Has Anyone Tried A Portable Solar Power To Charge Batteries?

[AMann]

Shaded panels, sun orientation when walking trails, overhead canopy / partial sun, only small output panels are practical to carry on a pack, not even enough to keep a phone charged properly . . . simply not practical or worthwhile trying at this stage of solar development, but one day this might change.

When I do anything other than day walks, I simply take no technology with me, phone charged and off in bag, and a little P&S digital camera suffices for happy snaps.

Trust me, I wouldn't carry a drone while backpacking for pleasure, and certainly wouldn't attempt using solar panels to charge it. But I will be hiking into remote places to survey and map archaeological sites for work this summer and elected to carry in extra charged batteries to do it - we just don't have the time to charge in the field as we are not overnighting it.

 

[TedS]

Anyone? What have you used to keep those batteries charged and keep flying?

There are a quite a number of places that I'd like to visit this summer and, of course, I'll be bringing the car adapter to charge when I can. Some of the places can be about a 6 - 10 mile hike.

Kind Regards,

remotepilot

I use a solar generator with a 12 volt car adapter for charging the drone and other accessory batteries in the field away from 110 volt power.

The KaliPAK 401 is a 384 watt portable solar generator w/40W solar panel included. It has four USB outlets and two 12 volt outlets. It weighs about 10 lbs so I do not carry it with me on a hike or kayak trip but charge up my drone batteries at the base camp (boat) on return from a kayak trip or hike. I carry only the batteries I plan to use for the day trip and then put them on the charger as soon as I return.

I was out for a two week houseboat trip in a remote area of the Temagami region of NE Ontario last fall and this system worked extremely well. I never ran out of power and relied on it exclusively for charging drone equipment using the generator w/solar panel. I simply moved the solar panel around to get the most efficient charge through the day when moving the houseboat from spot to spot.

I was using a Spark on that trip but now have a Mavic 2 Zoom as well. I also have the DJI portable power supply for the Spark, but did not often take it on day trips. I may purchase the Smatree equivalent for the M2 to provide even more flexibility and fill the gap on long cloudy periods. There is no recharge capability of the portable power supply on a hike but it would extend your flying at less weight than carrying a KaliPAK, or equivalent.

 

[remotepilot]

Excellent! Thanks for that great reply!

Kind Regards,

remotepilot

 

[remotepilot]

I Found The Perfect One!

And, yes, I am concerned about the weight. I've been hiking ultralight and now that I'm a UAV pilot every little bit makes a difference. I'm not worried about the time for charging batteries. If all of them (4) are on empty I'll go fishing when the BRIGHT ? is overhead and be waiting for the Golden Hour.

Thanks @AMann for pointing me the right direction! And thanks to everyone who said, "not likely", "someday soon" etc... it gives me the drive to look for something.

Kind Regards,

remotepilot

 

[Pixelglow]

I have the same need - to power via solar on a backpacking trip. Here is what should work:

Amazon.com: ARECORD USB A Male to 12V Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Female Converter (Max Output 12V 0.8A): Gateway

Buy ARECORD USB A Male to 12V Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Female Converter (Max Output 12V 0.8A): Cigarette Lighters & Parts - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Use the car adapter that came with the drone - and a power array such as this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KVV4LNM/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Obviously - this will not be a fast charge- it will take at least a whole day of sun just to charge one battery. However - you can hang it from your pack and let it charge as you're walking etc so should work!
You could add a power station and just let that take the all day charge and use it to charge the controller, batteries and phone (this is what I am planning on using):

Amazon.com : Portable Power Station 146Wh, Electric Generator Lithium Battery Home Travel Emergency Backup Power Supply, Charged by Solar Panel/Wall Outlet, 1 x AC 110V/200W Pure Sine Wave, 4 x USB, 2 x DC Output : Gateway

Amazon.com : Portable Power Station 146Wh, Electric Generator Lithium Battery Home Travel Emergency Backup Power Supply, Charged by Solar Panel/Wall Outlet, 1 x AC 110V/200W Pure Sine Wave, 4 x USB, 2 x DC Output : Gateway

www.amazon.com

 

[Andrew Coates]

I bought Smart 30000mAh solar power bank for a big trip, I knew I’d be on the move a lot and very reliant on my phone for navigation ect so having a dead cell phone wasn’t a choice. With 4 additional solar panel, it keeps me going all day. I like it’s water proof, it’s rubberized and it’s ports are sealed when not in use.