[pct-l] solar battery chargers

[m.karon at comcast.net (Marshall Karon)]

Can't say anything about the solar chargers, but don't worry about heavily 
forested trails on the PCT blocking the sun. Most sections of the trail have 
open skies for most hours of the day. About the most closed in I think about 
around Ramona Falls in Oregon when you go into and out of the Sandy River. 
More of an issue could be multiple cloudy days you might run into in 
Washington (or Oregon).

My electric plug-in battery charger only weighs about 3.5 oz (proprietary 
battery). So I figure that I can get by with one extra battery between 
resupply/electric spots where I recharge them both within a few hours. That 
is less weight than the solars.

Marshall Karon
Portland, OR

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sara Dyehouse" <saradyehouse@yahoo.com>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2005 10:47 AM
Subject: [pct-l] solar battery chargers


>I consider myself pretty techno-savvy, but I just discovered that there are 
>solar battery chargers.  With the digital revolution, I have been pondering 
>how to keep my digital camera powered w/o buckling my knees in extra 
>battery weight.  While I love my camera, it's something of a power hog.  So 
>I was tickled to learn about the solar chargers.  And they're cheap, too. 
>They start at $15 and can charge Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd.  Some can charge the 
>proprietary disc batteries that some cameras are using.  The smallest one 
>I've seen, which can charge 4 AA batteries weighs 10 ounces.  A smaller 
>version weighs 6 ozs.
>
> Here's a link for a sample.  There are others. 
> http://www.siliconsolar.com/solar_battery_chargers.htm
>
> Has anyone had any experience with these?  Do they actually work? 
> Obviously they would be less useful in the forested parts of the trail, 
> but how about the more exposed portions of the trail?
>
>
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