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This video explains why portable solar chargers (such as the Anker PowerPort) are not sufficient on their own for keeping mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc) charged during backpacking trips. Their shortcomings, however, can be overcome by combining them with a solar charge controller (such as the WaveShare Solar Power Manager) which ensures solar power is harvested efficiently. They also allow storing surplus energy in a lithium-ion battery, which will be available later to balance out dips in power output from the solar charger.
Note: The Anker PowerPort is a great product, and will work fine on its own, as long as it sees full sunlight. This is, however, impractical to achieve consistently while backpacking. This is nothing the PowerPort can be faulted for.
Update: The Solar Power Manager has a successor, about which you can hear me talk here: • An improved solar-rech...
Product links:
Anker PowerPort 21: www.anker.com/products/varian...
WaveShare Solar Power Manager: www.waveshare.com/wiki/Solar_...
Potential alternatives to the Solar Power Manager: wiki.dfrobot.com/Solar_Power_...
Data gathered from hiking trips:
PowerPort without modifications:
Conditions: Glorious sunshine. Duration: 5:15h. Energy captured: 2.3Wh (Rate=0.438Wh/h). Equiv. charge*: 12% (Rate=2%/h)
PowerPort with modifications:
1) Conditions: Dense fog, sunny nearer the mountain summit. Duration: 4:06h. Energy captured: 4.3Wh (Rate=1.05Wh/h - 139% superior). Equiv. charge*: 23% (Rate=6%/h)
2) Conditions: Trip through a valley, very little direct sunlight. Duration: 5:15h. Energy captured: 2.9Wh (Rate=0.55Wh/h - 26% superior). Equiv. charge*: 16% (Rate=3%/h)
3) Conditions: Diffuse sunlight from behind a thin layer of clouds. Duration: 1:15h. Energy captured: 2.5Wh (Rate=2.00Wh/h - 357% superior). Equiv. charge*: 14% (Rate=11%/h)
4) Conditions: Flawless sunshine, some clouds later on. Duration: 6:20h. Energy captured: 10.9Wh (Rate=1.72Wh/h - 292% superior). Equiv. charge*: 59% (Rate=9%/h)
*based on estimated 18.5Wh required for full charge.
Image and footage credits:
Hiking route overview generated using www.mappedometer.com with data from www.openstreetmap.org
Shelf background: pixabay.com/photos/bookshelf-...
Tablet picture: pixabay.com/photos/person-tab...
Smartphone picture: pixabay.com/photos/phone-cell...
Exercise band picture: pixabay.com/photos/green-band...
Smartwatch picture: pixabay.com/photos/smartwatch...
Other photos were taken by me or by friends (used with kind permission).
Globe zoom-in on location of Immenstädter Horn generated using Google Earth Pro.
All other footage was recorded by me.