mysolidus
mysoldius
Price: $99.99
Pros: Small/compact, internationally compatible, no power source required, no moving parts, easy to use
Cons: High price, requires direct sunlight, not compatible with iPhone
by Troy McLain, Capt, USAF
With an increasing amount of deployments to desert environments, and facing the possibility of limited resources, the concept of using solar power to charge my electronic devices seems like a great idea. The mysoldius® universal solar charger advertises the ability to do just that, charge electronic devices using only the power of the sun.
The solar charger comes with several different adapters to attach to the end of the cable which is connected to the solar battery. The different adapters allow for compatibility of several different models of MP3 players, PDAs, and cell phones. The hookup process for the charger is very easy. Simply attach the correct adapter to the end of the cable, connect the cable to the battery, and attach your electronic device. In those simple steps you are ready to start charging using the sun as your power.
This is where it gets kind of difficult. To charge my iPod Mini and iPod Nano, I connected the battery and set the system out into the sunshine. After about 3 hours of direct sunlight the iPods were completely charged and were playing for their full length of time on a full battery charged by the usual electrical outlet method. The product website suggests charging time to be about 3-4 hours, which was pretty accurate to my experience with this product. The difficulty was that the system needs to be in direct sunlight. The product website assures customers that even on a overcast day the charger will charge provided it is bright; however, this was not the case in my experience. The first few days I attempted to utilize the system, there was a overcast sky and the charger kept turning on and off as the clouds moved into the path of the sunlight. Subsequently, the iPods did not charge even with increased time in the sunlight (about 6 hours).
I attempted to charge the iPods inside my house through a window and also outside directly under the sun. With the setup and location of my house, I was unable to achieve a good charge inside the house, even in the location of most sun. I had to take the charger and iPod outside and set it directly under the sun in order for charging to occur. In this situation it is possible to listen to the iPod and charge simultaneously, but in other situations, enough power would not be generated to simultaneously charge and use the iPod.
The charger comes in an assortment of 5 different colors. It is very small and compact (110x75x10mm) which makes it easy to pack up and take on any TDY. The website assures customers that it is water proof as long as it is not submerged. During the time I was using the charger, there was a little bit of rain which did not affect the battery, but as I have stated the charger did not work on the overcast day. There are three different kits sold for this product, one for iPod only, one for cell phone only, and one that is a combo of both. The kit I got is the iPod/cell phone combination.
While the device is compatible with several different models of cell phones, the model of my cell phone is not one of them, so I did not get to explore this feature on the charger. However, if I am inclined to do so, I can purchase a $10 upgrade to make the charger compatible with my particular model of cell phone (additional adapters available here).
Despite the difficulty in charging without direct sunlight, the product still does what it claims to do. If there is direct sunlight, the charger works great. It will most likely work without any difficulty during a sunny desert vacation; however, due to the sunlight sensitivity and the price of this product, it is not for everyone.