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Whats available??
I'm struggling to find anything decent. Just want a big battery with some USB ports on it really. Can't really be bothered with DIY. Does anything exist??
I just can't live without my phone, GPS, iPod, Camera etc..
I know someone with a freeloader thing but it doesn't seem to charge from sunlight, and the built in battery is pretty small.
freeloader does work ok IMHO you can get a bigger panel but one item charged per day.
Get a carstarter 12 volt battery thingy and use the battery in that not really portable but no big battery is
Solar AA battery charger?
HY mini fan for charging whilst cycling?
Phone, GPS, music player, camera? Just buy one device to do them all and get a solar charger.
Going by car? Car adaptors. Going by bike or on foot - ditch the gadgetry. Its about getting away from it all - not taking it all with you
I've got a FreeLoader and, while it does the job, it only has enough charge for one use - ie charge your phone from it, then the unit needs recharging before it can do anything else. It takes 2-3hrs to charge from a USB, it can be up to 8 to get full charge from sunlight. The other downside with it is the multitude of adaptors. I guess you'd only carry the ones you needed but it's still 3 or 4 tiny bits of plastic/metal, easily lost and without them the gadget is useless!
Just get a cigarett lighter adaptor to take 4 chargers & use the car battery. You can get them for about £5 or less off eBay.
Also charge everything before you go to minimise the need to charge stuff while away from civilisation.
Either that or buy a car/motorbike battery & an invertor. That's what a mate of mine did one year for Glastonbury.
I've been looking at one of there: [url= http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?manufacturer=&item=iwalk5400PortableBatteryPack&product=7B6177B2-512F-4D96-88CE-525F9E280D6B ]http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?manufacturer=&item=iwalk5400PortableBatteryPack&product=7B6177B2-512F-4D96-88CE-525F9E280D6B[/url]
I think DruidH is on the right idea. Get one device that does it all, ie, a windows smartphone.
Solo.
I just can't live without my phone, GPS, iPod, Camera etc..
Bit sad innit?
Not sure if you are talking about campsites or wild camping, but lots of campsites will let you charge stuff up, sometimes for a small fee.
Ive got a power monkey classic that comes with eleventy million adaptors. You charge the monkey up before you go (i think its got a hooge capacitor in it) then use it in the back of beyond to charge whatever gadget needs charging.
Loads of variations including a solar powered versions.
Kind of related, but I was wonderng how Mark Beaumont (cyclist riding length of Americas) charges all his gadgets?
My gf bought a Powermonkey and it works well - lots of connector options including USB. We just left the solar panel poking out underneath the tent and it charged up during the day. No way to do camera batteries though, but we have a few spares that we charge up beforehand.
When I'm away though I just minimise using my phone, switch off wifi, bluetooth and 3G, screen brightness right down and have it switched off when I'm asleep. Even with an iPhone you can get 4-5 days out of it like that.