A SOLAR POWERED MOBILE PHONE

I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO ADD A SMALL SOLAR PANEL TO A PHONE SO IT EXTENDS THE LIFE OF YOUR PHONE BATTERY.BECAUSE OF THE TYPE OF SOLAR PANEL I USED IT LOOKS GREAT AND DOES NOT GET IN THE WAY OF USING THE PHONE NORMALLY AND YOU CAN STILL USE YOUR MOBILE PHONE PROTECTIVE CASE IF YOU USE ONE BECAUSE OF THE TYPE OF PANEL I HAVE USED.MY NEXT INSTRUCTABLE IF I DO IT WILL BE USING THE SAME METHOD TO ADD A SOLAR PANEL TO A A LAPTOP TO INCREASE ITS BATTERY LIFE AND TOP UP THE BATTERY WHEN YOUR NOT USING IT.

PS THIS IS MY FIRST INSTRUCTABLR AND ALSO I TOOK PICTURES AFTERWARDS AS I SUDDENLY REMEMBERED THIS SITE.AND ALSO I HAVE NOT STUCK THE SOLAR PANEL DOWN YET THATS WHY IT LOOKS RAISED ABOVE THE CASE.I HAVE NOT GOT ANY DOUBLE SIDED STICKY TABE.PROVIDING YOU SOLDER IT OK THEN IT WILL BE FLUSH WITHT HE PHONES SURFACE.

THANKS PLEASE COMMENT AND ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THE LAST STEP IT GIVES YOU SOME COOL IDEAS IF ANYONE WANTS TO MAKE THEM

Step 1 BUYING THE RIGHT PANEL

I BUY MY PANELS FROM : http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/pics/SP3-37%20(22mA%20at%203v).php

THE LINK ABOVE IS THE PANEL I PARTICULARY USED. THE REASON I USE THIS PANEL IS BECAUSE IT PROVIDES THE RIGHT VOLTAGE FOR MOBILE PHONE BATTERIES AND IT IS PAPER THIN AND IT HAS A MIRROWED FINISH SO IT DOES NOT LOOK UGLY ATTACHED TO YOUR PHONE.

THE PANEL IS 22MA @ 3VOLTS AND MEASURES JUST 3.7cm by 6.4cm

more info ont his panel here:lightweight, paper thin and durable
flexible enough to curve around an object 3 inches in diameter
will not break if dropped
wide range of sizes and power configurations available
thin profile enables them to be easily integrated with devices for solar recharging or direct power
Ideal for recharging AA, AA, 6V and 2V batteries
Please note: these modules do not have a UV stabilised surface.
Simple to connect - just solder or crimp to the copper tape.
Size 3.7cm by 6.4cm.

Comments

[Ric46]

I just bought a solar batt backup at bensoutlet.com for $7.99. It even has an internal battery in it, and it is the size of a large cell phone.I don't think you can build it for that.

[ellislake]

yes but you are then carrying a large box type shape around with you.with my design you dont have to do that as its a flat solar panel.if i hadmore time i would seal the solar panel onto the back panel of the actual phone casing and then,aybe laminate over the top of the panel to protect it.that way it looks and feels like a normal phone.i believe the panel now only costs $1.99 so my way is still cheper im afraid.also you internal batery will eventually die on the solar charger aswell as the battery in your phone. where as my way all you have to replace is the phone battery when that fails but it will fail ust the sam as any other phone batery would after so many charges so to be honest my idea is cheaper, takes up no more space in you pockets,less costs to repair if batteries fail and is a cool thing to do yourself when you bored and your friends will love it. thanks for your comments though

[Ric46]

It is the same size as my touch screen cell phone. It is 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 3/8. not very big.

[ellislake]

it is big when you compare it against my instructable which is paper thin (NON BULKY) THANKS

[Doneitmyself]

So if my phone has a battery rated at 3.7v, would a 4.8v thin solar cell work? What about a blocking diode to prevent the solar cell from sucking the battery down when not in the sunlight? thx.

[ellislake]

in my instructable i have used a blocking diode to prevent reverse charging. a 4.8v cell would be ok to use as its suck low current (milliamps) if you need any help let me know

[haunted_lady]

 I think this is awesome!! My battery is always dying..I think I am a little worried ( only because I am afraid of the cell phone not of your instructable) about the radiation being magnified with this modification. And really there is no way to test this unless  you exposed people on purpose. I think I like the charger that sits alone connected with a cord away from the phone not attached. When it is attached it is next to your head. This could be giving off some sort of energy within the panels into a persons brain..I don't know..Just a bit concern...
maybe make a cord so you can lay it to the side??Great idea maybe just fix this part?

[ellislake]

hey thanks for checking it out, i was thinking of making a small panel you could connect to your phone but they are already avalable cheaply.the radiation given off by the phone isnt increased by using the solar panel.if anything it would reflect the radiation slightly,but the radiation in a phones chip is to small to damage anything otherwise they would make phones illegal etc.all phones are tested before going onto the market,every chip tjhat goes into a phone is tested by the manufacturer of the chip,then tested by a re-seller (MIDDLEMAN) and then the final product ie the CELL/MOBILE PHONE is tested by the manufacturer of the cell itself.and if there was anything to worry about they would redesign the phone by using different chips in it.so dont worry about the radiation my friend.

[haunted_lady]

 Well I know with the solar film that are imbedded on the roof shingles the heat is so much it warps the shingles so that means the heat is amplified. If you are attracting heat from the sun you are attracting solar energy with has radiation near your head. As well as would damage the phone.
And maybe this is the reason why no one has done your idea.

[ellislake]

shortly after this instructable was realised NOKIA released a phone which has solar panels built all over it so instead of using just a plastic case to hold the phone together they incorporated solar panels all over the phone,this has sold and is still being sold in the EU  so this phone has been tested and is ok,thus showing the solar panel near your head is no risk to your health.the reason solar panels on shingles warps is because the solar panels your refering to are black in colour this means they suck up all colours of the spectrum producing heat,if you look at the solar panle i hav eused on my phones its slightly silver in colour thus reflecting the heat away,  thanks for your comments

[hydrogenman]

Nice!!  But i should inform the americans about the euro thing when buying a solar panel.  The same solar panels are on sale at 4lots.com for american money.  You should also consider those.  This is a very good idea for on the go charging!!!

[ellislake]

what do you mean i should inform them of the euro thingy.not sure what you are talking about ?  are you talking about currency.


thanks

[hydrogenman]

yes, and nice instructable

[dagenius]

I think you have the panel on backwards-- the blue side should be exposed to the light.....

[ellislake]

hi,the panel is on crectly, i did double check it before i moutned also its a clear indicator it is ok as when have you seen a panel with solder tips on the front of it,,thanks for checking this our though.    cheers

[nepheron]

ellislake, I apologize for some of these member in the community who only offer negative, pointless comments. I think your instructable and idea is great. keep up the good work! 5* -Neph

[ellislake]

cheers

[ellislake]

make a comment plz

[The magical duct tape kid]

CAPS LOCK...

[ReCreate]

YA WY DOZ HI HAV TU US CAPS LOK???!!!111one 1one1

[ellislake]

i accidently had caps locks on thasts all

[ReCreate]

Well i guess you could remove the caps lock now that you realized that it was on...

[ellislake]

im not gona change it just because its in uppercase and not lowercase thats just sily,why doesnt evefyone focus ont he good things and not the fact my instructabel is in caps,caps locks does not affect the project or how u read it, why dont you people give out praise for the work i have done and not complain about caps locks.

[ReCreate]

Because caps lock covers your work...

[ellislake]

how does it cover my work what u mean

[ReCreate]

I mean I see BHAH CAPS LOCK MY EYES*eyes/brain/head explodes*

[ellislake]

ok well u better call 911 or 999 or 112 then adn the cleaners so they can clean up your blood from the room

[ReCreate]

Will do ;)

[ellislake]

thats too much effort,ive done the instructable its finished.i aint gona change it just bevause the words r in caps locks and not lower case

[DIY Dave]

lol

[ReCreate]

ORLY?

[DIY Dave]

RLY

[ReCreate]

RLY?

[ellislake]

whats orly mean

[ReCreate]

Oh really? > O RLY? > ORLY?

[Asa J]

is it a good idea to leave your phone in the sun?

[ellislake]

yes off course it is.manufacturers have to follow eu guidelines which have to allow for uv rays and also heat.look at componnent list for your phone sand you will see they can work usualy in minus 12 degees and anything upto 60 degrees.which is hot,and if you thinka bout it your not gona really leave your phone out in the sun that much for it to heat up to a high temperature etc. thanks for comments tho

[ReCreate]

Oh sure, Why not?

[grimgroper]

what about battery overcharge?? if i was to put a solar panel on my lappy lid it would be alot larger than one for the phone so i suspect that overcharge will be a bigger problem i have a m1710 dell so if i could remove the aluminum plate and replace it with a solar panel it could look really nice as well as effective..

[ellislake]

yeah im sure it would,i have a sony vaio that is new so i dont really wanna go ripping aprt the back cover.what i was thinking of doing tho,is get a thin piece of plastiv vacumm formed arounf the back of the solar panel in black,then get another piece of plastic that is see-threw and vacumm that around the front of the solar panel,then i could secure a small lead on the end which would plug into the charging point on the laptop.that way i could just stick the panel on to the back of the laptop screen using double sided sticky tape and that way i dont ruin my laptop.i only thought of that last nite so im gona go up to london in a couple of days and get the shape vacumm formed out for it all ready to go on when i get the panel