solar panel for charging ipod/cell phone/camera

[rose925]

Hey
anyone ever taken anything like this to charge up your ipod or cell phone? i know they have the cell phone charging tent just curious if anyone has used anything like this at previous coachella's

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages...charger,1.html

thanks in advance!

no asshole answers please--serious question

[EastLos01]

Saw an infomercial for this last night. Has anyone used it yet, or heard anything good/bad about the company that makes it?


https://www.getcharger.com/?mid=2861295

[jelwell]

I wouldn't bother with solar chargers IN the venue. Takes too long to charge with solar. And you need to have it out the whole time, best way to keep it out that I've seen is to attach it to the back of your backpack. Still, you won't get much juice since it'll need to face the sun all day.

You're MUCH better off packing a few extra external batteries that don't have excess solar panels - they'll pack lighter/smaller.
Joseph Elwell.

[whatkilesaid]

I have one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Goal-Zero-1230...s=goal+0+elite I love it and have used it the past two years. Got it cheap at Costco. $40 maybe.

[jelwell]

I have one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Goal-Zero-1230...s=goal+0+elite I love it and have used it the past two years. Got it cheap at Costco. $40 maybe.

A solar panel that large would be useful. Any of those tiny phone sized panels aren't going to be efficient enough during the festival. Grab one like whatkilesaid and strap it to your backpack, that would work. Not sure how you'd go about strapping it to your speedo and fanny pack though - too bulky.
Joseph Elwell.

[RotationSlimWang]

Hey Joseph, you goddamn idiot, they're talking about it for the purposes of the campers. You fucking moron.

[malcolmjamalawesome]

Joseph "The Dildo" Elwell

[scenicworld]

I have one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Goal-Zero-1230...s=goal+0+elite I love it and have used it the past two years. Got it cheap at Costco. $40 maybe.

wow, $40 is a good deal. I've used this for the last couple years and it works well enough to charge 2 smart phones as well as the battery pack that comes with it to charge a third. it's only a little better than a trickle charge though, so be patient.

last year, someone in our camping group upgraded to the Goal Zero 30M and the explorer pack 150 and it worked so well to charge several phones and other battery packs that I decided to purchase another of each. now we can run the 2 sets of panels in tandem and always have a battery pack charging while using another. combined with regular rechargable battery packs and smaller solar chargers we shouldn't need to use the car battery at all next year

[CaseSensitive]

wow, $40 is a good deal. I've used this for the last couple years and it works well enough to charge 2 smart phones as well as the battery pack that comes with it to charge a third. it's only a little better than a trickle charge though, so be patient.

last year, someone in our camping group upgraded to the Goal Zero 30M and the explorer pack 150 and it worked so well to charge several phones and other battery packs that I decided to purchase another of each. now we can run the 2 sets of panels in tandem and always have a battery pack charging while using another. combined with regular rechargable battery packs and smaller solar chargers we shouldn't need to use the car battery at all next year

Nice to hear that about the goal zero. I wish I would have went that route. Last year we used a car battery our friend converted just for cell phone use. A few months back I bought a portable charger (I'd list the name, but it's like 20ft away from my bed) and it's already a little buggy. Wasn't cheap either when it works I can get about three charges out of it. Worked great for end of day dead battery at FYF.

I was having a car battery problem on the way home from a mini road trip this year and bought a portable car jumper. I got the one with USB and other inputs and I am excited to use it at our campsite. Those cell stations always seemed crowded. I think it's a good a idea to be cell charging independent.

[natashafry]

Have you been toying with the idea of changing over your current energy system to solar power recently? Regardless of if you are pondering it for residence or business usage, solar has several advantages to supply you here.

Avoid technology which relies upon the sunlight's scheduling. A lot of more recent panels will be able to keep some power while the sunlight is up. This will certainly supply you with power any time of the day. This can be rather beneficial if you make use of power during the night.

[dj12inches]

Here is the setup that I am planning on using..... I also go camping quite a bit, so I invested a little more, but this is still affordable.

First of all, get a good solar panel. Don't buy a cheap one - you want to get a monocrystalline panel for maximum output! You want to get a panel and charger, with the appropriate cables. I went for a 100 Watt 12V Volt Mono Solar Panel Bundle Kit

I got mine from an ebay store "Renogysolar" :

http://www.ebay.com/sch/renogysolar/...p2047675.l2562

Then, get a decent sized sealed gel battery and an inverter. Harbor Freight has these at a decent price, but they are also available at big hardware stores now. Go for something with higher Amp Hours, and you get more storage. Any sized inverter should work for charging cell phones.

My setup might be a bit too much, but I plan on charging cell phones, running LED lights, an LCD movie projector, and a small sound system all night long.