Wayne Ryan's blog: Maker Faire (DIY)

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Maker Faire (DIY)

Maker Faire is an event created by Make magazine (USA) to "celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset" I wanted to have a backup power source for my iPhone and iPad that was independent of other power sources and sustainable and renewable. The reason being that when I'm in a remote area I have an unlimited and renewable power from something that packs away small and is easily transportable.

So off to the local Jaycar I went with my design and collected the parts I would need.

1 x 5 Watt solar panel is about 10 inches or about 25 centimetres square.

1 x solar power regulator

1 x 12v rechargeable sealed battery (as small as capacity required will allow)

1 x 12 v power socket

So with soldering iron, wire and a hot glue gun I set about this little DIY project. I lay out the parts inside the back cavity of the solar panel, hot glue them in, wire it together. The battery forms a great stand and balances the panel nicely. The guy in the store, more familiar with Ohm's Law and voltage calculations than me did the maths for me and I believe:

The solar panel will charge the battery from flat in about 8 hours (if sunny).

The battery must put out at least 10 Watts to charge the iPad (iPhone needs 5 Watts)

The battery is more than sufficient to charge a flat iPad x 3 times.

Topping up the battery each day with the solar panel will keep the battery at full capacity and keep me with ample power.

Test one insert a volt meter to see if there is power? yes.

Test two connect the iPad with 12 v car connection plug and USB cable? yes

All works fine and for less than a $100 and fits in a laptop bag or similar. Hmmm maybe I could use a fuse in there somewhere???