Introduction: The Solar-Power Ring

By MakerBlog
About: I am a maker. As founder of MakerBlog, I enjoy sharing my creations with others.

What if there were a sudden, catastrophic power failure, solar flare, or nuclear disaster? How would you power a flashlight, a cellphone, or some other commonly used, battery-powered device? Although, admittedly, this solar-ring is a simple, extremely impractical solution, it is still a solution! Not only is this solar-ring small and wearable, but it is also a classy conversation starter. Have fun and enjoy answering questions about your solar-ring!

To see another classy, wearable, solar project click here.

Para ver esto en español haga clic aquí.

Step 1: What You'll Need

You will need the following:

  • A Ring (preferably a hex nut ring, as shown) Buy Here or Make One
  • Krazy Glue Buy at your local craft store.
  • A Mini Solar Car Buy Here or on Ebay
  • A Soldering Gun (or a natural tendency to break things) Buy One Here
  • A Healthy Amount of Enthusiasm Sorry, you have to make this yourself. :-)

Step 2: Assembly

Mark the solar panel's red wire contact as positive, and mark the other as negative. Desolder the wires from the solar panel, and remove the solar panel from the Mini Solar Racer. Brush a liberal amount of Krazy Glue onto one face of your ring, and press that side squarely into the middle of the back of your miniature solar panel, while making sure not to cover the wire contacts, or the +/- markings, with glue. Wait for it to dry. Click the "Next Step" Button to see how to use the ring.

Step 3: Instructions

O.K. So your stuck in the midst of one of the aforementioned catastrophes, and decide you need to power your flashlight, phone, etc. As I admitted at the beginning of the instructable, this is not necessarily the easiest solution, although it is the classiest. To use this you will need:

  • Wire or some other highly conductive material
  • Tape, glue, etc.
  • Your Classy Solar-Ring

Glue the wires so that they touch their contacts. Connect the wires to whatever you want to power. Set up the ring so that it is angled toward the sun, as shown.

I have said several times that it is possible to charge your phone with this ring, but it is also highly impractical. You would most likely have to leave your phone, and ring, out in the sun for several days, to get barely enough power to make an emergency call. That said, there are still a lot of fun things you can do with this ring, so enjoy your classy conversation starting Solar-Ring!

Other Suggestions:

You can connect a small rechargeable battery along with a diode to the solar panel, creating a more useful version of the ring. My electronics experience is very limited, therefore I did not do this. Please comment and make suggestions! Thanks!

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