15 day hiking trip with CF-19Mk6 +(?) Solar Panel

Hello,

I am planning a long 11~15 days(depending on how long it takes me to walk 400km) hiking trip in the months to come. During this time, I want to take my CF-19Mk6 with its GPS to guide me. Obviously the problem is that the battery will not last for 15 days.

I have used solar panels, weatherproof ones, and I am quite familiar with them. I also know that without a DC regulator, it's a perfect way to kill a battery.

Any recommendations as an economic option for solar panel that will supply the CF-19 for the journey? Lighter & cheaper & more durable the better.

 

Hi sjlphi,
I took my cf19 with me on a 2month bicycle tour back in 2015.
I've used two PowerGorillas and two foldable Sunload solar panels (30wp,62wp). (~2k usd total)
never touched them since...

My recommendation is to just pack some additional batteries
- either a couple of 16vdc-out powerbanks or panasonic quad-charger - (~500-700usd total?)
and sleep/recharge in a hotel/hostel once or twice per week...

Increase comfort, reduce mass, reduce volume, save money, have some spare batteries.
win-win-win-win-win situation


even lighter would be one powergorilla and a tiny 6-15wp solar panel to power a smartphone with osmand software.
just make sure it has a real gps/glonass device, not just cell-assisted gps.

 

the solar panels would work well with one of the 12VDC/100-220VAC input supplies/chargers .
as one cannot outrun the laws of physics (at least for very long) ... crunching the numbers will show how many WH the panels will have to be able to produce .
solar panels are notorious for fluctuations in output , a good rule of thumb is to figure out what is needed and then double it .
figuring out how much you are going to use the '19 away from (ahem) *commercial power* and the number of mAH or WH needed to run the machine are first needed .
as i see it , the size of a solar panel needed to run a '19 directly would be prohibitive .
the best one can hope for is to charge the battery while the machine is turned off or just to augment the battery when using the machine .
a rough idea of about 3A @ 16 volts gives (ideally) 48W ... by the time that the inefficiencies are taken into account , figure that .666 or .5 of this is actually going into charging the battery .
the reason for planning on a 16V (or higher) solar panel is to compensate for the variables in light levels .

as you will be most likely hoofing it (aka : riding the infantry cadillac) during the daylight hours , this means that the exposure of the solar panels is going to fluctuate quite a bit ...
unless you plan on walking sideways or backwards and constantly adjusting the position of the panels .
charging while taking a two hour break might accomplish more than 8 hours of hiking .

the possibilities of charging a lithium battery to feed the dc to dc supply might be considered ...
the energy density vs weight is considerably higher than lead/acid or NiMH chemistries .
this might be considered a bit redundant and lossy as opposed to charging the '19 battery directly ...
it will however provide a source for running other devices .

 

Make sure the 19 has a SSD.

 

btw, highly recommend looking into hennessy hammocks for ultra light tent/chair/chill equipment
(depending on temperature level)
also get the snakeskins addon

 

These are some good ideas. My CF19 already has a 500gb SSD, which I hope I never have to upgrade from again.

I'll give it some more thoughts. For the most part, if I carry a 12V car battery and custom make some connectors, it'll be sufficient, but also adds quite a bit of weight, but will it outweigh the solar panels literally?

Anyways, this is all up in the air, if anyone has more input please feel free to throw at me.

 

tie a couple of ropes on a car battery and pack it around a while .
they are heavy .
lead/acid batteries do come in small sizes but taking the one in my lawnmower (electric start) as an example ... it weighs around 12 pounds .
they are about the cheapest per WH of storage but not weight wise .
a lithium battery is about the best for weight versus energy (WH) storage .

 

dont do that car battery thingy ... 5x heavier than li-ion
also possibility of spilling/leaking acid ... not the fun kind of acid

(specific engery Wh/kg for different batteries)

• 
  
• 243 lithium-ion (toughbook battery)
  
• 139 alkaline (AAA non-rechargeable)
  
• 80 nickel-metal-hydride (AAA rechargeable)
  
• 47 lead acid (car battery)

(solar gear)
a 62wp foldable CIGS solar panel (sunload,me2solar) is IMHO the smallest reasonable size for guaranteed full charge on a cloudy afternoon
designed for 150-400 brutto watts gain per 24hrs...won't get much more than 40w real-world output in central europe during summer
weights about 1.5kg and costs about 900usd
size folded: 380x215x39mm, size unfolded: 1325x750x12mm
you will also need a battery pack/buffer with dc-dc transformer and - ideally - mpp solar tracker ... another 1kg and 200usd

(example calculations for march-september in central europe)
2.5kg and 1100usd for 150wh (2charges) with daily 3-4h charge session with 62wp CIGS panel+powergorilla
2.0kg and 800usd for 70wh (1charge ) with daily 3-4h charge session with 30wp CIGS panel+powergorilla
0.3kg and 40 usd for 55wh with cf19 li-ion battery
=> break-even point for weight is reached after 6 days for 30wp, after 8 days for 62wp
=> break-even point for money is reached after 20 days for 30wp, after 27 days for 62wp

most economic solution would be the panasonic quad charger and hanging around 3-4h at a cafe/bar every couple of days ... or sleeping in a hostel once or twice during the hike


(more rambling)
check your actual power NEEDS ...
i assumed 230wh/day ... ended up needing 1x laptop 2x phone(navi) and 1x bikelights ... about 90wh/day ...
factor 2.5 off ... aka factor 2.5 money down the crapper and weight to carry around

 

Easiest solution. Buy 4-6 extra CF 19 batteries on Ebay.. Spend one night a week in a hotel to charge batteries and wash away the "funk"

Disable GPS in bios when you don't need it. This will save considerable battery.

 

amen

nah, not really. waiting-for-a-fix wastes more power than the gps chip would drain on always-on
My Leadtek LR95484S gps chip is very power-efficient at only 165mW continious drain.
It will take 7 hours to eat up two percent of my 60Wh battery.

wireless switch makes some reasonable difference.

 

yep ... the easiest and most cost effective solution is a few extra '19 batteries and a charger .
figure out roughly how many hours per day you are going to need to run the laptop .
how long will it be between overnight stays .
maybe a 2 bay or two single chargers would work ... these are cheaper than the 4 bay units .
you could run some things as long as they can be powered by usb @ 500mA or a smart device that can negotiate the usb port for more power .
the money you save can be used for chasing girls ... and there should be plenty of pictures of them to be posted for us to *critique* .

 

Get one at least 65W 20%~24% high High-efficiency Portable Foldable Solar Panel from ebay or other source. Make sure it comes with 16v DC laptop OUTPUT adapter (5.5 x 2.Xmm) that support old thinkpad / panasonic laptop.

Alternatively if you want to charge while still using your laptop then get a battery powerbank that support 16V DC input/output with adapter as well.

 

The lightest system that I can think of is:
Two or ? spare batteries.
Fold-able solar panel. Possibly a roll-able type. It can double as a shelter.
Charge controller. I'll take a picture of one that I have..it's about 4 ounces w/blinky lights and no switches. We ran a 12V version for a decade.
Sun Selector.


Just some ideas.

 

View attachment 149734 View attachment 149734 View attachment 149734

Member ohlip has mentioned several times that:

"The CF-19 GPS slot has also an option to install a battery back up. It is located beside the GPS connector board. The type of battery is the same as the cmos battery with a male connector and pigtail."
ohlip, Oct 18, 2015

The picture is of a CF-19 MK4

 

I have at least one CF-31 Leadtek with a battery attached....and yes I used ohlip's advise on the subject.

 

Where are you going to be hiking at? A lot of the national parks have campgrounds with power and bath houses for your inbetween needs.

 

Impossible to charge 4-6 batteries in 1 night

I'm travelling on my moto and never take my CF-19 with me if I'm going to be autonomous more than 2 days.
I have 8 inch Lenovo tablet with small bluetooth keyboard and MicroUSB power input. This is my choice for such travels. 16W foldable solar panel charges this tablet very easy, plus my phone or power bank (2 USB outputs).
Compact and lightweight solution.
You have to accept you can't hike with CF-19

 

This is my cf19. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My cf19 is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

My cf19, without me, is useless. Without my cf19, I am useless. I must hack my cf19 true. I must 0day straighter than my enemy who is trying to pown me. I must 0day him before he 0days me. I WILL…

My cf19 and myself know that what counts in this cyberspace is not the packets we fire, the noise of our mp3s, nor the joints we smoke. We know that it is the pownage that counts. WE WILL HACK…

My cf19 is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its screen and its battery. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. I will keep my cf19 clean and ready. We will become part of each other. WE WILL…

Before ROB, I swear this creed. My cf19 and myself are the defenders of my data. We are the masters of our firewall. WE ARE THE SAVIORS OF MY LAN.

So be it, until victory is Panasonics and there is no packet loss, but net neutrality!

 

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translation : "in this sign you will conquer"
this slogan was used on the grand standard of a commandery of the "knights templar" and can be found in/on many other places and things .
one of those places is on the older packs of "pall mall" cigarettes .
plus "wherever particular people congregate" and "per aspera ad astra" (through hardship to the stars) was incorporated into the logo on the pack .
in addition the tag line of ; "... and they are mild" was used :


oddly enough i was thinking about that slogan yesterday and could not remember where i had first seen it .

 

And this is your transport for hiking with cf19 )

 

naaaa ...
this is the '19 transport :
https://workingperson.com/corcoran-boots-men-s-side-zip-10-inch-field-boots-985-82594.html
ridin' the infantry cadillac !

 

CWB32, that's pretty much the idea.

I've been planning some intense hiking and rowing trips. One of them is Hannibal's trails in the alps. I'll be invading Italy on foot from Switzerland, and within 10 years, I intend to row across the atlantic ocean. For that, power issue is much less of a problem

 

You all crack me up.
What shall I do,
They don't sell my size?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

chances are they make your size ...
unless you have really small baby feet .
i have seen them in a size 4B women's up to men's 15EEE .
(my old DI wore 13EEE ... a good size for *motivational therapy*)

the standard issue is regular old "combat boots" .
if you really liked your feet , you would cough up for concoran jump boots w/ mud grip soles .
then you spend hours spit polishing them to a *black-mirror* state .
jump boots were never ever just "brush-n-rag" shined ... sacrilege !

 

TBH... why not an iPad? It's significantly lighter than a CF-19 and if all you want is mapping and even surfing/email/etc. As a CF-19 owner, I travelled with both and I can tell you after a good day of hauling the 19 around, every extra pound of gear gets to you.

 

In that case, why not a Toughpad FZ-something-or-rather? I wouldn't slog around in the woods with a crappy little iPad that would crack or snap as soon as you throw down your backpack.