SM100 solar light for off-grid communities.
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- This is a rather interesting solar light, mainly because its intended purpose is to bring safe light to area of the world that do not yet have a power distribution network.
I bought this from the UK organisations website at:-
www.solar-aid-...
The Facebook page of Solar Aid is at:- / solaraid
The lights is simple and functional. It has a stand that can be used to angle it for charging or for use as a desk lamp. The solar panel is generously sized and there is charge protection for the internal LiFePO4 cell. The control circuitry is based round a standard garden lighting chip with an integrated current regulator for the LED.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...
I love the simpler products like this one that has a switch: ON / OFF And that is it.
None of that flashing SOS shite or whatever...if I want a flasher I can go down to the park at night.
Man what I would have given for one of those when I was a boy, I grew up on an old farm, the house was built in 1910 by my grandfather when he purchased the land from the RR company. We had no power and relied on kerosene lamps for our light, we had one white gas lamp that was rather bright, it was in the kitchen for mom. We had no extra money for flashlight batteries, in fact I was punished if caught shining a light into the darkness when I feared there were ghosts and such (when I was very young, dad would tease us about ghosts with tales of darkness from his childhood days!) One of those would have been a Godsend, so I can imagine how great they would be for folks who still live in such a situation now days.
A second, larger, version with 5V USB output in addition to the light would be great. My understanding is that communication is often limited to cellular/satellite. That would allow (limited) charging capacity. Also what this needs is multi-level control. After all if you do not need the full output going 50% would almost double that 5 hour run time!
Now we need to raise money to get Torx drivers to developing nations!
Well Clive I think a company has been listening to you, I have to say is a good and simple torch.
This is one of my favorite channels I swear it.
I see a new video come up and I need a fresh beverage and some time to enjoy.
Awesome.
(Content comment to follow)
I enjoy your videos thoroughly as an electrical engineer myself, I appreciate your input.
The cost is so low on these that I'm surprised they don't have a buy one give one type of offer to help get them into the hands of kids who would benefit from them.
I love the design based on what you've pointed out, Clive. Truly a long term design built for long term service.
Of course one could conceivably apply the same garden light technique of taping over the holes to augment the weather seal. which would also put another protective layer over the solar cell if one thought there might be the potential for inordinate exposure to moisture.
We envision a bevy of test instruments, waiting like cheap dates by the phone, hoping for the fleeting moment of on-camera exposure. The multimeter glaring angrily at the spudger, envious of an imagined favoritism bestowed by The Master. Supervising all, the "line voltage safe interrupter" sits quietly by with Cheshire Cat countenance... smug in its familiarity with the bright light of fame.
Are Jayem
Meanwhile the bench power supply sits off stage, content with knowing his role is highly important. The public rarely even consider his existence, but he doesn't mind. He still gets to meet most of the stars... Even gets to interact quite intimately with many of them.
tin2001: Hee hee hee... Shall we offer a "clever commenting" service to other YTers? Discrete, intelligent, articulate - all for $1.99/comment. Cheap at twice the price. Thx.
+tin2001 The bench power supply of shame. It has a common design flaw that causes rare but dramatic crashes that put out random voltages.
My word, I think we have the making of a hilarious entertainment. Sort of "Toy Story" but each character is a piece of bench equpt. The crabby signal generator, the ostracised power supply, the smart-alec line-power meter... Might the BBC pick this up??
Let's not forget the pie tin containment device, never deployed until _after_ it's needed.
Wow that UT210E is stunning!! I have a much larger clamp ammeter that can read DC Amps up to a few hundred but it hardly stays at zero like this one does. The slightest activity makes it shoot up to 30A or 50A when there's no current passing through at all. It's only good for measuring very high DC amps like a car's starter motor :(
Clive does note like warnties, from the manufactures rather basic product-faq, "you should not replace the batteries by yourself. Indeed you are not allowed to open the lamp in any case. For any mal-functioning refer to your SunnyMoney contact. Opening the SM100 will invalidate the warranty. ". I'm so glad he does this so we don't have to.
I like this idea...there are so many super cheap items like this that we make fun of, but they really could have a big impact in other worlds. Plus something about "storing" sunlight for later use as light I've always found interesting. They probably use Torx so the end users can't open them...these people have no idea what electricity is or how it works, they should not be playing with lithium cells. (That goes for a lot of people inside the US!) It is very unlikely they could manage to "fix" one of these lights if it dies. It would have been nicer to use two LEDs inside, that way if one dies the other might remain lit.
I've come up with a BigClive drinking game. After having watched many videos I think this would be a good one. You have to drink a beer or take a shot every time Clive says the word 'modest.' Have fun! ;)
I LOVE ALL TYPE OF SOLAR
When translating the data sheets, you could take a screenshot of the translation in order to print it out.
B&M currently have 2 for £8 on LED lighting, and this includes some Phillips dimmable LED fillament bulbs. I've got one myself and it works well, dimming smoothly down to low level. Might be an interesting teardown if you can get hold of one. Must have a capacitor for smoothing since when on a normal switch, instead of going off instantly like an LED normally does, it fades like a conventional bulb.
I'd like to see you review that screwdriver set.
That off-center solar panel is driving my OCD crazy. It also looks like the last module in the solar panel to the left got stacked on top of the one next to it at an angle.
3,65 V for 100% charge, 3,5 V for 95% charge....Nice little product this one. Good idea to use a LiFePo4 battery too.
hey Clive have you messed with the Google translate app on the phone? you can do real time translation of anything you point your camera at, it's really neat.
A lot of clever features and safety has gone into this. Those batteries are still dangerous. a regular screw would be common knife but a torx screw needs a special hard to find tool. They could've used cheap screws, but didn't.
It looks real well designed and thought out. Good on them.
I wonder how many actually makes to any kid, and not gutted for batteries and parts!
That's a nicely built little unit.
They should make a head torch of the same nature.
Love your work. Greetings from USA, Illinois.
thanks clive, good stuff as always ^^
It would be interesting if someone developed these so that they could couple together in series or parallel so that you could essentially gather a bunch together to make a solar generator to power larger appliances.
I believe d.light started this business model, but good to see others also doing same.
Great video as always.. you might look at the Luci Lantern style lights. similar idea with donation to Africa, I think they donate a light for every light purchased.. something like that.
it's an inflatable lantern light.. bought a few for my camping kit.
love your channel keep up the good work.
Nice content! Keep it up!
Loving that new logo!
Had to look it up; in case other are interested, I saw 3.65 as the peak for LiFePO batteries
That's a nice warranty voiding driver set. What's the brand name and how much was it.
Clive, could you consider doing a video on how temperature extremes affect rechargeable batteries? Thinking of the use of a rechargeable light such as this in conditions of extended storage or use in sub-freezing temperatures.
You get specific cells for extreme temperature conditions. For low current drain devices it's a bit less critical.
So as I understand it, the green LED will be lit any time the solar panel is exposed to (bright) light. It would seem to me to be more useful if it only lit when the battery reaches full charge.
Good choice for that cell But still it's gonna wear when putting the gadget in full sunlight in the desert.Batteries just don't combine with that oven in the sky.
Nice review. I think i'll buy one just to support the project :)
@ gadget Addict...exactly what I've just done, hell you can never have enough small torches.. nice of clive to include a link to the website
Nice review & great cause Clive - well worth a punt to support them, if only in a small way! Awaiting stock for my order atm though... 👍🏻 🤑 🐍
nice big switch, decent sealing, lifepo4 battery....not too bad.
Being that its not waterproof,I would worry about it not being much good in humid climates.After seeing what happends to typical garden style lights,seems it would become a green house in no time,complete with moss. ,there is always a use for this in desert type regions.
it is actually literally physically impossible to pick out the right size of torx bit on the first go
yes, the smaller they go, even worse!
50:50 shot with plugging in a USB cable correctly, but it still takes me three tries.
LOL Syncubus! That's so true for me too! Three, four tries... it's better than trying to force it in the wrong way (thinking you already had it the wrong way the first time) and then breaking the USB port circuit board or causing a short...
I hate to say it but that's never happened to me. I have used many torx bits and I have gotten it right every time. The smallest one was a T2 torx.
+Christmas Eve I did that once.
@7:03 Might not a screen capture be appropriate then? Windows key + Print Screen (PrntScn) if M$ hasn't changed things in the 15 years or so since I've used Windows or Grab on OS X (which lets you choose between capturing the entire screen, a specific window or a selection)... it'll add 30s or so to your workflow to grab the screenshot, open the resulting .bmp or .tiff and crop if necessary before printing... just a thought (^_-)
as for the screwdriver, i bought one of those nice aluminium ones from ebay seller in china, when it came, it didnt have the 8 promised bits, it had 4, and two of those , the 2 philips werent cut, they were just tapered bits of metal....
Poundland is your friend.
i know they have them, its hard for me to get to one, hence i use ebay a lot
Normal charge voltage of a LiFePO4 is ~3.6v
~3.3V
Actually, 3.2784774836737464776 is the nominal voltage.
LiFePO batteries have a very constant discharge voltage. Voltage stays close to 3.2 V during discharge until the cell is exhausted. This allows the cell to deliver virtually full power until it is discharged. And it can greatly simplify or even eliminate the need for voltage regulation circuitry.
+Chaz Madge In other words they behave exactly like other lithium cells but with the voltages adjusted down 0.5 v and capacity by 50%. They still need the protection chip to prevent undervoltage, but they are more resistant to overvoltage without catastrophic unplanned disassembly.
you missing the constant voltage
It was really stupid to use torx screws if this is made for developing countries, because these are the sort of things that could be used and repaired for years and torx screws are hard to use unless you have the right bit.
I think they're trying to avoid them getting instantly stripped for parts (eg. the battery, solar cell)... Doesnt mean i dont agree with you.
Do you really doubt the ingenuity of these people to be able to remove a simple screw.
9ff70f96 I've got a shed full of tools and still managed to wreck the head of a torx screw not using the right bit.
Yes, as many of the people in the target audience will not have the tools required. And if they had the ingenuity to build the tools, they wouldn't need White folks to provide them with free lighting.
john jones I don't know if I'd call it a lack of ingenuity, but rather a lack of resources. from everything I've seen of developing areas of Africa and places of the sort, the residents are incredibly clever, mechanically, given the resources they have, making what they need and want with what they can get a hold of. manufacturing a special screw bit that would hold up to continuous use is most likely beyond even the most clever person without providing them with basic manufacturing resource.
C'mon Clive. I know you can't leave it at that! Mod the bugger and put it to good use. You cost me 3quid the other day in pound land. How about hooking it up to run some of the string LEDs?
something I sort of noticed was it looks like its just ABS plastic with no UV protectant. Its fine enough for a while but for a solar thing thats going to see constant use, I dont know.
Interesting to see something like this. Personally I would have made it a bit more water proof (probably IP67 or so) because it's pretty much inevitable that a few of them will be dropped into water by accident. It would not have cost more than another few pence on the bill of materials either. Good vid though.
a few years ago I purchased 20 solar powered automatic air fresheners The refill cartridges were no longer made, I think I paid £5 for the lot.
I sold some on eBay for solar projects as the solar panel . charge and timer circuit and the electronic spray valve were good quality.
I made well over my outlay back and still have 3 left brand new boxed.
Your welcome to one if you can make a video of a project that will help somebody learn I can post it to you free
Solar powered air fresheners? I can see why they didn't take off. Solar implies outdoor. It's got its work cut out for it if it's going to freshen your whole garden.
My solar powered calculators works well enough indoors.
Can you get enough power from an indoor power cell to depress a plunger once every 5 minutes?
Peter McArthur it has an electronic valve no mechanical parts also has an led light to show enough light is present
Paul Sengupta within seconds of taking out of the box the led starts flashing in a room with reasonable light I was surprised myself
ide like too see big clive design his own solar light
this could be super useful in my third world esque dirt poor neighborhood. I'd probably get charged a first world rate for them.
Lights make a huge difference in safety and security, It'd be super useful to have a dusk sensing feature on them though.
Hey Clive, I like that meter too, would you recommend it? How about a quick review checking current accuracy at low values?
Thanks for the 'sensitive' presentation Clive. I was hoping you would get round to taking one of these apart. These products really are transforming peoples lives and health here in Kenya... perhaps sometime in the future you can feature the
www.dlight.com/solar-lighting-products/single-function/a1/
I use them as garden lights and find them very hard to fault, but of course for the tens of 1000's with no access to electricity these are an absolute god send and the only form of lighting in their homes, as you quite rightly stated.
Neat little device!
any estimates on run and charge time? this is a pretty good design,, built in stand for reading,(is it actually enough to read with?) will certainly be handy in developing countries, bit like baygen when you bought one you also paid for one in africa
330 mA hours battery capacity, 45 mA light current draw.. You don't want to use more than 80% of capacity, though it will continue to work all the way down to zero. So 5.8 hours is run time. Charge time, I don't know, the video doesn't have the charging current.
cheers^
+Jusb1066 Charge time in African sunshine about 2 hours. Charge time in Scottish sunshine about two months.
Thank you Clive
The translation "won't print out"... screen capture is your friend here.
If it is on your screen, you can print it.
Clive, you're a wizard
For things that dont print you may be able to use PRT SC key amd past into Paint!
04:00.....Ayyaaahhhahh.......😂😂
I feel like I should sample that along with a few other things and make a Clive sound board.
Ooh-kay
Oh, Blimey.
Laterally.
Zach Ashton If you have the resources & ability to do then please do that......Would love to hear that...🙌🙌
Well, I'll see about making it. It's the sampling that takes the time. It's easy to knock out some JS that plays the files.
Not gonna lie for 10 quid you get a torch that charges with the sun. Sure they claim to sell it cheaper to developing countries, but it's still bloody useless.
The LED is behind half a centimeter of plastic, wasting light by splashing it all over the case, there's no USB charging ports (at least *one* would've sufficed) and the thing is designed to make it impossible take apart to repair, which I'd say is vital for people who'd have little access to just buying a new one off the shelf or online.
I say a USB port would've been necessary because while it's true they don't have as many gadgets and such to use them with, it's incredibly naiive to think they'd have no use for charging over electronics. It defeats the entire point of an expensive solar cell when it does the same job *a wind-up torch can do for much less*. If they had cheap phones or tablets, or even a USB-compatible battery charger for other electronics, this device would've been great as a solar powerbank but also for charging items for free.
Instead, you get a mediocre LED with a bit of metal, and most of the money goes intoa solar panel that isn't even utilised to its full potential.
This product clearly wasn't designed for developing countries in mind, it was designed to *make a profit off the backs of struggling communities and charities thinking this product will make a damn difference*.
Hi Clive any chance you could do a tear down/how it works- of a small bathroom extractor fan, I have one which works,but the time delay side of it has stopped working, I was goin to replace it,but if it's just a case of a few capacitors which are used to keep it running after the powers off? Then I would like to repair it.... Would be a good video as well I think😀😉. Atb Martin
It may be the power supply resistor that has failed. They often use a simple resistive dropper and they get very blackened over time. If you do take the module out then be very careful as there is a constant live feed to the fan as well as the switched one.
bigclivedotcom Ok thanks,will take a look at it
I think the kids instead of snuggling under the covers with a good book, they will more likely be using them to see while grinding corn or going to fetch water etc.
We can have such an idealistic view sometimes. lol
which either gives them more food than they had before and is more likely to free up time to read a book, either way, its going to improve their life not make it worse
I don't know, spotlighting where you are while fetching water, to help the lions, doesn't seem like a good idea.
I agree - send them guns instead of lights eh ?
Lions can see just fine in the dark.
+Green Silver That did go through my mind. I was trying to paint a happy picture as opposed to the reality of artificial light resulting in longer working hours.
Any idea what wattage the led cell is? I must have missed it if you did mention it. From the 3.2V x 42mah calc it suggests about 1.3-1.4w, how would you find the intensity and a fully charged runtime of maybe 7hours? Am I close or did I miscalculate? Looks a decent quality compromise but could do with being scaled up into a bigger light
yeah its about 7 hour(6.66)
45mA from the battery, not driving the LED... as the voltage of the LED is likely lower, its current will be higher.
+TheDefpom It's a simple current regulator, so it will mostly be the current through the LED.
Are there any good motion detecting solar lights? I know Harbor Freight sells several and I see them on Amazon but haven't tried any!
mines cheaper lol no stand tho i made a flashlight out of a garden light and some 3d printed housings , my kids love them and as long as they out them in the window they always works .
Could one make a solar device that would trickle charge an AA NiMH but allow it to be safely interchangeable with a disposable AA without intervention?
I think that could be more suited versatile long term use off grid.
It's like the Gravity Light, a light which uses a bag of rocks on a string and gearing like a grandfather clock to power a generator.
...except much simpler to produce and use.
What? This has nothing to do with gravity light this is solar.😂
Try using a solar light with no gravity. It's keeping us in orbit around the sun.
hahaha
Watched pretty much all Clives vids. Brillant! all of them. :) I still can't find a way to "click" 'Thumbs up' when in full screen mode. I also get confused with the electronics terms "pull up" "pull down" "across" and "in respect to". i do have a disability with learning tho. if anyone has any "explain it like i'm five" explanations (with pictures?) that can put the 'vernacular' language into a context to help me learn, i'm sure that myself and possibly many other beginners would be very grateful.
Pull up and pull down refers to where an input pin on an integrated circuit is connected to a switch. You can't leave the pin floating, it has to be either positive or negative, so if the switch is connected to the positive rail there is often a resistor inside or outside the chip that pulls the pin down to the negative rail when the switch isn't pressed. Where the button/switch is pulling the pin to the negative rail the resistor will be pulling up to the positive rail.
@@bigclivedotcom Thank you sir! :) so the 'pull' is getting the input "to get off the fence and choose a side, a side that 'we' have decided that you prefer, for you" ?
Also pull down and pull up. no push? is push a term?
Needs to include an emergency dynamo if possible and include a power out connection for those real emergency emergencies.
BigClive What are the pros and cons of the different types of lithium battery?
Standard lithium ion is most popular because it has the highest energy density. The LiFePO4 has lower energy density, but more stable chemistry that will yield a much higher number of charge discharge cycles and longer shelf life. The LiFePO4 is also less volatile when it is damaged.
Clive, does the package state, or do you have an instrument to measure the lumen output of the lights you test?
Nice video
IKEA has something similar:
"SUNNAN solar lamp sold, the IKEA Foundation donates one to UNICEF!"
(Pris in Norway is close to 9£)
It would be nice to have a simelar view on this. Have a pair that I bought because they have a very desent sized solar panel and the led give a good reading light. After a day in the sun you can read for 3-4 hours..
Ah, I've got one of those in the attic. It's an older one and is based on replaceable AA NiMh cells.
the ikea one shines its own light onto the solar cells, do they know something we dont?
It could be a nice light for an emergency kit at home, if it wasn't for the 0.14mA quiescent current. it will discharge a full battery in about 3 months. if you turn the light on and forget about it it will be even worse once the protection kicks in after about 8 hours and the pull up resistor keeps discharging it until the end of time...
bets kit for emergency , is a AA led flashlight with a real off switch and no smart circuitry and 2xaa lithium batteries, they have a standby time of 10 years and still last 4x longer than regular, buy one with medium brightness to last a really long time, my varta is rated over 50 hours on alkalines will go ages on the 2 lithiums i put in there
Just leave it on your windowsill instead of in the cupboard.
Why did they use Torx? Not exactly end-user friendly for their intended market!
+Mark Schwarz I thought that was a bit odd. We should send them some screwdriver kits too.
Probably as a statement of "no user serviceable parts inside - *and don't even think about scavenging it*!"
Probably. Might be the solar panel company or battery company doesn't want them to allow easy scavenging/servicing and has some contracts there.
Could be because they don't want people to immediately ruin the light.
You make an excellent point.
+bigclivedotcom A direct reply! Fanboy heaven! Keep up the great work Clive.
Great video as always, but where were the flames, starting to expect flames on this channel.
Nice video.
Subbed.
I'm curious if they used a standard white LED with Vf >= 3V or if they used one that can drain the battery flat to 2.8V
+Sebastian Grygiel The circuitry has battery protection built in.
+Sebastian Grygiel I should add that most white LEDs will still light down to lower voltages close to 2.5V at lower current.
Why on Earth wouldn't they use an 18650? They're much more common and can be salvaged inexpensively from many devices.
cost? an 18650 would be about 50% of the total cost of manufacture (guesstimate) AA (which is what this is) are more common
Lifespan. LiPO4 lasts for about 3 to 5 times as many charge/discharge cycles.
Yeah, probably cost. Lithium AA batteries are quite rare in my experience, and it's not like you can replace a lithium AA with a Ni-MH or alkaline battery, but the manufacturer probably had a choice between a less robust chemistry with an 18650 and this battery.
you could stick two nmih aa's in there in series and it would be alright. not amazing but alright!
its called a 14500 cell, still pretty common size, the 300ma capacity is typical of the real capacity of Chinese 14500, and is half the size of putting two aa nimh in there, and bout the same capacity as cheap chinese nimhs
Do you accept donations of products? i mean to take them apart like you do
For the page you cannot print take a screenshot of the page, paste it into a photo editing software or Ms Paint. Save it and then you should be able to print it 😀
What is the model of the dc current clamp you are using? And where can i buy one like it.
gadgetman36 thank you.
I got one too, it's excellent. The DC current accuracy even at low currents is impressive
Can you make something that doesn't need battery? They don't even need a solar cell on top. Maybe just lift a 50kg sandbag in the evening for about 1,5m height that any man can do in 2 seconds in the evening and use that energy to lit up a led like this. It doesn't create any waste like the battery and plastics used with this. That could work for weeks even with nearly 0 effort on their part and sand they probably have everywhere. :)
Lots of use in Scotland then?
@bigclivedotcom , I feel you omitted to touch onto one of the most basic and important aspects of a thing like this, and that is, how much time is it going to take it to charge that battery all the way? Even if we would be talking about being in a very sunny location with it, would that be six hours? eight hours? how in the world would a schoolkid be able to have it charge for such lengths of time? in many cases he or she would probably have to guard it all the time in order for it not to get nicked, which would simply not be possible given all hours even in third world countries, in Africa, you name it, still would be during daytime hours. (also, is position world have to be adjusted to keep facing the sun a few times.) I find all these kind of things with minimally sized solar 'panels' garbage for exactly all this kind of reasons.. (and especially all those cheap, horribly produced garden lights you refer to, that have even far less actual solar cell surface, often badly cut leftovers totaling only mere square centimeters, absolutely not doing in our own regions with the overcast that is normal - and they all end up being thrown with domestic waste, batteries and all, because well that's just how most people are, isn't it!)
I like the good will behind these sorts of things, but like the the OLPC, I can't help but feel they often end up missing the mark. Have you seen the price of these sorts of things on ebay including non-bulk delivery? I can't help but think you'd be better off funding and organising a big shipment of an existing device rather than designing a new one from scratch, even if the new device is more ideally suited. Basically I think there is often a lack of pragmatism. Maybe that isn't the case here though, although superficially it feels like it might be.
As mentioned already, the obscure torx screws seems like a terrible design choice.
I see how this would be a valuable item for a child, or even an adult as a personal item .... but I feel like if we really wanted to move the needle with regard to providing light in an village in a developing country where there was no electricity, then it would be much more economical to create a central resource with a large battery and solar panels which could provide limited electricity to many people.
Experience teaches us that, in the poorest areas, hub-and-spoke infrastructure projects often get into difficulty. We often get best results with simple, personal solutions like this one, even if they’re not the most efficient. Upgrading infrastructure can come later.
What happened to the good old clockwork wind up Torches.
Cute torch, shame they could not have used surplus phone batterys for a better capacity, the charging chip would support it.
im sure the trustfire 18650s arnt exactly in short supply though! at least they are using the correct capacity on it now
youd think they would use philips screws so the people in those developing countries could actually take them apart when they break....hmm
Hey Clive, what kind of "high tech" mini screwdriver set is that?
+picax8398 Kamasa precision set.
bigclivedotcom holy crap! yoi replied to me! thanks by the way
What does the amount of sections mean on a solar panel? Does a larger amount of sections equate to a larger number of energy pipelines, so to speak?
A X each section is roughly 0.5Volts. Miliamperes are determined by size. ... combinations of serial and parallel connections can give you some combinations. Here we have them connected to series, so mA rating is determined by surface of one cell and voltage is a multiply of cell count ( 8?) so roughly 4Volts...
JanicekTrnecka Thanks. I take it that more cells means more energy can be absorbed at one time.
A X energy equals to surface . the potential is depending of how mamy section it has and the current is depending on the surface size...( one cell if in series)
but still the energy ..with same surface size is the same.
imagine it as batteries connected to series to get higher voltage... but current is limited. or you an hook them up all parallel and get low voltage and multiplied current. or varying combinations of semi serial semi parallel possibilities.
+A X If wired in series, each section adds about 0.6v, so ten sections would give about 6V. The size of each section determines how much current it will supply when in sunlight.
I enjoy watching your videos, but you never seem to tell us how long stuff runs for.
Where did you get that screwdriver set from?
I've heard SM100 is a bitch to work with.
Wears out tools, belts, anything really. Real hard steel
Whoa, new driver set?? First new logo, now driver set......when will it end?
What's a driver set?
Oh, screwdriver set. Not sure it's new, it just comes out on special occasions.
It's a neat little light, but, they can get them cheaper from poundland... :P
So for how long would a fully charged LiFePo cell light up that LED? And could this time possibly even be increased by putting in a 20 cent JouleThief circuit? Also, how long does it take the small solar cell to charge this LiFePo cell? These are all questions I wish were answered in the video. Well, maybe someone will answer them in the comments :)
+Seegal Galguntijak It will run for about 5 or 6 hours on a full charge. If the sense resistor value was increased it would run for longer at lower intensity.
bigclivedotcom But how much could that value be increased by putting a Joule Thief into the circuit? Or not at all? (But then, everything that I heard about Joule Thiefs must be wrong?)
Seegal Galguntijak The Joule Thief is intended for use where the cell voltage needs to be increased to drive the LED. It would be less efficient than the integrated driver used in this application.
bigclivedotcom - Now I understand. Before the JT could do something, the LiFePo cell would be depleted below its deep cycle threshold and probably be dead. So I guess a JT would only be of use for an application that uses non-rechargeable batteries (so that the battery first powers the LED normally, and at a certain voltage, the JT gets switched in the circuit so that it can then deplete the battery to the last without having to care how much energy is left for it to be recharged without damage). Makes sense - thanks for the explanation!
torx screws cost more than phillips head or flat head screws
engineered obsolescence at its finest
Also, notable is the switch. It's seems rather beefy.