Solar Power Portables

minkster · Post by **minkster** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:07 am

Probably people have thought of this before, but I have been thinking about it. Would it be possible to have a portable run on solar power? Maybe possibly have it run on batteries at night? It would probably be a lot of work but in the end it might be worth it

What are your guys opinions about this?

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:12 am

i doubt any solar panel small enough to fit on a portable would be powerful enough to power one and i don't play them in the sun, but other than that, it's a pretty good idea

Post by **SpongeBuell** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:17 am

Last person I remember to ask this got banned

Then again, he is/was a legendary spammer

(gungfu13)

N Rage64 · Post by **N Rage64** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:20 am

you could always have the solar panel charge the battery like get a rechargable battery and y do always ppl think an soon as you dont get sun to something solar power it doesnt work it saves the energy an dalso uses it

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:26 am

solar panels have actually come a long way as far as energy yield, and weight, and the new crop of 'OAC' systems use much smaller amounts of power than their ancestors. It's very possible to have a lightweight solar panel (flexible even) that charges a set of batteries that the unit runs off of. The backside of the unit would be ideal, you could easily get a 4x6" panel one one of our portables, and simply set it upside down when not in use.

the question is, why would you want to spend extra money just to charge your batteries in an somewhat silly way? If I were into extended hikes, or something, this would be an option worth considering, but since most of us are nerds...

http://solarworld.com/PowerFilm.htm
S-MPT6-150 looks like about the best you will do.
100mA @ 6V for $27

I have also seen solar battery chargers at batteries plus that you could tear apart, but they were over $50, and I doubt the panels were better than the above ones.

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:10 pm

Might be good for a trickle charger though, I may look into it for my N64p, especially since I may take it to camp and am not that interested in carrying around the 5 sets of batteries it will require. This requires that I look into that certain charger I saw at Lowe'sâ€¦

minkster · Post by **minkster** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:38 pm

I think that if it was possible to maintain the power, it would really help the more powerful systems such as the N64,PS2,PSX, and so on.

Reploid Ayla · Post by **Reploid Ayla** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:52 pm

its possible im sure, but i dont think you want jocks following you down the street chanting 'nerds' as you play your portable PS3...

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 3:41 pm

You also have to be aware of your screen.

Any backlit LCD outside will have to be bright. No power-saving LED mods for you. Try looking at your laptop or PDA outside...not fun... And they have rather bright screens.

what you could do is just go without lights, letting reflected sunlight backlight the screen (I believe ben's SNES did this). That should use almost no power. (maybe keep LEDs on a switch for indoor use)

I had rather hoped you weren't thinking of newer systems with it. Don't try them, they have enough problems getting power already. If it's got an electric motor, or much more than one chip, I wouldn't bother. I'd think an unlit screen with a goac or noac will probably run off that 4.5"x6" panel, but I've never seen the draw of these--somebody may have some figures on battery runtime you can figure it out from. 100mA @ 6V is really quite a bit, I think. Unless I'm reading that wrong.

Still, IMO, gaming outside sucks.

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:59 pm

Personally, I'd have an external solar panel that would power the trickle charger for my batteries. I'd probably also use one of those 12v ones too, mainly because they'd actually have the necessary power for it.

Radon199 · Post by **Radon199** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:20 pm

This is what I would do if I had some extra time.

The solar panel would supply power to the battery, and because its so masive it would cast a shadow over you alowing you to play even with the sun is at its brightist, plus if your carful you can use it as umbreala.

*o* · Post by ***o*** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:30 pm

that would look hilarious!!!!

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:34 pm

Plus, it would defeat the purpose of it being portable. Honestly, you could easily carry a couple of DVD player batteries in your backpack and have it run for 24 hours for the same price and size. Heck, for that matter you could just mount the PSone screen on your head and put the whole SYSTEM in a backpack. Or just use a hip gear pad.

minkster · Post by **minkster** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:32 pm

Wow, that sounds creepy having a crap of solar panels to power a portable like that lol. I guess solar power isn't advanced enough to be a proper size to fit in a portable

Niku-Sama · Post by **Niku-Sama** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 11:47 pm

it looks like your powering your ass in that pic