Hi there,

I have a friend who will be travelling to Uganda/Kenya shortly, and was wondering how easy it would be to set up a solar charging scenario, using this solar panel and a charger like this.

Am I way off the mark here, or do you guys think this is a viable option. I don't know much about miliamps or watts! Just know there won't be many plugs in the jungle!

Hope you can help
Richard

[El Indio]

Hi!

What you need to find out is whether lithium ion batteries can be trickle charged over an extended period (like Ni-Cads). Given that a camcorder battery is large (in energy rating), its gonna take along time to charge up.

To give you an idea, my battery charger has an output of approx 8V * 1A = 8Watts. This would require 4 (of your suggested) solar panels, or take at least 4 times longer with one (assuming its possible to trickle charge and optimal sunny conditions)

Sadly, It doesnt sound too hopeful to me, but then Im NOT an expert on charging.
El

Thanks El Indio, that sounds like a start. You can connect those sport panels together, so maybe two panels would be acceptable, bearing in mind it would take twice as long to charge. Starting to get pricey though.

Any other suggestions? Anyone?

Thanks again
Richard