Has anyone considered totally portable charging for the MP?
Thinking of trekking a 1 week “off the grid” hike … so the solar panels would need to be moderately light in weight. Preferably something I could attach to the outside of my rucksack to charge using the brighter sun/light around the middle of the day.
Solar chargers for USB charging of the RC and phone/tablet have been about for a while … but the MP batteries offer a bigger problem.
The MP car charger is compatible with 24v trucks … and that unit does “say” that its max output is 19.8v. That would definitely beat the MP car charger’s annoying minimum, but I wonder how bright it has to be to get above that magic 13.4v?
Hmmm, I’m off trekking in a month or so, so the question of power is always a problem.
I’ve only ever seen one of these solar things used once, trekking in Venezuela a couple of years ago, somebody in the group had one. It was only small, with the aim of charging a phone (for use as a camera). It wasn’t one of the leading brands, but it only seemed to do anything if it was fairly well aligned to the sun. We worked this out after some experimentation at rest stops, lunch etc. So it was pretty hopeless on the back of a rucksack - but it may have just been a poor quality one.
I’m still thinking about whether to take the Mavic or not (how much do I want to carry) but if I do I’ve decided I’ll just have to be super economical on batteries and carefully pick my moments. Which means I’ll either not have enough battery left for the most amazing video at the end of the trek, or I’ll have loads and wish I’d used the thing more! Also need to think about phone battery of course - the Mavic power bank adaptor looks good for that.
And will four batteries be enough for my camera… always has been, but modern cameras use more power…
Sometimes film was easier, with two button batteries that lasted for years
Last summer, when I was away from my car and the campsite overnight, I took my car charge with me. Each time I found someone that would leave their car idling whilst the MP batteries charged in exchange for a (cheap!) beer.
This time, whilst the 1kg weight won’t be an excessive problem (If it works!), the overnight refuges won’t have electricity and are far from roads.
Weight won’t be a BIG problem since food/bedding is organised at each refuge. Yeah - slightly lazy - but I’m getting to the age where a heavy rucksack is not knee-friendly on the downhill bits.
The MP mains charger is rated at 1.8amp … but that’s a lot of Watts = serious amps at USB’s 5v!
I need to find out what it ACTUALLY draws, since I doubt it’s actually that many.
And, of course, it’s a finite amount of power/battery charges.
