My Place-Anywhere solar charger.[meme] - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Undweeber
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 05:32:08 pm
content: Let me know if you have any suggestions on how I could improve it.From left to right: Casio calculator solar panel hooked up to a 10F supercap, solar atomic radio watch, and a solar keychain (it does charge actually, tested it, got it for $1 on Ali)

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 07:21:06 pm
content: Umm...That doesn't look like a super cap, but a regular electrolytic. And 10µF isn't so super either.Edit: Alright, 10F is super enough. ;-)What is the cap plus solar panel combo meant to achieve? Does it?What's "atomic" about the watch?Why would I want to charge my keys?And finally: What's your point??

author: Undweeber
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 07:47:57 pm
content: The supercap is 10F and it’s for experimentation purposes, like would it be able to keep an LED lit all night long, right now it’s just testing if it can be charged within a day and the answer to that is yes (with the sunshine) so I’ll have to test it when it’s overcast.The watch receives atomic clock signal corrections every night from 1000 miles away and is solar charged.The keys stay lit for hours after a good charge so I think ambient should be enuff.Point of this is that it’s a place anywhere lol. Something Apple tried and failed bless their hearts.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 08:00:55 pm
content: Alright, thanks. I realize that the "atomic" buzzword is (or at least was) frequently used with radio-controlled clocks and watches; but a buzzword it is. And I was just poking fun at you with the key comment; you forgot to mention in your original post that there is a light involved. Directly charging the keys is less meaningful, even from solar energy... But apart from that: My keys reside in my pocket, and the sunshine hours there are pretty limited.Ah well, I guess I am simply allergic to the "meme" concept.

author: Undweeber
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 09:37:31 pm
content: Oh yeah definitely a buzzword, it’s just when you say radio controlled you usually get WhaAaAaA??

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2020, 03:14:08 am
content: Make this fit in a AA battery form factor then stick a batterizer on it and you can probably keep your house going during a power outage.

author: babysitter
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2020, 07:40:04 am
content: Or separate dozens of stupid inve$tor$ of some of their monies if done well.

author: jesuscf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2020, 05:01:43 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on February 19, 2020, 07:21:06 pmThe watch receives a low frequency signal from an atomic clock reference to synchronize itself every day. In North America it is the WWVB signal transmitted from Boulder Colorado. They can also receive the 'Atomic Clock' signals from Europe and Asia.I own a Casio Tough Solar Atomic watch I bought in 2003. I have used it almost every day since. Number of times I changed the battery: 0. Number of times the time was off for more than a second: 0. Best watch ever!In 2017 I visited the British Museum. In the section of Clocks and Watches you can see the progress of clocks and watches over the last few centuries. The very last watch in the collection is exactly the same Casio Tough Solar Atomic watch I own (2006 model); and there it is with a bright light shining on it, working nicely and with the correct time!