Good work Richard! We made the solar panel project way back in 2010. Looking forward to getting my hands on newer XO models. We would like to try it out here in nearby OLPC deployment in Vung Vieng, Vietnam.
@playingwithsid That looks like and XO-1 in from the picture. The XO-1.75 & XO-3 will perform _much_ better when connected to a PV panel. We have made considerable improvements since XO-1. If you get your hands on a 1.75 then I suggest you retry your test. I don't know the output of your PV panel but with a 1.5, 1.75 or 3 you should not need the regulator. Max input voltage for those models is 25V (vs 18V for XO-1)
@sokbrok Don't confuse running the laptop with charging the battery. When its trying to charge the battery the laptop will try to draw quite a bit more power. Until the battery reaches 60% full or so it would consume all the power a 10W panel could generate. Unless you have larger panel Its more efficient to use 1 panel per XO.
@xxvelcrar Yeah. I really needed some. It was actually cloudy when we were setting up, but then just before we started to shoot the sun came out nice and bright and I wasn't prepared.
Good work Richard! We made the solar panel project way back in 2010. Looking forward to getting my hands on newer XO models. We would like to try it out here in nearby OLPC deployment in Vung Vieng, Vietnam.
playingwithsid 1 month ago
We did similar hack with 8W solar panel in July 2010.
playingwithsid.blogspot.com/2010/07/olpc-solar-charger.html
playingwithsid 1 month ago
@playingwithsid That looks like and XO-1 in from the picture. The XO-1.75 & XO-3 will perform _much_ better when connected to a PV panel. We have made considerable improvements since XO-1. If you get your hands on a 1.75 then I suggest you retry your test. I don't know the output of your PV panel but with a 1.5, 1.75 or 3 you should not need the regulator. Max input voltage for those models is 25V (vs 18V for XO-1)
olpcrichard 1 month ago
Nice! I imagine that one could charge a bunch of XO-3s from a 10W panel, though you'd need some way to distribute the power between them. USB hub?
sokbrok 1 month ago
@sokbrok Don't confuse running the laptop with charging the battery. When its trying to charge the battery the laptop will try to draw quite a bit more power. Until the battery reaches 60% full or so it would consume all the power a 10W panel could generate. Unless you have larger panel Its more efficient to use 1 panel per XO.
olpcrichard 1 month ago
Way to go, Rich! :-)
ablocke77 1 month ago
Great job, Richard!!
kc5pjp 1 month ago
Someone get Richard some sunglasses!
xxvelcrar 1 month ago
@xxvelcrar Yeah. I really needed some. It was actually cloudy when we were setting up, but then just before we started to shoot the sun came out nice and bright and I wasn't prepared.
olpcrichard 1 month ago