Reddit mentions: The best solar battery chargers & charging kits

Maybe.

I'd set up somewhere in a National Forest in my general area (NC/SC/TN) with plenty of water sources, some fish and game, and an escape route if wildfires get too close.

I have enough Boy Scouts and armchair bushcraft experience to work with an axe and cordage to put together a decent enough shelter--it probably wouldn't take more than a month--and I'd try to setup a decent camp latrine away from water sources.

In addition to my BOB gear*, I'd spend some of the money on a used wheelbarrow, shovel, axe, splitting wedge, $50 worth of cheap cordage/bungee cords/carabiners/tarps/duct tape from Harbor Freight, $10 worth of BIC lighters (can still be used as firestarters once the fuel is gone to supplement the fire gear in my BOB), a gallon of bleach (santize the latrine, backup water purification), a decent cheap WalMart fishing rod/tackle (plus the license). Let's estimate $200 for all that.

Can I scrounge? I'd get a dozen or so free 5-gallon buckets from food service operations and several Arizona tea jugs out of recycling bins. I'd hit up the bulk Goodwill office to grab extra clothes/blankets/bandanas/towel for $.80/lb. I could probably even score a decent pot/pan and plate/flatware/coffee mug to go with the minimal cooking gear in my BOB, maybe even a grate from an old rusted grill. If you're going to be there a year, it's probably worth the couple of bucks.

I don't know much about trapping, but a handful of connibears and steel wire snares aren't too expensive and I'll be there a while so it might be worthwhile to spend $25 on those and a cheap bottle of musk. While I'm at it, let's get a couple of spring-loaded rat traps while we're at Harbor Freight to nail to trees and try get some tree-rats for dinner. At this point, I'm probably going to have to get a hunting license so let's upgrade to the annual premium fishing + hunting license for $50 as it has more privileges.

Let's add some speed-fishing hooks for $11 as well, assuming they're legal in the area.

Oh, I'd better total up what we have so far - $200 for misc tools, $75 for licenses/trapping stuff, and let's drop $25 on a basic cheap slingbow, $5 for an extra band, and $25 for a few cheap arrows from Walmart. Let's guesstimate we're at $300 at this point on tools and food procurement.

I don't plan on catching a lot of meals this way, but I need something to do with the time and if I can catch one critter a month it'll be great for the fresh food to supplement the beans and rice. Another guy in this thread did a cost analysis for a year's supply of rice/beans/oil for $227.88. Let's add a few iodized salt containers and cheap multivitamins from Dollar Tree and then go hit the salvage grocery store for cheap spices/teas. Say $250 for my food supply.

That leaves around $450 left. At this point, I feel like I have some of the basics covered and can start spending money/effort on a few things to make that year go by easier. I love coffee, but it's an expensive habit on a tight budget. Since I'll have an abundance of time, I'll get my coffee fix by buying green unroasted coffee beans - the cheapest bulk bag of green beans from Sweet Maria's is $5.50/lb but is $87.70 for a 20 lb sack and they have a 15% coupon code so let's estimate $90 shipped for 20 lbs. That gives me just under an ounce a day so it's a splurge but I'm willing to spend $100 to get the beans and a $10 french press from Ikea and I'm pretty sure it won't take me too long to find a couple of river rocks that would work as an impromptu mortar/pestle.

I also like to smoke a pipe maybe once a day which is maybe an ounce a week. I already have a spare pipe and tobacco in my EDC bag so this would go with me, but I'll make do with the cheap drugstore pipe tobacco marketed for RYO cigs at $14/lb shipped. We'll grab 3 of those 1 lb packs for $42 to keep me in my daily smoke.

I have a handcrank radio in my BOB and I could kinda cheat and say I already have that folding solar charger I plan on buying someday, but let's not and I'll cough up the $38 for this one. I'll have my battery bank and flashlight that's in my BOB plus my iPhone in my pocket and my Kindle I keep in my EDC backpack. The plan will be that I'll find a nice sunny spot to permanently mount the charger and I can go plug in the battery bank each day to keep my phone topped off. That way I have a radio for news and I can load a lot of music/audiobooks/ebooks/games to help keep me sane. I'm also going to buy an extra pair of earbuds from DollarTree as well as a few bars of Ivory soap a $9 Solar Shower from Amazon. Gotta stay clean and having a shower is a huge morale boost.

Speaking of books, I'm probably going to hit the library on my way out of town and check out a few survival/homesteading books. I'll have plenty of money to pay the late fines after I win the boatload of money from my uncle.

At this point, I've spent:

$350 on Tools/Food Procurement
$250 for boring basic calories food supply
$100 on coffee (important)
$50 in tobacco (likewise important)
$50 for electronics

So $700 total. Do the rules state I have stay in the woods, or can I walk into town from time to time? If so, I'll keep the rest of the money for a weekly walk into town to spend my $3.85 allowance and visit the library. If I can't, I'm going to probably spend the rest on a cheap used rifle and as many rounds as I can buy. I'll have my 9mm Glock and a few clips of ammo from my BOB, but that's no fun to hunt with. I'd also try to figure out a way to get a cheap guitar from somewhere if possible - I could probably figure out a song or two in a year.

Let's say the above plan is approved, and I'm going to the woods for a year. Hoo-rah! That's a lot of sacks of beans and rice - I'm glad I bought a used wheelbarrow! Once I get to a campsite I like, I'll start divying out enough rice/beans/salt into empty 5-gallon bucks and dig a pit to bury them in--probably two or three to make sure it's not all in one place if I didn't bury it deep enough and a bear smells it. The next order of business would be setting up a semi-permanent lean-to glamping shelter, cooking pit, latrine, a sand filter for pre-filtering water before adding into my Sawyer and storing it away in the Arizona tea containers.

I'd spend my days playing around with the hunting/trapping/fishing gear, reading, playing guitar badly, and writing in my journal. Once a week or so, I'd shower, put on my best shirt, and hike to town for a visit to the library and to buy a beer or some other treat. If could access Wi-Fi it'd be great to set up a blog--I could take pictures and write on my phone and upload to a free WordPress site whenever I'm in town. I'm pretty sure I could get a book deal out of this as well.

Thanks :)

You could write sequences easily enough, and in fact it would be relatively trivial to fire them off spontaneously with simple pushbuttons as input to your microcontroller. When I put that costume together, I wore a little custom switchboard like a watch that had the arduino installed on it along with a series of pushbuttons and rocker switches to turn things on and off.


Syncing to music directly might be tough - certainly doable, but it may just be easier to have buttons which perform preprogrammed actions. There are a lot of ways things could go awry when trying to line up audio with circuits. For professional shows it's better to have an engineer or two (on further viewing, it looks like they had 3 guys manning this in the show) on the sidelines controlling all that stuff, but if it's just you a simpler and more adaptable route might be to program 8 or so actions, wire buttons from the arduino to your fingertips to fire them off, and rely on your own timing and coordination to get things really moving. Just a suggestion to avoid overcomplicating things, and using such a technique also allows you to be a bit more adaptable (say, for example, if you want to use the surrounding music like at a club as opposed to needing your own).


Also /u/Tinkrr2 is right about the voltage requirements varying by brand - make sure you look into that. Finally, if you're looking to make this into a semi-permanent hobby then it helps to have an adjustable power supply handy. A beefy battery, a sizable power supply, a few barrel jacks, some Dupont connectors, and most importantly an adjustable buck converter will take you very far. I wouldn't worry too much about any of this now, but if you decide you like tinkering with electronics (especially LEDs, which have moderate power requirements) that would be a terrific start.

This panel works great with my Omni20, the Omni is designed to work best with an unregulated solar source. FYI panels almost Never output their "rated" watt output. This is an absolutely best case number if you are in the Sahara under clear skies with the sun at its closest possible point to the earth. you can generally get 50% under nice bright conditions, if you are looking to charge the Omni at about 45w, this panel will get you very close.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075YRKVMH/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That fan is pretty big. Might be better off to send something like this: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4M540J4841&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-_-Fans-_-9SIA4M540J4841&gclid=CjwKCAjw3rfOBRBJEiwAam-GsDsOnkscCXpE8V_GHuxwtDWYpkbYqvLXfxgWZ7BQAPY7KwVNn0S5jRoCge8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Edit: the box fan you mentioned uses 120w and needs an inverter to operate vs the camping fan above is 12w and works on 12V DC. simpler and easier to get going with less load, though likely less air movement.

or some other 12V camping fan.

as for the solar, look for something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Foldable-SunPower-Smartphones-Batteries/dp/B07432VBX8/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1506716539&sr=1-4&keywords=60w+camping+solar

it has clamps to charge a battery will fold up for your shipping and is easy to set up.

7watt same unit as this one. https://www.amazon.ca/Competition-Solar-41007-Amorphous-7-watt/dp/B008GUHBEO

Looks like that might work but I was hoping for a separate module between my arduino and the battery like in the original link. Thanks for suggesting it as a possibility.

Okay u/DeviatusPod, from the top review on Amazon it looks like that device is happiest at 9v.

You can use a 9v rechargeable battery pack like this. Then you’ll need a male to male adapter like this.

USB doesn’t put out enough voltage.

How long are you leaving it on at a time?

You're most welcome! I bought the following:

4x100W Panels

Panel Mounting

Solar Panel Connectors

Tool Crimper

Assembly Tool

Panel Connectors

Power Information

CTEK Charger

CTEK SmartPass

200ah AMG Battery

Fuse Block

300W Pure Sine Wave Inverter

LED Strip

Dometic 35 Fridge


I bought all these items with research into my solar needs and following the advice from here in the vandwelling subreddit and also information I gathered from Amazon. I am probably doing a bit of overkill on my solar setup but I thankfully have the money to do it and don't want to mess with adding anything later.

I will have to do research myself on how to combine the four panels into the battery but that will be a few weeks away so I haven't done much in that area. I do plan to buy 10GA wire from Lowes and use the crimping tool and connectors to form my own wiring harness so it will be clean looking. \

EDIT: Adding info.

Yeah! Briefly though, I found it a bit too bulky to take on hikes/outside in general, so I pre-ordered a OP-Z for portable use and am keeping the Digitakt/tone pair in my home studio.

This is the bank I opted for since it seemed to be a reliable, cheaper option: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016BJCRUO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1 Should last around ~20 hours

Here's a really good thread on Elektronauts if you want to compare some other options for power banks: https://www.elektronauts.com/t/digitakt-external-battery-power-pack-options/39561/175

Good luck!

I've never used them, but Flycrates says they will ship to places that Amazon sellers won't. According to this page, the main problems are extra shipping costs, customs forms, and import duties that have to be paid. Flycrates will supposedly do that for you and let you know what import duties will need to be paid up front.

AllPowers makes a flexible 100w solar panel that sells on Amazon, and there are other companies that also sell flexible panels.

I purchased an AllPowers flexible+foldable 80w solar charger panel and a Suaoki 150Wh Solar Generator (lithium battery+inverter) for camping, and it's worked well. It will run a few lights and power a laptop. I did have to custom-make the connector cable between them to charge the Suaoki, however.

Hope that helps!

It sounds like managing to keep eight good AA batteries in the thing is the issue. If I might make a suggestion, get yourself one of these rechargeable batteries and use that instead. It has 11Ah of capacity and one of these will run my Celestron CPC 9.25 EdgeHD for almost an entire day. It will come with a cable that should fit your scope; it uses a standard 2.1mm plug. It also comes with the charger to top it off during the day when you're not using it.

I have this attached to the fork arm of my scope and the battery moves with the scope and the wire doesn't wrap around and get pinched this way. It's a very clean approach and will save you having to always worry about AA batteries or extension cords.

I, too would be interested. I camp a lot and something like this would be perfect.

Additionally, would you be willing to consider adding a port to trickle charge the batteries off of a solar panel? Say, a folding model like this one?

I used to have a solar panel trickler. I used it to help prevent the battery from dying too quickly. I pretty much left it on the dash when the truck was parked. had it for about 3 years before it stopped working. By then I just bought a really good battery and didn't worry about using another one.

It was something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Sunway-Solar-Maintainer-Motorcycle-Powersports/dp/B01MYVUSRH/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525132763&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=solar+panel+trickler

I use this Lithium battery pack from Talent Cell, it has worked great for 3 months so far. I keep it charged up and then just grab it when I'm headed out to my patio or out of the car. I made a quick adapter cable to run from the 12V 6A out to the T-style power connector for my radio. the beauty is that you can also use the 9V out or the USB for 5V if you need a different voltage.

https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-20000mAh-Portable/dp/B016BJCRUO/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1540897311&sr=1-3&keywords=talentcell&th=1

I know the "advisable" path, but I think you can see that I'm looking for a workaround. Imagine if it were as simple to avoid inrush current as giving a few whirls to a handcrank flywheel. I know most equipment users aren't into that sort of thing, but for me it would be great.

I've got 1kW of monocrystaline solar cells (so, major overkill for a 1kWh/day user like myself). I'm going to start with two of these batteries: Trojan T-105-RE. I may splurge and buy a 1.7kWh Aquion S10 for $1200. I'm planning to get the Xantrex 2000 and probably a Morningstar TS-45 to start. The Trojans I would add up to 12V, the Aquion runs at 48V unless you break it into cells and rewire.

When I say repeater, I don't mean something you install. I mean something portable you take with you when you go there, and take away when you leave.

For example, start with a little cooler like this one. Two small 12v batteries (like from a motorcycle) go in the base, wired in series. That gives you 24v power.

From that you can run a NanoStation M series device as the uplink back to your home, and a UAP-AC-Lite as the local access point. Wiring is super simple as the NanoStation M (as long as it's not a Loco) has two Ethernet ports, the second one will (if you tell it to) passthru the PoE. So you use a hacked up cable to feed the NanoStation, and a standard Ethernet cable from the NanoStation's secondary port straight to the UAP-AC-Lite. Use some Velcro ties to attach both units to the top of the cooler handle, put the batteries in the bottom, and you're good to go.

Actually, both the NanoStation M and the UAP-AC-Lite should (according to posts by UBNT employees on their own forum) run on 12v or thereabouts. So a single smaller 12v battery or a lithium pack like this one should power the NanoStation and the UAP-AC-Lite for at least a couple hours.

That said (and I agree), here's a hypothetical for the EE crowd to ponder...

They all use AC Adapters. For example, the Kickr Snap uses a 12v 5A adapter, so couldn't you run it off of a $15 battery, like this? Yes, you would have to fit your own custom wire, and yes, you would have to recharge that periodically at the house (or maybe via solar).

And yes, I realize that this risks blowing up a $500 trainer, hence the hypothetical classification.

>Yea, someone else said that..didn't think about that b4 but that might be perfect actually..something like this I guess..
>
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F9RNM1D

This looks like a perfect affordable unit. Thanks for the tip. I think I'll go for the bigger version https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B016BJCRUO/ref=pd_aw_sim_469_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0K6QXK18B0T1D250MEN8&dpPl=1&dpID=71ZoNiypMcL

Realistically, the solar panels you can attach to your backpack while hiking through a forest, no.

The easiest solution is to find lower power electronics that will do whatever you need. If you really need a lot of solar power, I'd recommend getting one or more of the biggest folding panel you can, like this, and planning a long siesta in your hiking schedule where you'll find a place to position them optimally for a few hours.

I bought a battery for mine. Haven't tested how long I can go with it, but worked great,

TalentCell Rechargeable 72W 100WH 12V/8300mAh 9V/11000mAh 5V/20000mAh DC, Portable Li-ion Power Bank, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01337QXMA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KTp2CbN4HBRDA

As per rain, could always put it in a large Tupperware to keep rain off of it, if your cover does not have any clear windows. if you get a solar charger at 13 volts, it will be safe and wont overcharge the battery. Something to also consider, is you can find a charger, with a diod in it to prevent feedback from the battery. Most of them should have this feature, Here is another one. and this is in the description. Slightly more expensive but would work. Doing some searching sure you could find a better priced one.

If the battery capacity is 20Ah or greater, the charger will not overcharge the battery or cause any damage.

fwiw this is what I grabbed. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01M5DCPKD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It pushes a good 2A on the usb in overcast but not dark enough to rain weather in the first week of may. Overpriced but folds neatly in to a box. Yup, when it comes to solar, panel size matters. ie., you always want a bigger panel.

Late Edit: Just adding. An inexpensive/cheap charge controller so you don't over charge lead-acid. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07GRZ8VHL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

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Never forget to smile again | ^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Looks like that one is not 12 volts, but 5 volts only. This one might be better.

This might be what your looking for: It is essentially a contained 3S - 3.7V - li-ion battery with a BMS. It also has a low power 2A USB output to power the 5V device. The 5V might be too weak for your application.

I will give you two scenarios, one 1s and the other 3S.

1S solution:

• Multiple cells in parallel
  
• Some undervoltage protection
  
• A 4.2V cccv charger (NO ADAPTER)
  
• A 5V boost converter
  
• a 12V boost converter
  
  3S solution (3.7V nominal li-ion):
  
  
• A 3S battery
  
• A fully functional BMS with balancing and undervoltage protection
  
• a 12.6V cccv charger (NO ADAPTER)
  
• A 5V buck converter
  
• A 12V buck/boost converter (might be optional)
  
  3S solution (3.35V nominal li-ion LFP):
  
  
• A 4S battery
  
• A fully functional BMS with balancing and undervoltage protection
  
• a 14.4V cccv charger (NO ADAPTER)
  
• A 5V buck converter
  
• A 12V buck/boost converter (might be optional)
  
  ​
  
  ​
  
  ​

they make one of these that plugs right into your battery you can buy at lowes for like 20 bucks. you can plug it into your cigarette lighter to jump the battery to start the car. but i think theres a limiter on it or it takes a certain amount of time to get it to start i forget. but to do it legit you have to buy converters ect. but some of those kits which would fit on a van or whatever could power a laptop or gps device straight from the sun and could bank 8 hour charge in a few.. not sure how those work i forget. https://www.amazon.com/Sunway-Solar-Maintainer-Motorcycle-Snowmobile/dp/B06WP95W51

hmm was preferring something more portable like a powerbank used to charge phones but with 12v output and solar panel to top it up. Like something like this but with a battery: https://www.amazon.com/GIARIDE-Foldable-Charger-Sunpower-Portable/dp/B072KD4XCD

Not sure how that would cope with charging the radios alone. The aim is to have something portable to carry around. It is for game rangers that could be for a few days walking in the wild with no power but need to communicate any poaching.

I've worked with enough electricity that I would really rather not make my own. That being said, plans exist, and I've seen a few folks at our observatory with some -very- nice ones. These also exist, which have been recommended to me before, keep meaning to order one actually...

Not directly that I know of, but you just plug the solar panel into something like an XTAR VC2 and away you go!

I use this panel because I got it on sale for prime day.

There aren't any battery chemistries that run at 5V +/- 10%.

It sounds like you should get a 12V deep cycle lead-acid battery. They are very common, cheap, can take heat, have solar chargers available, and come in the capacity you need.

All you need is a 12V > 5V regulator, which is also very common, cheap, and available.

edit: This one has a 5V regulator built in, so you could run it straight off the USB ports if your load is < 3A

Something like this

https://www.amazon.ca/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-14500mAh-26400mAh/dp/B016BJCRUO/ref=sr_1_3?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhJrqBRDZARIsALhp1WQQBhZXhL-K4nUA05cIK9N05dnKWfePi4dDN6JCUCthXrSpab7NOBQaAhKCEALw_wcB&hvadid=284210268362&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001484&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=13890626508992761386&hvtargid=kwd-377617364151&hydadcr=1498_9454457&keywords=talentcell&qid=1564964277&s=gateway&sr=8-3

​

Then just plug it into the dc port on the f8n?

Do you have any recommendations? I recall seeing someone using something like this in a previous build. Would I have any issues powering both the amp and bluetooth receiver off one of those?

Also, is this a charge controller that would work?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B007VLMRP2/ref=s9_simh_gw_d0_g86_i1?pf_rd_p=10a14eba-dc73-41cf-b99d-532736921025&pf_rd_s=grid-unrec-4&pf_rd_t=Gateway&pf_rd_i=mobile&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=ENG32RPNV2BR0SG1K3MT

Or do I have to go for something like the skyrc imax b6?

I've loved using these TalentCell power banks. Camera runs for a 6-8hr shoot on one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016BJCRUO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01337QXMA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just need to get inventive with the rigging. I use a clamp meant to hold a camera to a rod/pole:

https://www.amazon.com/UTEBIT-Adjustable-Adapter-Aluminum-Photography/dp/B06XNQ8G77/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=clamp+mount+camera+pole&qid=1568172379&s=electronics&sr=1-9

For a bit more you can pick up a 103.5WH pack.

https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-14500mAh-26400mAh/dp/B016BJCRUO/

I personally tore one apart and tested it, it's good to go.

Bought one of these: http://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-14500mAh-26400mAh/dp/B016BJCRUO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459270990&sr=8-2&keywords=talentcell and tried running the Nova Drive off the 12v out and it works perfectly! Nova Drive still isn't working off the 12v wall wart that I have, so it's finnicky, but it's works on the board, and that battery has TONS of juice and 9v out to power the rest of the board.

I'm looking at this combo...Battery & Charger
But for the same price the deWalt one looks like it has more juice

If your not worried about price I would get one like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J7VPHXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rfVRzbYMB9XDT ... And then get one of these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZ61PRW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_DjVRzbZY9MMBA

https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-12000mAh-Multi-led-indicator/dp/B00ME3ZH7C

edit : or this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8F5HYJ/ref=emc_b_5_t

this one is quite cool:
12v + 9v + USB outputs... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01337QXMA/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

Try this one: https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-14500mAh-26400mAh/dp/B016BJCRUO

I've taken this beast with me on multiple backpacking adventures. Powers my phone 24/7 for a week easily. Even offers 12v outputs up to 3A for special electronics that might need it.

No need to mess with solar chargers. In my experience, they are all useless. Too slow, too expensive, and too cumbersome. I eventually ditched these solar panel systems in favor of this option. When you are backpacking, you really don't want to dink around with solar; just plug and go devices.

If i have my math right.

12v DC

10w Draw

.833333 Amps

http://underdogvapes.com/faq#electricity

Something like this should work.

https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-14500mAh-26400mAh/dp/B016BJCRUO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494362105&sr=8-2&keywords=12v+power+pack

Edit: I think it will last you somewhere between 7-13Hours Max at full charge.

Thanks! Is there anything I need to look at in particular before buying e.g. the wattage or volts? I live in an apartment so parking isn’t near an outlet but I found this on amazon which might work

Solar Car Battery Trickle Charger, 12V 3.3W Solar Battery Charger Car, Waterproof Portable Amorphous Solar Panel For Automotive, Motorcycle, Boat, Atv,Marine, RV, Trailer, Powersports, Snowmobile, etc https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07F9RNM1D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LAduDbPF2FDFD

Get a flexible solar panel and charge controller.

https://www.amazon.com/Watts-Battery-Charger-batteries-components/dp/B004TIMVLK/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1524160232&sr=1-5&keywords=flexible+solar+panels+kit#customerReviews

No, those panels output around 10W whereas a computer typically needs ~50W to charge. Also most of them only output 5V USB.

But:

• There are bigger/more powerfull solar panels. For example this monster that claims to output up to 60W... Honestly it's probably only 30 to 40W. Maybe that's enough for your laptop. It also has a 18V output and a set of adapters so you can directly charge your laptop
  
• I have a solar panel very similar to the OP one. Claims to be 16W, measured a bit more than 10W the other day. It can charge this big USB battery and in turn that battery can charge my laptop because it has a 45W output and my laptop can charge with USB-PD (can't do both at the same time)

This from Amazon is a charge controller with two USB ports for $10.99. Doesn't have monitoring using the Pi, but a whole lot cheaper.

Well it wouldn't be easy to achieve, but I don't know of any product available that would have such functionality.

For starters I would check out some kind of 12V power bank.

[Or add a solar battery charger to the second battery that you can put in the rear window or dashboard.] (https://www.amazon.com/POWOXI-Portable-Waterproof-Maintainer-Amorphous/dp/B07F9RNM1D/ref=asc_df_B07F9RNM1D/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241963226348&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1081114909346668752&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9016674&hvtargid=pla-521340003342&psc=1)

I will have this setup at my camp site:

400Wh battery with AC inverter

100W solar panel

But why?

You could this so much better with a standard usb battery.

TalentCell Rechargeable 12V 3000mAh Lithium ion Battery Pack for LED Strip, CCTV Camera and More, DC 12V/5V USB Dual Output External Battery Power Bank with Charger, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M7Z9Z1N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6W6SDbXQGKG8Z

$25 for something simple.

Or if you need a LOT of power,

TalentCell Rechargeable 72W 132WH 12V/11000mAh 9V/14500mAh 5V/26400mAh DC Output Lithium Ion Battery Pack For LED Strip and CCTV Camera, Portable Li-ion Power Bank, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016BJCRUO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RY6SDb975MER2

$65.

Not USB-c but this has been a very handy device for multiple recharges while traveling and powering a portable Lepai music setup. Affordable and 3p3s 18650 internally- https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-14500mAh-26400mAh/dp/B016BJCRUO

https://www.amazon.com/Sunway-Solar-Maintainer-Motorcycle-Snowmobile/dp/B01MYVUSRH/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491851129&sr=8-2&keywords=car+solar+trickle+charger


claims to not overcharge

Solar trickle chargers are available to solve your mom’s problem. Suction cup it into the windshield and plug it into the cigarette lighter.

and even if, you can power a light house for hours from a power bank anyways. no need to charge it simultaneously. just get one with a 12-volt outlet https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-11000mAh-20000mAh-Portable/dp/B01337QXMA

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/42271m/lighthouses_running_from_battery_for_hours_and/

I purchased some lithium packs that offer 12v 9v and 5v. I use this for my BMPCC OG and Fuji X-T2 external. 5V to 12V takes almost 3x the current at 5V to get the same at 12V due to losses.

I'm using these batteries.

They've had no trouble running all the lights so far. I'm running just 192 addressable led pixels, they run at 5V. Even if they only work for 1 hour, that should be fine for most performances I have in mind.

Do you work with Lightjams? Do you think it's worth the investment for the license? I am about to get it, just wondering your experience.

I believe the panel has a regulator built in... But I could be wrong. This is the panel I'm referring to:
ALLPOWERS 100W Solar Charger... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075YRKVMH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Horn + Battery + Switch = Horn on Bike

Hell, you could fit all that into cargo pants and be a pedestrian honking at cars.

Or on kickstarter.

I use one of these for my portable low power ham station.

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01337QXMA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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it is an always on type thing and matter of fact, the power switch is just a cut to the actual battery. If you plug in 12v to the barrel plug, the USB jack will charge things with the switch in either position. Leave it on and you have a USB UPS that kicks in automatically if it loses DC input.

I've had good experiences with these off-the-shelf packs:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00935L44E/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XMM4ZZE/

This one isn't regulated but works fairly well with some loss of sync range as the battery depletes:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016BJCRUO/

Many similar ones are suitable. Better to use regulated ones than simple "12V" battery packs, which are typically 12.3-12.6 V fully charged and drop off as the batteries discharge. The slightly higher voltage is fine, as is the drop towards 9 Volt, but their management ICs will normally cut off the load before the cells might be damaged by excessive discharge. The low voltage cut-out in the base will turn off the base station before it might get confused by too low a voltage if the battery pack is unprotected - such as with primary cell holders.