Saturday, July 27, 2013

DIY Solar Cell Phone Charger #2. Updated and WORKING WELL!

My first solar cell phone charger described in the previous blog posts (1, 2) looked like it worked, but it didn't charge my phone's battery. After talking to youtubers who make solar chargers, I came to a conclusion that my first charger doesn't have a strong enough current. So, I decided to make a new solar cell phone charger considering advice from youtubers, and this post will show and tell what exactly I did and show the video that proves that it actually worked this time.


First, I got new solar panels:
Characteristics of 1 solar panel:
  • Dimensions: 130 mm x 150 mm (5.12 inches x 5.9 inches)
  • 2.5 W   5V/500mA
My previous solar charger had 5V and 200 mA. 5V is usually enough to charge a phone. However, the current of 200 mA was draining my phone's battery instead of charging it. I was recommended to have at least 500 mA, so I got two panels and connected them in a parallel arrangement to add amperage to 1000 mA or 1 A. Here is how the arrangement looks:

And here is the ready look of the charger:
 

And finally, the video that tests the charger! Enjoy!







3 comments:

  1. so you want to damage your cell phone with this charger?
    dear. the video is really unclear. useless. you never explained the technology and how it works. what all required, how u completed successfully
    here the major issues you should consider.
    1. you should use a diode in forward bias to protect your cell phone to avoid reverse flow of current
    (i know cell phone doesnt allow reverse flow, but it should not damage cell for some other reasons)
    2. you should use voltage regulators, other wise cell phone efficiency will be decreased

    for the phone which you have shown minimum 500ma is required. you can go upto 700ma.
    i have tested with USB tester and current consumption of mobile phones, actually they will not eat more power than 700ma in most cases

    ReplyDelete
  2. let me explain u more in this
    you have used a diode in this panel. u should mention whats the diode number and capacity of it,
    and explain why diode should be used in it
    the reason i said above voltage regulator is simple, this will not charge high end phones.
    this can only charge small phones.
    i have tried alot, i am trying to produce a worlds cheapest solar charger which works for all mobiles,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me tell you something.. the fact that she didn't use a diode does not mean that the thing can damage the phone. you must use a diode if the solar panel is connected directly to a battery to prevent it to discharge i understand that. but it will no harm the phone. and you don't have to use a voltage regulator for high end phones. just by connecting the two DATA cables to each other you get to charge most high end phones. just using arithmetic you know that connecting then in parallel you get 5V 1A and that current input is safe. it will not work with iPhones because iPhones need 2.0 and 2.8Volts in the DATA lines in order to the iphone to charge.
      sincerely
      Daniel

      Delete