Solar power tests (again)
Posted: Thu 04 Feb, 2016 12:52 am
I tested some solar panels and battery-banks back in 2014, and posted to this forum:
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=18151
I have started another round of tests, this time focusing on ultra-light traveling, using a very small panel charging my smartphone directly, no intermediate battery-bank.
It's a work-in-progress, but good result so far:
http://barryk.org/light/solar/panels-small-2016.htm
The last post to the forum thread in 2014 commented that USB cables have very thin wires, with significant power loss.
Yeah, I have been cutting some cables, as I have wanted to use just one plug or socket, the other end wires soldered into my test circuit. I have been appalled how thin the wires are -- yesterday I chopped one with a thick cable, thinking that the wires should have a decent amount of copper in them, but no, the thickness was due to extremely thick plastic -- I guess that it is cheaper to use plastic rather than copper, and just make the cables look like they have thick wires.
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=18151
I have started another round of tests, this time focusing on ultra-light traveling, using a very small panel charging my smartphone directly, no intermediate battery-bank.
It's a work-in-progress, but good result so far:
http://barryk.org/light/solar/panels-small-2016.htm
The last post to the forum thread in 2014 commented that USB cables have very thin wires, with significant power loss.
Yeah, I have been cutting some cables, as I have wanted to use just one plug or socket, the other end wires soldered into my test circuit. I have been appalled how thin the wires are -- yesterday I chopped one with a thick cable, thinking that the wires should have a decent amount of copper in them, but no, the thickness was due to extremely thick plastic -- I guess that it is cheaper to use plastic rather than copper, and just make the cables look like they have thick wires.