Comments on: MacBook Solar Powered Laptop System

By: ericvanhallen

ericvanhallen — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:38:00 +0000

you should make it small and portable and attach it strait to your macbook so it charges on the go

By: jaysteinbourg

jaysteinbourg — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:45:13 +0000

@Jakewelborn I just had a look on ebay and you can get it built for under $300 easily.

By: MrPcmaker

MrPcmaker — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:21:52 +0000

you live in the ghetto ?

By: DarkAngel182

DarkAngel182 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:25:35 +0000

Question, in the laptop set up your coverting DC to AC and back to DC again.

Wouldn’t it be easier just to find a way of linking the battery straight to the laptop, rather than having all these adaptors to convert the current from one type to the other and back again?

By: DJChryZis

DJChryZis — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:21:40 +0000

I think it’s better to use the original MacBook Charger because it has the best charge-control for the macbook battery, if you would use something directly the battery may get damaged

By: DarkAngel182

DarkAngel182 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:09:43 +0000

Well I know that most laptops/macbooks are something like 19vDC, whereas standard batteries are 12v.

But surely there must be a simpler way of converting 12v DC to 19v DC (or whatever current it takes) than this elaborate set up?

I mean I like the idea of a solar power backup, but this does seem a little bit “heath robinson” to coin a phrase.

By: DJChryZis

DJChryZis — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 08:48:43 +0000

but in the macbook charger there’s an intelligent charging controller which charges the macbook at optimal conditions
it’s complicated to build a control like that

By: DarkAngel182

DarkAngel182 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:59:04 +0000

I see (I think)!

By: moeisme67

moeisme67 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:50:40 +0000

Solar via charge controller to solar storage battery out through voltage converter to match your laptop’s needs. Forget the inverter… wastes power.
You need the solar storage battery to be able to support the voltage converter (bump up from 12v range to 16 for MacBooks & 19-21 for PC’s).

By: kasmember17

kasmember17 — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:34:58 +0000

How Much did all this cost?