Simplest Solar Watch
Intro: Simplest Solar Watch
Hello everyone ,
I'am proud to say I have reached over 50 subscribers , :-)
I just want to thank all of them for there support ,
and also want to thank the Instructable Community for making me a pro member ,
so the best way I know to thank everyone is posting one of my latest projects ,
So to start I'll mention the benefits of making your own solar watch ,
first off is its was cheap and simple to make only costed me a couple of dollars ,
second it never needs the battery replaced , and it takes very little time to charge ,
and the other benefit is no more shopping around for rare battery's that often the stores do not sell ,
and also wanted it to be simple to make so almost anyone could do it ,
Next is how it works ,
well its simple it use's a rechargeable battery and a small solar cell ,
all you have to do is leave it in the sun for hour or two and its ready to go ,
I wanted this to be explained clearly and to try not to have all the steps crammed into just a couple ,
hence the extra steps to ensure there is enough detail and picture's to follow it ,
So with that all said lets go make a solar watch
I'am proud to say I have reached over 50 subscribers , :-)
I just want to thank all of them for there support ,
and also want to thank the Instructable Community for making me a pro member ,
so the best way I know to thank everyone is posting one of my latest projects ,
So to start I'll mention the benefits of making your own solar watch ,
first off is its was cheap and simple to make only costed me a couple of dollars ,
second it never needs the battery replaced , and it takes very little time to charge ,
and the other benefit is no more shopping around for rare battery's that often the stores do not sell ,
and also wanted it to be simple to make so almost anyone could do it ,
Next is how it works ,
well its simple it use's a rechargeable battery and a small solar cell ,
all you have to do is leave it in the sun for hour or two and its ready to go ,
I wanted this to be explained clearly and to try not to have all the steps crammed into just a couple ,
hence the extra steps to ensure there is enough detail and picture's to follow it ,
So with that all said lets go make a solar watch
STEP 1: Getting What You Need
OK here's a list of somethings you need ,
Parts
A Lava led watch , I got this from ebay this was about 4 dollars , used this kind because I could fit the solar cell neatly into it ,
A Solar led flash light , this to was from ebay , I paid $ 1.00 for it , it has everything you need inside ,
A metal twist tie the kind you use for plastic lunch bags , why you ask because well need a flat wire for the battery ,
A piece of small wire ,
Tools
Gloves , for when using the epoxy .
epoxy ,
Glue gun ,
clear tape ,
electric tape ,
soldering iron / gun ,
and a small flat screwdriver .
Please Not I'm in no way responsible for Damage or any injuries that may happen ,
Now to get started ,
Parts
A Lava led watch , I got this from ebay this was about 4 dollars , used this kind because I could fit the solar cell neatly into it ,
A Solar led flash light , this to was from ebay , I paid $ 1.00 for it , it has everything you need inside ,
A metal twist tie the kind you use for plastic lunch bags , why you ask because well need a flat wire for the battery ,
A piece of small wire ,
Tools
Gloves , for when using the epoxy .
epoxy ,
Glue gun ,
clear tape ,
electric tape ,
soldering iron / gun ,
and a small flat screwdriver .
Please Not I'm in no way responsible for Damage or any injuries that may happen ,
Now to get started ,
STEP 2: Getting the Watch and Flash Light Apart
So first thing we want to do is take apart the flash light and they pop the back off the watch ,
when you've finished doing that you can start to de-solder the solar cell and the battery from the circuit board ,
now the ground of the solar cell is in the upper corner were the led is ,
and the positive is the red wire of coarse ,
then once you have de-soldered the battery and solar cell we can move on to the next step .
when you've finished doing that you can start to de-solder the solar cell and the battery from the circuit board ,
now the ground of the solar cell is in the upper corner were the led is ,
and the positive is the red wire of coarse ,
then once you have de-soldered the battery and solar cell we can move on to the next step .
STEP 3: Fitting the Battery
Ok so now we have to prepare the battery ,
First thing we want to do is take the plastic cover off the battery ,
the reason for this is the battery has two button cells in it which is 6 volts ,
we will only need one of them for are watch because the watch only use's 3 volts ,
when you have finished doing that will need to take are twist tie and strip each end of it ,
then coil the one end so it fits flat against the bottom of you button battery ,
then unscrew the battery holder on the watch and carefully place the wire and the battery inside ,
then place the battery holder back and screw it into place ,
ok on to the next step .
First thing we want to do is take the plastic cover off the battery ,
the reason for this is the battery has two button cells in it which is 6 volts ,
we will only need one of them for are watch because the watch only use's 3 volts ,
when you have finished doing that will need to take are twist tie and strip each end of it ,
then coil the one end so it fits flat against the bottom of you button battery ,
then unscrew the battery holder on the watch and carefully place the wire and the battery inside ,
then place the battery holder back and screw it into place ,
ok on to the next step .
STEP 4: Solder the Connections
OK now were just about done ,
as all ways I like to post a Diagram of were the connects go ,
but I will put it into words as well .
solder the ground to the solar cell that would be the Twist tie wire that is connected to the bottom of your battery ,
now take a piece of wire and solder it to the top side of your battery holder , the top of your holder is the positive connection
once done solder the positive wire to your solar cell ,
ok now take a piece of electric tape and place it over the battery so you don't short out the connections ,
moving on to the finale step
as all ways I like to post a Diagram of were the connects go ,
but I will put it into words as well .
solder the ground to the solar cell that would be the Twist tie wire that is connected to the bottom of your battery ,
now take a piece of wire and solder it to the top side of your battery holder , the top of your holder is the positive connection
once done solder the positive wire to your solar cell ,
ok now take a piece of electric tape and place it over the battery so you don't short out the connections ,
moving on to the finale step
STEP 5: Epoxy Time
now to finish off by making a case out of epoxy / resin .
were going for a water proof seal and need it to be strong to protect the solar cell and the components inside ,
That's were the epoxy will come in ,
so start by ,
take your glue gun and glue the solar cell into place , then clean the solar cell with a damp cloth so there's no dirt on it ,
when you've done all that take a piece of clear tape and place it over the solar cell ,
then using the glue gun to melt / seal the edges ,
now using your gloves mix some epoxy and carefully spread it over the top and sides of the solar cell and go around the edges ,
to ensure no water can get inside and make sure the top of the solar cell is smooth ,
bumps would be bad because you will feel it when wearing it ,
Alright now your finally finished , note wait up to a hour to dry first , ;-)
were going for a water proof seal and need it to be strong to protect the solar cell and the components inside ,
That's were the epoxy will come in ,
so start by ,
take your glue gun and glue the solar cell into place , then clean the solar cell with a damp cloth so there's no dirt on it ,
when you've done all that take a piece of clear tape and place it over the solar cell ,
then using the glue gun to melt / seal the edges ,
now using your gloves mix some epoxy and carefully spread it over the top and sides of the solar cell and go around the edges ,
to ensure no water can get inside and make sure the top of the solar cell is smooth ,
bumps would be bad because you will feel it when wearing it ,
Alright now your finally finished , note wait up to a hour to dry first , ;-)
STEP 6: Testing It and the Specs
Before I posted this Instructable ,
I wanted to test the watch out for a couple of days to make sure there's no problems ,
so after letting it charge for a couple of hours ,
tried it out and it works very well better than I expected ,
it has gone for a couple of days without needing to be charged and takes very little charging ,
it is tough and will take a drop also it is water proof ,
for the specs ,
charge time 2 to 3 hours ,
run time 2 days and counting ,
over all performance of the watch is very good ,
So I hope you've enjoyed this Instructable Thank you for Viewing .
P.S if you have any questions feel free ask .
I wanted to test the watch out for a couple of days to make sure there's no problems ,
so after letting it charge for a couple of hours ,
tried it out and it works very well better than I expected ,
it has gone for a couple of days without needing to be charged and takes very little charging ,
it is tough and will take a drop also it is water proof ,
for the specs ,
charge time 2 to 3 hours ,
run time 2 days and counting ,
over all performance of the watch is very good ,
So I hope you've enjoyed this Instructable Thank you for Viewing .
P.S if you have any questions feel free ask .
8 Comments
sleep123679 1 year ago
wilkinson1bryan 1 year ago
arulrajindhu 5 years ago
tech savvy 5 years ago
Yes it was made from simple materials ,
As I mentioned in the instructions I used a key chain solar light for parts
efahrenholz 10 years ago
tech savvy 10 years ago
I like your honesty and thanks ,
there are some cheap and useless solar watches out there ,
that's why I tested it and worked the bugs out before posting this project ,
Danger is my middle name 10 years ago
This is a very cool idea and surprisingly cheap and simple!
tech savvy 10 years ago
Thank you , That was what I was going for , :-)