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Category: Solar Equipment

Steve Chippy PaineMay 26, 2015May 26, 2015Solar Equipment

Solartab 48 Wh power-pack has 5W solar panel

There are a ton of solar-charging power packs around but I find the Solartab an interesting and stylish one that might work well for camping trips and motorhomes.   It’s not light (2.6 pounds / 1.2 KG) but that’s because it’s got a nice 48 Wh lithium polymer battery inside (13000 mAh and I assume the […]

Steve Chippy PaineMarch 23, 2015April 15, 2015Solar Equipment

1 Watt! Spring solar PC testing with the HP Stream 8.

It’s the 23rd of March. We’re into Spring in Europe and the sun has just moved above my neighbor’s house.  According to the local weatherstation there’s 365 W/m2 hitting ground level. I’m getting 1 Watt out of my 4W Changers Maroshi panel.

Steve Chippy PaineMarch 5, 2013Solar Equipment

Changers Smart Solar Charging Kit and Community

The consumer-focused solar charging sector has been damaged in recent years by the influx of cheap China-manufacture red solar chargers that really don’t do what they say. This solution from Changers.com is in a different league. I had the pleasure of speaking to the founders today and  got a bit of tech talk in. What […]

Steve Chippy PaineAugust 22, 2011Solar Equipment2 Comments

Consumer Solar Kit Gets Cheaper

Spotted in my local hardware supermarket today was a surprisingly cheap 12v solar kit. The 15w solid panel was packaged with a regulator / converter that had various output voltages, two led lighting solutions and a 7ah 12v battery. The 220v inverter shown in the image was not included in the kit. The price? A […]

Steve Chippy PaineJuly 19, 2010April 14, 2015Solar Equipment7 Comments

Simple Off-Both-Grids Solar Computing Solution with the Viliv S10

I’ve just done an interview with the  HomeofSolarEnergy website which I guess will be posted soon. The best thing about it was that it got me unpacking my solar panel and thinking about a simple solar powered computing solution again. Update: The Interview on Home Of Solar Energy is available here. I mentioned the Viliv […]

Steve Chippy PaineMay 14, 2009April 14, 2015Solar Equipment

The Cheap, All-In-One Solar PC. iUnika Solar Announced.

Does this mean goodbye to my solar panel, my 1KG lead-acid battery and the box full of cables I have? Does these mean that you won’t have to spend over $1000 on a Solar UMPC kit now? iUnika have announced a range of very low end, low-cost netbooks which include one with a solar-panel on […]

Steve Chippy PaineOctober 26, 2008April 14, 2015Solar Equipment3 Comments

Emergency Computing for the Masses.

When I did the Solar UMPC tour in 2007, it was an expensive job pulling together all the equipment. Foldable solar panels and ultra mobile computers were specialist items and difficult to find. The UMPC alone cost over 1100 Euro and had to be ordered through a specialist. Fortunately, Intel are starting to deliver on […]

Steve Chippy PaineJuly 31, 2008April 14, 2015Solar Equipment6 Comments

Ah! The smell of burning electronics.

It looks like this test is over now. The TabletKiosk MP3400 blew up on me. This morning, everything was going well. The MP3400 was charging well from the Sunlinq… …but later in the day, when I was charging the Q1 Ultra from the MP3400, it all went wrong. The MP3400 overheated in a big way… […]

Steve Chippy PaineJuly 30, 2008April 14, 2015Solar Equipment2 Comments

Spot the difference. (Technology moves on)

One year ago (see this post for details of the 2007 Solar UMPC tour kit,) I was using the setup below for my mobile blogging and tracking. This year, its a lot simpler. And a lot more powerful. Notice how the phone, GPS tracker and Camera have merged into one device. Yes, the N82 is […]

Steve Chippy PaineFebruary 13, 2008April 14, 2015Software1 Comment

An improved geo-tagged image and live GPS tracking method

You might remember that on the Solar Tour last year I used RoboGeo and a Garmin Etrex to enable an internet based track and tagged photo stream. The Etrex would do the tracking and every time I stopped I would download the track, to a UMPC, download the images I’d taken and run them through […]

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Solar UMPC

Testing mobile, personal solar equipment and techniques with the ultimate aim of running a PC from the sun - an Ultra Mobile Solar PC.

Recent Posts

  • Solartab 48 Wh power-pack has 5W solar panel
  • Quick Test: Anker 14W solar panel and Windows Tablet
  • 1 Watt! Spring solar PC testing with the HP Stream 8.
  • Anker 14 W of Solar Power for $59.99 (Hands-On)
  • Intel’s Alternative Power Architecture and a 35% efficient Solar Panel

Recent Comments

  • Augusto Mateo on Quick Test: Anker 14W solar panel and Windows Tablet
  • Plugging Laptops into the Sun with a Smart Solar Charger on Intel’s Alternative Power Architecture and a 35% efficient Solar Panel
  • Smart Solar Chargers Let You Charge Your Laptop With The Sunv on Intel’s Alternative Power Architecture and a 35% efficient Solar Panel
  • Plugging Laptops into the Sun with a Smart Solar Charger | Petit News on Intel’s Alternative Power Architecture and a 35% efficient Solar Panel
  • Ireen APPLY it Yourself on Quick Test: Anker 14W solar panel and Windows Tablet
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