Micro Power 2 Go Version 2.0
by tech savvy in Circuits > Gadgets
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Micro Power 2 Go Version 2.0
Hi there everyone ,
I was bored last night and needed something to do ,
so the birth of new project was born ,
I call it micro power 2 go 2.0 ,
now if you seen my last project micro power 2 go the old model you'll now what i'm talking about ,
if you what to see it you can go here https://www.instructables.com/id/Micro-pocket-power-2-go-its-solar-to/
ok so here's whats new about this version ,
its about two times smaller the the one before ,
and it has a led to tell you if there's power init or not , i'll explain that after ,
despite its size its no weakling it has the same amount of power like the last one ,
so are you ready I'am lets build this thing .
I was bored last night and needed something to do ,
so the birth of new project was born ,
I call it micro power 2 go 2.0 ,
now if you seen my last project micro power 2 go the old model you'll now what i'm talking about ,
if you what to see it you can go here https://www.instructables.com/id/Micro-pocket-power-2-go-its-solar-to/
ok so here's whats new about this version ,
its about two times smaller the the one before ,
and it has a led to tell you if there's power init or not , i'll explain that after ,
despite its size its no weakling it has the same amount of power like the last one ,
so are you ready I'am lets build this thing .
What We Need
ok time to get your tool box ready and your parts handy ,
here's what you'll need ,
micro solar cell , I got mine from ebay type in mini solar car and you'll see that cheap looking solar toy for about $2 dollars , that's were I got mine off of ,
a 4.5 volt micro / mini rechargeable battery , you can find this also on ebay , you can type in mini or micro to find it , mine didn't cost
me anything since I had an extra part left from a mini hamburger speaker this was from ebay I paid about $ 3 dollars for it but then it broke on me , hey I didn't break it the dog did ,
next you'll need a very small case , I didn't have one on hand so I had to make one out of plastic I had laying around ,
One led any color you want , I used a blue 3mm , once again from ebay , there pretty cheap a $2 for a 100 ,
one female usb , got mine from my parts box , but you can get one from ebay for like a dollar or cheaper ,
a push button switch , there a dime a dozen , no really there like a dime , ebay 100 for like a dollar ,
and a bridge rectifier diode ,
something to make it look good like paint or aluminum tape , I used the aluminum tape since I had it handy ,
piece of clear plastic , I used a piece of my old gameboy screen ,
and of course some small wire ,
tools you need ,
soldering gun ,
glue gun ,
wire stripper or if you like me you can just use scissors
here's what you'll need ,
micro solar cell , I got mine from ebay type in mini solar car and you'll see that cheap looking solar toy for about $2 dollars , that's were I got mine off of ,
a 4.5 volt micro / mini rechargeable battery , you can find this also on ebay , you can type in mini or micro to find it , mine didn't cost
me anything since I had an extra part left from a mini hamburger speaker this was from ebay I paid about $ 3 dollars for it but then it broke on me , hey I didn't break it the dog did ,
next you'll need a very small case , I didn't have one on hand so I had to make one out of plastic I had laying around ,
One led any color you want , I used a blue 3mm , once again from ebay , there pretty cheap a $2 for a 100 ,
one female usb , got mine from my parts box , but you can get one from ebay for like a dollar or cheaper ,
a push button switch , there a dime a dozen , no really there like a dime , ebay 100 for like a dollar ,
and a bridge rectifier diode ,
something to make it look good like paint or aluminum tape , I used the aluminum tape since I had it handy ,
piece of clear plastic , I used a piece of my old gameboy screen ,
and of course some small wire ,
tools you need ,
soldering gun ,
glue gun ,
wire stripper or if you like me you can just use scissors
Getting Started
ok now use the schematic as shown in the picture to tell you were it all connects ,
if you want to use a usb pinout to tell were your positive and is ground on a usb you can find it here http://www.usbpinout.net/ ,
now connect the black end of diode to the positive on the solar cell and the connect the grey end of the diode to the positive on the battery , then connect the solar cell ground to the battery ,
next connect the positive from the usb to the positive on the battery and the other to ground ,
note this is not shown in the schematic / picture ,
next your led and switch connect the led's positive lead to one lead on the switch ,
then connect the other lead on the switch to positive on the battery ,
then ground the other lead on your led to the battery ,
now solder all the connections ,
use some glue from your glue gun or electric tape to cover and secure the connections , I used the glue gun it was easier and made it smaller , tape I find it to bulky ,
next fit it to the case , your going to have to make a small it for the led and the switch ,
and you need a hole for your usb ,
and a hole on the top of your case for the top of your solar cell ,
once done we can go to the next step
if you want to use a usb pinout to tell were your positive and is ground on a usb you can find it here http://www.usbpinout.net/ ,
now connect the black end of diode to the positive on the solar cell and the connect the grey end of the diode to the positive on the battery , then connect the solar cell ground to the battery ,
next connect the positive from the usb to the positive on the battery and the other to ground ,
note this is not shown in the schematic / picture ,
next your led and switch connect the led's positive lead to one lead on the switch ,
then connect the other lead on the switch to positive on the battery ,
then ground the other lead on your led to the battery ,
now solder all the connections ,
use some glue from your glue gun or electric tape to cover and secure the connections , I used the glue gun it was easier and made it smaller , tape I find it to bulky ,
next fit it to the case , your going to have to make a small it for the led and the switch ,
and you need a hole for your usb ,
and a hole on the top of your case for the top of your solar cell ,
once done we can go to the next step
Glue and Cover
ok now put everything in its place and use the glue gun to do so ,
next cut out and a piece of clear plastic to fit over top of your solar cell and glue around it ,
be sure not to get any glue on the top of your solar cell , like shown in the picture ,
if you made a case like I did you need to carefully cut off a the sharp and extra pieces of plastic ,
now its time to make it look good ,
you can paint it what ever color you want making sure you cover the led and solar cell before you do ,
or do what I did take some aluminum tape and cover the case with it , once again do not cover the solar cell or led or the switch ,
ok done great moving on to the last step
next cut out and a piece of clear plastic to fit over top of your solar cell and glue around it ,
be sure not to get any glue on the top of your solar cell , like shown in the picture ,
if you made a case like I did you need to carefully cut off a the sharp and extra pieces of plastic ,
now its time to make it look good ,
you can paint it what ever color you want making sure you cover the led and solar cell before you do ,
or do what I did take some aluminum tape and cover the case with it , once again do not cover the solar cell or led or the switch ,
ok done great moving on to the last step
Testing Testing 123
ok put the little guy out in the sun to charge for a bit ,
now after a bit of charging push the switch and see it glow you should see the led light up ,
so now its time to explain the usefulness of the led like I said I would ,
the led is the easiest why of telling if there is power or not ,
instead of plugging it into a tester or your cellphone every time ,
you can also charge it by using a usb charger as well ,
its good for all usb devices like a mp3 players or a cellphone etc ,
if you what to know how the charging process works take a look at last step of my other micro power 2 go here https://www.instructables.com/id/Micro-pocket-power-2-go-its-solar-to/
next the specs ,
charge time , it will take 4-8 hours by solar ,
about 2 to 5 hours by dc charger ,
and about 2 to 4 hours by larger solar panel , like the one I showed you in the last project
so there you have it your own micro power 2 go 2.0 ,
thank you for viewing and I hope you enjoyed my inscrutable ,
p.s look at the pictures to see the size difference compared to the old version ,
now after a bit of charging push the switch and see it glow you should see the led light up ,
so now its time to explain the usefulness of the led like I said I would ,
the led is the easiest why of telling if there is power or not ,
instead of plugging it into a tester or your cellphone every time ,
you can also charge it by using a usb charger as well ,
its good for all usb devices like a mp3 players or a cellphone etc ,
if you what to know how the charging process works take a look at last step of my other micro power 2 go here https://www.instructables.com/id/Micro-pocket-power-2-go-its-solar-to/
next the specs ,
charge time , it will take 4-8 hours by solar ,
about 2 to 5 hours by dc charger ,
and about 2 to 4 hours by larger solar panel , like the one I showed you in the last project
so there you have it your own micro power 2 go 2.0 ,
thank you for viewing and I hope you enjoyed my inscrutable ,
p.s look at the pictures to see the size difference compared to the old version ,