Supplies finally arrived. Here's a little "instructable" for building a solar power source for your gadgets. It's much easier than you'd think.
Supplies
- Get your solar panel. A USB device charges at about 5 volts, but it can work at a little less (4.8-5.4V are a safe threshold). In addition, pay attention to the amperage; this solar panel maxes out at 200mA, sufficient to charge almost any device. I ordered a 7.2 volt solar panel @ 200mA. 7.2V is a bit too much, but the USB adaptor should step it down to 5V automatically.
- Use a multimeter to double check the voltage and amperage. Here, I was in a dimly lit room, so I'm getting a rather low amperage.
- Strip the end of the cigarette lighter socket and connect the red wire to the solar panel's red wire and the white wire to the solar panel's black wire.
- Plug the USB socket adaptor into the socket.
- Put solar panel out in the sun and connect a device. It should start charging!
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