Solar Power?

teamoutburst · #1 05-05-2003, 05:18 AM

I was just wandering would it be possible for a solar powered bit char-g?

Havok · #2 05-05-2003, 07:47 AM

I Have Seen The Light

I am going to take apart my solar powered calculator( don't tell my wife) and see if the power cells can charge a Ni-Cd...I don't have any Ni-Mh's right now

I'll let you know if it works....but I live in Indiana and the weather channel says I wont see the sun for few days. we'll see.......

Spanky · #3 05-13-2003, 11:17 AM

theres quite a few posts about this aleady... do a search for solar.. it has been done... kinda. i emailed the guy that did it and it workde pretty good...

http://tinyrc.com/forums/showthread....ht=solar+power

Azimov · #4 05-25-2003, 11:43 PM

You'll have a tough time solar powering one of these micros. Solar cells come in 2 varieties basically. High current, low voltage (crystaline) and high voltage low current (amorphous). If you have a cell that generates 3 VDC or so, I'd bet it puts out very little current. Probably in the double digit miliamp range. If it puts out .5 VDC or so, it probably has current in the 3 digit miliamp range. Niether of which is enough to power an induction load like these power hungry micro motors. You need 1.5 volts at 1-200 mA to do the job. I have some special cells that are rated at .5 VDC and put out about 300 mA in full sun. Three of these in series would be ample to run a micro. The cells are roughly 1" by 3", so I could form them into a 3" square. Problem is they are very special cells scrapped from a NASA satellite program. I could never replace them. I've seen similar cells sold on the net for 20-30 dollars each. But, they aren't as good. Even with the lesser cells 60-90 dollars is a bit steep to solarize a 20 dollar micro. It can be done. But, it would be expensive.

Spanky · #5 05-26-2003, 01:14 AM

i guess you failed to read other posts... the car has already been done. and auctually works.. its not as fast as a dual cell.. but it works. the solar cells in your calc will not come close to providing enough juice. you do need special solar cells. and they do cost money.

Azimov · #6 05-26-2003, 03:44 AM

Quote:

i guess you failed to read other posts... the car has already been done. and auctually works..

I've read all the posts I could find on the subject and outside of a solarized Bit racer that's really just a spiffy solar roller, I haven't found anything on a working solar powered Bit. Perhaps you could supply a link to this working model?

Rex · #7 05-26-2003, 11:52 PM

Hey Azimov, flatlander_14 was right, the longer I sit drinking coolers and staring at that clown, the more freaked out I get.

Do you think you'll have your prototype together by tomorrow? If so, post your results on the Zip Forum we've been posting to and we'll compare (assuming mine works, it's forcasted as partly cloudy here tomorrow).

-Rex

PS: If I have nightmares about Clowns tonight I blame you. ;-)

Azimov · #8 05-27-2003, 01:07 AM

I might be able to have one working by tomorrow night.
LOL, sorry about the nightmares, but I gotta be down wit da clown!

Spanky · #9 05-28-2003, 05:18 PM

the working model i was talking about was that kit racer... the link is in one of the other half dozen posts about solar powered cars. i emailed the guy that made it. since the kit racers motors get a direct draw from the batterys they tend to drain the batterys faster. a bit has a smaller demand for juice. theirs used the panels to charge a capicator. but said they could also be used to auctually charge the battery...

kit racers and bits are essentially the same.. with the exception of the pcb.... which limits voltage to the motor on bits. if it can be done to a kit racer it can be dont to a bit.