Introduction: 3.5V Solar Panel AA Battery Charger

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Hi everyone,
I'm Manuel and this is my first instructable so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to post a comment.
Today I'm going to show how to make a simple aa battery charger using the light of the sun.

Step 1: Materials:

For this project you need:

- A solar garden light (mine was bought in a dollar store)
- A diode with low voltage drop (I suggest 1n914)
- AA battery holder
- Soldering iron
- An obviously rechargeable batteries

Step 2: Solar Panel

Now remove the solar unit from the steak and open the unit by unscrewing the three screws at the bottom.
Inside there is a small circuit (with a transistor,a resistor and a led) and an AAA ni-mh battery.
The panel is at the top and it's easy to remove.

Step 3: Connections

At this point, using a soldering iron, solder the two wires of the panel to the positive and negative wires of the battery case.
WARNING: respect the polarity of the 2 wires otherwise battery will heat up and they can explode.

Step 4: Conclusion:

It takes a lot to charge up the batteries but it's an interesting project about "green energy".
I hope you enjoy this instructable and soon I'll post another project regarding solar energy... so stay connected!