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I wanted to add some decorations to an outdoor tree of mine, but it's very far from the house, too far to easily use an extension cord. Battery-powered ornaments do exist, but I didn't want to be always changing batteries from now to Christmas. I thought that there should be a way to power the ornaments from a battery that can recharge from a solar cell, but I couldn't find any at the store. Why can you not get any solar rechargeable Christmas ornaments?
Actually, this isn't a very good idea. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, Christmas comes in winter, which means short days and less chance of getting a full charge on the batteries. Also, the solar cells can be covered with snow and not generate any charge. Finally, if an ornament is hanging on a tree, it will be in the shade most of the time anyway from the body of the tree.
However, just because it's not a good idea doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. Imagine what our world would be like today if people like Doctor Frankenstein said to themselves, "maybe this isn't a good idea."
In order to get this to work, you would need to locate the solar panels on a board or something away from the actual Christmas tree and connect it to the ornament via some thin wire, so that the shade won't be a factor. Also, since I live around 42 degres lattitude, I should incline the board about 48 degrees from vertical to face the solar panels toward the sun (actually maybe 55 degrees or so,since the earth's angle has tilted even further away from the sun in winter - isn't it about 9 degrees precession or so?) Anyways, the snow should slide right off in that case. Finally, I don't need a full charge really - just enough to light up about 4 or 5 hours should be enough to be festive while everyone is awake, no one will miss the Christmas lights at 2 AM.
Fortunately, there are such rechargeable solar lights readily available, for use as walkway lights around your home. There are many Intructables which show you how to re-purpose these devices for various things, and they inspired me to use walkway lights for ornaments.
As always for an instructable like this, you will be using tools that could burn you or cut you, so be cautious if you are unfamiliar with them. This will void the warranty on the lights you buy, so if the light doesn't work afterward for some reason, you can't get your money back, and I can't be responsible for damages or injury you may get. Just remember - pain is fleeting, awesome is forever.
Actually, this isn't a very good idea. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, Christmas comes in winter, which means short days and less chance of getting a full charge on the batteries. Also, the solar cells can be covered with snow and not generate any charge. Finally, if an ornament is hanging on a tree, it will be in the shade most of the time anyway from the body of the tree.
However, just because it's not a good idea doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. Imagine what our world would be like today if people like Doctor Frankenstein said to themselves, "maybe this isn't a good idea."
In order to get this to work, you would need to locate the solar panels on a board or something away from the actual Christmas tree and connect it to the ornament via some thin wire, so that the shade won't be a factor. Also, since I live around 42 degres lattitude, I should incline the board about 48 degrees from vertical to face the solar panels toward the sun (actually maybe 55 degrees or so,since the earth's angle has tilted even further away from the sun in winter - isn't it about 9 degrees precession or so?) Anyways, the snow should slide right off in that case. Finally, I don't need a full charge really - just enough to light up about 4 or 5 hours should be enough to be festive while everyone is awake, no one will miss the Christmas lights at 2 AM.
Fortunately, there are such rechargeable solar lights readily available, for use as walkway lights around your home. There are many Intructables which show you how to re-purpose these devices for various things, and they inspired me to use walkway lights for ornaments.
As always for an instructable like this, you will be using tools that could burn you or cut you, so be cautious if you are unfamiliar with them. This will void the warranty on the lights you buy, so if the light doesn't work afterward for some reason, you can't get your money back, and I can't be responsible for damages or injury you may get. Just remember - pain is fleeting, awesome is forever.
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Signing UpStep 1What you will need
A local discount hardware store had solar walkway lights for $4 each. They were Westinghouse 474005-78 models. You don't need to get exactly these, but these were ideal for this purpose. The light consists of a cap which has the solar panels and a photocell on the top, and contains the battery, recharging circuit, and LED inside. The LED faces down into a clear plastic shell, which is on top of a stalk that stakes into the ground. The top cap is easily removed from the shell, and the stalk pops right off.
The ornaments I will make keep the solar panel, battery, and LED circuitry module in one piece, and add a long "extension cord" to the LED itself, so the LED can illuminate an ornament of some kind and still be far away from the solar panel. With this model of walkway light, it's a bonus that the little clear shell easily detaches and makes its own ornament, so you can add a long wire to the LED and re-assemble the original clear shell around the LED, so that the ornament practically makes itself. If you use a different model walkway light, you can still move the LED away from the solar panel, but you may need to get (or make) a transparent ornament for the LED to illuminate.
The LED is connected to the circuit by its own leads, which are about 2cm long. That means that you don't need to desolder anything to get this to work - just clip the wires to the LED and splice in 3 or 4 meters of wire , so the LED is far away from the solar panel.
So, in addition to the walkway light(s) you will need some thin comm wire, like CAT-5 or something. I found a 100-foot modular telephone cord for $1, so that's what I used in this case. The phone cord has 4 conductors, so I could use one length of wire for two walkway lights. The stuff was cheap, but it's hard to strip and not easy to solder, but it did the trick.
You will also need some stiffer wire, like bell wire or steel picture-hanging wire to hang the final ornament from the tree.
Because this will be outdoors, you will need silicone caulk to weatherproof it. I also decided to try some Liquid Electrical Tape this time instead of my usual black electrical tape, but quite frankly I would not recommend it - just go with electrical tape.
As far as tools go, you will need a soldering iron and solder. If you are not familiar with soldering, there are several Instructables posted about soldering techniques. You will need some pliers and a wire cutter/stripper. You will need a drill and screwdrivers.
The ornaments I will make keep the solar panel, battery, and LED circuitry module in one piece, and add a long "extension cord" to the LED itself, so the LED can illuminate an ornament of some kind and still be far away from the solar panel. With this model of walkway light, it's a bonus that the little clear shell easily detaches and makes its own ornament, so you can add a long wire to the LED and re-assemble the original clear shell around the LED, so that the ornament practically makes itself. If you use a different model walkway light, you can still move the LED away from the solar panel, but you may need to get (or make) a transparent ornament for the LED to illuminate.
The LED is connected to the circuit by its own leads, which are about 2cm long. That means that you don't need to desolder anything to get this to work - just clip the wires to the LED and splice in 3 or 4 meters of wire , so the LED is far away from the solar panel.
So, in addition to the walkway light(s) you will need some thin comm wire, like CAT-5 or something. I found a 100-foot modular telephone cord for $1, so that's what I used in this case. The phone cord has 4 conductors, so I could use one length of wire for two walkway lights. The stuff was cheap, but it's hard to strip and not easy to solder, but it did the trick.
You will also need some stiffer wire, like bell wire or steel picture-hanging wire to hang the final ornament from the tree.
Because this will be outdoors, you will need silicone caulk to weatherproof it. I also decided to try some Liquid Electrical Tape this time instead of my usual black electrical tape, but quite frankly I would not recommend it - just go with electrical tape.
As far as tools go, you will need a soldering iron and solder. If you are not familiar with soldering, there are several Instructables posted about soldering techniques. You will need some pliers and a wire cutter/stripper. You will need a drill and screwdrivers.
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Good work. Maybe, being unskilled at most of the things required for this project, I'll just find some cheap solar lights, toss them in the tree and hope for the best!