Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Ideas and questions about MintyBoost kits

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miguelaguerrero
 
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Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by miguelaguerrero »

Hello,

My son is developing a science fair project to explore how solar energy is converted to electricity. As a practical approach to learning about solar energy, he would like to use a solar panel to charge a battery reservoir and then be able to use that battery reservoir to charge his iphone. Can this be done with the products you sell? If so, what are the items I need to purchase? Thanks for your help.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

This tutorial shows how to build a solar charger that can charge a phone. The circuitry is built into a bag, but you can follow the wiring diagrams and package ti differently if you prefer.

https://learn.adafruit.com/solar-boost-bag

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miguelaguerrero
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by miguelaguerrero »

Thank you. I appreciate your prompt response. I noticed the 2.1mm DC Barrel Plug to Alligator Clips is unavailable. Is this a critical component of the system? If so is there an alternative item I can use?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The alligator clips get cut off anyway. You could use half of this set instead: https://www.adafruit.com/products/743

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miguelaguerrero
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by miguelaguerrero »

Ok cool. I already placed my order#902510-5665963217. Is there anyway to add this item to the order?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

If you contact [email protected] they may be able to catch it before it gets picked and packed.

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miguelaguerrero
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by miguelaguerrero »

Hoping you guys can help. I'm having a hard time finding a place that can 3D print the custom box and cover for this project. Any idea how I can get a hold of these pieces?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Shapeways has an on-line service that has been around for a while.
http://www.shapeways.com/

You might also be able to find a local service via 3dhubs:
https://www.3dhubs.com/

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MyLivvie
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by MyLivvie »

I just placed orders 979369-5357498508 and 977813-0355271933. My son wants to make a solar MintyBoost for his science project. Have I purchased everything he will need? Once I get the lipoly battery charged, how does it plug into the MintyBoost? Is there one tutorial for the entire process?
He's only 12 so I will be helping him (not much). Thanks.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Have I purchased everything he will need?
We don't have a view into your order history from here. But if you can post the list of products you purchased we can take a look.

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MyLivvie
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by MyLivvie »

1 x Medium 6V 2W Solar panel (2.0 Watt) [ID:200]
1 x Lithium Ion Battery - 3.7v 2000mAh[ID:2011]
1 x USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger (v2) [ID:390]
1 x Altoids Gum sized tin[ID:16]
1 x MintyBoost Kit (v3.0) [ID:14]
1 x Helping Third Hand Magnifier W/Magnifying Glass Tool (MZ101) [ID:291]

Thanks!

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Assuming that you have a soldering iron and some basic tools, that should cover the essentials.
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-gui ... ring/tools

Other things you may find useful are some double-sided foam tape for mounting things in the tin and some hookup wire to connect the components.

To start, you can connect the panel and battery to the charger and start the battery charging.
https://learn.adafruit.com/usb-dc-and-s ... r/overview

While the battery is charging you can start on the MintyBoost.
https://learn.adafruit.com/minty-boost

When you have that tested and working, you can just replace the minty-boost battery pack with a connection to the Load output of the solar charger.

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MyLivvie
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by MyLivvie »

Just one more thing...
What do we use for the connection to the Load output of the solar charger?

Many thanks!

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You could use the hookup wire mentioned above and solder to the pads on the edge of the board.

Or you could just replace the battery holder leads with the JST pigtail leads (bottom of photo below) and plug it into the JST Load jack.

Image

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MyLivvie
 
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Re: Solar Minty Boost Science Project

Post by MyLivvie »

Thanks for your help. I don't understand any of that, so I think we'll just return everything. I didn't realize that we'd have to make changes outside the instructions and tutorials to get it to work. We also paid for next day shipping on Monday and it still hasn't arrived.

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