MAKE | Intern's Corner: Solar charger for iPhone 3GS
by Keith Hammond
By Tyler Moskowite, engineering intern
I recently received my first smart phone, an iPhone 3GS, from my brother who just got back from Iraq. It has turned into my PDA, map, social networker, and a boatload of other stuff I didn’t even know it was capable of doing. Let’s just say simply, I love this device. Which has prompted me to want it to be on every moment of everyday, and let’s be honest, the iPhone 3GS eats through battery life at a decent rate . Being a somewhat outdoors-active person, and because I enjoy the planet that I live on, I decided to build a solar charger for my iPhone 3GS.
This design allows for a power source to be attached to the MintyBoost to charge your iPhone 3GS via a USB cable. Included in the kit is a 2xAA battery holder, but I wanted a more renewable and longer lasting energy source.
So here’s my MightyMintyBoost after everything is said and done, sans a pretty case for it (I’m looking to get one custom made). Sadly, the barrel plug is too large to fit the connection from the solar cell, so instead I used a JST connection. This worked out fine because I wanted a few extra feet of cord anyway; I recycled some old MP3 charger cord. The JST connection is very secure to the motherboard and will work well when I’m walking around campus charging it.
I took a trip to the beach to test out how well the charger worked. The solar panel fit really well in the sunroof of my car and quickly turned the status light red, which let me know it was charging the 3.7V battery. There was also a slight high-pitched sound because, as LadyAda explains, “sometimes the inductor resonates with the boost converter and that resonance leaks into the audible range.”
The Volt Solar Charger is a product of Xiamen Solar Electronics based in Xiamen, China. The iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 are products of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which competes in the global smartphone market against Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android
Attention iPhone 4 users: Now you can text and surf the web and never have to plug your phone in again. Genesis Electronics is now offering its G-1500 solar charger, previously only available on the Internet, into a real store.
The Volt Solar Charger is a product of Xiamen Solar Electronics based in Xiamen, China. The iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 are products of Apple Inc., which competes in the global smartphone market against Google's Android devices and the Research in Motion
iPhone 3GS solar panel charger?
Dec 22, 2010 by Yana P | Posted in Other - Electronics
Looking for something to charge my 3GS while I'm in Haiti. Found a few usb (iphone) solar panels on eBay and Google, but couldn't find any feedback on the products, so i came here with my fingers crossed, hoping someone has had some experience with solar
Hmmm I've never even heard of that! So be careful, if you can't find stuff on it, that;s not good.
: $29.95
