THis summer i'm going to Alaska with my geology department. I've been wanting to go to Alaska for years now, but have never had the mean with which to make it a reality before. Now it is finally a reality and i can barely contain my excitement from day to day about getting to go. I've got a ton of high quality, light weight camping gear that i'm planning on bringing/sharing. But the one thing that i think will be a hot item will be sources of power. We're going to be there for 2 weeks, with 10 people and 1 van. We're going to be camping every night, and hiking during the day and doing some driving. Now if you're like me at all you love your iPod, this is not an uncommon thing among people my age.. and its not hard to see why. So my ipod only lasts 7 hours at best.. how the hell am i going to make that work in Alaska for 2 weeks!?? Simple: solar cell charger!!!
Now i've done some research and found that there are several options commercially for solar chargers. They cost anywhere from $45 - $100, and generally have good reviews. The one big downfall i can see is when/how to use them. Some are shaped like boxes that open up, another is shaped like a flower the expands into a circle. So hes my problem.. when are you going to want to leave around an expensive charger AND ipod in a stationary location to charge when you're off hiking.. which is one of those times you'll want to listen to music (at least i do). Secondly another prime time for charging should be inside the car during traveling. But none of the designs i've seen sport any kind of window suction cup thingy or whatever, so again no help there. So i did some more research and i found a parts list to build my own solar charging ipod rig. The parts are only $26 total, and what you end up with is something like what you see below. The benefits?
1. inexpensive, if it doesn't work i can always just buy one that is commercially available one
2. Flexible and highly portable, I can attach it to my backpack, the outside of my tent, or to a car window
3. I'm a total nerd and would love to try this for myself
Now i've done some research and found that there are several options commercially for solar chargers. They cost anywhere from $45 - $100, and generally have good reviews. The one big downfall i can see is when/how to use them. Some are shaped like boxes that open up, another is shaped like a flower the expands into a circle. So hes my problem.. when are you going to want to leave around an expensive charger AND ipod in a stationary location to charge when you're off hiking.. which is one of those times you'll want to listen to music (at least i do). Secondly another prime time for charging should be inside the car during traveling. But none of the designs i've seen sport any kind of window suction cup thingy or whatever, so again no help there. So i did some more research and i found a parts list to build my own solar charging ipod rig. The parts are only $26 total, and what you end up with is something like what you see below. The benefits?
1. inexpensive, if it doesn't work i can always just buy one that is commercially available one
2. Flexible and highly portable, I can attach it to my backpack, the outside of my tent, or to a car window
3. I'm a total nerd and would love to try this for myself
schme schme
xoxox