Solar Powered Kobo N647

tnforpaul45 · 10-13-2012, 07:47 PM

Hi all,

While I await my new Kobo Glo (Thanks ScrapKing!), thought I would share with you a little project that I got inspired to do here recently.

After seeing this project at Instructables.com:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Sola...ader/?ALLSTEPS

...I got inspired to do the same. I was able to get a used Kobo N647 1GB model (pink back, I know, I'm confident in my man-hood though!) off of ebay for $33, and decided to put a 6V 160mA Solar Power in the back to charge it while on vacations, outside, etc. and not near a convenient power source.

Here are the photos in order, with some descriptions:

Pre-Surgery, to record it's pristine working condition one last time before going in. . .

Picked up this solar panel at RadioShack. Its rated at 6V and 160mA but I got about 150mA in full sunlight. That will work! The original project had two solar panels wired in parallel that provided about 4V at 100mA. I wanted a bit more oomph to my battery recharge.

The green circuit is a break-out board, 6 slot, and the tiny, I mean TINY circiut to its right is a small MAX1551 Voltage Controller. It can accept two sources of input power: USB (About 100 mA) and DC (Max of 260mA). I wired my slightly more powerful solar panel to the DC input.

A bit closer view. I ended up not using the 1N4001 Diode.

A highly magnified view of the board and chip, post-solder. Wow was this tricky!

Now with the board wired up to the Solar Panel and the leads that will eventually go to the Kobo's internal battery.

Kobo N647 Internals. See the 1000mAh battery? Should juice up nicely from our 160mA Solar Panel. The voltage controller keeps the output to the battery at around 4V so as to not overload the 3.7V batt inside.

Here we go! Everything is installed and ready to be tested. NOTE: Use a Dremel or other cutting device on the Kobo's back. Never ever do it by hand....like me!

All done! It powers on! I didn't kill it!

After 3 hours in bright direct sunlight, the batt goes from 10% to about 50% or so, but drops back to around 30-40%. We are sliding into low-light winter and this is a fine time to be starting a Solar Powered project!

Hope you enjoy! I for sure won't be doing this to my Kobo Glo!

murg · 10-13-2012, 08:02 PM

Cool!

I've looked at installing a jack on a Touch so that I can get power out of it to plug a book light into, but the clearances inside make it difficult to mount the jack in the device, and I really don't want wires hanging out of the device.

Although, now that I think about it, it may be possible to mount the jack outside the device, on the top edge...

nogle · 10-13-2012, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnforpaul45

Hi all,

While I await my new Kobo Glo (Thanks ScrapKing!), thought I would share with you a little project that I got inspired to do here recently.

After seeing this project at Instructables.com:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Sola...ader/?ALLSTEPS

...I got inspired to do the same.

[Yada yada yada deleted]

Hope you enjoy! I for sure won't be doing this to my Kobo Glo!

Won't do this to the glo? But you could use the light to illuminate the solar panel. By using the light all the time you could keep the battery fully charged. But I suppose such a thing is dangerous; the global energy conspiracy will will hunt you down for the thought crime of daring to produce perpetual motion.

tnforpaul45 · 10-13-2012, 09:25 PM

LOL good one! Seriously though, as much trouble as I'm going through to get a Glo (but made easier thanks to a kind fellow forum member), I am not going to do surgery on it anytime soon

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogle

Won't do this to the glo? But you could use the light to illuminate the solar panel. By using the light all the time you could keep the battery fully charged. But I suppose such a thing is dangerous; the global energy conspiracy will will hunt you down for the thought crime of daring to produce perpetual motion.

PeterT · 10-13-2012, 09:46 PM

Why not try to make an external USB charger? A small device with batteries and a USB cell. Let the solar cell charge the batteries, and then, connect that (with charged batteries) to the Kobo via USB?

tnforpaul45 · 10-13-2012, 10:09 PM

Peter,

Funny you say that, I have components incoming for me to do just this. I have a 260mA solar panel at 6V that I will be using to make a USB charger that can charge both iPhones and everything else USB'ish

I wanted the kobo to be stand alone self-recharging. and I wanted to conquer simple electronics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

Why not try to make an external USB charger? A small device with batteries and a USB cell. Let the solar cell charge the batteries, and then, connect that (with charged batteries) to the Kobo via USB?

rjcroy · 10-13-2012, 10:31 PM

Awesome!! I have always thought that it would be great to charge a Kobo by solar. It's a low power device. It makes sense. Then you could take it camping! (^^)

tnforpaul45 · 10-13-2012, 10:42 PM

Exactly. That's what I was thinking too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjcroy

Awesome!! I have always thought that it would be great to charge a Kobo by solar. It's a low power device. It makes sense. Then you could take it camping! (^^)

soulfuldog · 10-14-2012, 08:49 AM

Very impressive

TonyToews · 10-15-2012, 02:39 PM

Very nice indeed.

the.Mtn.Man · 10-18-2012, 02:12 PM

Considering the low power requirements of an ereader, I've wondered why none of the manufacturers have built solar panels into the edges of their devices. Not that it would eliminate the need to periodically charge them with an electrical adapter, but it seems it would make it so that the time between plug-ins would be greatly extended.

nogle · 10-18-2012, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

Considering the low power requirements of an ereader, I've wondered why none of the manufacturers have built solar panels into the edges of their devices. Not that it would eliminate the need to periodically charge them with an electrical adapter, but it seems it would make it so that the time between plug-ins would be greatly extended.

Well, I am going to go with added cost with no real advantage in marketability. Although it could appeal to a small segment, the vast majority are buying on price. Anything that adds cost isn't going to work.

scrapking · 10-24-2012, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogle

Well, I am going to go with added cost with no real advantage in marketability. Although it could appeal to a small segment, the vast majority are buying on price. Anything that adds cost isn't going to work.

Unless it's an additional SKU, at a price that makes it worth offering.

10-13-2012, 07:47 PM	#1
tnforpaul45 Zealot Posts: 109 Karma: 1196756 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Kobo Glo, Kindle DX	Solar Powered Kobo N647 Hi all, While I await my new Kobo Glo (Thanks ScrapKing!), thought I would share with you a little project that I got inspired to do here recently. After seeing this project at Instructables.com: http://www.instructables.com/id/Sola...ader/?ALLSTEPS ...I got inspired to do the same. I was able to get a used Kobo N647 1GB model (pink back, I know, I'm confident in my man-hood though!) off of ebay for $33, and decided to put a 6V 160mA Solar Power in the back to charge it while on vacations, outside, etc. and not near a convenient power source. Here are the photos in order, with some descriptions: Pre-Surgery, to record it's pristine working condition one last time before going in. . . Picked up this solar panel at RadioShack. Its rated at 6V and 160mA but I got about 150mA in full sunlight. That will work! The original project had two solar panels wired in parallel that provided about 4V at 100mA. I wanted a bit more oomph to my battery recharge. The green circuit is a break-out board, 6 slot, and the tiny, I mean TINY circiut to its right is a small MAX1551 Voltage Controller. It can accept two sources of input power: USB (About 100 mA) and DC (Max of 260mA). I wired my slightly more powerful solar panel to the DC input. A bit closer view. I ended up not using the 1N4001 Diode. A highly magnified view of the board and chip, post-solder. Wow was this tricky! Now with the board wired up to the Solar Panel and the leads that will eventually go to the Kobo's internal battery. Kobo N647 Internals. See the 1000mAh battery? Should juice up nicely from our 160mA Solar Panel. The voltage controller keeps the output to the battery at around 4V so as to not overload the 3.7V batt inside. Here we go! Everything is installed and ready to be tested. NOTE: Use a Dremel or other cutting device on the Kobo's back. Never ever do it by hand....like me! All done! It powers on! I didn't kill it! After 3 hours in bright direct sunlight, the batt goes from 10% to about 50% or so, but drops back to around 30-40%. We are sliding into low-light winter and this is a fine time to be starting a Solar Powered project! Hope you enjoy! I for sure won't be doing this to my Kobo Glo!

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10-13-2012, 08:02 PM	#2
murg No Comment Posts: 3,240 Karma: 23878043 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Australia Device: Kobo: Not just an eReader, it's an adventure!	Cool! I've looked at installing a jack on a Touch so that I can get power out of it to plug a book light into, but the clearances inside make it difficult to mount the jack in the device, and I really don't want wires hanging out of the device. Although, now that I think about it, it may be possible to mount the jack outside the device, on the top edge...

10-13-2012, 09:46 PM	#5
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,303 Karma: 78876004 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Why not try to make an external USB charger? A small device with batteries and a USB cell. Let the solar cell charge the batteries, and then, connect that (with charged batteries) to the Kobo via USB?

10-13-2012, 10:31 PM	#7
rjcroy Bibliophile Posts: 167 Karma: 1147338 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New Zealand Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kobo Touch	Awesome!! I have always thought that it would be great to charge a Kobo by solar. It's a low power device. It makes sense. Then you could take it camping! (^^)

10-14-2012, 08:49 AM	#9
soulfuldog I ♥ Calibre Posts: 2,073 Karma: 5678911 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Voyage, Sony PRS-350, Hudl2	Very impressive

10-15-2012, 02:39 PM	#10
TonyToews Evangelist Posts: 490 Karma: 351398 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kobo Vox and Glo	Very nice indeed.

10-18-2012, 02:12 PM	#11
the.Mtn.Man Guru Posts: 710 Karma: 2483502 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Kobo Aura	Considering the low power requirements of an ereader, I've wondered why none of the manufacturers have built solar panels into the edges of their devices. Not that it would eliminate the need to periodically charge them with an electrical adapter, but it seems it would make it so that the time between plug-ins would be greatly extended.

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