Solar DS "Light" Redone and Improved

Step 18: Enjoy not Using the Charger!

Hooray, you finished!

Whenever I am not using the DS and it is sunny outside, I set the DS in the sun to charge. I never leave it outside, I just set it by a sunny window or on the floor. Unlike my previous instructable, it doesn't mattery how long you leave it in the sun because the chip protects the battery. The solar panels are made for charging the battery, so don't get the idea that you have to hold this in the sun to play it. Also, the way I did this still works with the charger,

Ever since I did this, my DS never needed to use the charger. It works excellently and looks cool too. It has a much sleeker design than my previous solar DS and the protection circuit saves the battery. Not only is this good for the environment, but you will never have to worry about bringing the DS charger with you again!

By the way, do not let the security people see this in an airport. You have been warned.

Here are some pictures of it charging. It is propped up on the stylus to get as much sun as possible.

Thanks for viewing, and don't forget to rate! I hope you try my project, please send me pictures if you do this! If you have a question, don't hesitate to ask, I will gladly answer it!

Comments

[stargazer418]

Nice kitty

[Macworldwizardz]

Yah, His cat is awesome!!!!!

[wat.]

That cat likes the DS lite.

[dark sponge]

His name is Ferris.

[fernxtwo]

Hey Sponge , im 24 , & i think im going to do this.this week.for somone who doesnt know much about wiring and who's soldering skills are minimal . do you think i can do it? cheers.

[dark sponge]

Probably, I'm only 14 and I managed to come up with this idea when I was 13.

[Brettfett1]

hey man, nice tutorial. i'm 14 and i have solar panels all over the back of my laptop, and my desk faces the window so instead of my normal 30 min battery life while gaming, i get 2 hours and 30 mins, and it charges pretty fast. i did it myself!

[dark sponge]

That's awesome! Do you have any pictures? I didn't know solar panels could make that drastic of an increase...

[JZ Price]

age is only a number, i know a kid that when in 3rd grade got a boebot for Christmas i know the man with the largest number of Microsoft certifications in the world, and he started programing after college, he don't even have a degree, and is the best programmer/database expert i have ever seen

[dark sponge]

Last summer I built a robot without following instructions or using a kit. I just glued an arduino onto a battery pack and soldered together a motor controller circuit I designed with a L298N, some diodes, a 5v regulator, and some other stuff . I hooked that up to two motors with wheels epoxyed to them. I then glued a servo with an infrared distance sensor on it to the battery pack. I also typed the program, I didn't use a premade one.

[ReCreate]

I can't quite put my finger on what this has anything to do...Who likes following instructions...?

[dark sponge]

I don't like instructions, but I like Instructables!

[Macworldwizardz]

Yeah, Awesome!

[ReCreate]

...Hmm...Thats...Ironic

[dark sponge]

Lol.

[ReCreate]

a...umm...ok

[dark sponge]

...

[ReCreate]

Yeah

[Metal Crave]

14 years old, nice. This sounds like something i would have done if solar cells were cheap when i first learned to solder, i was about 13 or 14. (Almost) Everybody should learn to solder.

[dark sponge]

I agree, everyone should know how to solder.

[ReCreate]

Yes...and everyone should let everyone solder... Apparently not...

[soaponarope]

well I'm 11 and I don't know how but I want to learn

[dark sponge]

You should, it's a very useful skill for anything to do with electronics.

[toogers]

i know how, but i'm too cautious and it scares me. tape, anyone?

[Metal Crave]

The idea of messing up on your own precious DS is a scary thought, but that's where practice comes in.
Knowing what you're doing is the best tool you can ever have.

[fernxtwo]

i did it to mine , and have had it for the last year or so. but it adds wayyyy to much weight to it.and i have found myself not playing for that reason , i'm gonna take it off pretty soon.

[Metal Crave]

I see. Solar panels are a bit heavy. I can't wait until the thin, flexible ones become affordable. If they are already, please tell me.

[dark sponge]

Sorry, I don't know; you could probably look it up. I'm not paying much attention to the solar panel market right now.

[chicken12175]

where can you buy solar panels from anyway, rigid or flexible.
thanks

[chicken12175]

oh, sorry. didnt realise it had already been asked =]

[same_den]

is safe for the lifetime of the battery??

[dark sponge]

 I'm pretty sure that it won't do any harm, because it charges the battery at a very low current.

[Flameburst]

Is the Orange light supposed to be on when you charge it in the sun? And how do you know if it's charging?

[Flameburst]

I guess it shouldn't though cuz it's charging straight to the battery, so it can't be checked to see if it's being charged by normal means.

[dark sponge]

Correct, the orange light doesn't come on when it's in the sun. The easiest way to know if it's charging is to run the battery down to the point where the DS just shuts off and then see if you can charge it from the sun.

[chirp-o-tron]

Why shouldn't you let the security people see it?

[dark sponge]

Because at the airport, they are overly cautious. If they see something like this and they don't know what it is, you get get in some serious trouble. Just look at this:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/06/03/mit_student_apologizes_for_shirt_that_led_to_logan_disturbance/

[thatguysbow]

jeez, if it lights up and your at an airport it must be a bomb....... so much paranoia anyway i think i might try and adapt this for my DS dock so i dont have to fiddle around with the DS itself.

[dark sponge]

If you are doing this to a dock, I suggest taking the approach found in step 17 of this Instructable. It is better for a solar dock and does not require soldering to the DS or its battery.

[thatguysbow]

I agree, i just need to get the parts and get it put together. thanks for the Advice.