> responding to
> http://www.electrondepot.com/embedded/ot-cheap-solar-cells-123761-.htm
> Seend wrote:
>
> Rob Gaddi wrote:
>
>
>> Figure folks here might know. I'm looking to put together a couple of
>> small-scale projects, just for my own amusement, that would be nice to
>> not need batteries for. Probably MSP430 based, on duty-cycles on the
>> order of a few milliseconds per minute.
>
>> It seems like I should be able to power this off of a low-leakage cap
>> and the sorts of solar cells that they put in crappy calculators for
>> $6.99 at the pharmacy. Does anyone know anywhere to buy small
>> quantities of said crappy photocells for say $1 a pop?
Local dollar store has a solar yard lamp that has a single AAA rechargeable
cell and a QX5252 boost converter for powering the led.
I bought some with the intention to use them to charge a higher voltage
battery to power a PIC. Already packaged and waterproof.
Mine has real packaged QX5252. There's some risk that any random
lot might have a chip covered in black goop.
Hasn't hit the top of the priority list yet...
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------
>
> What is your thought about photovoltaic energy?
A bad idea if you have ANY cost-effective means
of power available.
> Figure folks here might know. I'm looking to put together a couple of
> small-scale projects, just for my own amusement, that would be nice to
> not need batteries for. Probably MSP430 based, on duty-cycles on the
> order of a few milliseconds per minute.
> It seems like I should be able to power this off of a low-leakage cap
> and the sorts of solar cells that they put in crappy calculators for
> $6.99 at the pharmacy. Does anyone know anywhere to buy small
> quantities of said crappy photocells for say $1 a pop?
-------------------------------------
What is your thought about photovoltaic energy?
Reply by Joerg●May 6, 20122012-05-06
Rob Gaddi wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:46:18 -0700
> Joerg <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>> mike wrote:
>>> On 4/23/2012 1:35 PM, Joerg wrote:
>>>> Rob Gaddi wrote:
>>>>> Figure folks here might know. I'm looking to put together a couple of
>>>>> small-scale projects, just for my own amusement, that would be nice to
>>>>> not need batteries for. Probably MSP430 based, on duty-cycles on the
>>>>> order of a few milliseconds per minute.
>>>>>
>>>>> It seems like I should be able to power this off of a low-leakage cap
>>>>> and the sorts of solar cells that they put in crappy calculators for
>>>>> $6.99 at the pharmacy. Does anyone know anywhere to buy small
>>>>> quantities of said crappy photocells for say $1 a pop?
>>>>>
>>>> Try a few Dollar stores. Sometimes they have cheap outdoor lamps from
>>>> which those can be harvested. Of course, then you'd also end up with
>>>> some other stuff that you either have to use, give a way, or recycle.
>>>>
>>>> Last time my wife was there they also had tasty chocolate.
>>>>
>>> Local dollar store has lawn lights for a buck.
>>> Contains a solar cell, rechargeable AA cell, battery charger,
>>> upconverter for the led light.
>>>
>>> google
>>>
>>> QX5252
>>> jd1803
>>>
>> Yup. Pretty useful stuff in there sometimes:
>>
>> http://ynsemi.com/uploadFile/download/20091151017497441.pdf
>>
>> But you have to know someone who can read Chinese :-)
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> --
>> Regards, Joerg
>>
>> http://www.analogconsultants.com/
>
> Thanks for everyone's help. I'm amazed that it looks like
> the cheapest way to get these sorts of panels is to buy solar powered
> garbage electronics and throw out the rest.
>
That happens a lot. When I thought the battery in my cell phone was
dying (turned out just to be a contact issue) I looked around. The
cheapest method was ... to buy the same model cell phone, the whole thing.
--
Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply by Albert van der Horst●May 5, 20122012-05-05
In article <20120504144018.75f9d451@rg.highlandtechnology.com>,
Rob Gaddi <rgaddi@technologyhighland.invalid> wrote:
>On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:46:18 -0700
>Joerg <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>
>> mike wrote:
>> > On 4/23/2012 1:35 PM, Joerg wrote:
>> >> Rob Gaddi wrote:
>> >>> Figure folks here might know. I'm looking to put together a couple of
>> >>> small-scale projects, just for my own amusement, that would be nice to
>> >>> not need batteries for. Probably MSP430 based, on duty-cycles on the
>> >>> order of a few milliseconds per minute.
>> >>>
>> >>> It seems like I should be able to power this off of a low-leakage cap
>> >>> and the sorts of solar cells that they put in crappy calculators for
>> >>> $6.99 at the pharmacy. Does anyone know anywhere to buy small
>> >>> quantities of said crappy photocells for say $1 a pop?
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >> Try a few Dollar stores. Sometimes they have cheap outdoor lamps from
>> >> which those can be harvested. Of course, then you'd also end up with
>> >> some other stuff that you either have to use, give a way, or recycle.
>> >>
>> >> Last time my wife was there they also had tasty chocolate.
>> >>
>> >
>> > Local dollar store has lawn lights for a buck.
>> > Contains a solar cell, rechargeable AA cell, battery charger,
>> > upconverter for the led light.
>> >
>> > google
>> >
>> > QX5252
>> > jd1803
>> >
>>
>> Yup. Pretty useful stuff in there sometimes:
>>
>> http://ynsemi.com/uploadFile/download/20091151017497441.pdf
>>
>> But you have to know someone who can read Chinese :-)
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> --
>> Regards, Joerg
>>
>> http://www.analogconsultants.com/
>
>Thanks for everyone's help. I'm amazed that it looks like
>the cheapest way to get these sorts of panels is to buy solar powered
>garbage electronics and throw out the rest.
I just bought a 2 euro device. It includes a solar cell, a white LED,
conversion electronics (looks like a transistor with 4 pins) and
a 600 mAh AA cell with holder. (Plus all the stainless steel and plastic
to keep it together.) The cell serves double duty, as a sensor whether
the LED has to shine.
The cell is sturdy (cast in plastic) but the sensitive surface is
only 10 % of the plastic, unfortunately. Amazing.
>
>--
>Rob Gaddi, Highland Technology -- www.highlandtechnology.com
>Email address domain is currently out of order. See above to fix.
--
--
Albert van der Horst, UTRECHT,THE NETHERLANDS
Economic growth -- being exponential -- ultimately falters.
albert@spe&ar&c.xs4all.nl &=n http://home.hccnet.nl/a.w.m.van.der.horst
Reply by Rob Gaddi●May 4, 20122012-05-04
On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:46:18 -0700
Joerg <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> mike wrote:
> > On 4/23/2012 1:35 PM, Joerg wrote:
> >> Rob Gaddi wrote:
> >>> Figure folks here might know. I'm looking to put together a couple of
> >>> small-scale projects, just for my own amusement, that would be nice to
> >>> not need batteries for. Probably MSP430 based, on duty-cycles on the
> >>> order of a few milliseconds per minute.
> >>>
> >>> It seems like I should be able to power this off of a low-leakage cap
> >>> and the sorts of solar cells that they put in crappy calculators for
> >>> $6.99 at the pharmacy. Does anyone know anywhere to buy small
> >>> quantities of said crappy photocells for say $1 a pop?
> >>>
> >>
> >> Try a few Dollar stores. Sometimes they have cheap outdoor lamps from
> >> which those can be harvested. Of course, then you'd also end up with
> >> some other stuff that you either have to use, give a way, or recycle.
> >>
> >> Last time my wife was there they also had tasty chocolate.
> >>
> >
> > Local dollar store has lawn lights for a buck.
> > Contains a solar cell, rechargeable AA cell, battery charger,
> > upconverter for the led light.
> >
> > google
> >
> > QX5252
> > jd1803
> >
>
> Yup. Pretty useful stuff in there sometimes:
>
> http://ynsemi.com/uploadFile/download/20091151017497441.pdf
>
> But you have to know someone who can read Chinese :-)
>
> [...]
>
> --
> Regards, Joerg
>
> http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Thanks for everyone's help. I'm amazed that it looks like
the cheapest way to get these sorts of panels is to buy solar powered
garbage electronics and throw out the rest.
--
Rob Gaddi, Highland Technology -- www.highlandtechnology.com
Email address domain is currently out of order. See above to fix.
Reply by mike●April 24, 20122012-04-24
On 4/23/2012 1:20 PM, Rob Gaddi wrote:
> Figure folks here might know. I'm looking to put together a couple of
> small-scale projects, just for my own amusement, that would be nice to
> not need batteries for. Probably MSP430 based, on duty-cycles on the
> order of a few milliseconds per minute.
>
> It seems like I should be able to power this off of a low-leakage cap
> and the sorts of solar cells that they put in crappy calculators for
> $6.99 at the pharmacy. Does anyone know anywhere to buy small
> quantities of said crappy photocells for say $1 a pop?
>
> On 4/23/2012 1:35 PM, Joerg wrote:
>> Rob Gaddi wrote:
>>> Figure folks here might know. I'm looking to put together a couple of
>>> small-scale projects, just for my own amusement, that would be nice to
>>> not need batteries for. Probably MSP430 based, on duty-cycles on the
>>> order of a few milliseconds per minute.
>>>
>>> It seems like I should be able to power this off of a low-leakage cap
>>> and the sorts of solar cells that they put in crappy calculators for
>>> $6.99 at the pharmacy. Does anyone know anywhere to buy small
>>> quantities of said crappy photocells for say $1 a pop?
>>>
>>
>> Try a few Dollar stores. Sometimes they have cheap outdoor lamps from
>> which those can be harvested. Of course, then you'd also end up with
>> some other stuff that you either have to use, give a way, or recycle.
>>
>> Last time my wife was there they also had tasty chocolate.
>>
>
> Local dollar store has lawn lights for a buck.
> Contains a solar cell, rechargeable AA cell, battery charger,
> upconverter for the led light.
>
> google
>
> QX5252
> jd1803
>
> Rob Gaddi wrote:
>> Figure folks here might know. I'm looking to put together a couple of
>> small-scale projects, just for my own amusement, that would be nice to
>> not need batteries for. Probably MSP430 based, on duty-cycles on the
>> order of a few milliseconds per minute.
>>
>> It seems like I should be able to power this off of a low-leakage cap
>> and the sorts of solar cells that they put in crappy calculators for
>> $6.99 at the pharmacy. Does anyone know anywhere to buy small
>> quantities of said crappy photocells for say $1 a pop?
>>
>
> Try a few Dollar stores. Sometimes they have cheap outdoor lamps from
> which those can be harvested. Of course, then you'd also end up with
> some other stuff that you either have to use, give a way, or recycle.
>
> Last time my wife was there they also had tasty chocolate.
>
Local dollar store has lawn lights for a buck.
Contains a solar cell, rechargeable AA cell, battery charger,
upconverter for the led light.
google
QX5252
jd1803
They also have a solar powered daisy that charges up a cap
and dumps it into a coil that drives a magnet that's attached
to the daisy-swing. I've been thinking about trying to
make an up-converter out of that. The chip is a blob of epoxy,
so not much chance of finding data on it.
Reply by Don Y●April 23, 20122012-04-23
Hi Winston,
On 4/23/2012 4:34 PM, Winston wrote:
> Don Y wrote:
>> On 4/23/2012 3:30 PM, Joerg wrote:
>>
>>> Keep in mind that the standard cheapo cell has very little voltage so
>>> you'll have to run a JFET oscillator and wind a li'l ferrite thingie to
>>> get it to a useful number of volts.
>>
>> Ah! I've always wondered what those reference designators
>> on the schematic signified: LFT27, LFT13, etc.
>
> But keep them away from the BFH*.
<grin> With many ferrites, even the "little dinky" one is just
as destructive! :<
Reply by Winston●April 23, 20122012-04-23
Don Y wrote:
> Hi Joerg,
>
> On 4/23/2012 3:30 PM, Joerg wrote:
>
>> Keep in mind that the standard cheapo cell has very little voltage so
>> you'll have to run a JFET oscillator and wind a li'l ferrite thingie to
>> get it to a useful number of volts.
>
> Ah! I've always wondered what those reference designators
> on the schematic signified: LFT27, LFT13, etc.
But keep them away from the BFH*.
--Winston
--
* "Large Hitting Device"