I'll be spending some time in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta NWR this spring. The birding and photo opportunities should be terrific. But the amenities, such as they are, will not include electricity. There's a limit on how many batteries I can pack; TSA, weight limits and cubic are all factors. There will probably be enough sunlight to use a portable solar charger, but I have no experience with them. Can anyone here offer any tips or advice?
I'd also like to see the solar charger that can really work in a situation like this. Does it exist? Has anyone here actually used one? Jim, right now I've had the same dilemma and ended up buying 10 batteries. They don't take up too much room or weight compared to other options.
REI has one from Brunton that has a peak production of 26 watts and takes 4 hours to charge 4 AA batteries. I can buy a pack for my Olympus E-3 that will hold AA's, but my experience is that you don't get 4 hours use out of them; Li-Ion are much better. The Brunton charger is also $425, a very expensive dust collector if it doesn't work.
Posted by David Bostedo on April 11, 2008 at 8:43 AM
Jim,
I have used the Brunton SolarRoll 14 to charge my lithium Ion batteries in the field and it worked well, though I have only had to actually use it once, during a 20 day winter expedition. I usually just take a ton of batteries during the warmer months and leave the roll at home.
Carl
I'm on an extended road trip and don't have access to the files at home. But a friend came up with a charger having a flexible solar panel for a lot less money than is being bantied here. As I recall he paid between $100 and $150 for it and said it was plenty for charging camera batteries even on cloudy days.
A lot will depend on battery life in your particular camera. I get close to three days hard use out of a single charge in my Nikon D2X, provided I don't spend a bunch of time viewing on the LCD. We use an inverter and 12V car battery to charge in our remote location, and one charge on the 12V battery adds up to a whole bunch of charges for the camera batteries. I can basically charge the camera batteries in around 4 hours.
I'd estimate how long it will take to charge a battery under your worst conditions, then have at least three batteries total so you can use one and carry a spare while the third is charging.
Don't forget the issue of memory and image storage. You will want some kind of download device or a whole bunch of spare cards. If the former, your charging system is going to have to work for that device, too.
Posted by Carl Donohue on April 22, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Hey Jim,
Is a 12v battery possible? I use a Deep-cycle marine (12v) battery at the cabin in McCarthy, and with a small inverter I can charge my D2x battery pretty quick .. much quicker than 4 hours .. I wonder if that's due to the inverter you're using Hank?
The deep cycle is the way to go, as they're designed to be run down, and recharged from scratch, unlike a typical battery. 2 6v batteries run together will last forever for simply chargering your camera batteries .. you could even runa laptop off it and have plenty of juice. how long will you be out there for?
I found a pretty decent Brunton 22 watt folding solar charger, a non-transformer charger and a solar panel - charger adapter. I tested the rig on a completely drained Olympus Li-Ion battery pack and in nearly bright sunlight it charged the battery up in less than 4 hours. Assuming the Y-K Delta can muster a little sunlight, I should be fixed. Either way, I'll post an equipment review on my return.
Sounds ideal Jim. Based on my experience with solar chargers, I'm betting you'll get fine results.
Hey Carl. I'm not sure about that 4 hours, but it's a 300W inverter and seems to charge about as fast as when plugged into a household AC outlet. Could be I am doing a bad job of "guesstimating" the 4 hours or it may reflect my habit of running batteries really low before charging. I guess I better check the watch a little closer next time around.
Though Jim has already settled on a solution (and a good one, it appears), I had a similar inclination toward using a 12V battery. We use them on our electric fences with very HOT units powering more than a mile of fence each. The car battery (whichever was cheapest and on sale) never seems to run down with a 12" x 18" solar panel, and the charger is really kicking out a lot of juice, 24/7/365.
Discussion
10 repliesCould this thing actually work? :
http://cgi.ebay.com/Portable-Solar-Power-Supply-20-Watt-110V-AC-12V-DC_W0QQitemZ320238259605QQihZ011QQcategoryZ41981QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I have used the Brunton SolarRoll 14 to charge my lithium Ion batteries in the field and it worked well, though I have only had to actually use it once, during a 20 day winter expedition. I usually just take a ton of batteries during the warmer months and leave the roll at home.
Carl
I'm on an extended road trip and don't have access to the files at home. But a friend came up with a charger having a flexible solar panel for a lot less money than is being bantied here. As I recall he paid between $100 and $150 for it and said it was plenty for charging camera batteries even on cloudy days.
A lot will depend on battery life in your particular camera. I get close to three days hard use out of a single charge in my Nikon D2X, provided I don't spend a bunch of time viewing on the LCD. We use an inverter and 12V car battery to charge in our remote location, and one charge on the 12V battery adds up to a whole bunch of charges for the camera batteries. I can basically charge the camera batteries in around 4 hours.
I'd estimate how long it will take to charge a battery under your worst conditions, then have at least three batteries total so you can use one and carry a spare while the third is charging.
Don't forget the issue of memory and image storage. You will want some kind of download device or a whole bunch of spare cards. If the former, your charging system is going to have to work for that device, too.
Is a 12v battery possible? I use a Deep-cycle marine (12v) battery at the cabin in McCarthy, and with a small inverter I can charge my D2x battery pretty quick .. much quicker than 4 hours .. I wonder if that's due to the inverter you're using Hank?
The deep cycle is the way to go, as they're designed to be run down, and recharged from scratch, unlike a typical battery. 2 6v batteries run together will last forever for simply chargering your camera batteries .. you could even runa laptop off it and have plenty of juice. how long will you be out there for?
Cheers
Carl
Hey Carl. I'm not sure about that 4 hours, but it's a 300W inverter and seems to charge about as fast as when plugged into a household AC outlet. Could be I am doing a bad job of "guesstimating" the 4 hours or it may reflect my habit of running batteries really low before charging. I guess I better check the watch a little closer next time around.
Though Jim has already settled on a solution (and a good one, it appears), I had a similar inclination toward using a 12V battery. We use them on our electric fences with very HOT units powering more than a mile of fence each. The car battery (whichever was cheapest and on sale) never seems to run down with a 12" x 18" solar panel, and the charger is really kicking out a lot of juice, 24/7/365.