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How to make a solar iPod/iPhone charger -aka MightyMintyBoost

by Honus on May 2, 2009 Table of Contents How to make a solar iPod/iPhone charger -aka MightyMintyBoost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: How to make a solar iPod/iPhone charger -aka MightyMintyBoost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Tools and materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Build the Minty Boost kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Add the battery and charger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Add the solar cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: FAQ and additional info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 9

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

Author:Honus Multi-Bot
I'm a former bicycle industry designer turned professional jeweler.

Intro: How to make a solar iPod/iPhone charger -aka MightyMintyBoost

I wanted a charger for my iPodTouch and the MintyBoost was definitely my first choice. I wanted to take it a bit further and make it not only rechargeable but also solar powered. The other issue is that the iPhone and iPodTouch have large batteries in them and will deplete the two AA batteries in the MintyBoost rather quickly so I wanted to increase the battery power as well. What I really wanted was a MightyMintyBoost! Apple has sold over 30 million iPodTouch/iPhone units- imagine charging all of them via solar power.... If every iPhone/iPodTouch sold was fully charged every day (averaging the battery capacity) via solar power instead of fossil fuel power we would save approximately 50.644gWh of energy, roughly equivalent to 75,965,625 lbs. of CO2 in the atmosphere per year. Granted that's a best case scenario (assuming you can get enough sunlight per day and approximately 1.5 lbs. CO2 produced per kWh used.) Of course, that doesn't even figure in all the other iPods, cell phones, PDAs, microcontrollers (I use it to power my Arduino projects) and other USB devices that can be powered by this charger- one little solar cell charger may not seem like it can make a difference but add all those millions of devices together and that's a lot of energy! There are some really nice features about this charger: It's solar powered! It's small. Large battery capacity- 3.7v @2000mAh On board charger charges via solar, USB or wall wart. Accepts input power from 3.7v to 7v. Remove the solar cell after charging and you have a nice compact USB power supply. Unplug the solar cell and use the Velcro to secure the MightyMintyBoost inside a backpack or messenger bag- now plug in a larger solar cell attached to your bag for even faster charging. Using a slightly larger solar cell (6v/250mAh) you can generate enough power to fully charge an iPhone in about 5.5 hours and an iPod Touch in 4 hours. Building this is really easy and straightforward- it only took me around an hour so follow along and build one for yourself! Safety note and general disclaimer: Be careful cutting the Altoids tin as it can have some really sharp edges- file them smooth if necessary. Assemble this at your own risk- while it is really easy to build, if you mess something up there is the potential to damage the electronic device you are trying to charge. Be careful in your assembly and soldering work and follow good safety practices. Only use a type of battery charger specifically designed for the type of battery you are using. Please read through the entire Instructable before asking questions- if there are are any questions just ask and I'll help out as best as I can!

Image Notes 1. iPodTouch- it's charging!

Image Notes 1. Charging on solar power!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

Image Notes 1. Arduino w/Adafruit Wave shield powered over USB

Step 1: Tools and materials

Here's what you'll need to build your own MightyMintyBoost: Tools: Soldering iron Scissors Wire cutters Pliers (or muiltitool) Multimeter Metal shears Clear packing tape Materials: MintyBoost kit Lithium polymer battery charger (the original one specified was discontinued) 3.7v 2000mAh Lithium Polymer battery JST connector/wire Small solar cell 2" x 3" adhesive backed Velcro Small double sided adhesive squares Altoids tin 7/10/10 UPDATE: Adafruit now also sells all the parts you need to make this a bit more mighty. Have a look here! http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2010/07/09/how-to-make-a-solar-mintyboost-a-solar-power-charger-for-your-gadgets/ 7/18/11- ANOTHER UPDATE: Adafruit recently introduced a new LiPo charger that is specifically designed for solar charging that has much better performance. It's not as small but the performance gains would make it worth it. Have a look and read about the design herehttps://www.adafruit.com/products/390 Some notes: The single cell Lithium Polymer charger can accept input power that ranges from 3.7 to 7v maximum. When the cell reaches full charge the charger will automatically switch to trickle charging. When charging using the mini USB port, the charging current is limited to 100mA. When charging using the barrel plug jack, the charging current is limited to 280mA. The solar cell maxes out at approximately 5v @ 100mA in bright sunlight. If you need faster charging simply use a larger solar cell- a 6v cell @ 250mA would work very well and they are easily obtainable and inexpensive. I used the size of solar cell that I did because I wanted it to be super compact. I could not find out from the manufacturer if the solar cell I used has a blocking diode. A blocking diode is used in many solar charging systems to prevent the solar cell from draining the battery during low light conditions. Instructables member RBecho pointed out that the charging circuit used negates the need for a blocking diode in this application. You can tell when the solar cell is producing enough power because the little red LED on the charger will come on during charging.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

Image Notes 1. 3.7v 2000mAh LiPoly battery 2. double sided adhesive squares 3. Velcro 4. trusty multitool 5. JST connector 6. Sparkfun single cell LiPoly charger 7. Adafruit MintyBoost kit 8. Sparkfun small solar cell 9. multimeter

Image Notes 1. My trusty soldering iron

Step 2: Build the Minty Boost kit

First build the MIntyBoost kit according to its instructions. It's really easy to assemble- even a complete novice can do it. Instead of connecting the battery holder in the kit, we're going to solder a JST connector to the MintyBoost PCB. This tiny connector will then allow the MintyBoost circuit to connect to the Lithium Polymer battery charger circuit. Make sure you get the polarity correct! Test the MintyBoost by connecting the battery pack (make sure the battery pack has a charge) and charger circuit. The MintyBoost connects to the connector marked SYS on the charger board and the lithium polymer battery connects to the connector marked GND. Now cut a notch in the Altoids tin for the USB port and use some double sided adhesive to mount the PCB to the Altoids tin.

Image Notes 1. JST connector 2. MintyBoost PCB

Image Notes 1. 3.7v 2000mAh Lithium Polymer battery 2. Sparkfun single cell Lithium Polymer battery charger

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

Image Notes 1. battery goes here 2. MintyBoost goes here 3. USB power in 4. 3.7 to 7v power in

Image Notes 1. cut notch for USB socket

Image Notes 1. Adhere MIntyBoost PCB with double sided tape

Step 3: Add the battery and charger

Now cut a notch out of the other side of the Altoids tin to fit the charger and secure the charging circuit to the bottom of the Altoids tin with double sided adhesive. Reconnect the battery and the MintyBoost PCB to the charging circuit. Make sure nothing on the bottom of either one of the circuit boards is touching the bottom of the Altoids tin.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

Step 4: Add the solar cell

There are a couple of different ways to connect the solar cell. The first is by simply shortening the connector leads and plugging the barrel plug into the barrel jack on the charging circuit. The second method is to replace the connector with another JST connector and plug it into the third connector marked 5v on the charging circuit. I didn't have another JST connector handy so I just soldered a salvaged two pronged connector to the charging circuit where there are two open pins on the 5v line. Using the second method certainly is a bit cleaner since you don't have the big barrel plug sticking out of the side of the tin. Now attach the solar cell to the top of the Altoids tin using some 2" wide Velcro. I wrapped the battery pack with a layer of clear packing tape to help protect it. Then the battery pack is simple set down on top of the two circuit boards- it's a near perfect fit. Now set your MightyMintyBoost out in the bright sun and charge it up! You should see a little red LED on the charger board light up. Once it's fully charged connect your iPod/iPhone/USB powered device and enjoy!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

Step 5: FAQ and additional info

Here's a list of frequently asked questions: Q: Is it possible to overcharge the Lithium Polymer battery? A: No- the charger will automatically switch to trickle charging and then shut off. Q: Is it possible to drain the Lithium Polymer battery completely and damage it? A: No- the battery has its own low voltage cut off circuitry that will prevent it from completely discharging- the low voltage cut off is around 2.8v Q: Does the solar cell have a blocking diode to prevent it from draining the Lithium Polymer battery? A: No blocking diode is necessary- the Lithium Polymer charger prevents the battery from leaking current. Q: How long will it take to fully charge the Lithium Polymer battery and how long will it take to charge my iPod/iPhone? A: How long it will take to fully charge depends on the amount of sunlight available but as a rough guesstimate it would take around 20hrs using the small solar cell in direct sunlight. Using a larger solar cell could easily take half if not one third the amount of time. Those same figures would apply if you were charging it over USB or using a wall wart power supply. Charging your iPod is much faster. How fast it does it depends on your device's battery capacity. An iPod Touch has a 1000mAh battery so it should fully charge it in around 2hrs. A 3G iPhone has a 1150mAh battery so it will take slightly longer and a 2G iPhone has a 1400mAh battery, so it will take around 3 hrs. Q: The Lithium Polymer charger has an input voltage range of 3.7v minimum to 7v maximum- what if I want to use a higher output solar cell for faster charging? A: To use a solar cell with a voltage output greater than 7v, you need a voltage regulator to drop the voltage to a level that the charger can handle. You could use a 7805 voltage regulator to limit the output to +5v -they only cost about $1.50 and are very simple to wire up. The 7805 will give you as fixed +5v and is usually good up to 1A current. You could also use a LM317T which is an adjustable regulator, but it would involve a bit more circuitry to use. Some people also use diodes to drop voltage, since many diodes have a voltage drop of .7v There's a lot more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_regulator The other option would be to use a 6v/250mA solar panel. This will stay within the current input range and voltage input range of the Lithium Polymer charger. Remember that you can also connect smaller solar cells in parallel to increase the available current- two 5v/100mA solar cells connected together in parallel will give an output of 5v @200mA Q: What if I want to use a charger with a higher input current limit? A: Sparkfun does have a Lithium Polymer charger that maxes out at 1A: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8293 Q: How would I connect the more powerful charger- there doesn't appear to be a clear way to do this? A: To use the more powerful 1A charger you would need to wire a two way switch to the battery so that in one position the battery would be connected to the charger and in the other position the battery would be connected to the MintyBoost circuit. Q: Will this work with USB devices other than iPods and iPhones? A: You bet! There's a list here: http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/ Q: Won't the inside of the Altoids tin short out the circuit? A: No- using double sided foam tape to mount the circuit boards keeps the bottom of the board from coming into contact with the inside bottom of the tin. If you're really worried you can cover the inside bottom of the tin with clear packing tape. Q: How much does this cost? Can I build it for less? Is it cost effective? A: If you buy everything as listed it would cost $70.75 (not including the Altoids tin or shipping.) If you wanted to scratchbuild it using the MintyBoost PCB from Adafruit, building your own charging circuit and supplying your own parts from various sources you can save quite a bit. Both the charging circuit and the MintyBoost circuit are available online- just go to the web pages listed in the tools and materials section- they're also listed at the bottom of this page. Both Maxim and Linear Technology supply free samples (according to their websites) of their ICs so you just need to provide all the other bits (available from places like Mouser and Digikey.) Using a slightly smaller solar cell and a 2200mAh battery it is possible to build it for a lot less: 2200mAh battery solar cell MintyBoost PCB After adding up the small parts for the MintyBoost circuit, a small blank PCB for the charging circuit (you would have to etch the board yourself) and a mini USB connector, you could conceivably build this for around $21.00 (not including shipping or an Altoids tin.) It wouldn't be exactly the same of course, but it would be functionally the same. I don't know if the 2200mAh battery would fit into an Altoids tin either. It would be a LOT more work of course, and there could be a fair bit of troubleshooting if you're not experienced in building these types of circuits or soldering surface mount components. So is it cost effective? Absolutely- it just depends on the amount of work you want to do. Either way, you get a very useful and versatile solar powered charger. Q: How did you calculate the power usage and equivalent CO2 values? A: Here's the math3.7v (LiPo rated voltage) x .1A (solar charge current)= .37W .37W x 12.5hrs (charge time based on average battery capacity) = 4.625Wh 4.625Wh x 365 days = 1688.125Wh per year 1688.125Wh per year x 30,000,000 units sold = 50,643,750,000Wh total used per year (50.644gWh) 50.644gWh per year x 1.5 lbs CO2 produced per kWh used = 75,965,625 lbs. CO2 produced per year Granted these are more or less maximum values but they clearly show some potential for some serious energy savings. A 12.5hr solar charge time per day isn't realistic for the majority of the planet but if you shorten the solar charge time to approximately 4.5hrs at a 280mA current the results still remain the same. General information about the Lithium Polymer charging circuit as well as a circuit diagram and data sheet can be found here: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=726 A complete description and documentation of the MintyBoost circuit can be found here: http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

Related Instructables

DIY Solar USB Create A Solar Charger iPhone and USB Charger (video) Altoids by JoshuaZimmerman by hastyhost

Minty Boost Solar Altoids Extra by AleGuy iPhone/ iPod Charger by JoshuaZimmerman

Energizer USB battery charger by pcmofo

Solar powered iPhone charger and Arduino in a book by tskware

Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 835 comments
Sep 27, 2010. 1:28 PM REPLY

Landcruiser87 says:
Love this setup,

I plan on building a 12V system for other power hungry applications, but instead of a flimsy altoids can, i decided to beef it up a bit with a pelican project box. If anyone has any suggestions about how to cover ports a little better, that would be great. Check it out! Love the instructable! Great work.

Honus says:

Sep 27, 2010. 7:16 PM REPLY Looks awesome. Pelican cases are great- I have a large one that's over 15yrs old and it's still going strong. Maybe for port covers you could mold some silicone plugs. Try Sugru!

Landcruiser87 says:

Sep 28, 2010. 1:14 PM REPLY Thanks! They're possibly one of the best made containers of any sort. I've been using them for various things here and there over the past 7 or 8 years. I like the idea of using Sugru for port covers! I was having all sorts of failed trials with grommets, silicon and other failed devices, but sugru might just be the ticket. Thanks Honus!

Honus says:
No problem- let me know how it works out!

Sep 28, 2010. 7:45 PM REPLY

fsato413 says:
Hello Honus, thank you for being generous and answering all the posted questions!

Jul 25, 2011. 10:43 PM REPLY

I just bought the v3.0 kit and I bought the new USB LiPoly Charger-single cell at sparkfun electronics as suggested by the Instructable website. The older charger circuit board seem to have connections for the battery, the mintyboost PCB and for the solar panel. I'd like to connect the solar panel to circuit board without the barrel plug ( or is the barrel plug more efficient? ) but don't know where to connect the solar panel wire to...And lastly I'd like to know if the LED for the charger turns off when the battery is fully charged. Thanks again Honus!

Honus says:

Jul 25, 2011. 11:39 PM REPLY The easiest way to connect a solar cell to it is to use an old mini USB cable and splice that to your solar cell as shown on this pagehttp://ladyada.net/make/solarlipo/ It really doesn't make any difference what type of connector is used as far as efficiency is concerned. Since the charger has a mini USB port that's the type of connector you want to use.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

I believe the LED should turn off when the battery is fully charged but I'd have to do some more research to make sure that is the case.

fsato413 says:
Hey Honus,

Aug 3, 2011. 3:11 PM REPLY

I was able to assemble everything and seemed to be working fine. The other day I wanted to see how much it would charge in 1 hr so I firsts got the new battery and used up all the charge on my iphone4, which charged my phone 68%. Once I checked that it no longer was charging my iphone battery I unplugged the iphone and left the solar charger out in the sun for an hour. Then I brought it in to charge my phone but it only charged 2% of my iphone4 battery....Is this about right? Because based on what I have been reading, it takes 20hrs to fully charge the Lipo battery which means the fully charged Lipo battery will only charge 20% of my iphone battery? Just a side note. I measured the voltage of the Lipo battery after the 1hr charge and it read 3.4V. The capacity of the battery is 3.7 which is the same capacity for the iphone4 lithium ion polymer battery, so shouldn't it charge the battery up to 100% theoretically? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks again.

Honus says:

Aug 3, 2011. 5:09 PM REPLY No- the battery capacity is not directly related to battery voltage. The LiPo used for the solar charger has a capacity of 2000mAh. The battery for an iPhone 4 has a capacity of 1420mAh. The MintyBoost circuit has an efficiency of around 85% so theoretically if the solar charger LiPo is fully charged (the charger turns off) it should fully charge your iPhone battery.

fsato413 says:

Aug 6, 2011. 10:08 AM REPLY I charged my phone for a good 14hrs where there is no sunlight interruption and once I tried plugging into my Iphone 4 it stopped charging after it charged 20% which is a great improvement from my last 2%...but it should be charging more than 20%. I bought another kit to see if it was something wrong with the first one but the second one still gives me the same result. The charger CB with the LED turns on properly for both of the kit. This is my layout of the case if it helps to help me solve this problem. Also I left the charger outside without the case when I was charging since the case was not ready at that point ( just the naked LiPo battery, PCB, charger and solar panel all connected). Could this have been the problem? I really want this to work :(

IMG_0795[1]1 MB

IMG_0798[1]1 MB

Honus says:

Aug 6, 2011. 10:50 AM REPLY The images don't show up but I'll see what I can do help. Let's eliminate as much as possible. Do you have a cell phone charger with a mini USB connector? Try fully charging the LiPo ( wait until the charger LED is off) using that and then plug in your phone and see how it does. That will tell you if it's a problem with your solar cell or charger. If not leave the LiPo out in the sun until it is fully charged- until the LED on the charger turns off the LiPo isn't fully charged no matter how long it's left outside. After the LiPo is fully charged disconnect it and check the voltage at the battery and let me know what that is. To a certain degree the time it is left out in direct sunlight is irrelevant as that isn't a good indicator of the charge the LiPo is getting- there are simply too many variables regarding quality of sunlight. The best way to check your solar cell is to use a multimeter to check both its current and voltage output while it's connected to the charging circuit in direct sunlight. I had to move mine to several locations during the course of a day to get the best sunlight.

strunnell says:

Jul 25, 2011. 5:35 PM REPLY Hello. I got all the parts for this project from the links above from sparkfun and i seem to have an issue. My LiPo charger is the newer one that is red with 2 ports one says batterry in and other says sytem out. And not much room for anything else. How do you connect the solar cell to it? and could you tell us some steps to this or put up some pics so we can see how it will all go together with the new version of the LiPo charger? thanks shawna.

Honus says:
Shawna,

Jul 25, 2011. 9:18 PM REPLY

The easiest way to connect a solar cell to it is to use an old mini USB cable and splice that to your solar cell as shown on this pagehttp://ladyada.net/make/solarlipo/ Then you just plug your solar cell into the USB port. Now connect the MintyBoost wires to the port marked "SYS OUT" (you can solder them directly or use a JST connector) and the LiPo to the port marked "BATT IN" and you're good to go. You have to solder the LiPo JST battery connector onto the charger board so make sure you get the polarity correct so you don't damage your battery or charger. The Sparkfun charger circuit has a selectable jumper so you can set the charge current to either 100mA or 500mA- it's default setting is 500mA so you don't have to do anything and I'd use the 500mA setting anyway in case you want to use a larger solar panel later on. It does stink that they discontinued the old charger as it was much easier for people to use. If you get stuck or have any other questions just let me know and I'll help out as best as I can.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

strunnell says:
Thanks so much! This helped a ton! Do you have a link to a schematic for this project?

Jul 31, 2011. 5:03 PM REPLY

Honus says:

Jul 31, 2011. 5:34 PM REPLY There are links to that info in the FAQ section- the schematics are located on the charging circuit and MintyBoost web pages.

Jr Hacking kid says:

I love this setup! But I want to make something like this: http://www.withdrake.com/media/solarbag/ With this Solar Cell: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_228179_-1 And this Battery: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8484 Is it possible? and how?

Jul 18, 2011. 6:33 PM REPLY

Honus says:

Jul 18, 2011. 9:52 PM REPLY That solar puts out a higher voltage than the charger can handle so you would either have to use a different charging circuit or use a different solar panel or lower the solar panel output voltage using a voltage regulator (which isn't very efficient.)

Jr Hacking kid says:

what else chargers are there.

Jul 19, 2011. 1:33 AM REPLY

Honus says:
Here you go- this one can handle the voltage or your solar cell. https://www.adafruit.com/products/280

Jul 19, 2011. 8:02 PM REPLY

So what you do is solder a DC power plug onto your solar panel wires and then connect the 6Ah to the battery IN port on the charger. Then connect the battery OUT port on the charger to the MintyBoost circuit and you're good to go. If you change to a solar cell that outputs 6V you can use this new charger, which will give you much better performancehttps://www.adafruit.com/products/390 The way the guy in the article you linked to built his really isn't terribly efficient as he is dropping the voltage down from 15V to 5V using a 7805 voltage regulator- that's a pretty big voltage drop and the excess voltage is removed as heat and his solar cell isn't that great a choice for this application as it's still limited to 100mA output. The solar cell you've chosen is a much better choice- and it's less expensive.

Jr Hacking kid says:

Yeah thats what i was thinking 15v down to 5v lolz kinda unnecessary. And Mahalos for the help Dude!

Jul 20, 2011. 3:07 AM REPLY

Honus says:
Glad to help- if you have any other questions just let me know!

Jul 20, 2011. 5:41 AM REPLY

blinkyblinky says:

Jul 10, 2011. 5:46 PM REPLY Li-Po batteries are very dangerous if overcharged...check out this video: http://kipkay.com/videos/explosions-and-loud-things/worlds-most-dangerousbattery/

Honus says:
They certainly are- that's why it's so important to use the correct type of charger.

Jul 10, 2011. 6:47 PM REPLY

rnicholls1 says:

Jun 29, 2011. 9:08 PM REPLY would it be possible to use this Li-poly charging circuit as a replacement to the sparkfun model? I am just wondering if the USB out will work with Iphones and such? http://www.australianrobotics.com.au/products/seeed-lipo-rider-charger thanks in advance

Honus says:

Jun 29, 2011. 10:57 PM REPLY Seeed Studio says it is not designed to handle charging mobile phones and it could overheat- probably because it can only deliver 350mA @5V.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

TheWaddleWaaddle says:
The JST connector wire is sold out, but I think this one would work just as well http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9914

Jun 27, 2011. 11:17 AM REPLY

ostomesto says:

Jun 24, 2011. 9:32 PM REPLY Instead of doing all this is there a way where I could lead the solar panel directly to the iPod with little other wiring needed. It seems over complicated to me but i don't know much abut electronics

Honus says:

Jun 25, 2011. 9:03 AM REPLY It is possible but I'm not sure how well it would work. You would need to connect a fairly large solar panel that put out somewhere around 7V+ and then use a 7805 voltage regulator to get a stable 5V output. This then needs to be connected to a USB port with a couple of resistors as Apple devices require interaction over the USB data lines in order for them to recognize a charging device. I'd do a search to see if anyone has made anything like this.

trppen37 says:

Jun 22, 2011. 12:58 AM REPLY Quick question...instead of one 3.7v 2000mAh Lithium Polymer battery can I use three of the batteries in parallel and still use this very same kit?

Honus says:
Yes. Sparkfun even sells a 3.7V 6000mAh LiPo.

Jun 22, 2011. 5:46 AM REPLY

jemor143 says:

Jun 20, 2011. 9:05 AM REPLY Could you plug a pair of USB power heated slippers to the MightyMinty boost? (like the ones use here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-USBPowered-Insole-Footwarmers/#step1 ). I'm a little worry about the current limit of the Minty boost (400ma?). I'm a newbie at this; any thought or advices would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Honus says:

Jun 20, 2011. 11:18 AM REPLY If those insole warmers are designed to be powered over USB then yes it should work as the USB standard is 5V @500mA. Having said that there are some USB devices that can exceed that so the only way to know for sure is to try it out and see what happens. Jun 13, 2011. 4:43 PM REPLY

ericb1 says:
this is such a great project, I really appreciate everyone's comments, and I assure you I have been reading all of them.

I take my son camping at the beach every summer for 4 days, and so I am trying to build one of these that will keep my blackberry charged for 4 days while I am without electricity. What I am trying to figure out the best way and which components to pair together. I DO NOT care if it fits in an altoids tin, I am planning on putting it in a clear pelican case of some kind. I am a novice when it comes to this, but capable of building it. I just don't know whether to have a larger capacity battery that will give me 3 or 4 charges, but takes longer to charge, or a smaller battery that can be re-charged faster (I usually need to charge my phone once a day) so do I try to charge something smaller fully, etc? And do I use 1 big solar panel, or 2 or 30 smaller ones wired in parallel, etc. Anyone who has used this concept, but built a bigger capacity version, I would really appreciate some assistance, thanks!

abajaj says:
hey kan u g!v me d proper descr!ption ab8 !t.....! m very much !Ntrstd 2 noe abt !t.....!!

Jun 2, 2011. 6:08 AM REPLY

Honus says:
Sorry but I have no idea what you are saying...

Jun 2, 2011. 6:29 AM REPLY

TheWaddleWaaddle says:

Jun 11, 2011. 9:09 AM REPLY I believe what he is trying to say is "hey can you give me the proper description about it? I'm very interested to know about it!". I don't know what "it" is though., -TheWaddleWaaddle

ericb1 says:

May 19, 2011. 2:44 PM REPLY This project looks great, and I'm considering doing it, but some of the parts seem to be outdated and not sold anymore. Is there an updated list of parts that can be used, or an alternative list of "cheaper" parts? Seems like the whole thing is running in the $60 range depending on the case? any assistance is greatly appreciated, thanks!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

Honus says:

May 19, 2011. 7:57 PM REPLY OK- fixed the link for the new LiPo charger that Sparkfun makes. I think everything else still checks out. For cheaper parts have a look at the FAQ section. The absolute least expensive way to make it is design and etch your own circuit board and build it using surface mount components- but it's a lot of work!

nachozombie says:
how long does the whole charging process even take? i thought solar powered stuff need more solar energy to work...

May 3, 2011. 6:33 PM REPLY

Honus says:
Take a look in the FAQ section- all the charging time info is there.

May 3, 2011. 7:32 PM REPLY

rhone3000 says:
Nice job you did, I had to try it too. I see you use the Mintyboost v2.0 kit, is it okay to use Mintyboost v3.0 kit?

Apr 14, 2011. 6:56 PM REPLY

I don't know if someone has asked this question is it bad to charge the battery while I am charging my IPod Touch. What would you advise?

Honus says:

Apr 14, 2011. 7:03 PM REPLY You can use the v3.0 kit no problem. It's not necessarily bad to charge the battery while charging your iPod- it's not going to damage the battery.

rhone3000 says:
If my battery ever reached 2.6 Volts is that bad?

Apr 15, 2011. 5:47 AM REPLY

Honus says:

Apr 15, 2011. 7:14 AM REPLY It really should never drop below 2.8 V otherwise it can be damaged. The LiPo cells I listed from Sparkfun have their own built in protection so they shouldn't drop below 2.8 V.

rhone3000 says:

Apr 16, 2011. 8:25 AM REPLY I left it in the sun all day yesterday from 7am-9pm (This is in Florida so you know the the sun is shining), and I charging my Ipod nano 3nd generation and let's say it lasted about two hours till it could not charge no more. Do you know what could be the problem?

Honus says:

Apr 16, 2011. 3:34 PM REPLY So it took two hours to charge your iPod? Was this while the LiPo was charging or not? I don't quite understand exactly what you are asking.

rhone3000 says:

Apr 16, 2011. 4:49 PM REPLY The LiPo should have been full charged because it was in the sun since 7am-9pm but it only lasted about two hours til the battery died. Is that normal?

Honus says:

Apr 16, 2011. 5:40 PM REPLY OK- so did the light on the charging circuit turn off after it sat in the sun all day? I still don't understand what you mean by it lasting two hours- you'll have to be more specific. Was it able to fully charge your iPod? Are you trying to use your iPod while the the solar charger is plugged in? Or did you simply just try to charge your iPod? You should disconnect the solar charger as soon as your iPod is charged- otherwise your iPod will think it is connected to an outlet and will stay on at full power, draining the battery. You might have a look at he MIntyBoost FAQ page herehttp://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/faq.html

rhone3000 says:

Apr 16, 2011. 8:26 PM REPLY I left the solar charger for a whole day in the sun and when it got dark outside I took it inside, so I can try to charge my iPod. and it was unable to fully charge my ipod, I was not using my iPod while the the solar charger is plugged in. The solar charger basically only charge for two hours then the solar charger stopped charging

Honus says:

Apr 16, 2011. 8:55 PM REPLY How far did it charge your iPod? The Nano has a pretty small battery (especially compared to an iPhone/iPod Touch) so it should have easily charged it in under 2 hrs. Do you know for sure that the LiPo was fully charged? Did the solar charger LED on the charging circuit turn off after leaving it in the sun all day? The only thing I can think of is that the LiPo was not fully charged- possibly due to having a bad battery as the voltage never should have dropped to 2.6 V in the first place. Solar panels also only work when they are in direct sunlight- any shade at all will seriously reduce their output so even if is left outside all day in one spot it may not have received maximum sunlight. Those are the only things I can think of right now... The first thing we should do troubleshooting this is make sure it's not the LiPo. What I would do is leave it outside again for another day, making sure the LED on the charging circuit turns off to indicate it is fully charged. Then measure the voltage at the LiPo battery- it should measure around 4.2 Volts when it's at full capacity. Do that and let me know the results and

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/

we'll go from there.

rhone3000 says:
Sorry for respond late...

Apr 20, 2011. 8:07 PM REPLY

It charged my nano from 0% - 75%, I think before I charge it the solar charger battery was probably 3.2V - 3.4V. Yesturday, I putted the solar charger out the other at 7am before the sun came up and it was bout 3.4V and I forgot about it a little bit so picked up when it got it was dark outside (at 10pm) and it reads about 3.5V - 3.6V... Today, before I set the solar charger outside before the sun comes out I measure 3.66V. I took out the solar charger out from the sun at 6pm and I measured it at 10 pm and it measured 3.9 V I never really look at the LED if it turn off or not. I'm going to try it again tomorrow and see what happens

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http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might/