Hands0n
19th October 2006, 10:41 AM
A few weeks ago I did a bit of scouting around for a Solar Panel USB charging station, having seen something about this in recent times. It interested me as the ability to be able to recharge mobile phones and other devices (i.e. iPod) while out and about, but away from a power source, is something that I defintely need from time to time. I'm not an avid outdoors person, but can imagine that something like this would appeal to quite a wide audience. And I definitely need something with me when by the pool on one of my usual hot-location holidays :)
What I was looking for was a Solar Panel Charger with a USB port that will recharge absolutely anything that has a USB charging interface. That covers a lot of devices already, and the number is growing all of the time. There appears to be an fair number of such solar panel devices around, some of them quite exotic in appearance. But I am after function over form and so after a bit of detailed research on the web I finally opted for the Solar:EFX (http://www.efx.co.uk/detail.php?&id=000645) device which is designed and manufactured in the UK by .... EFX.
Why this one? What sold me on this particular panel is that it is compact and uses the latest solar panel technology, generating higher charging currents than older devices. The panel has internal rechargable batteries which store power for use when there is no sunlight, like indoors or at night. These internal batteries can provide a mobile phone with upto a 50% charge. Great if you're stuck for power one dark wet windy night! Otherwise, in sunlight or bright daylight the panel will provide power to fully recharge the phone/device directly.
For the technically minded, the Solar:EFX consists of a Blue polycrystalline panel with an Output of 200 milliamps at 6 volts. The Output from the USB socket is 5 volts at 500 mA, which is in line with most mains-powered mobile phone charger outputs. Reasonable, then, to anticipate a normal recharge time from this panel. EFX claim that their panel ".... has the largest area of polycrystalline solar cells than any other pocketable solar charger". This does appear to be borne out when looking at the alternative devices out there on the likes of eBay, for instance.
Construction of the panel is outstandingly good, it looks and feels quite rugged. It is not waterproof due to the USB port - and I doubt if anything like this could be made truly waterproof having the need for the connectivity. The panel has a small footstand to support it if needed, or it can be laid flat on any surface.
Accessories: The panel does not come with any charging leads. These are widely available, as they are also from EFX themselves (see their website). If your device had a USB charging lead already (my iPod does) that may be used directly with the Solar:EFX. Otherwise you're going to have to sort out something for yourself. I've also used a 3rd party retractable cable to recharge Sony Ericsson handsets with it so far.
Ease of use: Plug the device in, leave it till fully charged, unplug the device and use it. That is all there is to it. It really is that simple. Maintenance of the panel would only be a cleaning of the glass carefully to remove any heavy dust or contamination. There is absolutely nothing else to do.
Available from: You can get these directly from EFX themselves at their own website (http://www.efx.co.uk/list.php?&category=0019&sub_cat=(all)), or look for them on eBay - they occasionally appear on there, which is where I found them.
Special Discount Offer (limited time): Those very nice people at EFX have offered all Talk3G members a 5% discount (ending 18 November 2006) - so if you are ordering make sure that you enter the promotion code TALK3G1810 to get that.
Edit: Since writing this article the folk at EFX make the following observation "... we don't generally market it for iPods as we've found its not that great on some models but if you have it working ok on yours then great ! It more marketed at the small MP3 payers, the ones without the screen." So the advice, where iPod is concerned, is to see if it works for you (mine is the 80GB Video iPod - I only charged it, did not try and run it from the Solar panel).
What I was looking for was a Solar Panel Charger with a USB port that will recharge absolutely anything that has a USB charging interface. That covers a lot of devices already, and the number is growing all of the time. There appears to be an fair number of such solar panel devices around, some of them quite exotic in appearance. But I am after function over form and so after a bit of detailed research on the web I finally opted for the Solar:EFX (http://www.efx.co.uk/detail.php?&id=000645) device which is designed and manufactured in the UK by .... EFX.
Why this one? What sold me on this particular panel is that it is compact and uses the latest solar panel technology, generating higher charging currents than older devices. The panel has internal rechargable batteries which store power for use when there is no sunlight, like indoors or at night. These internal batteries can provide a mobile phone with upto a 50% charge. Great if you're stuck for power one dark wet windy night! Otherwise, in sunlight or bright daylight the panel will provide power to fully recharge the phone/device directly.
For the technically minded, the Solar:EFX consists of a Blue polycrystalline panel with an Output of 200 milliamps at 6 volts. The Output from the USB socket is 5 volts at 500 mA, which is in line with most mains-powered mobile phone charger outputs. Reasonable, then, to anticipate a normal recharge time from this panel. EFX claim that their panel ".... has the largest area of polycrystalline solar cells than any other pocketable solar charger". This does appear to be borne out when looking at the alternative devices out there on the likes of eBay, for instance.
Construction of the panel is outstandingly good, it looks and feels quite rugged. It is not waterproof due to the USB port - and I doubt if anything like this could be made truly waterproof having the need for the connectivity. The panel has a small footstand to support it if needed, or it can be laid flat on any surface.
Accessories: The panel does not come with any charging leads. These are widely available, as they are also from EFX themselves (see their website). If your device had a USB charging lead already (my iPod does) that may be used directly with the Solar:EFX. Otherwise you're going to have to sort out something for yourself. I've also used a 3rd party retractable cable to recharge Sony Ericsson handsets with it so far.
Ease of use: Plug the device in, leave it till fully charged, unplug the device and use it. That is all there is to it. It really is that simple. Maintenance of the panel would only be a cleaning of the glass carefully to remove any heavy dust or contamination. There is absolutely nothing else to do.
Available from: You can get these directly from EFX themselves at their own website (http://www.efx.co.uk/list.php?&category=0019&sub_cat=(all)), or look for them on eBay - they occasionally appear on there, which is where I found them.
Special Discount Offer (limited time): Those very nice people at EFX have offered all Talk3G members a 5% discount (ending 18 November 2006) - so if you are ordering make sure that you enter the promotion code TALK3G1810 to get that.
Edit: Since writing this article the folk at EFX make the following observation "... we don't generally market it for iPods as we've found its not that great on some models but if you have it working ok on yours then great ! It more marketed at the small MP3 payers, the ones without the screen." So the advice, where iPod is concerned, is to see if it works for you (mine is the 80GB Video iPod - I only charged it, did not try and run it from the Solar panel).