Solar panels

Frances Kofod fkofod at bigpond.net.au
Thu Jan 27 23:56:38 UTC 2011


Hi All,
I investigated what I would need to use my MacBook Pro if I went  
camping in the bush. Someone directed me to www.multipoweredproducts.com.au

They have lots of good things on the site including the Solar Gorilla  
and were very helpful when I spoke with them Unfortunately I cannot  
afford the recommended setup at present. I would still like to do it  
some time.

I have pasted below the recommendations for the MacBook Pro.

Good luck all

Frances

> From: "Multi-Powered Products" <sharon at multipoweredproducts.com.au>
> Date: 12 July 2010 10:39:19 AM
> To: <fkofod at bigpond.net.au>, "'John Devitt'" <info at multipoweredproducts.com.au 
> >
> Subject: RE: Someone submitted the form from your 'Contact us' page
>
> Hi Frances
>
> Further to our conversation this morning, just trying to sum up.....
>
> Regarding the Gorilla Combo, the Power Gorilla would be great  
> however if you are relying on solar, it should be noted that the  
> Solar Gorilla only draws about 10w of power, so it would take quite  
> a long time to charge the Power Gorilla up.  We would be happy to  
> provide a Magsafe connector for your Mac Book Pro free of charge  
> should you choose this option.
>
> The other option we spoke about was a combination of the Tekkeon  
> Battery and one of the large Global Solar panels. Typically laptops  
> use around 50 – 60w of power so it makes sense to use a more  
> powerful panel, we recommend a minimum of 30w.
>
> You would need the following:
>
> Tekkeon Battery $265
> Global Solar P3 30w Panel $799 OR a Global Solar P3 62W Panel $1450.00
> Charge Controller $99
> Mac Book adapter $14.95
>
> Please let us know if you still have questions after reading the  
> information above.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Sharon
>
>
> Multi-Powered Products
> (A Division of John Devitt & Associates Pty Ltd)
> P.O. Box 550
> Balgowlah
> Sydney, NSW 2093
> Australia.
> Tel: 1300 883335 (within Australia)
> Tel: 61 (0)2 6495 9927
> Fax: 61 (0)2 6495 9922
> email: info at multipoweredproducts.com.au
> website: www.multipoweredproducts.com.au



On 28/01/2011, at 12:01 AM, Post, Mark wrote:

> Hi All -
>
> I'll add two cents from the mountains, where I'm trying hard to be  
> minimalist: Solar Traveller (UK) has come out with some reasonably  
> good Li-ion batteries called "Power Gorillas" with lots of included  
> adaptors (but make sure you get the right one for your laptop) and  
> variable output 8v/9v/12v/19v/24v (would be nice to have a 5v, but  
> oh well). I power a Lenovo x61 8cell to about 80% with one full  
> charge, which gives me 5-8 hrs using Toolbox and MSWord on low-power  
> mode (about 4-5 if transcribing), and if I had the money to buy one  
> of the new solid-state Lenovos, I'd presumably have more. With two  
> Power Gorillas, I have enough additional power for 12v AA/AAA and  
> camcorder battery chargers via car lighter adaptors (included with  
> the Gorillas), and don't need AC at all (so no inverter). And the  
> Power Gorillas can take a 20v input, so I don't need a charge  
> regulator (unlike with a lead acid battery). Power Gorillas are  
> designed to work with 20w "Solar Gorilla" solar panels, which,  
> however, in the mountains (no more than 5 hrs peak sun) don't give  
> me enough charge even when daisy-chained. Also, I've found that they  
> don't work well by directly-inputting into some laptops, despite  
> that this is what they're designed for, especially when 19v laptops  
> are powered-on. However, I've found that a 60w flexible panel well- 
> placed charges one Solar Gorilla in about 3 hrs of peak sun, and  
> another 1-2 hrs gives the other a good run. So far, I haven't run  
> out of power yet, and I'm using everything pretty heavily.
>
> So the setup I'd recommend for people interested in avoiding lead  
> acid batteries and firm solar panels is:
>
> 1) 60w flexible panel
> 2) 1 or 2 Power Gorillas, depending on peak sun hours at field site,  
> plus any add'l adaptors needed
> 3) 12v chargers with car lighter adaptor cables for AA/AAA and  
> camcorder batteries, of which cheap copies (buy some backups!) are  
> available on Ebay etc.
>
> The whole setup weighs about 2-3kg not including whatever laptop you  
> have, but is a bit pricey at about AUD $1000-1400 depending on where  
> you buy everything. So it is really a reasonably well-funded  
> fieldworker's set up rather than a practical community-oriented  
> solution.
>
> One additional point is that this setup doesn't work very well for  
> Mac users, as Macs can only run off the Power Gorillas (via a car  
> lighter adaptor), and can't charge the internal battery. This seems  
> to be an Apple design quirk which probably won't go away.
>
> Cheers from Arunachal,
>
> Mark
>
>
> Mark W. Post, PhD
> Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Anthropological Linguistics
> James Cook University
> Cairns QLD 4878 Australia
>
> TEL (AU): +61-7-4042-1881
> TEL (IN): +91-89746-64180
>
> http://jamescook.academia.edu/markwpost
>
> ***I am on fieldwork in Arunachal Pradesh until late April 2011 and  
> can (hopefully) be reached on +91-897664180. Keep trying.***
> ________________________________________
> From: r-n-l-d at unimelb.edu.au [r-n-l-d at unimelb.edu.au] On Behalf Of  
> Xavier Barker [meibitobure.gaunibwe at gmail.com]
> Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 5:44 AM
> To: Aidan Wilson
> Cc: r-n-l-d
> Subject: Re: Solar panels
>
> Spot on!  Check him out on http://www.servalproject.org/
> <http://www.servalproject.org/>
>
> On 27/01/2011, at 10:56 AM, Aidan Wilson wrote:
>
> This (the stuff on the finemespot.com<http://finemespot.com>  
> website, not the lab-in-the-case stuff) seems reminiscent of an  
> invention I saw on the New Inventors (ABC Australia) about this  
> system, in which a portable mobile coverage tower is rolled out to  
> areas after disasters (Haiti was the most recent disaster at the  
> time and was the cited example) which would allow people to connect  
> to one another and call emergency numbers while the normal towers  
> are non-functional. The benefit of the system was that users  
> retained their regular numbers and could therefore call one another  
> in the effectively closed system. And calls inside the cell network  
> are free since it never goes to a telco.
>
> I'm going entirely off memory here, so I might be getting a couple  
> of details wrong, and can't remember what it's called. And I'm also  
> getting significantly off-topic...
>
> --
> Aidan Wilson
>
> PhD Candidate
> Dept of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
> The University of Melbourne
>
> +61428 458 969
> aidan.wilson at unimelb.edu.au<mailto:aidan.wilson at unimelb.edu.au>
>
> On Thu, 27 Jan 2011, Xavier Barker wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> As always, i can offer no practical fieldwork advice, but...
> Our company provides small mobile internet connected computer labs  
> in a suitcase (or, rather, pelican case) to a number of schools
> in off-grid parts of Uganda.  We fit 11 netbooks with 9 cell  
> batteries and a single loom charger.  Most netbooks are designed to
> draw 19V, but we have no problem at all fitting the loom directly to  
> a 12V battery and providing DC power.  With this
> lab-in-a-case, we are able to provide fully internet-connected(3G/ 
> gprs/edge/sat (with a SPOT
> (http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=116)) to places that  
> have no power.  The system is able to be used for about 5 hours
> without a charge, but a whole day oif trickle charging from solar.   
> Whilst this solution works for getting everything charged at a
> base station where solar panels can be permanently fixed, there are  
> also a number of really good portable options. Keeping in mind that  
> the netbooks will run fine on 12V DC (as will small desktop PCs like  
> the Eee Box which can be fitted with a DC
> LCD monitor), it is possible to rig a 12V folding solar panel  
> directly to the charger of the netbook.  Suntech make small folding
> 60W 12V panels but they still weigh about 15kg - not great for  
> lugging around.  ALternatively, and much better if weight is a
> concern, is the 20W solar-charging laptop bag
> (http://www.multipoweredproducts.com.au/products/Voltaic-Generator-%252d-Solar-Laptop-Charger-Bag.html 
> ).  This bag has batteries
> which will bring your netbook up to a full charge in a day, provided  
> you get about 5 hours of sunlight.  It's probably not going to
> be enough to charge a full-sized laptop though.  It also has outputs  
> for you to connect 5V USB devices and car-plug options.   This
> means you can plug in a caravan/car/camping style lamp into the case  
> at night and give yourself plenty of power. Cheers,
> Xavier
> On 27/01/2011, at 4:06 AM, Jeremy Hammond wrote:
>
>     Hi All,
>
>     I am pretty much in agreement with Tom and have being  
> successfully doing a
>     similar setup for the past 3 years in Vanuatu. I also buy lead  
> acid
>     battery in-situ but am considering getting a solar-specific one  
> this year
>     if I can find it in Port Vila. I'll just add 3 points.
>
>     1. Buy a universal battery charger. They are great and means you  
> can
>     really cut down on the amount of chargers you have to take (I.e.
>     phone/Camera/AA/video/AAA/USB are all doable with mine). Here is  
> one
>     http://www.solartechnology.co.uk/shop/camcaddy-cc1005.htm but  
> there are
>     different brands/models. You can buy them at most camera stores.  
> I just
>     have two of these for all my charging needs (plus my laptop  
> charger of
>     course).
>
>     2. Consider getting solid panels. If you have easy enough access  
> to your
>     fieldsite and have a long term relationship with them then it is  
> an easy
>     process to take it there and set it up on a roof etc. I usually  
> take a
>     solid 50W panel with me each time I go so that now I have around  
> 150W
>     which should be above 200W this coming year. They are super  
> strong, and
>     great long term value. Plus now I leave them there setup with  
> LEDs on the
>     battery so that people there can use the light at night, even  
> when I'm not
>     there.
>
>     3. While tom suggested the "workman's" light and they are good,  
> if you are
>     electrically handy then making your own LED setup is really  
> inexpensive
>     and easy. There are some great yellow ones that are good for
>     reading/working by as well. On that note as Tom said, test your  
> setup but
>     also understand how it works. Get a friend who knows something  
> about
>     electronics to explain it to you and when things go wrong, you  
> will be in
>     a much better position to fix it.
>
>     Jeremy
>
>     -------------------------------
>     Jeremy Hammond
>     Syntax, Typology and Information Structure Group
>     Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
>     P: +31-24-3521171
>     E: Jeremy.Hammond at mpi.nl
>     W: http://www.mpi.nl/people/hammond-jeremy
>
>     On 26/01/11 7:27 AM, "Tom Honeyman" <t.honeyman at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>           Hi Jeff,
>
>           Despite the negative "reality check" at the end of the  
> paper Pat
>
>           mentions (thanks Pat!, also the paper supersedes the blog  
> posts, but
>
>           thanks Peter!), I am now quite happily using solar power  
> for fieldwork
>
>           in Papua New Guinea.
>
>           My current setup (well actually I've dropped/genericised/ 
> forgotten a
>
>           few items to simplify!):
>
>           1 low power netbook (they're all almost exactly the same)
>
>           2x DC adapter for netbook, but also adapters to charge USB  
> devices,
>
>           mobile phones etc also very good
>
>           2x Li-Ion battery pack chargers (for camera, video camera  
> etc... can
>
>           be very handy)
>
>           1x DC-DC adapter with multiple plugs (very handy for  
> powering all
>
>           sorts of things if you know what you're doing)
>
>           DC plug adaptors (so I can plug in many things at once)
>
>           50W foldable solar panel
>
>           charge regulator with load cut-off
>
>           10x AA NiMH AA batteries
>
>           8x AA NiMH AAA batteries
>
>           1x AA/AAA battery charger (charges 10 batteries at once,  
> each
>
>           individually)
>
>           1x AA/AAA battery charger (charges 4 batteries in pairs -  
> this can be
>
>           a pain if you have a device that uses 3 batteries!)
>
>           Head torch and mag-lite - make sure they work with  
> rechargeables!
>
>           Often they don't work well with them.
>
>           12v/DC workman's light, fluro or LED based, low power  
> consumption
>
>           (these are really good for a lot of light!)
>
>           All the regular equipment otherwise (recorders, speakers,  
> mike,
>
>           cameras, etc), but make sure they work well with  
> rechargeables).
>
>           And then I also pack the following for fixing stuff (but  
> only if you
>
>           know what you're doing):
>
>           fuses, glass and blade with several spares for each device  
> that has one
>
>           pack of alligator clip wires
>
>           Gaffer tape (often available in country)
>
>           digital multi-meter
>
>           pocket knife
>
>           jeweller's screw driver set
>
>           super glue (often available in country)
>
>           I tend to buy a (preferably deep cycle) lead acid battery  
> in country.
>
>           This let me work for a few hours a day on the laptop, use  
> torches/
>
>           flashlights at night, and put on a "movie night" once a  
> week. Every
>
>           now and then an activity might come along (like a big  
> recording
>
>           session, or very rainy weather, or on one occasion my roof  
> blowing
>
>           off!), which would drain the battery too much. Then I'd  
> have a day or
>
>           two not using the laptop (far and away the most power  
> hungry).
>
>           4 things I'd recommend:
>
>           (a) check _everything_ beforehand. There are many "single  
> points of
>
>           failure" in a solar setup. That's why its good to have  
> backups, or
>
>           multiple ways of achieving the same thing.
>
>           (b) get a charge regulator with a load cut off. This  
> magical box will:
>
>           - ensure that the battery is charged properly, dropping  
> the power as
>
>           it approaches a full charge and cutting the power entirely  
> when the
>
>           battery is full
>
>           - stop power flowing back into the panel at night (this is  
> often
>
>           redundant depending on the panel)
>
>           - cut the power to your devices when the battery is too low
>
>           Basically this will let you safely run your equipment, but  
> it'll
>
>           ensure that the battery doesn't fail because you've  
> drained it too
>
>           much... this is something that is _very_ easy to do. If  
> you know what
>
>           you're doing then you can drop this, but you'll spend more  
> time
>
>           managing your power setup and less doing work.
>
>           (c) try to eliminate using AC power. This is costly. I  
> guarantee that
>
>           you will not have enough power to do all the things that  
> you'd like to
>
>           do. So this means do not use "wall adapter" plug  
> equipment, use "car
>
>           adapters" for all of your equipment. The DC adapters for  
> charging a
>
>           laptop can often power other equipment. The DC-DC adapter  
> is extremely
>
>           useful for powering low power equipment. Having these  
> flexible, multi-
>
>           plug adaptors can be very useful for unexpected scenarios  
> like
>
>           powering a cassette recorder you've borrowed because your  
> audio
>
>           equipment fell in the river. Or powering your recorder  
> directly
>
>           because your batteries or battery chargers have failed for  
> some reason.
>
>           (d) check that the AA/AAA powered equipment works, and  
> works well with
>
>           rechargeable batteries. Rechargeables operate at a lower  
> voltage than
>
>           Alkaline batteries. A lot of equipment is designed for use  
> with
>
>           Alkaline batteries, and even though initially they may  
> work fine,
>
>           later in the field you may discover that they have a  
> (seemingly) short
>
>           life. Digital cameras often are designed to work with  
> rechargeables
>
>           these days (sometimes they last longer with  
> rechargeables), but
>
>           torches/flashlights for instance are often not.
>
>           Hope this helps,
>
>           Tom
>
>           On 26/01/2011, at 3:48 PM, Patrick Hall wrote:
>
>                 Hi,
>
>                 Honeyman also coauthored a paper with Laura Robinson  
> on this topic in
>
>                 LD&C which might be of use:
>
>                 Honeyman, Tom & Laura C. Robinson. 2007. Solar power  
> for the digital
>
>                 fieldworker. Language Documentation & Conservation  
> 1(1): 17-27.
>
>                 It's available online:
>
>                 http://hdl.handle.net/10125/1722
>
>                 cheers,
>
>                 Pat
>
>

Frances Kofod
PO Box 1918
Kununurra
WA 6743
08 91692 852 ~ 0438 894957



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