Help with solar iPhone chargers?

[SolarRuke]

I'm somewhat confused, what makes a good phone charger? Plus I have an iPhone. Here are the chargers: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004R10W5G
and
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004OH..._cr_item_title
What's the difference between them other than price. I'm kinda leaning towards the one with suction cups. Thanks!

[PNjunction]

I'm somewhat confused, what makes a good phone charger?

One that actually works. At the solar toy level, quality-control is all over the board, and at some point one tires of being offered replacements, and would just like a unit that actually works. I came to the realization that most toys these days substitute quality control for endless replacement policies.

I went through three of the latter examples with melting and a subsequent redesign, and infant mortality of the other two. I got off that train and licked my wounds. YMMV. A solar toy I use for this purpose that charges both my androids and friends iphones is a Solio Classic 2 (the very latest) which has an internal battery large enough to deal with a few charges of smartphones, panels large enough to actually do something, normal/apple usb port mode switching, and battery level monitoring along with 5v usb charging for when the sun goes away. But as a toy, you'll want to be tracking the sun with it for a day or two.

There are many toys out there almost impossible to adequately review because they are specifically in this category, or well designed but poor qc limits their reliability. You roll the dice and take your chances.

[SolarRuke]

One that actually works. At the solar toy level, quality-control is all over the board, and at some point one tires of being offered replacements, and would just like a unit that actually works. I came to the realization that most toys these days substitute quality control for endless replacement policies.

I went through three of the latter examples with melting and a subsequent redesign, and infant mortality of the other two. I got off that train and licked my wounds. YMMV. A solar toy I use for this purpose that charges both my androids and friends iphones is a Solio Classic 2 (the very latest) which has an internal battery large enough to deal with a few charges of smartphones, panels large enough to actually do something, normal/apple usb port mode switching, and battery level monitoring along with 5v usb charging for when the sun goes away. But as a toy, you'll want to be tracking the sun with it for a day or two.

There are many toys out there almost impossible to adequately review because they are specifically in this category, or well designed but poor qc limits their reliability. You roll the dice and take your chances.

I've seen that charger. I like it but considering it's only about $20 away from the guide 10 adventure pack how do they compare to each other?

[PNjunction]

Well the Solio Classic 2 is self-contained so there is less to lose. The Guide 10 means you'll be juggling 3 components around (panel, cabling, charger) on the support surface, and keeping track of 4 AA's - which you *must* use - no less than 4 as the charger is not designed to charge with any less, and you'll see this in the addendums. Their oem AA batteries are reasonable as tested on a Maha MH-C9000 analyzer, but I still prefer Sanyo Eneloops for their proven ability.

My biggest problem with the Goal Zero was the quality-control. First the melting, then the crunchy power switch not making good contact internally after you flick it with your fingernail. My third unit had an unsoldered inductor inside that shorted out everything. I was extremely frustrated as the overall design was neat, charged in a reasonable amount of time, but means nothing if the build-quality is poor. After three professionally handled and cheerful replacements which included the redesigned unit, I wanted one to just work - as in not failing immediately. In the solar toy category, some may have better units than others, so YMMV. The Solio has reasonable QC and build quality.

[SolarRuke]

Well the Solio Classic 2 is self-contained so there is less to lose. The Guide 10 means you'll be juggling 3 components around (panel, cabling, charger) on the support surface, and keeping track of 4 AA's - which you *must* use - no less than 4 as the charger is not designed to charge with any less, and you'll see this in the addendums. Their oem AA batteries are reasonable as tested on a Maha MH-C9000 analyzer, but I still prefer Sanyo Eneloops for their proven ability.

My biggest problem with the Goal Zero was the quality-control. First the melting, then the crunchy power switch not making good contact internally after you flick it with your fingernail. My third unit had an unsoldered inductor inside that shorted out everything. I was extremely frustrated as the overall design was neat, charged in a reasonable amount of time, but means nothing if the build-quality is poor. After three professionally handled and cheerful replacements which included the redesigned unit, I wanted one to just work - as in not failing immediately. In the solar toy category, some may have better units than others, so YMMV. The Solio has reasonable QC and build quality.

Thanks for the help. One last thing, could I put a suction cup where the pencil can go? I want this thing for a long road trip and, in a way, remote vacation.

[Sunking]

You need a 20 watt 6 volt panel to charge a USB device.

[PNjunction]

The suction cup would block part of the panel, and use of it suggests being behind some glass. Give yourself an additional 2 days to charge.

These are toys and require babysitting to angle the panels during the day. AND, you don't want to charge at the same time you are recharging. Like Sunking points out, to get really serious we're talking about a 10x increase in infrastructure and cost. Your best bet if you are willing to roll the dice on QC is to use the Guide 10 with the higher-voltage solar cable/plug they provide, and not the standard usb input for solar charging.

[PNjunction]

Additional note if you are considering the Solio Classic 2 - the supplied pencil-prop is handy. But don't extend it too far beyond the panel as a shadow from the extended pencil will slightly shade one of the petals, and effectively take it out of circuit and thus slow your charging.

The best idea no matter what you do is to take advantage of opportunity-charging, top off the phone when you can rather than let the phone's battery completely die. It can be a lot of geeky solar toy fun trying to maximize the efficiency.

[Fastsolar]

Guide 10 Kit

I have 3 of the Guide 10 kits that I purchased and have had one of them for a couple years. I personally have never had a single problem with any of them and I use and abuse them as they keep my GoPro charged. The only one mishap i did have was assuming that it came with the AAA adapter but called the place i bought them from and they took care of me The Guide 10's are perfect in my book

[PNjunction]

Your good experience is what got me so infuriated with the QC process failing me 3 times in a row. You rolled the dice on these toys and won, and I lost.

At least the small panels work - so instead of the AA charger, I just use an Enercell 2400mah Li-Poly with swingout usb jack instead with the panel. Works well, although 2400mah is getting to be pretty small in capacity these days. Glad your chargers are holding up.

One would have thought I would have cashed in my chips and walked away from the table - but oh NO. I ordered a Goal Zero "Elite" folding panel, and while I wasn't expecting STC ratings, current output was lower than expected. Found two dead modules/panes. Someday I'll rip open the fabric and fix it or just toss it in the trash. I'm not going for a replacement since I'll gladly pay an exhorbitant price for a PowerFilm instead.

Tip: for fans of Goal Zero panels, one might want to test them. Here's how: since they are crystalline, if you cover each pane / module carefully with cardboard or even just a part of your hand, being careful not to shadow neighboring panes to correctly identify a suspect pane, you should see a drop in current. If you don't see any drop in current at all when you shadow them, that pane is either dead or has broken wiring. I doubt most consumers would actually go to this trouble to check the QC, so I guess as long as they are happy...

[InnateDev]

I have been looking at portable solar panel/charger setups for awhile but I had no idea about the QC issues. I think ill go the DIY route or wait for the wakawaka.


To help maximize the efficiency of portable solar, I made an iPhone/iPad app to help guide the user with positioning a solar panel. The app calculates the optimal position depending on your objective and uses the device sensors to help you place the solar panel at the correct azimuth and tilt.

The options are Maximum Direct Intensity, Specified Duration, Rest of the day, Full Day, Date Range.

If you are interested there is a link in my sig.

Mod note
If you wish to sell the app contact user Jason for advertising rates if it is free you may post a link in another thread for that purpose.

[PNjunction]

Part of the problem with small portable power is that in many cases the panels are folding and do not hold a straight-edge shape. Positioning the panels rarely means you'll need that kind of accuracy. Just point in the general direction, avoid shadows, and rotate it throughout the solar insolation period.

Even with these toy solar products, the hours of solar-insolation (as opposed to visible daylight hours) is important. I've seen a lot of time wasted outside the hours of solar insolation with products that include a "charging" led or other indicator. Sure, the indicator will illuminate, but the actual charging current is very small - most of the collected energy going into lighting the charge led itself.

[InnateDev]

Part of the problem with small portable power is that in many cases the panels are folding and do not hold a straight-edge shape. Positioning the panels rarely means you'll need that kind of accuracy. Just point in the general direction, avoid shadows, and rotate it throughout the solar insolation period.

Even with these toy solar products, the hours of solar-insolation (as opposed to visible daylight hours) is important. I've seen a lot of time wasted outside the hours of solar insolation with products that include a "charging" led or other indicator. Sure, the indicator will illuminate, but the actual charging current is very small - most of the collected energy going into lighting the charge led itself.

No straight-edge with the folding panels, I overlooked that detail when I was looking at the different products.

The wasted hours I have read about, it seems these toys don't use charging circuits that are designed for the fluctuating power coming from the panel.

[jago888]

Hello dude i see the charger in the pics by link its amazing for me specially that how this charger work with the help of solar energy..I have iPhone but i want to buy solar charger..any body tell me that what is the actual price of this charger?
Prime Scales|Industrial Crane Scale

[Fastsolar]

Hello dude i see the charger in the pics by link its amazing for me specially that how this charger work with the help of solar energy..I have iPhone but i want to buy solar charger..any body tell me that what is the actual price of this charger?

Depends on which charger your looking at. Most of the chargers out there are between 100-120.00 just do your due diligence when deciding which one will work for you.