When I started this project I always wanted it to be able to be powered by solar. The only experience I've had with solar cells is messing about with the garden solar lights but they dont produce much voltage/current.

I started looking around on ebay to see if I could find a 5v panel with decent output. I picked a 5v 500mAh 2.5 watt panel hoping that it would be able to power #T_H_S . Being in the UK we dont normaly get many sunny days so on recieving the panel I had to wait a few days before testing the panel out.

I could get 5.90v with strong direct sunlight. Now I needed a way to boost/regulate the current so it would power #T_H_S .

I ordered a 5v DC - DC boost

This allowed me to power #T_H_S as long as it was in strong direct sunlight. I would charge and power the battery's at the same time but now too sure how long it would take to fully charge them up.

I mounted the solar cell on a piece of PVC ment for a window ledge so it was L shaped. This alowed it to have a slight angle to chatch the sun a little better

Next thing I'm waiting on is a hand crank phone charger.