Source of power for a cell phone?

[recycled sixtie]

A question came up on a hiking blog I am on. If a hiker out in the boonies could not access a source of power to recharge his phone it came to my mind that it is possible to build a solar panel to power a cell phone?

Would there be sufficient power from a small solar panel? Is it doable? You techs in solar power might know this?

Just a thought!

Think hiker in a tinfoil hat with solar panel on top....

[recycled sixtie]

I googled it and there are portable chargers out there that can charge a cell phone.

[drkshdw]

Of the several hikers I follow on the youtubes, almost all of them recharge their phones with battery packs they keep on them (and recharge them while resupplying). They're good for not just phones but also cameras, ipods, headlamps, flashlights, etc. and hold enough power to recharge everything a couple times over.

With that said, power never seems to be an issue with them. The bigger problem is service. Sure they can run apps while in the boonies to stay on trail but for emergencies they all seem to use an InReach.

[Geronimo '74]

Battery packs, backpacks with built in solar elements would work too.

https://www.theadventurejunkies.com/best-solar-backpacks-for-hiking/

Or portable stand alone solar panels.

[masraum]

Solar options on Amazon. No idea if they are any good.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=portable+charger+usb+solar&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aportable+charger+usb+solar

Not solar, portable rechargable batteries for charging devices via USB
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=portable+charger+iphone&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aportable+charger+iphone

[fastfredracing]

Remember when we would go backpacking to get away from it all ?

[stevej37]

For those cloudy days..
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MFCFKG5/ref=sxts_kp_bs_tr_lp_1?pf_rd_p=8778bc68-27e7-403f-8460-de48b6e788fb&pd_rd_wg=YbGIK&pf_rd_r=JJQ0QN2PHJZYENNV08G2&pd_rd_i=B01MFCFKG5&pd_rd_w=7R9k7&pd_rd_r=0ea68ae9-685e-4ebd-a07e-494e4649ffce&ie=UTF8&qid=1551022662&sr=1

[LakeCleElum]

I'm in the woods a lot. I have a battery pack with solar/usb/and incandescent charging....Only costs $20...........I read where if it was dead, it would take 24 hrs to fully charge on solar....

I usually travel with my ph in airplane mode till I need. Good battery life unless snowmobiling in temps single digit or below zero.........That is hard on a battery.

[cabmandone]

Charge a couple of the portable charging blocks, turn off everything that eats power on the phone (wifi, location services etc...) and you should be good for a few days. If I disable all the power eating features my phone will last for a few days without charging.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

If a hiker out in the boonies could not access a source of power to recharge his phone it came to my mind that it is possible to build a solar panel to power a cell phone?

YES!
I built this one on my last hiking trip. I still have to work out the circuitry, but I'm confident it will work.

[red-beard]

We manufacturer solar powered cell phone charging stations. Probably bigger than you need, but each unit has the capability to charge 4 phones at once and a battery for use at night, which holds enough to charge 20-30 cellphones, depending on how discharged they are.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Remember when we would go backpacking to get away from it all ?

Yes I do, Not to mention that there prolly isn't much coverage in the deep woods.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Yes I do, Not to mention that there prolly isn't much coverage in the deep woods.

I was thinking more of navigation on or off the trail. I got thinking when reading a hiking blog in the UK and this backpacker/tenter was going to use a cell phone for nav and would the campground have facilities to charge his phone. Perhaps a cell phone won't navigate if out of range of signal. I have no idea.

The ability to solar power a Garmin handheld gps would be an advantage. I have no idea if that is possible....

[cabmandone]

I'd go with a handheld GPS unit for nav. and save the phone for a just in case emergency.

[Evans, Marv]

In the early 70's when I would live in the back country for three to four months, I would only have a transistor radio for entertainment. It took 9V batteries and ate them up reasonably quickly. So I rigged up a small solar panel I bought from Radio Shack at the time, used one or more diodes and resistors to regulate and direct the power to play my radio during the day. If I could rig something like that up close to half a century ago, there should be something now to power and store power for a cell phone.

[reachme]

Waterlily turbine can be dropped in a stream or use the wind to charge a phone.
Probably not the first or fastest option but would earn street cred among the North Face nuts and berries crowd

https://waterlilyturbine.com/

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

I googled it and there are portable chargers out there that can charge a cell phone.

Correct, there is also a little hydro generator that can charge as well.

Edit: looks like reachme beat me.

[Nickshu]

I have a solar charger that I got at REI. It can charge the phone directly or you can charge up a battery back that you can then use to charge the phone at night. Works well, just slowly of course.

[drcoastline]

Geezus- do they know when I read a forum thread too? This just popped up on one of those rotating ads.

Patriot Power cell, $14.00

[TimT]

I [s]made[/s] assembled a small portable solar charger a few years ago from a kit..has a LiPo or LiIo battery for storage and back up..

https://learn.adafruit.com/usb-dc-and-solar-lipoly-charger

It can be packaged many ways... you can even forgo the solid panel and and get the flexi fold able panels...

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