solar cassette player? is it possible?

[soapjuice]

Hello my name is don,

I have a question for you guys, i'm trying to figure out a way to connect a small solar panel to my 6v cassette player..

(I know it sounds strange but i'm going to spend a week in the desert and i would love to take some of my music with me)

Since i never had the chance to play around with electronic i find myself desperately in need of help.

I looked up on the internet for some 6v output solar panel and have found a few, but i'm broke and i'm afraid i'm gonna order something that will not work with for my project.

Now, my cassette player/recorder is an RCA, runs with 4 AA and the DC says 6v... i'm planning to take it around with me so i was hoping to find a solar panel small enough to be carried in my back pack or even better that can be attached to the small cassette player.

And, the cassette player has an internal speaker and what i would like to is just run on daytime and daytime only..so i don't really need the solar panel to store energy but just send it to the player..


What do you guys suggest ?
Is this possible?


I thank you very much in advance.

Don.

[Mike90250]

Once, Twice, 3 times is annoying . I've deleted your OTHER redundant posts.

You only need wait a couple hours, and someone will respond.

Do you have any way to measure the amps that your player consumes @6V ? To properly size a panel, it has to have enough voltage, and amps, to run the device. Too little of either, and it won't work.

[soapjuice]

I'm sorry

Sorry!..
I'm going crazy.

..I don't have any way to measure the amps,

what if the panel gives more than the cassette player needs, would that work?


thank you mike, i apologize again

[Mike90250]

More amps is OK, but costs $$. Does not hurt.

4AA batteries, I'll make a wild guess you need 0.5A, and to get that from sunlight, you
would need at least a 1A panel. 1A @ 6V = 6W. So anything between 6-10 w should work for you. You will also need a cable to plug into the power jack of the player.

Safety wise, 6V, 10W is not enough to start a fire or burn much, except steel wool.

The trick will be to keep the panel aimed at the sun, so it can power the player. Just
a little too far off aim, and it will slow down and fade. Going 2x over your needed power
will help solve the un-aimed problem a little bit.

A "brick" of AA batteries may well serve you better, as they don't break, easy to carry,
and work at night. Cost a lot less too, if only for a week at Burning Man. In fact, at
Burning Man, you may not even be able to hear your player!

(Apologies if you are not going to BM, but the advice still stands.)

[soapjuice]

aaah

How did you know i'm going to the burning man??

That's funny.. you're right, i couldn't use it an night or even hear it but would be mostly for daytime and far away from the circle..

Also the brick of AA would be easier but so bad for the envoirment that i couldn't forgive myself..
i'm sure i'd end up using a lot of them.

Mike, am i allowed to copy and paste the link in the forum?

just a few minutes ago i found some portable solar panel on a website..with tips for electronic devices..


I'm sure you could tell me right away if is a piece of junk or might works.

Thank you, thank you thank you mike.

[Mike90250]

How did you know i'm going to the burning man??

I'm Phsyco!

am i allowed to copy and paste the link in the forum?

just a few minutes ago i found some portable solar panel on a website..with tips for electronic devices..
I'm sure you could tell me right away if is a piece of junk or might works.

I do all the time ! (copy & paste) I'll give my opinion.

[soapjuice]

solar panels

I'm sorry, i went to sleep very early last night..

This is it:

http://www.safetycentral.com/miposopaands.html

or

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G15555

???

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/SPL-6012/12V-SOLAR-PANEL/-CHARGER/-/1.html

i'm going to work now but i'll be back this afternoon.
Thank you!

[Mike90250]

#1 is only 50mA, won't run player. it's a battery charger mostly

#2 6V 100mA not nearly enough (need 10 of them) $$

#3 18V & 65mA wrong & wrong

I think I would suggest something like this for you: Charge batteries at your camp with a
panel and charger, and just carry spares with you.
I like the Maha MH-C401FS charger ($40) and it could work with any 30-60 W 12V panel .

As you can infer from #2 above, solar power is not compact or cheap, and you will
need a panel of some size to either directly power your player, or recharge
batteries for it.

http://store.solar-electric.com/1to39wasopa.html <100W panels
60 Watt Solar Panel - CDT-60w 12V Crystalline PV module #31060 @ Amazon.Com
http://tinyurl.com/rb4u8d Thomas Distributing: Maha charger

good luck

[soapjuice]

Wow

Ok, i got it, it's a big work.


argh.. i thought it was easier because when i started looking for info i found an article about turning your radio into a solar radio using just a little panel..

http://www.makeitsolar.com/science-fair-ideas/12-solar-radio.htm

And another guy shows how he took the panel from a solar light bought at home depot and connected it to his radio..

Is it all bull s.?
I think i'll go for recharge my battery after all.

Thanks again mike.

Peace.

[Mike90250]

It's the motor in the tape player that eats the power. Radios need so little. What about a small MP3 player ? Low power, many run off a single battery for 10 hours.

[soapjuice]

Eee

I don't like mp3 players.

I know i'm a pain...

You know what?

I'll follow your suggestion of getting the AA charger with a little panel.
8 AA and when i use 4 i charge the other 4..

I'm so sure i'll end up being without music many and many times but what else can i do right?

The Brick of AA but that i can't.

Mike,

thank you very much for all the time you spent replying my stupid questions.

Take good care, cheers.

DOn.

[Mike90250]

I think that will be the most versatile solution, and it can be used year round for any AA battery application.

[Steve]

I am not sure if this is helpful but ....

Years ago I bought a set of 8 solar yard lights. Each one has a PV cell that charges one AA size Nicad battery that powers a single high output LED after dark.

All the batteries went bad after one season, and I replaced all the batteries which cost about the same as the whole set of new lights. (Am not doing that again!)

When all the batteries went bad again it seemed like such a waste to just throw them away ...

So I disassembled all the lights, keeping all the PV cells and tossing everything else in the trash and made a small PV panel out of them.

I divided the 8 cells into two groups of 4 cells each. I wired both those groups into parallel, and the two groups tied together in series.

It's been a very long time since I've messed with the panel but if I remember correctly, it delivers around 5-6v of usable power. I would think that might be enough to power a cassette.

I also noticed a whole lot of those dead solar yard lights around the neighborhood. If I were a younger man I wouldn't mind knocking on a few doors and asking to take them off their hands for a science project (Or what-not).
I bed I'd find a lot of owners glad to be rid of the dead ones, and happy someone else could use them.