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dory36
Early-Retirement.org Founder, Developer of FIRECal
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- 1,841
Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
Will you have a 12v supply, in a vehicle for example? A cheap inverter might work. That's how I kept laptop, cell phone, camera battery, etc charged on the boat.
Just be sure to check the manual -- there are some chargers that won't work well with an inverter.
All the inexpensive solar stuff we saw was not well regulated, so it was useful for recharging wet cell batteries, but not for any "normal" use.
Will you have a 12v supply, in a vehicle for example? A cheap inverter might work. That's how I kept laptop, cell phone, camera battery, etc charged on the boat.
Just be sure to check the manual -- there are some chargers that won't work well with an inverter.
All the inexpensive solar stuff we saw was not well regulated, so it was useful for recharging wet cell batteries, but not for any "normal" use.
lazygood4nothinbum
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2006
- Messages
- 3,895
Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
how about a solar backpack
www.voltaicsystems.com
how about a solar backpack
www.voltaicsystems.com
Sarah in SC
Moderator Emeritus
Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
Brunton makes a foldable solar array, the Solaris 6, that can be attached to the top of your backpack while you hike, and used to charge small electronics. My boss used it in Kilimanjaro the last two weeks to charge his iPod. Can be used with phones and cameras and other devices.
www.brunton.com
Brunton makes a foldable solar array, the Solaris 6, that can be attached to the top of your backpack while you hike, and used to charge small electronics. My boss used it in Kilimanjaro the last two weeks to charge his iPod. Can be used with phones and cameras and other devices.
www.brunton.com
BigMoneyJim
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
The sun doesn't get very high in Alaska, so you won't get as much power you would in the "lower 48" as the sun goes through a lot more of the atmosphere at low angles. October is past the equinox, so you'll have less than a half day of sun with it declining towards December.
Presumably you'll spend a lot of time in the woods where you'll get even less usable sun.
Also, given the angle and path the sun rotates around the compass rather quickly, so you'd probably have to re-point the solar cell several times.
I lived in Alaska for 9 years, so I know about the sun, but I haven't actually used solar cells up there, so I'm not sure how much the power is reduced.
I can't think of any alternate ideas offhand for recharging batteries.
I just did a quick search on freezing batteries, and some sites are actually suggesting freezing alkalines or NiMH batteries. Freezing lead acid batteries of course is not good; perhaps that's what you've heard about batteries in the cold.
Besides, I don't think you'll experience a harsher climate on Kodiak island than you would in Minnesota. The ocean tempers the climate.
I just thought of another alternative: Take a film camera as a backup. That's right, kick it old school. You can have the developer digitize when they develop the film.
The sun doesn't get very high in Alaska, so you won't get as much power you would in the "lower 48" as the sun goes through a lot more of the atmosphere at low angles. October is past the equinox, so you'll have less than a half day of sun with it declining towards December.
Presumably you'll spend a lot of time in the woods where you'll get even less usable sun.
Also, given the angle and path the sun rotates around the compass rather quickly, so you'd probably have to re-point the solar cell several times.
I lived in Alaska for 9 years, so I know about the sun, but I haven't actually used solar cells up there, so I'm not sure how much the power is reduced.
I can't think of any alternate ideas offhand for recharging batteries.
I just did a quick search on freezing batteries, and some sites are actually suggesting freezing alkalines or NiMH batteries. Freezing lead acid batteries of course is not good; perhaps that's what you've heard about batteries in the cold.
Besides, I don't think you'll experience a harsher climate on Kodiak island than you would in Minnesota. The ocean tempers the climate.
I just thought of another alternative: Take a film camera as a backup. That's right, kick it old school. You can have the developer digitize when they develop the film.
OP
OP
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Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
bmj
I had thought of taking my old film camera, but wanted to see if there were any alternatives. I won't be in the woods in Kodiak, because where I go there are no trees. I was not sure how much sun you needed to generate any power. My battery charger uses a special 'rechargeable battery that plugs into an AC oulet. I may just buy about 4 extra batteries and see if they hold a charge for the week. No big deal because this will be my 8th trip to Kodiak.
bmj
I had thought of taking my old film camera, but wanted to see if there were any alternatives. I won't be in the woods in Kodiak, because where I go there are no trees. I was not sure how much sun you needed to generate any power. My battery charger uses a special 'rechargeable battery that plugs into an AC oulet. I may just buy about 4 extra batteries and see if they hold a charge for the week. No big deal because this will be my 8th trip to Kodiak.
Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
This may not apply to your situation, but I just bought some of the new Energizer 2500 mAh rechargeable AA batteries for my fairly new Canon 3 megapixel camera. They last for 150-300 pictures per set of batteries. Depending on how many pics you plan on taking, that might do the trick. Our old rechargeable batteries had a lower mAh rating, and I guess they "got old" and went bad, as they wouldn't hold a charge for more than 20 pics or so.
This may not apply to your situation, but I just bought some of the new Energizer 2500 mAh rechargeable AA batteries for my fairly new Canon 3 megapixel camera. They last for 150-300 pictures per set of batteries. Depending on how many pics you plan on taking, that might do the trick. Our old rechargeable batteries had a lower mAh rating, and I guess they "got old" and went bad, as they wouldn't hold a charge for more than 20 pics or so.
Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
Is this what you had in mind?
www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000189.php
Judy
Is this what you had in mind?
www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000189.php
Judy
starboardtack
Dryer sheet aficionado
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2006
- Messages
- 27
Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
CT, I recommend the cheap hand crank/rechargable battery emergency radio from Radio Shack. I think it is Model 20-238. Did a great job recharging my camera battery packs with adapters. Also has a female USB jack on back and comes with 4 tips for Samsung, Ericsson, Nokia and Siemans mobile phones. I use it for camping in Sierras. Does a good job charging phone and has AM/FM/SW capability in case you want to listen to the fishing/weather report too.
It worked great for SW and recharging camera batteries when I was in Antarctica in Dec. Temp never got above 20 F and it was summer!
CT, I recommend the cheap hand crank/rechargable battery emergency radio from Radio Shack. I think it is Model 20-238. Did a great job recharging my camera battery packs with adapters. Also has a female USB jack on back and comes with 4 tips for Samsung, Ericsson, Nokia and Siemans mobile phones. I use it for camping in Sierras. Does a good job charging phone and has AM/FM/SW capability in case you want to listen to the fishing/weather report too.
It worked great for SW and recharging camera batteries when I was in Antarctica in Dec. Temp never got above 20 F and it was summer!
thefed
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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- Oct 29, 2005
- Messages
- 2,203
Re: How to recharge Camera Batteries in the Back Country............
now THAT is cool. im sure there's a crang generator with a regular plug on it (ac/dc)?
starboardtack said:CT, I recommend the cheap hand crank/rechargable battery emergency radio from Radio Shack. I think it is Model 20-238. Did a great job recharging my camera battery packs with adapters. Also has a female USB jack on back and comes with 4 tips for Samsung, Ericsson, Nokia and Siemans mobile phones. I use it for camping in Sierras. Does a good job charging phone and has AM/FM/SW capability in case you want to listen to the fishing/weather report too.
now THAT is cool. im sure there's a crang generator with a regular plug on it (ac/dc)?
