diy solar powered radio for $5

This is another good use of solar panels, solar panels for the surrounding large number of garden LED lights, plus a portable radio using 2 or 3 AA batteries.
Most of us have an old-fashioned radio, so I base my $5 price on the cost of buying / buying Solar Garden L. E. D light.
I suspect that there are a lot of used batteries around, which are not working due to slight corrosion of battery terminals in humid environments. -
Solar panels are probably perfect. . . .
With this instruction, I have turned on the radio for four weeks. (12 hours a day)
When I work, it never disappoints me, even at a reasonable high volume level.
You can put a solar radio on a sunny windowsill like me, or you can put it out in the sun. -
Recharge batteries regularly.
What you need is: 1.
Portable radio, AM/FM or DAB, (
Types of 2AA or 3AA batteries). 2. One 4 or 4.
5 volts 80 milliamperes of solar panels, pry from the solar lamp. 3.
Ideally, BAT43 Schottky Diode or Silicone IN4001（
Greater voltage loss)4.
Soldering iron, solder and 6 \"long red and black cables. 5.
2 or 3 Ni-MH rechargeable batteries（
Nickel and cadmium are fine, but not so good.
The minimum capacity of each battery is 800 mAh. Optional -
Heat shrinkable sleeve, adhesive foam strip, which is a very fast project, can be built in about 2 hours and will help save the earth:
Choose a solar panel. It has eight solar bars that run through the width of the panels. -
Some cheaper panels have only four or have been cut off. You need eight to provide four. 5 V 80 mA output.
Removal of transparent plastic lenses and metal edges from garden lamps is usually a push-and-pull type and easy to remove.
Carefully pry the panel out of the lamp body with a screwdriver and glue it with some glue-BE CAREFUL.
Cut off the connector wire and remove the lower panel completely.
Some radios have power input sockets, mine, but the size is strange. （Sony).
This option makes it easier to connect the panel by simply connecting the appropriate plug to the solar panel. (
Use blocking diodes)
That\'s it. Check whether the polarity is correct!
I decided to hard-wire my solar panel, and that\'s how I got close to it. 1.
Remove the back panel of the radio and use the multimeter to determine the positive and negative connection of the battery. （
Connection position of battery.
Make sure that the multimeter does not indicate a negative value. If it indicates a negative value, the position of the positive and negative pens is wrong. 2.
Welding 6 inch long red（to positive)and black (to neutral). 3.
When reassembling, drill a small hole in the plastic so that two wires come out of the back of the radio panel.
You must weld BAT43 or IN4100 blocking diodes to the positive extremities of solar panels.
Bat43 Schottky diode is better because it has lower voltage loss. about 0. 3v)
Especially important, if you charge three batteries like I do.
When the light is insufficient, the diode prevents the battery from producing reverse current.
Make sure the white or black \"band\" back to the solar panel. You can use the multimeter set to Ma or volts to check whether the diode is correctly connected and see if the panel\'s strong light is output. If not, the diode needs to be connected in another direction.
Using a double-sided foam tape, you can focus the solar panels on the radio.
Fortunately, my Sony radio has a positioning bracket that fits perfectly into the panel, but if your radio doesn\'t have one, you can put it on the top of the radio.
Weld the positive and negative wires of the radio to the solar panel and cover all exposed joints with heat shrinkable tubes or insulating tape.
There, it\'s finished. It works very well. I used to work in front of my computer all day and listen to my support. -
A separate stereo system uses more than 40 watts of power to listen to BBC Radio 2. (U. K station).
This is permanent and does not require energy. . . . . . . .