PV Gap

Jay Said:

where to buy a solar ipod/cellphone charger?

We Answered:

I have solar universal charger that charges my iPod, cellphone, PDA, GPS. Before I didn't know anything about solar chargers. So I came across this website they have ton of information on different types of solar chargers. Which charger is good and what types of charger is best for our devices.

I bought mine from amazon and it is working great. I charge my cellphone fully on this charger. Here is the link. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VUM6VA?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwsolargadge-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000VUM6VA

Dolores Said:

Why doesn't inverter work?

We Answered:

You are correct, inverters require a minimum voltage and current, and that should be in the spec sheet for the inverter.

And you are also correct, voltages much over 15 volts will cause the inverter to shut down. Although both may have the same spec, they will load the panel differently, so one may allow more voltage than the other.

Go buy a $10 multimeter and make some voltage measurements. That should tell you what the problem is instead of making guesses.

Inverters operate only over a narrow range of voltages, as you know. Given that the panel voltage varies with load, you will not have a lot of combinations of sun and load that will allow operation.

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Miriam Said:

were could you buy a solar charger?

We Answered:

The solio.It's so new I haveno idea where you would even find it. I just saw it on msnbc at work like last week. it is sick!!!!

You can orer it here:
http://store.sundancesolar.com/soposochf…

Yvonne Said:

How much power can I get from hand crank chargers?

We Answered:

The problem is that most laptops use lithium ion cells in there battery packs. Lithium ion is designed to charge at a certain rate. You CAN make a hand crank charger, but to be powerful enough to charge a laptop at all would be something along the lines of wrist mountable. Using a gearing system, maybe even 1 designed to be like a 2 speed transmission, you could feasibly charge a laptop fully.

You will need to make the stator out of plastic as a ferromagnetic stator core will cause added resistance making it harder to turn. Then you will need a peak control circuit that will only allow current through when it reaches the set voltage to eliminate the resistance of getting it up to the needed voltage. In AC generators you just want the peak, anything less is wasted effort. The most efficient way to do this is to wind the stator for higher AC voltage than needed and step it down with a small transformer, then put the resulting AC through a bridge rectifier that feeds a capacitor rated for 40-50% more than needed to stabilize the pulsing DC current to a smooth DC flow.

A system like this will be a lot bigger than a simple dynamo flashlight so it will need to be mounted in some way. Wrist mounted kind of like a gauntlet would be a usable hand crank generator.

Thanks for the idea! I could make these just for the purpose you stated. As for the details of winding number, and what AWG, I would need further information on exactly what voltage and current to expect at output. Different batteries have different charge methods so specifics are needed.

Jon Said:

How many volts would a solar charger need to make to charge a laptop? Cellphone?

We Answered:

that device you mentioned is charging its own battery. the output voltage and amphr rating is for that battery.
I would not advice using any solar solution for your stock battery