Packable Solar Charger for Two-Way Radios

[Impassable]

Hello,

Looking for feedback regarding portable (lightweight) solar chargers that will work for phones, etc., but is also adaptable to charging two-way radios via a 12V hookup. I've got some Motorola MagOne BPR40's that I need to recharge while on a wilderness hunt next month and would really like to avoid having dead radios/going back to the truck just to charge them. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[muddydogs]

I would look into a solar panel that charges a battery bank, this way you can set the panel up in camp where it will get the best sun to charge the batteries then at night you can charge your electronics. I have this Goalzero , my kit is at least 5 years old and still works well. Nice thing about using the Eneloop batteries is you can pick up a few sets so you have some extra charging capabilities for the dark and gloomy days that you don't get enough sun to charge used ones back up. Costco has a good deal on Eneloops with a wall charger. I'm not saying the Goal Zero is the best anymore as I haven't really kept up on these small solar panels since I purchased mine a few years ago and from what I have seem lately there are a few companies in this market.

 

[Impassable]

Thanks for the feedback! Do you know of any adapter's that will allow a Goal Zero panel to hook up to a 110V outlet plug? Unfortunately the radios that we have utilize their own battery pack, not AA or AAA batters. Makes it a bit of a pain.

Thanks.

 

[muddydogs]

It can be done but not very clean, you would need an inverter to change the 12 volt to 110 volt. Something like this 80 Watt Continuous/200 Watt Peak Slim Power Inverter would do the trick but I'm not sure if a small battery pack could handle the extra drain. Your best bet would be to find a 12 volt charger for your radio's.

 

[muddydogs]

After thinking about it ignore my last post. There's no way 4 AA battery's are going to power an inverter and charge your radio with any efficiency. Its a half a**ed deal anyway since you would be changing 12 volt into 110 just to have the charging cradle change it back to 12 volt. Your bets bet would be to find a 12 volt cradle to charge your radios. I have a Baofeng cradle that's made to charge off 12 volt, if you can't find one specific for your radio's maybe theirs one out there with similar output specs and charging contact points? Wondering if you could make one from a 110 cradle by cutting off the wall plug and wiring on a 12 volt plug.

Another thing to be aware of is a lot of battery charge packs don't have a 12 volt plug just USB and or Micro USB outputs so that could cause problems as well. With the Goal Zero solar charging system the only way to charge something with a 12 volt plug is directly off the solar panel as the battery bank only outputs through USB and Micro USB.

 

[loggerchas]

I work in the 2-way radio industry. Get a flexible panel and buy a mobile charger for the BPR40 - can find them used and new all over ebay and new on amazon. Find a solar panel that has 12V cigarette lighter output for most flexibility between devices. You lose a lot less in heat stepping down from 12V-DC to 5V-DC for USB devices than going 12VDC to 110VAC to ??VDC on BPR40.

https://www.cutratebatteries.com/pr...l5-mTXsYVwBT_4ZQ4phy5znrYTs2M500aAp7kEALw_wcB

Look on back of your BPR40 charger transformer for the output voltage- that tells you the juice you need.

Any competent 2-way radio shop in your neighborhood can get you hooked up with the right stuff. They are older radios and they might have used stuff laying around they took on trade. Sunny Communications in Denver is a big seller of used equipment - I'd touch base with them.