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solar battery chargers

DJacklin

By DJacklin
in United Kingdom and Ireland

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DJacklin

+DJacklin

Posted
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Hmm... with the last two summers we've had I guess charging time would be measured in weeks rather than hours :D

 

Only one I'm familiar with is the Freeloader (do a search). It stores the solar charge and you use it like a battery or with an additional bit use it to charge up batteries. Not read any reviews though.

 

Chris (MrB)

 

 

Seen that it looks too good to be true.

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Munkeh

+Munkeh

Posted
Posted

Hmm... with the last two summers we've had I guess charging time would be measured in weeks rather than hours :D

 

Only one I'm familiar with is the Freeloader (do a search). It stores the solar charge and you use it like a battery or with an additional bit use it to charge up batteries. Not read any reviews though.

 

Chris (MrB)

 

 

Seen that it looks too good to be true.

 

solar monkey or power monkey explorer

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Pharisee

+Pharisee

Posted
Posted

Hmm... with the last two summers we've had I guess charging time would be measured in weeks rather than hours B)

 

Only one I'm familiar with is the Freeloader (do a search). It stores the solar charge and you use it like a battery or with an additional bit use it to charge up batteries. Not read any reviews though.

 

Chris (MrB)

 

 

Seen that it looks too good to be true.

 

solar monkey or power monkey explorer

 

I have a Powermonkey Explorer. It's a fine piece of kit and with it's various different connectors, it'll charge my phone two or three times and my PDA at least once. It will even run my 60CSx via the usb port. That's the good news....

 

The bad news... It takes three or four hours hours to re-charge the Powermonkey from the 230v mains. It needs at least an overnight session to recharge it from the usb port on my PC and so far, I haven't managed to charge it at all using the solar panel supplied. I left it connected for three weeks once (on my kitchen windowsill, admittedly) and it still hadn't recharged. The solar charger is a gimmick I wouldn't want to rely on in an emergency.

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Grizzly Pair

+Grizzly Pair

Posted
Posted

I use a Solio, which can be charged from the mains or from the sun. I normally start with a full charge and top up with sunshine, I have not relied on just sunshine. It can charge just about anything if you buy the correct tips, it comes with a selection but I needed an extra one for my Palm. It has been essentual in the winter as my Palm does not hold its charge for a full day at low temperature.

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37251

+37251

Posted
Posted

I have a Free Loader which I got free with a magazine. I've used it a couple of times to charge mobiles with and it seems to work ok. Have tried to charge it from the sun on my windowsill but it has taken a while with the limited amount of sunlight recently. Charges up quickly via USB though!

Looks like it will come in handy on caching / camping trips later this year.

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SidAndBob

+SidAndBob

Posted
Posted

I got a Freeloader last summer, but haven't been able to use it properly yet, though I can't say I'm impressed so far. You can get larger ones that strap on a rucksack.

While a phone is easy to charge, a PDA or AA batteries require a lot more power.

I just use loads of rechargeables, which I find more reliable and takes less messing about. I charge the PDA from AA batteries via a battery extender (or a car charger when possible).

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The Boat People

+The Boat People

Posted
Posted

Having used both a battery extender and a Freeloader , my money in on the battery extender with a load of rechargeables. The Freeloader takes a very long time to charge using the sun but less time charging from usb. However over a period of time it hasn't held the charge particularly well and so now I rarely bother to use it.I think you know where you are with rechargeables in the extender and usually get two complete pda charges per set of batteries. It also costs less money

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Munkeh

+Munkeh

Posted
Posted (edited)

the solio, power monkey and freeloader are the main names

 

check out http://fwd.five.tv/gadgets/phones/freeloader-solar-charger for a laugh lol

 

freeloader may take time but you can get an attachement of cells SBCAT303a.jpg

 

which will go on your bag or bike pannier or horse if your that way inclined and charge on the go . dunno how good but nice idea

 

I've never seen a rechargable electric horse

Edited by Munkeh
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Qbar

+Qbar

Posted
Posted

I charge the PDA from AA batteries via a battery extender.

 

Does an AA battery extender really work - will it charge a PDA to full power from a set of AAs ?

 

Any info appreciated - my PDA dies after about 3 hours in the field.

 

I have one I use with no problem - got it online from an outfit called "Gomadic". It uses interchangable tips so I can charge my Palm TX, my iPod or my phone if needed. I think I get a little over 2 full charges on my TX with it. If nothing else, they're useful for using to power your palm until you can get back to an AC source.

 

hmmm - I have a palm battery charger I no longer use, sitting in a drawer, since I switched to the Gomadic. Do you think it would be a decent trade item at a cache?

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maxkim

+maxkim

Posted
Posted (edited)

I charge the PDA from AA batteries via a battery extender.

 

Does an AA battery extender really work - will it charge a PDA to full power from a set of AAs ?

 

Any info appreciated - my PDA dies after about 3 hours in the field.

I use one all the time, connected to the USB input for my MIO550 works great... and if it does run out of power I just change the AA batteries... Much better than having to stop caching LOL. Cheers MaxKim.

Edited by maxkim
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Qbar

+Qbar

Posted
Posted

I'm thinking of developing something thats environmentally friendly, doesn't require any recharging and can be used when there's no sunshine. It also protects you from falling rocks and is perfect for the cacher on the move .... what do you think?

 

7dd5051d-fc06-49cd-a2a4-b41e0adff4d2.jpg

 

Could add a whole new dimension to the concept of stealth <_<

 

....Mommy - look at that funny hat that woman is wearing....

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Primitive Person

+Primitive Person

Posted
Posted

I charge the PDA from AA batteries via a battery extender.

 

Does an AA battery extender really work - will it charge a PDA to full power from a set of AAs ?

 

Any info appreciated - my PDA dies after about 3 hours in the field.

 

I spent quite a long time attempting to research these, before buying one. There's several options, using either 1, 2 or 4 AAs. I was a bit concerned that the 1 or 2 AA ones might be a bit wimpy, so I went for a 4-AA option. It's a bit big, but fits in my bag quite unobtrusively and reminds me of my old 3-FAX modem for my Psion 3a. :unsure:

 

I've not thrashed it particularly hard yet, but yes, it will charge my HTC TyTN II from a low point to more or less full power, albeit fairly slowly (somewhat slower than the mains charger) and I can get about 2 or 3 full charges out of 2700mAh rechargeable batteries in it (not tried alkalines yet). So...carrying a couple of sets of charged up batteries around should be good enough for several days away from the mains. It looks like a good investment.

 

Lee

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