The GoBe Solar Charger
GoBe Solar has another take on the briefcase-sized solar charger unit. Their device comes with its own mini power hub, a battery supply unit that charges from the solar panel. The idea behind this unit is to supply moderate amounts of power to mobile devices and machines when mains supply is not available. This makes the GoBe Solar Charger ideal for charging or running equipment like cordless drills and glue guns. The battery pack can also run a laptop computer, but the panels do not produce sufficient charge to keep a laptop operating indefinitely. Using just the battery hub at full charge, a laptop could operate for 3 - 6 hours.SpecificsThe solar panels produce 10.5 watts of electricity, enough to run lights, small devices or charge the hub battery. The case of the panels has built in legs so you can position it for ideal energy harvesting. The battery can be used to run devices whether it is being charged or not. The briefcase unit weighs in at 5.85 kg while the battery hub weighs 4.2 kg. The panels are Amorphous Silicon. The battery unit comes with a modified sine wave inverter. While this is less than ideal, it certainly helps to keep the costs down. The battery hub supplies 14.8V electricity at 3A. The panels can recharge the hub fully with exposure to about 10 hours of sunlight, though of course you'd need to adjust the position of the panels throughout the day. SummaryThis device with its accompanying battery pack looks like the ideal miniature power generator and storage system, ideal for low power uses away from the grid. It would also be very useful in survival scenarios where the mains supply is no longer available. The unit comes with a mere one year warranty which seems a bit on the thin side. For a product that has the asking price of $349 US, I'd be looking for a bit more support than that. For more details of this new offer, visit the GoBe Solar website.
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