ModeratedUser

Hello all,

What I'm looking for is a good traveling (bikepacking) solar panel. I'd like to get something that has an output like a good AC USB output would have. I would even go with 2.4amps if I knew that it would adjust if less amps are needed. I would definitely consider something that has two USB ports, but not mandatory. The panel should be shaped more rectangle than a square. Something that would fit on my bike rack with panniers, or even hanging from my backpack when either riding or hiking.

I was looking at dx.com today and found this panel. This is what I was thinking of. I do have 3 batteries that I'm thinking would be used for this panel, if it works out better that way.

All the pieces I have so far are;

- Nexus 7 pad
- Phone (not sure yet what that will be)
- Cygolite (360 lumens)
- Cygolite Hotshot
- USB powered SteriPEN water purifier
- Various batteries, Goalzero Switch, and two of these sticks
- There maybe other items I either would need in the future or I've yet to list. So one or two other units for the future.

I assume I'll be pulling into camp at times where there is AC power available. So if you know of a good AC powered USB charger, please do share!

Thanks for reading this and any and all replies are most welcomed.

EDIT: Kinda think this charger is a better setup than what I was looking at from dx.com. There's at least some good feedback on it too.

fietsbob

AA batteries..


that much gear at once? go find a plug in a wall .. solar takes several square feet or a long time in 1 place

[item linked to is $2000 & weighs 14 pounds ]

nun

I'd reduce the amount of electronics so you don't have so much to power.

IMHO a good external battery is a better solution for everything apart from expedition touring when you will be away from a wall socket for weeks at a time and then I'd probably pair it with a dynamo rather than a solar panel.

I run most of my stuff off AAA batteries, that includes a small radio, my headlamp and rear light and make sure I have a new battery in my bike computer before I start a tour. My iPhone is the only other electronics I carry and I take a 7200mAh battery pack that will charge it 5 times. When I'm in a cafe or motel I always recharge both the phone and battery pack.

jabantik00

i used to carry a usb battery when i traveled with a laptop. now i mostly just charge my phone at subway or wherever and keep it on airplane mode most of the time

ModeratedUser

No, this gear would not be charged at once. I'd just like to take advantage of opportunities as well as I can when it is presented. So I'd like be able to charge things as fast as possible if I have an AC outlet. Even then, I seriously doubt everything would be drained when I do this. I would also like to be able to always rely on my tablet and my phone being charged. I'm thinking taking advantage of riding time with a solar charger would do.

I don't really want to go the hub charging route. Rather expensive and would somewhat always be a bit of resistance rolling.

nun

Why do you need a tablet and a phone? Just take a smartphone.

I recommend powering as much stuff as possible off AAA batteries.....I don't like USB chargeable lights as it's just more cables and adapters to carry. AAA batteries don't weigh much and can easily be bought along the way. You don't need dedicated front bike light, just use a Petzl headlamp. Why are you carrying so many small external batteries? Just use one.

Machka 

What are travelers using to power up their e-toys?


1 laptop = wall socket plug.


We do have to get adapter/converters for various countries.

boomhauer

You (and Al Gore) are living in a dream world. You might consider a dynohub, instead.

Tourist in MSN

No camera?
No GPS?
No bike lights?
No flashlight or headlamp for use in the campground?

My last trip, I brought:
- Vintage flip phone, proprietary 110v charger. (This was left off almost all the time.)
- Android tablet, 7 inch, internal Lithium Ion battery, charged by USB. WiFi only, no phone plan, thus usually turned off.
- Pentax WG-3 waterproof camera, uses proprietary Lithium Ion battery, removable.
- Bike headlamp that I never used, uses 3AAA batteries.
- 2 taillights, uses 2 AAA batteries each. I usually had one turned on during daytime.
- Headlamp (for my head, not bike) uses 3 AAA batteries.
- GPS, uses 2 AA batteries.
- 4 extra Lithium Ion batteries for Pentax camera.
- 4 extra rechargeable AAA batteries.
- 4 adapters allow AAA battery to fit in a AA sized space, mainly used to charge AAA batteries in AA charger, but could use AAA batteries in GPS if I had to.
- 8 or 10 extra rechargeable AA batteries for GPS.
- Various cables, Lithium Ion charger, AA charger, USB charger, phone charger, 3 in 1 outlet gizmos to allow me to plug more stuff into an outlet, etc.

The friend I was traveling with had a portable hotspot that I could use with my tablet but we rarely used it, the weather was so good we did not check forecast on the tablet very often.

I occasionally camped near an outlet and took full advantage of that. I think the longest I went without a 110v outlet was 8 or 9 days.

The 3 in 1 gizmo (not sure what you call it) was extremely useful, allowed me to charge almost everything at once with only one outlet. At one campground there were three of us that were charging stuff out of only one outlet with this gizmo. At a cost of $1, that was one of the best things I brought along.

In the photo I have the AA charger, Li Ion charger, USB charger all plugged into that gizmo into a campground outlet, the outlet was for a RV campsite near the hiker biker site I was in.



As Vik noted above , a dynohub is the way to go, but my dynohub is on a 26 inch wheel, this trip was on my 700c touring bike, thus dynohub stayed at home.

ModeratedUser

Seeing that I don't have my phone yet, I'm thinking of just getting a cheapy phone and just make sure it's a USB rechargeable. The cables aren't bad. I have mostly short cables that are about a foot long. Probably roll with two with mini USB connectors and two micro connectors. I don't want to go with the AA and AAA batteries cause it seems like everything is evolving towards lithium batteries. I'd say it's doing that cause there's power capacity it that setup. Alkaline batteries always seem to get messy too. I might trim my batteries down to two. Seems like the GoalZero battery doesn't have the capacity of the others. I get a little over 40% charge to the tablet with the GoalZero and the Random Order ones is around 53-53%. Smaller and lighter too.

ModeratedUser

No camera? - my Nexus 7
No GPS? - my Nexus 7
No bike lights? - Cygolite (360 lumens) and Cygolite Hotshot
No flashlight or headlamp for use in the campground? - Cygolite Metro, there are some pretty good setting on this. The one good for walking and stuff is really pretty low.

I did have someone suggest this wall charger that I'm thinking of seriously. The item in your pic is something similar to what I have. The one I have is a little bit bigger, but it charges alkaline batteries too.

Tourist in MSN

If a tablet camera is adequate for your needs, great.

I prefer to have my GPS on my handlebar for constant use. I can't do that with a 7 inch tablet. My tablet and smartphones I have used have too dark a screen to see in sunlight, I want a dedicated GPS.

I have no idea what a Cygolite is, so if that serves your light needs, great.

If everything you have is charged by USB, that looks like a good charger.

Part of my point was that other than my tablet, everything I use has batteries that I can change to keep them operational until I get to an outlet to do more charging. That includes my lights, vintage flip phone, GPS and camera. That is a key reason that I can go over a week without charging anything.

If you use a USB to charge everything, that makes a dynohub even better. I do not know if you would be able to charge more than one device at a time or not, but if you can charge something every minute you are rolling, that is pretty useful. Unfortunately, upgrading to a dynohub is pretty costly.

One more suggestion, bring a long charging cord. I have sat in restaurants with my tablet plugged into an outlet while I am checking e-mail, forecast, etc. It was nice to have a 5 foot long cord between my tablet and the outlet.

Booger1

So this is vacation?.....Bring the world with you while you relax and enjoy life......

Just bring an old flip phone in case your lying in the street somewhere.....Since there are no more public phones....You only have to charge it once a month....Or put in a couple AAA's.

Enjoy your ride instead of making plans around the next electrical outlet...

arfer1

I use an Orange Joos (solar charger) to power my Kindle and external speakers. My camera and bike lights run on batteries.

Rob_E

Have you used a dynohub? I have one, and the difference in resistance is imperceptible when riding.

I don't use it to charge anything, though, at least not yet. It's just for lights.

For charging I've used a battery that I plug in to top off every chance I get. So far it's worked out fine. I'd like an on-bike solution so that I didn't have to worry about charging the battery, but if I went that way, it'd be using the dynamo hub, not a solar panel. I haven't used a solar panel, but it seems like I can't count on the sun to always be shining, or to be hitting the panel directly, but I can usually count on the fact that I'll be rolling on that hub for a few hours every day.

ModeratedUser

Do you happen to know the amperage on your hub?

boomhauer

You're going to need one of these in addition to the hub dynamo.

Sinewave Cycles Revolution | Sinewave Cycles

It converts the AC to DC (USB port).
I installed one and took it on tour recently.
It's a good product. Kind of expensive.
You don't need an external battery. In fact, it is pretty inefficient to use a external battery to charge another battery (i.e. your cell phone).
Amperage is a function of the speed you are traveling.
I rode at 10mph and it charged my I-phone about 3% per hour. I had a rear light illuminated, also at all times from the dynamo.
When I listened to Pandora it only charged about 1% per hour.
I was on completely flat ground so my speed wasn't changing much.
Your results may vary.

Walter S

I charge with a dynohub. I take iphone, iPad, camping lights, jam box, bicycle lights. The hub charges a mophie power station which holds near 10+ charges of the phone. I use a PedalPower+ to condition the hub output for USB output to the juicepak.

bmike

Dyno hub and UsbWerk runs the Garmin or charges a Fenix UC40 (for head and camp) or a Limefuel battery to top off iPhone.

bmike

Carrier pigeons are lighter than the flip phone. And you can train them to fly ahead and scout the route so you don't need GPS. I carry one on my shoulder when touring on on my rod brake touring bike. I also had a carbon and Ti telegraph key custom made for me but found places to plug it into existing systems few and far between, so it was unreliable for updating my ticker feed. I now carry an ink bottle and quill for writing on birch bark that I find laying along the road.

😉

Rob_E

I know it's a standard 3 watt Shimano. My electronics knowledge is pretty limited, but I know people have found relatively cheap, DIY methods to get USB power out of the hub. There are also a few more expensive solutions on the market. The Luxos U is the one I keep looking at. Headlight plus USB charging in one. I need to save up my pennies, though.

vik 

Backcountry tours:

- camera + spare battery = 1 week of power
- GPS with lithium batteries + spare set = 1 week of power [close to 2, but I like to have some extra]
- headlamp with lithium batteries = 1 month+ of power as I use it rarely
- Delorme InReach = 1 month+ of power as I use only in case of emergency

Civilized tours I add:

- smartphone = 1 week of power as I use it sparingly
- carry charger if I am near power frequently I'll use it more and recharge when needed

Tourist in MSN

I think all hubs are about the same 6 volt, 3 watt rating, and their performance is similar.

Some hubs have more or less rolling resistance. I can't feel if my light is on or off with my SP Dynamo PV-8, no perceptible drag.

A couple good articles, second one is translated.
https://www.ctc.org.uk/file/public/fe...ub-dynamos.pdf
Google Translate


Does the carrier pigeon provide your spare quills? Or do you obsess about where you will be able to find your next quill?

Booger1

Where do I find one of these birds....Sounds much better than modern electronics.....

daviddean

Hi Boomhauer - this is Dave from Sinewave. Did your phone charge at 3% and 1% per hour, or was it 30% and 10%? We'd expect better than a few % per hour, even with something like Pandora running...