Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Everything Else => Topic started by: cw on January 28, 2008, 06:48:11 pm
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http://www.break.com/index/how-to-build-a-solar-powered-usb-charger.html
gotta make a few of these to have in each car....
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Thats pretty neat..
Thanks for the link..
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What's going to happen when there is a lot of sun or just a little bit? Don't you need some sort of voltage correction circuitry (both up and down)?
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Very cool! I have a few of those solar lights that aren't working for whatever reason, so I will most likely be trying this out. Solar powered mp3 player = win!
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What's going to happen when there is a lot of sun or just a little bit? Don't you need some sort of voltage correction circuitry (both up and down)?
More for when the light is less, I would think. Solar cells are kind of self-limiting.
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What's going to happen when there is a lot of sun or just a little bit? Don't you need some sort of voltage correction circuitry (both up and down)?
More for when the light is less, I would think. Solar cells are kind of self-limiting.
Yep, and since it's being used to power/charge via USB and is relying on the target device for voltage regulation, I'll bet when the voltage drops below a certain threshhold, the charging is shut down. My phone is very particular about the volt/amp rating of a USB port...some ports it works fine with, some it doesn't, and when it doesn't work, it just wont' charge
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Yep, and since it's being used to power/charge via USB and is relying on the target device for voltage regulation, I'll bet when the voltage drops below a certain threshhold, the charging is shut down. My phone is very particular about the volt/amp rating of a USB port...some ports it works fine with, some it doesn't, and when it doesn't work, it just wont' charge
Well I'm wondering since I have used battery powered chargers and they do tend to draw power from the phone when the power of the charger runs low. When the battery in the charger has a lower voltage than the battery in the phone the phone would actually "charge" the charger. I would end up with a completely drained charger and phone in the morning.
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I'm wondering if the voltage could be boosted with a transistor, like with the Joule Thief (http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm).
Recently I've started looking into alternative lighting for emergency and recreational purposes (ie camping).
I'll start a new thread with some of my ideas.