XO Solar

Purpose/Scope

Test solar panel setups for the XO laptop

• What is the minimum panel that will work?

expectation is charging time of no more than 3 hours.

• Does size/output of panel affect charging time?

smells fishy. If it were so, real risk of frying the system. There must be a filter somewhere that will limit the juice flowing through. If is is not built in the XO, it HAS to be built in the output of the panels system. Until this is resolved by deities, I will be very careful about my amperage.

does anyone know if the XO has such a filter built in? I believe I have seen such specs somewhere. I'll check Hardware pages.

• What happens when a battery is slowly charged by a puny panel all day, which then boosts XO battery recharge?

watch those amps!

Make available for sale XO Solar kits

The whole point of this is that this hardware can be purchased over-the-counter. Many G1G1 donors would like to play around with alternative power sources like solar, but unfortunately production capacity of dedicated XO-designed alternative power sources has been reserved for deployment in the developing world where they are most needed. There seem to be a couple commercial efforts happening, Product News, Solar Panels

• ETA for XO Solar is May 2008

Transfer knowledge & experience

Use a Libre stance as to sharing what we find so that everyone can go solar if they can access the necessary hardware, without needing to purchase directly from us or our partners.

Facilitate XO Solar stuff for needy projects

Yes Nepal, we hear you...  :-)

This will depend, of course, on gathering funds to subsidize kits and shipping. A better accounted G1G1 has been proposed, in which developed world-purchasers would be able to purchase hardware in such a way that their purchase would make stuff available for needy projects.

Major Hurdles

• XO

Since I was lent an XO that is solved for now. Applying for a developer XO so I can return this one. Wish me luck, it seems they're not giving them away that easy anymore.

• Plug

The weird-beyond-all-understanding plug. Hope I can get some real ones soon for distribution of XO Solar, but it's a simple 20 minute hack for me to fashion one out of plastic straws and hot glue for testing.

got an email from Mike Lee a couple minutes ago with an offer for a sample of a real one. Great! 70.124.61.211 18:49, 19 April 2008 (EDT)

Action

• get solar panels

I've been running a 1.5 amp, 12 V one since February 2007...

• get XO

got one for now, thanks to Anne Gentle from XO Austin

• get solar energy advice

In the works. Met with wonderful people of a local company here, will report back as things progress.

• wire things together

maybe later today. Right now I have the XO discharging Yamaplos 11:49, 19 April 2008 (EDT)

tests log

Space reserved to report on what happens.

People

please sign in. Being in this list just might give you first dibs as XO Solar stuff starts to get distributed !

Yama Ploskonka contact for the project

RealName Here Click on edit to enter your information here

Location

XO Solar is based in (right now) sunny Austin, Texas