Solar USB cell phone charger
 

Here's a green gadget to charge your cell phone or any gadget that charges with USB power.
I ordered one today to use with my iPhone and 2 power banks one is 5600mah the other is 50,000mah.

You can string it over your day pack if you are hiking,walking or riding, not only is it handy for cell phones but also the GPS
I plan to leave my iPhone on it when I'm at home as I currently leave my phone on the charger.

The power rating
14w ~ each panel is 7 watts 1400mah @ 5 volts via its attached female USB connector (to be later tested and verified).
The panel is 190mmx380mm (7.5x15 inches) outstretched or with two panels 145mm x 145mm encased in a plastic material for durability.

A bit pricey but comparatively to a name brand solar charger it was pretty cheap. $30 at eBay and Amaz0n has them for $26

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1390078794

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1390078794

I picked up something similar this Christmas for my fiancee. It is much smaller, but has an integrated battery in it. She has been using it here and there, but December and even January so far has been so dreary out I don't think its been charging fast enough to keep up with normal usage. IMO its a really cool idea.

Amazon.com: Opteka BP-SC4000 Ultra Thin Solar Powered High Capacity (4000mAh) Backup Battery and Charger for Cell Phones, iPhone, iPod, and Most USB Powered Devices: Cell Phones & Accessories

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1389995823

With wifi ,web browsing ,videos both watching and filming, chat with friends and the GPS makes cell phones power hungry devices that seem more like a laptop like a cell phone.


I like those solar power bank chargers , they are good at keeping the power bank topped up even after months of non use, making it ready to go as opposed to charge and wait.
I suspect in the summer that power bank charger will keep up with the cellphone.
I am curious just how well or not it works in the summer for you guys, when you get more time with it check back in and post its sunlight performance and a recommendation ..or not. I will test and post results from my USB panel once it arrives , i will test both cloudy and sunlight conditions to find its abilities or lack there of.

I suspect my USB panel has been over glorified by the Chinese marketers.
My hopes are it will be 5w producing 1A at 5v instead of the reported 7w at 1.4A 5v.
Hope its not 4w at 500ma.. as that will not charge my 5AH Power bank, it requires 1 Amp of 5v to charge.
My phone and smaller 5,600mah power bank will charge at 500ma.
I suspiciously wait for its arrival.

My true RMS multimeter will be able to measure its mill-amp output.
True RMS multimeter can accurately measure pure sinewave and distorted waveforms unlike their cheaper counterpart (an averaging multimeter) which can only measure pure sinewaves.
But true RMS multimeter's cost around $300 where as a normal multimeter cost $5-$30

I will be reading the Winter output even if its a sunny day so for continuity I will measure again during summer and add its power output to this thread, find out if this little panel is worth its salt or not..

OOOOHHHH...I want one I want one I want one. I've been looking for one of these to charge our devices forever. I want it more for when traveling rather then draining my car battery while on the road. Let us know how it works out.

Now that its more summer-like out, I've been trying to use this thing more. It is nice, but my biggest gripe by far is it charges SLOW. It takes days to recharge via the solar panel. Perhaps as we get even longer days it'll get better, but I'm skeptical. I think the solar panel needs to be a LOT bigger to charge the ~4000 mAh pack. I'll write up a full review for it in a separate thread.

I still have not properly tested this little set up yet.

I did try it briefly but the weather was not cooperating with my testing wishes.
I will test this Panel properly and give my conclusion on its usefulness or abilities, I forgot about it now the cloudy weather is back..

Any updates?

no (lol) But I have just pulled it out of the drawer and will test it during the week with the iphone4.

It does seem to have good build quality/durability , nothing seems exceptionally cheesy about it.

So I can say with confidence it looks good.. I will post back after some pretty serious testing this week.

Now i have anticipation , I used the iphone4 until it warned me I was at 20% then I made a quick phone call and turned it off , for charging.


Today is Sunny & cloudy bright even while cloudy , the Charge started at 3:00 pm and will continue until dusk. At that time ( so scientific) I will turn on the phone and check the charge level %
I think this is a good test for it as its not under the most ideal conditions , I hope this will reveal the panel's effectiveness or lack there of.


So the test is in motion , at dusk I will post the results LIVE lol.