Solar powered 7D

SkipD wrote in post #14790039
That's not necessarily true. A voltage controller can be used between a solar cell array and the load and no battery would be needed - as long as there's enough sunlight to operate at design parameters.

Your camera needs constant power. And sometimes quite high peaks.

So while it - in theory - is possible to skip the battery, a real design do need a battery. The camera must have enough power to save pending photos to memory card even if the sun gets behind a cloud or you move into shadow.

Without a battery, the panel would have to have a very big over-capacity to supply enough power for the quite big power spikes generated by the camera.

Talley wrote in post #14790110
Also guys this was merely a joke. The best way to make a "Solar powered battery charger" would be this:

10w 12v solar panel
12v battery for panel to charge
75w cigarette lighter inverter hooked up to said battery
use original charger on this charger.

could also power/charge anything. duration would be depending on how large of a 12v battery u use. grab a car battery and pretty darn long haha.

I've always wanted a non-battery solar powered flashlight.

Talley wrote in post #14789525
oh btw, I am a Master Electrician so I'm being serious but the real question is...

Talley wrote in post #14789525
Also guys this was merely a joke

Huh?

marzel wrote in post #14790219
Huh?

Serious about why not. but Joke because of impractical it would be to carry all of it around.

Thats why you develop/build a nice sleek plastic box with fittings to make it an actual convenient product. Then you try your hand at selling your product to people who also want to share in the convenience...

I still like the mad hatter idea

As for the inverter, going from 12v DC to 120v AC back down to 12 DC to finally 7.2v DC is not what I would call efficient.

Talley wrote in post #14790110
Also guys this was merely a joke. The best way to make a "Solar powered battery charger" would be this:

10w 12v solar panel
12v battery for panel to charge
75w cigarette lighter inverter hooked up to said battery
use original charger on this charger.

could also power/charge anything. duration would be depending on how large of a 12v battery u use. grab a car battery and pretty darn long haha.

Actually for those wanting a way to travel and charge via the sun, all you need is this Nomad kit and your factory charger.

http://www.goalzero.co​m …pe-150-Adventure-Kit/1:2/

There are cheaper less bulky ways to create something very similar though, using Novuscells, solar panels (like the lesser Nomad kits), and an aftermarket 12v vdc LP-E6 charger.

I know many master electricians that are either afraid of or are uncomfortable doing DC work, so being a master electrician doesn't mean you can do DC projects.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #14790394
Actually for those wanting a way to travel and charge via the sun, all you need is this Nomad kit and your factory charger.

http://www.goalzero.co​m …pe-150-Adventure-Kit/1:2/

There are cheaper less bulky ways to create something very similar though, using Novuscells, solar panels (like the lesser Nomad kits), and an aftermarket 12v vdc LP-E6 charger.

I know many master electricians that are either afraid of or are uncomfortable doing DC work, so being a master electrician doesn't mean you can do DC projects.

Not a bad kit. Most of what I know from DC is simple circuits automotive type stuff. I also know the worst I've been shocked came from 12v, worse than 277v lighting circuits.

bigVinnie wrote in post #14790289
I still like the mad hatter idea

As for the inverter, going from 12v DC to 120v AC back down to 12 DC to finally 7.2v DC is not what I would call efficient.

I didn't say efficient, I said easiest.

I was on an night shift project once and forgot my wall charger to my iphone so I went out to the truck and grabbed my cigarette charger and used an 18v dewalt battery and some solid wire, wrapped the wire around the charger and stuck into the prongs of the batter.

Instant charge

Talley wrote in post #14790415
I didn't say efficient, I said easiest.

I was on an night shift project once and forgot my wall charger to my iphone so I went out to the truck and grabbed my cigarette charger and used an 18v dewalt battery and some solid wire, wrapped the wire around the charger and stuck into the prongs of the batter.

Instant charge

Again the nomad system has the 4xAA battery pack that can store energy and supply you with USB and iphone power, so again they have some products that might help you out. If you overheat the dewalt battery (or any cordless tool battery), you risk fire or an explosion. Keep in mind that those battery packs are nothing more than some sort of AA configured sequence inside. (AA, 4/3 AA, etc).

There are several of these products out on the market too, but I am unsure of their performance, and they would only be good for mobile devices, not charging DSLR batteries.

http://www.buy.com ….html?listingId​=127999564

Most newer battery pack solutions are based on Li-Ion batteries so they consists of one or more 3.6V cells. So no AA or 3/4 AA or similar anymore. And the big reason is of course the higher energy densities giving more capacity or less weight. And today also at a very affordable cost.

The way I would try it is to create something wearable like a gear bag with the panel in it, or somehow made of flexible solar panels! That way you can carry all you want, and have juice on the go.

pwm2 wrote in post #14790493
Most newer battery pack solutions are based on Li-Ion batteries so they consists of one or more 3.6V cells. So no AA or 3/4 AA or similar anymore. And the big reason is of course the higher energy densities giving more capacity or less weight. And today also at a very affordable cost.

The size format can still be along the AA footoprint. The voltage, in many cases, is independent of the individual cell sizes that make up a battery pack.

http://www.batteryjunc​tion.com/oneli18322ma.​html
http://www.batteryjunc​tion.com/li18322mahre.​html

If you are handy, the parts all exist out there to build what is being requested here, but yes, the overall footprint would still be pretty bulky.

Yes of course the cells can be cylindrical. But often not following battery dimensions of older battery technologies.

AA batteries have a 14mm diameter - your two cells have 18mm diameter for example.

Next thing is that many of the better battery manufacturers don't sell Li-Ion cells through end-user channels because of the huge danger to charge Li-Ion cells. When buying complete battery packs, the pack doesn't just contain Li-Ion cells, but also a battery supervisor chip that keeps track of temperature and charge state of the battery pack. And the chargers interacts with this supervisor chip.

And yes - the cell voltage isn't affected by the size of the cell. The 3.6V comes from the chemistry - not the footprint.

pwm2 wrote in post #14790590
Yes of course the cells can be cylindrical. But often not following battery dimensions of older battery technologies.

AA batteries have a 14mm diameter - your two cells have 18mm diameter for example.

Next thing is that many of the better battery manufacturers don't sell Li-Ion cells through end-user channels because of the huge danger to charge Li-Ion cells. When buying complete battery packs, the pack doesn't just contain Li-Ion cells, but also a battery supervisor chip that keeps track of temperature and charge state of the battery pack. And the chargers interacts with this supervisor chip.

And yes - the cell voltage isn't affected by the size of the cell. The 3.6V comes from the chemistry - not the footprint.

Yes, that would put them very close to the 4/3AA that I called out. I have worked with these before to rebuild laptop batteries, rechargeable cordless home phone packs, etc.