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#273293 - 12/17/14 01:27 PM Re: solar charging question [Re: Tjin]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: Tjin
If the battery in the solarcharger is enough for your expected use, then you don't need the solar part.


Sorry, I misunderstood. In my case, the WakaWaka Power+ will charge in almost any daytime light conditions, albeit it might be quite slow. I keep one each along with a spare Lightning cable in each of our two cars' emergency kits. I've also used them while camping to keep phones charged.

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#273306 - 12/18/14 10:23 PM Re: solar charging question [Re: Mark_F]
Mark_F Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 06/24/09
Posts: 714
Loc: Kentucky
so would something like this serve my needs better?

http://www.woot.com/offers/gorilla-16-800-mah-battery-pack-w-led-screen-11?ref=cnt_dly_img

or possibly a combination of both? the solar for the times i can reliably charge in the sun and the other above as a back-up?

As I said, my intended use for this is charging phones, maybe an ipod or tablet, in the event I am away from power at a primitive campsite or at home in the event of a power outage. Now, what that means in how much "juice" I need to accomplish that, I have no idea.
_________________________
Uh ... does anyone have a match?

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#273307 - 12/19/14 05:00 AM Re: solar charging question [Re: Mark_F]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
For me, I use the WakaWaka Power+ in the emergency kits I keep in each car, along with a spare set of cables. Each is good for one full charge of an iPhone 6, has extremely low self-discharge, and recharges itself in almost any amount of sunlight. I also use these when camping.

For shorter excursions I use a non-solar LiPo powerpack. I don't have the model you look at but those have a lot of claimed capacity for the price.

It's essential to top any devices like this off every month or three (depending on how much it self-discharges) and every time you use them if you want them to work when you need them.

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#273308 - 12/19/14 06:04 AM Re: solar charging question [Re: Mark_F]
Am_Fear_Liath_Mor Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 08/03/07
Posts: 3078

A High Efficiency 14W Solar Charger for $50.

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-X-DRAGON...s=solar+charger

I have good results with NewTrent Powerpaks. This is the rugged version;

http://www.amazon.com/New-Trent-PowerPak...ywords=newtrent

This combination should also satisfy the more power hungry requirement USB devices for the larger Android and iPad tablets.

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#273309 - 12/19/14 08:47 AM Re: solar charging question [Re: Mark_F]
Tjin Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/08/02
Posts: 1821
Originally Posted By: Mark_Frantom
so would something like this serve my needs better?

http://www.woot.com/offers/gorilla-16-800-mah-battery-pack-w-led-screen-11?ref=cnt_dly_img

or possibly a combination of both? the solar for the times i can reliably charge in the sun and the other above as a back-up?

As I said, my intended use for this is charging phones, maybe an ipod or tablet, in the event I am away from power at a primitive campsite or at home in the event of a power outage. Now, what that means in how much "juice" I need to accomplish that, I have no idea.



For short outings, just go for an external battery pack. Do check the following with batterypacks:

- Power output: tablets often require a 2.1A, 2A or at least 1A power output. Check if the powerpack has this output. Regular USB has a 0.5A output.
- Check the capacity of your devices and look at the capacity of the powerpack. The amount of charges you can get is the total amount of powerpack (example 16800 mah from the one you linked at) – charge losses (converting the battery output to USB output and back, batteries heating up, cable resistance, etc) which will be in the 30% area (depending on the quality of the devices) divided by the capacity of your phone.
Note; lots of cheap Chinese batterypacks have inflated capacity numbers.

For longer you can add a solar panel, but use it to charge a batterypack, not directly to your device (unless the sun output is very consistent) . The problem with solar in inconsistent power output. Interruption of the power will stop Iphones from charging and requires you to unplug and re-plug the cable. With my android phone that doesn't seem to be a problem, but when hovering at the minimum required power input my phone will keep giving the vibrating and sound of being connected and disconnected continuously. Which eat more power then it’s getting.

Two links explaining what to get (no affiliations):
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/External-Battery-Reviews
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Solar-Charger-Reviews
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#273314 - 12/19/14 04:05 PM Re: solar charging question [Re: Tjin]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
I have a Mophie battery/case on my iPhone, doubles the battery capacity with nothing else required; it's always available. That and I try to keep the phone in airplane mode when I don't expect or want to receive calls.

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