger.
Search the net for "minty" (I think)- there's a do it yourself power thing that fits into an Altoid Mints can. Look in the gadgets forum here too.
There are several gadgets out there made to work off a hub or bottle generator, again, search in the gadgets forum here
There are cheap inline adapters that will allow iphones or ipods to charge off ANY USB power source- they give the apple device the "signature" it looks for from an apple compatible charger.
Last edited by Dellphinus; 01-29-10 at 06:33 AM.
#31
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Re: My earlier post about the Brunton Solaris USB, Brunton Solo 3.4 and the iPod Touch / iPhone 2nd gen onwards:
Brunton replied to an inquiry I made about the topic. There is a small accessory available called the Scosche passport that allows these newer models to be used with older accessories. It will also allow them to be charged with devices such as the solo 3.4.
Brunton's new power supply devices that are coming out this year are all compatible with the new iPod / iPhone charging requirements right out of the box.
Brunton replied to an inquiry I made about the topic. There is a small accessory available called the Scosche passport that allows these newer models to be used with older accessories. It will also allow them to be charged with devices such as the solo 3.4.
Brunton's new power supply devices that are coming out this year are all compatible with the new iPod / iPhone charging requirements right out of the box.
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Charge your phone before you start the tour. Keep the phone turned off. Only switch on the phone when you have to make a call. Recharge when the tour is finished.
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I like a AA/AAA battery charger and a slew of sanyo eneloops and a Altoid MintyBoost. You can always charge the batteries once a week. Check it out, won't power a laptop though.
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Does anyone have any knowledge of this product from Amzer? Not much bigger than an iphone. It probably isn't that efficient from a solar standpoint but I like the option of charging the storage battery with AC when you have access to get me through a few days where I may not have access.
https://www.fommy.com/view-full-page.asp?skuno=83981
https://www.fommy.com/view-full-page.asp?skuno=83981
#36
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As long as we're tossing around links, Voltaic makes a product that strikes me as interesting. I don't know that much about PV cells, but I get the impression there are the low-efficiency cheap ones and the high-efficiency expensive ones. This looks to use one of the latter; the product includes a battery to buffer the incoming power. It's expensive, but hey, so is a SON dyno hub.
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As long as we're tossing around links, Voltaic makes a product that strikes me as interesting. I don't know that much about PV cells, but I get the impression there are the low-efficiency cheap ones and the high-efficiency expensive ones. This looks to use one of the latter; the product includes a battery to buffer the incoming power. It's expensive, but hey, so is a SON dyno hub.
Actually, their design makes a lot of sense to me.
The Sun delivers 1300 watts/m^2 at the Earth's surface in clear air.
The area of the Generator panel is .408 m*.284 m, for .116 m^2 of area. This assumes the Generator is oriented so it points directly at the Sun.
It recieves (1300*.116=) 149 watts of solar energy.
Assuming 80% of the area is electrically active, the available solar energy is (149*0.8=) 119 watts.
The efficiency of teh cell is in the range of (15/119=) 12.6%.
For a reasonable cost production-grade (lesser than space-qualified or laboratory models) solar cell this is very good efficiency and certainly within the range I'd think is feasible.
I wouldn't guess the technology, beyond that it could be silicon - the next step up in performance is gallium arsenide (GaAs), and I'd assume it's too expensive for a $500 product. There's probably not more than $50 in solar cells there.
#38
It's carbon dontcha know.
I like the look of that Voltaic, I wonder if it's possible to use something like that to power my Garmin 705 while I ride.
#39
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#40
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Just an alternate idea, there are crank radio /light / USB charger combos from places like Eastern Mountain Sports. I have no idea how much they put out, but I do have one and I really like it for the light. Just crank it a few times and I have a very nice bright light. It is very light too, since it doesn't have much in the way of batteries. You might to some searching, after all, you don't have to fully recharge the battery, just crank a bit to give you some time.
You can generate a lot of power from cranking something, as anyone who has touched an old crank phone can testify too.
You can generate a lot of power from cranking something, as anyone who has touched an old crank phone can testify too.
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Does anyone have any knowledge of this product from Amzer? Not much bigger than an iphone. It probably isn't that efficient from a solar standpoint but I like the option of charging the storage battery with AC when you have access to get me through a few days where I may not have access.
https://www.fommy.com/view-full-page.asp?skuno=83981
https://www.fommy.com/view-full-page.asp?skuno=83981
Kyakdiver
#42
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let us know well it works, What phone do you have?
#43
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The problems with any solar system is that the little power they do produce, comes in fluctuating power levels. Bright sun generates more that partly cloudy. So you can't use the power directly or it will damage the device your using. So you need a controler / charger and a battery to store the energy. You then charge from that battery. Those items together are very expensive and don't even work all that great, it's the same reason solar will never be a viable energy source for general use.
https://www.amazon.com/USB-AA-Solar-P...d=P5JDK0F83OA8
#44
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I have a Solair SP1003 I got for Christmas. I haven't taken it on the road yet, but it should work, if it holds up. Has internal batteries that can be charged from the solar panels, a car lighter socket, or USB port. It has adapters for 11 devices included, and has two USB ports for anything that can charge from a USB port. It will charge my LG cell phone twice before it needs to be recharged. Full charge from completely discharged takes at least six hours in full sun using the panels, about four with a USB or car lighter. I'm looking forward to tour testing it this summer.
It measures about 7"x5"x2" in its carrying case with all adapters, weighs about twenty ounces.
First one was DOA, emailed the company and they promptly replaced it, trusting me to mail the defective one back in the box the replacement came in. (Yes, I did.)
It measures about 7"x5"x2" in its carrying case with all adapters, weighs about twenty ounces.
First one was DOA, emailed the company and they promptly replaced it, trusting me to mail the defective one back in the box the replacement came in. (Yes, I did.)
#45
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If the Amzer's battery is flat and you have decent sun, how long does it take to recharge a flatlined iPhone?
#46
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I hope to have some real information coming soon. Bike has been replaced and the body is almost back. Did a 25 mile ride today and although sore.. It's the first real ride in 10 days or so.
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I have also thought a lot about one of these devices but am yet to take the plunge. I have two batteries for my mobile phone and two for the camera. On tour, I never use the camera's video screen, rather I use the viewfinder to take pics. I find the two phone batteries are enough. They are so small, cheap and light. If they weren't enough, I'd buy a third. Every few nights when a hotel/guesthouse is needed to have a shower, wash clothes etc, I make sure the phone and camera batteries, and MP3 player are all charged that night. If I am having lunch or dinner at a restaurant, I often ask to charge my phone if the power is very low. I've never been refused.
I'd like the flexibility and independence of a solar charger but at the moment, and with my touring habits, I think it will be a while before I buy one. Hopefully by then prices will have dropped and quality improved as technology in this area advances.
I'd like the flexibility and independence of a solar charger but at the moment, and with my touring habits, I think it will be a while before I buy one. Hopefully by then prices will have dropped and quality improved as technology in this area advances.
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#50
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Just have to figure out how to charge it without removing it.... That might be the biggest hurdle..
Thread hijack.. sorry.