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Can I use solar power to charge my rio nitrus?

D

desk

Golden Member
I'm going to be going on a long trip, with no access to electricity. Unfortunately, I think I might die without my music, so I want to rig up some solar modules to charge my mp3 player.

Is this possible? I noticed the operating current for solar modules isn't very high (~100mA), but that just means it will take longer to charge, right? I think I just need to focus on getting the right operating voltage?

By the way, I am an ME and electricity scares me, so if you need to explain anything technical, please use water flow, valves, etc. 😉
 
I rigged up a little thing like that in elementary school to charge rechargeable batteries for the science fair once 😛

I didn't do much besides make it so I didn't win it, heh
 
Your mp3 player is a 1 gallon jug sitting 5 feet high, with a drain pipe 1" in diameter for draining water out.

Your solar charger is a 1 pint jug sitting 2 inches high, with a 1/8" pipe for draining water out.

In order to charge your mp3 player, you need to lift your pint higher than at least 5 feet, and plug the 1" hole in your gallon to fill up that jug.

Hope that helps!
 
Originally posted by: blahblah99
Your mp3 player is a 1 gallon jug sitting 5 feet high, with a drain pipe 1" in diameter for draining water out.

Your solar charger is a 1 pint jug sitting 2 inches high, with a 1/8" pipe for draining water out.

In order to charge your mp3 player, you need to lift your pint higher than at least 5 feet, and plug the 1" hole in your gallon to fill up that jug.

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...


well, i've never said no to lifting a few pints, but i think i'll pass on pluging the hole. 😀
 
unfortunately, i didn't understand blahblah99's post (although I appreciate the reponse). i forgot to mention im dumb, my bad...should probably put that in my sig.

can anyone explain it more directly?

the charger on my rio says 5.4v / 2A. is it possible to charge this bad boy with a ~6v / .1A solar module?

btw...sharkeeper, i don't know if you're kidding or not, but i can't carry lemons, they are too heavy.
 
Originally posted by: sharkeeper
All you need is a 10W solar panel with a charging diode. Wire it up to match the voltage requirements and you're all set.
Click to expand...

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
there are panels out there that produce 6-12v at 300mA.. should be enough to charge. YOu can buy it for 50 bucks or so.
Click to expand...


cool...thanks for the help.
 
Originally posted by: desk
unfortunately, i didn't understand blahblah99's post (although I appreciate the reponse). i forgot to mention im dumb, my bad...should probably put that in my sig.

can anyone explain it more directly?

the charger on my rio says 5.4v / 2A. is it possible to charge this bad boy with a ~6v / .1A solar module?

btw...sharkeeper, i don't know if you're kidding or not, but i can't carry lemons, they are too heavy.
Click to expand...

In a more serious note...

Your charger puts out 5.4V*2A = 10.8Watts. That means your solar modules will have to put out at least 10.8W. If you factor in the efficiency of a dc-dc converter (if needed), you are looking at around 10.8/0.9 = 12Watts.

That means, you need enough solar modules to give you 12Watts.
 
Originally posted by: blahblah99
Originally posted by: desk
unfortunately, i didn't understand blahblah99's post (although I appreciate the reponse). i forgot to mention im dumb, my bad...should probably put that in my sig.

can anyone explain it more directly?

the charger on my rio says 5.4v / 2A. is it possible to charge this bad boy with a ~6v / .1A solar module?

btw...sharkeeper, i don't know if you're kidding or not, but i can't carry lemons, they are too heavy.
Click to expand...

In a more serious note...

Your charger puts out 5.4V*2A = 10.8Watts. That means your solar modules will have to put out at least 10.8W. If you factor in the efficiency of a dc-dc converter (if needed), you are looking at around 10.8/0.9 = 12Watts.

That means, you need enough solar modules to give you 12Watts.
Click to expand...

hmmm....so even if i just want to 'trickle charge' the battery over a few hours, i would still need 12W?

*edit* i gotta get to sleep, thanks for the responses so far, ill check back tomorrow.
 
You need to have solar panels to supply current to a chargind circuit, not to the batteries directly. What does your normal charger use? It probably has an adapter of some sort- go by what the adapter puts out. Are you going to be near a car for the length of a trip? How about a car charger?
 
Let me straighten this out.

I need the following information from you:

What kind and capacity are the batteries in the MP3 player?
How many volts?

Assuming you are running 2 x AA size batteries with a capacity of (let's say) 2000mAh.

Normal slow charge of these NiMH or NiCd batteries requires a current of C/10 where C is the capacity, in your case 2000/10 = 200mA.

NiCd and NiMH batteries shall be charged with constant current. For that you can use a LM317 + a resistor configured to give a constant current.See bottom of page 12.
In this case the value of the resistor should be 1.2/0.2 = 6 ohms (rated for 1/2 Watt).
The input voltage to this circuit will have to be >3V.
You now have a constant current source of 200mA and it will take 14 hours to fully charge the battery. Remember to stop charging after that time since the circuit doesn't contain any intelligence and will continue to charge until the batteries are killed. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: blahblah99
Your mp3 player is a 1 gallon jug sitting 5 feet high, with a drain pipe 1" in diameter for draining water out.

Your solar charger is a 1 pint jug sitting 2 inches high, with a 1/8" pipe for draining water out.

In order to charge your mp3 player, you need to lift your pint higher than at least 5 feet, and plug the 1" hole in your gallon to fill up that jug.

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

LMAO.
 
There are solar cells that will do a lot more than 100mA at the voltage you need. Look
around, maybe on eBay.

Speaking of which, what IS the voltage you need?....

Edit: Should've read the thread, lol.
 
Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Let me straighten this out.

I need the following information from you:

What kind and capacity are the batteries in the MP3 player?
How many volts?

Assuming you are running 2 x AA size batteries with a capacity of (let's say) 2000mAh.

Normal slow charge of these NiMH or NiCd batteries requires a current of C/10 where C is the capacity, in your case 2000/10 = 200mA.

NiCd and NiMH batteries shall be charged with constant current. For that you can use a LM317 + a resistor configured to give a constant current.See bottom of page 12.
In this case the value of the resistor should be 1.2/0.2 = 6 ohms (rated for 1/2 Watt).
The input voltage to this circuit will have to be >3V.
You now have a constant current source of 200mA and it will take 14 hours to fully charge the battery. Remember to stop charging after that time since the circuit doesn't contain any intelligence and will continue to charge until the batteries are killed. 🙂
Click to expand...


i can't find any info on the battery except that it's lithium ion and it's max run time is 16hrs.
 
Do NOT connect Li Ion cells directly to any kind of pile pusher!

Cut in with DC side of charger terminal from AC/DC switcher and use DPDT switch to prevent PV currents from ruining shore power charger outputs.
 
Originally posted by: sharkeeper
Do NOT connect Li Ion cells directly to any kind of pile pusher!

Cut in with DC side of charger terminal from AC/DC switcher and use DPDT switch to prevent PV currents from ruining shore power charger outputs.
Click to expand...

wow, um....ok...here is a list of the words i did not understand from that post:

pile pusher
cut in
charger terminal
dpdt switch
pv currents
shore power charger outputs

 
Originally posted by: sharkeeper
Do NOT connect Li Ion cells directly to any kind of pile pusher!

Cut in with DC side of charger terminal from AC/DC switcher and use DPDT switch to prevent PV currents from ruining shore power charger outputs.
Click to expand...
LOL....

Wait, though.

The Rio device itself has the actual charging circuitry, right? You just need to supply it with the correct voltage, right?

A 12V solar cell with some ciircuitry to reduce the voltage to 5.6V or whatever it is he needs should work fine.... right? lol
 
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