I own loads of rechargeable NiMH AA and AAA batteries, but most always seem to be dead when I need them. So, I wanted a cheap and fast way to make battery chargers that I can keep on my desk, so that I could have an armada of charged batteries at all times. I didn't want to take up more outlets and have more wire spaghetti with plug-in chargers, so I settled on a solar charger. I'm in the solar business so I had stacks of small pieces of raw lasercut PV silicon cells (solettes) laying around, and I first made a simple battery charger with a few business cards as a backing. Then I found that playing cards were a more stable backing -- and besides, they looked neat.
This instructable details my efforts to make a simple solar battery charger made out of a playing card, some solettes, some magnets and super glue -- if anyone has ideas on how to make this simpler and more effective, please let me know in the comments.
No soldering is required for this project. It should take about 10-15 minutes.
First, check out this video. There are two playing-card solar projects detailed in here -- one for a AA charger, and another for an arduino charge card (described in more detail here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-powered-arduino-on-the-back-of-a-playing-car/ )
p.s. Where can you get the small bits of solar cells -- the solettes -- needed for these Instructables? Well, it's a pain right now. You can track these puppies down from suppliers in China, but they aren't easy to pin down: http://manilamantis.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/the-dark-side-2/
So, to make this easier, my buddies and I are launching a Kickstarter campaign (Aug 15 - Sept 14) for all your solar DIY needs: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alex9000/the-solar-pocket-factory-an-invention-adventure Bangorang!
This instructable details my efforts to make a simple solar battery charger made out of a playing card, some solettes, some magnets and super glue -- if anyone has ideas on how to make this simpler and more effective, please let me know in the comments.
No soldering is required for this project. It should take about 10-15 minutes.
First, check out this video. There are two playing-card solar projects detailed in here -- one for a AA charger, and another for an arduino charge card (described in more detail here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-powered-arduino-on-the-back-of-a-playing-car/ )
p.s. Where can you get the small bits of solar cells -- the solettes -- needed for these Instructables? Well, it's a pain right now. You can track these puppies down from suppliers in China, but they aren't easy to pin down: http://manilamantis.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/the-dark-side-2/
So, to make this easier, my buddies and I are launching a Kickstarter campaign (Aug 15 - Sept 14) for all your solar DIY needs: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alex9000/the-solar-pocket-factory-an-invention-adventure Bangorang!
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Signing UpStep 1: Materials
++ Copper tape with adhesive backing (this should be available at most well-stocked electronic component stores
++ Super glue (the thin stuff, also known as cyanoacrylate)
++ A couple playing cards
++ 4 NdFeB magnets between 1/4" - 1/2" diameter, 1/32" - 1/8" thick, any grade N42 - N52 (available lots of places, including www.kjmagnetics.com)
++ 4-8 solettes, depending on what type of additional indicators or dark-current blocking diodes you add to the basic charger
++ A few AA rechargeable batteries. This will work best with NiMH AA and AAA batteries, but can also work with NiCads (which are not the most environmentally benign battery in the world, so best to avoid buying these if you don't own them already)
++ [Optional] Schottky diode
++ [Optional] Indicator LED
++ [Optional] Rigid backing, like a scrap piece of 1/8" thick acrylic that's a big smaller than a playing card
++ Super glue (the thin stuff, also known as cyanoacrylate)
++ A couple playing cards
++ 4 NdFeB magnets between 1/4" - 1/2" diameter, 1/32" - 1/8" thick, any grade N42 - N52 (available lots of places, including www.kjmagnetics.com)
++ 4-8 solettes, depending on what type of additional indicators or dark-current blocking diodes you add to the basic charger
++ A few AA rechargeable batteries. This will work best with NiMH AA and AAA batteries, but can also work with NiCads (which are not the most environmentally benign battery in the world, so best to avoid buying these if you don't own them already)
++ [Optional] Schottky diode
++ [Optional] Indicator LED
++ [Optional] Rigid backing, like a scrap piece of 1/8" thick acrylic that's a big smaller than a playing card
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Good luck!
Cheers, and thanks!
Alastair
Thanks! Re: why use the false solette -- using the superglue technique to connect solettes works decently well after a bit of practice, but using it to connect solettes to coppertape is flaky. So, instead of trying to mount the (-) copper tape section to the top of the last solette, I found it easier and more reliable to just do all solette-to-copper tape mountings from the bottoms of the solettes, particularly connecting the bottom silver ink bus bars to the copper tape. This then requires a "false solette" -- no flipping necessary though.
That all said -- you could solder the solettes together with a pre-tinned wire called 'stringing', instead of doing the superglue solderless technique -- and then the false solette isn't really necessary.
Excellent instructable...I'm looking forward to trying this myself. Thank you for making these solettes available to us through the Kickstarter campaign, as well!
I have small 1/4" magnets with a Nickel plating that is conductive. Using a low temperature solder (170 degree F) I soldered wires to the magnets,
Now I have magnetic connectors that stick right to the battery.
So, you have a photo?
Excellent instructable and thanks so much for the extra inspiration BUT !!!
Theres no way for us (John-Q-Public, Joe-Bloggs, etc) to CHEAPLY buy these 'Solettes' that are used to make this - they are not even sold on ebay !!!!
AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
How do we obtain such things if we dont know anyone in the solar-business like yourself ?!?!?!?
Any help would be greatly-appreciated & many thanks in advance !!
i had been looking for these but so very many months ago that i gave up the pursuit in the end until now, a great many thanks for opening up these doors for me and im very grateful !!
also rated your 'ible 5 stars when i wrote my 1st comment and now another 5 !
thanks again !!!
;-)
p.s. awesome project on Kickstarter
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alex9000/the-solar-pocket-factory-an-invention-adventure
p.s. More Solar Pocket instructables coming in a few days....stay tuned.
But for now, you can search on eBay for laser cut or laser scored monocrystalline (or polycrystalline) cells and find a few options. Like this:http://goo.gl/C25he